Tenth Week of Summer!!!!
(July 29th - Aug 4th)
The 10th week of summer started with Hubby & My 17th Wedding Anniversary, took us to Houston for our last Media Trip of the summer, and ended with a fun weekend at the lake with friends.
Here we go!
Longtime readers of the blog know that my all time FAVORITE ice cream is Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla. Why? Because it is made here in Texas and it is delicious!! I have been to the Blue Bell Creameries and taken a tour back in 2008, but the kiddos haven't, so we made sure to stop on our way down to Houston.
Brody was especially interested in the tour - it is pretty cool to see how they make the ice cream, the other frozen treats, and how they package them too.
Bubba's favorite part? The free sample at the end of the tour!!
Right down the road from Brenham is Washington on the Brazos, birthplace of Texas Independence - you know, that brief period where we were our own country?? It is a pretty neat historical place, but with it being the end of July - it was HOT! So we briefly checked out where it was signed (in this little cabin) and got back on the road to Houston.
We were asked to stay at the Woodlands Resort up in The Woodlands - north of Houston. It was a pretty area - and we spent the rest of the day at the pool. The structure in front of you has 2 slides in it - the big kids played there while Bubba and I cooled off in the shade.
When we got back to the room, my kids were thrilled to have a turn down service. "You mean they actually lay chocolates on your pillow EVERY night??"
Tuesday morning, we were up early and headed down to Space Center Houston - home of NASA. This was the highlight of our trip. It is so well done, we spent the whole day there. The tours, movies, displays, and interactive areas were all so interesting - my kids all got something out if it.
Brody was fascinated by how BIG Saturn V was - the picture doesn't do it justice - it is longer than a football field. It really was so cool to be walking right next to an actual rocket that went into space.
Bubba was fascinated by every "Buzz Lightyear" that he kept seeing.
And all 3 spent hours playing in this multi-leveled playscape.
My favorite part? Being able to sit in Mission Control where history happened - it was absolutely incredible to hear the stories the tour guide was telling us, knowing it all played out in front of you. We sat int he chairs the families sat in while waiting on news of their astronauts. Gave me goosebumps. SO special to be there.
On Wednesday, we headed to the Houston Zoo - Crazy? YES! I mean who spends the day at the zoo at the end of July in Houston??? It's a great zoo, but we were so hot and tired, that all of us were really grumpy and not wanting to be there.
Luckily, we came across this great INDOOR exhibit where we watched the orