Days 6 and 7 in Texas

The next couple of days on our Texas vacation were spent at the Space Center, at a little place called Olive Anne The Pink Pokka Dot, and then at the Children's Museum. Here are some pictures to show our busy, but fun, couple of days! Maddie, the Cashier, at the little play market at the Children's Museum. What a great museum!! And best yet...we got in free with or OMSI membership card! We could have spent all day exploring the children's museum. We told Eric and Heather they are so lucky to have such a great place to take Emma to when she gets a little older!
Emma...looks just so surprised to be at the Children's Museum.
She is just so cute!
They had a HUGE outdoor water exploration area! So much fun! Peyton enjoyed starting boats and balls at the top of the moving water and watching the items make their way to the bottom and into this little catch all area.

Space Center... a play mission control center. We were able to see the real Mission Control center too.
The Fam in front of a rocket ship. It was really huge!
Part of the Training Center where Astronauts Train for their missions into space.
Future astronaut? The helmet is a little heavy!
Heather and Emma at Olive Anne The Pink Pokka Dot. This is a CUTE little girls boutique right by Eric and Heathers house. They have a little area where they paint nails and "do" hair, and can have cucumbers put on your eyes....all for little girls (not for grown ups.) It was so much fun to shop, look at all of the VERY GIRLY items, and have the girls get their toes painted and have their hair done with glitter and crowns. Heather and Eric bought the girls little tutus for Easter Gifts and we bought Emma a little tutu for and Easter Gift too. (Pictures to come in the Tutu's!) We had so much fun at this little shop.
Peyton getting her toes done. Soaking them in a tub of bubbles. The girls chose blueberry foot scrub and pink polish.
Introducing Emma to all of the girly activities she has to look forward to in the future. Just the girls relaxing on the leopard print chase.

Do you think she is enjoying this a little too much?
I love the little satin robes that the girls wore during their pampering session.

Texas...Days 4 and 5

On day 4 of our Texas trip we went to the Houston Zoo. It was a pretty nice day and one of the best parts was our Oregon Zoo membership was able to get us into the Houston Zoo for free! Can't beat that! It was a weekday, so the zoo was not crowded at all! It was so nice to enjoy the day at a new zoo with no crowds. The zoo was in a very large park that also had a little train. We were able to take the train all around the park and see all of the sights.

The next day we drove a little ways, about an hour and a half, to Galveston. This is where we went to Moody Gardens that has an amazing 12 level aquarium. The aquarium itself was the shape of a pyramid. It had all kinds of fish, of course, but also had seals, penguins, turtles, and many different sharks. It was a great aquarium.

Also in Galveston was the Beach. We stopped at a store and bought a couple of buckets and shovels to use in the sand. The girls spent a long time walking in the water and collecting shells. The shells here in Oregon are always broken from the rough waves. In Galveston we found many shells that were whole. This was a new experience for me too. We also walked out on a paved Jetty. Galveston had a lot of damage done to it during the Hurricanes 2 years ago. There was still evidence of the damage that the storm had left behind. There was a very large hotel that was right out over the ocean. It is now closed due to the damage that the storm caused. There was a huge hole in the side of the hotel that we could see. The bridge that had to be crossed to get to the hotel was completely gone. The hurricane had really done damage to this community.

I really think this is where I would like to visit and stay overnight if we are to go to Texas again. The beach is a place were I just love to be and I wish we would have had more time to stay and enjoy it.

Here are some pictures, once again in opposite order.

Days 2 and 3 in Texas

Our next couple of days in Texas were spent adventuring out a little to the Natural Science Museum and at a GREAT park! The weather was TERRIBLE the first day. We were warned by Eric and Heather that Texas rain showers and storms are not light...they were right. The wind was so strong it blew our umbrellas inside out and the rain was so hard you could not help but be drenched from walking just a short distance from the car to the Museum. It was crazy weather. But, that is why we chose an inside activity for the day. The Museum was really neat! It had everything you could imagine and want in a natural science museum from a dinosaur exhibit to a vault filled with beautiful jewelery and rocks of every kind. It was a huge museum and we could have spent all day there. That evening we had a great BBQ again and celebrated Chris' (Bryan's Brother) birthday. Eric made a yummy cheesecake. It was a good day! Oooo....and I almost forgot, the real highlight of our day was meeting Emma...who was asleep when we arrived the day before. The girls loved meeting their new baby cousin and spent quite a bit of time wanting to hold her, talk with her, and "help out" in anyway they could.
The following day was Sunday and Bryan's parents and brother Chris flew to other destinations. We spent the day at a wonderful park in the middle of a beautiful neighborhood. It was created and built by the community and was designed with a lot of woodwork detail and something for every age. We played for hours swinging, sliding,climbing, and running around. The weather was not raining on Sunday but was cold and very windy. As you will see in the pictures we were all bundled up. I even wore gloves and a down coat....thank you Heather for letting us borrow your coat, hats, scarfs, and gloves. We had come prepared for hot/warm weather. Not colder then home temperatures. The park was a great way to get all the kids energy out and have fun at the same time. We then returned home where Maddie and Eric made some yummy chocolate chip cookies. :) A great ending to a great day! There are still more adventures to share. I will keep working on posting as I get the time.

Sorry these pictures are not exactly in order...but still fun none the less. Enjoy!

Our day at the park. All bundled up! Grandma and Grandpa with their Granddaughters....all three of them!Maddie and Uncle Eric making cookies.Happy Birthday Chris!A day at the Museum.

Riding on Grandpa's Shoulders.Cousins

Texas...Day One...Traveling

Over Spring Break we went to Texas to visit Eric and Heather (Bryan's Brother and Sister in Law) and new little baby Emma. We spent the week there and were able to see almost all of the sights Houston had to offer. It was fun to spend time with family and to meet Emma for the first time. She is such a little cutie! I am going to make a few posts about our trip because there were so many adventures and fun times to share about. I will break it down by days and hope to get it all in.

We arrived on Friday and stayed until the following Saturday. The flight going down was great...except for the fact that Peyton had a blister on her foot from the shoes she was wearing and cried for about an hour straight before getting on the plane and then off and on during the flight. She did have a pretty good blister. Poor baby! But....overlooking this little bit of drama, all was great and the girls did VERY well. Peyton was entertained most of the flight by Elmo and Dora movies and snacks. She was happy to color, play with stickers, and look at books. She did much better on this flight then she did on the last one we took! I think she also felt like a big girl because she did not have to sit in her car seat this time around. She had a regular seat belt and she liked the freedom of having the entire seat to move around in.

Maddie is a great little traveler and she is at an age that can be entertained through the entire flight by coloring, playing her leapster, playing card games, reading books, and watching movies on the DVD player. She is always excited and can't wait to get on the plane...then excited to get off. She loves it when she can pick her own drink on the plane. Oooo the little things that matter! ;) And of course there is the getting to chew gum when taking off and landing is always a plus too. 2 pieces of gum in a 4 hour time period...pretty exciting stuff! :)
When we arrived in Texas we found Eric and Heather's house, where we stayed the entire week. What wonderful family we have to let us stay with them for so long! We are so grateful we did not have to pay for a hotel and the food that goes along with eating out when staying away from a house with a kitchen.

When we arrived at Eric and Heather's we had dinner with all of Bryan's family. His Mom, Dad, and Brother were visiting from Oregon as well through the rest of the weekend. So we had a great BBQ dinner and had fun visiting with each other. It was already 7:00PM when we arrived, and we had a long day traveling so we just got settled for the night and hit the hay. Our day one was a great one. I will continue to add to the blog as the week goes on. There is so much to share!

Peyton's First Trip To The Dentist

Peyton had her first dental check up! She looks so small in the chair...which is a smaller size chair because it is a children's dentist. Peyton let Madison go first and watched her big sister. This made it easier for her to know what to expect. She did really well and opened her mouth for the dentist to count, clean, and floss her teeth. This was a huge first step, I was a little worried about her opening her mouth. She has not once opened her mouth willingly for the Pediatrician. And she does the closed mouth, lock the lips when I try to brush her teeth. So, I am really happy that she did well for the dentist. She was a good little patient and was very excited to receive her "goodie bag"! She is growing up so fast.

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess

March 2nd is Dr. Suess' Birthday and Read Across America Day. We always celebrate at school by wearing special Cat in the Hat Hats and the teachers wear a Dr. Suess shirt or a shirt that has to do with reading. This year Maddie was able to join in the fun and had pajama day in her classroom as well as wore a Dr. Suess hat at school. To end our day we had Green Eggs for Dinner (no ham...my kids will not eat it).

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess! It is always a fun day to celebrate your great writing and the world of reading that you have opened to all of the many children (and adults) who enjoy your books!

A Note to Daddy!

I laughed so hard, I cried, when I read this little note Maddie wrote (all on her own...spelling and all) to Bryan. She was so excited he was coming to help in her classroom on Monday and while waiting to go to school she wrote him a very serious note....here is what it says: "I love my Daddy. He is so luke(lucky)."
I told Bry that I may need to write him a note that says:
"I love my Hubby. He is so lucky!"
(LOL!! Just kidding Bry.)
I just thought this note was so cute, it will be a keeper!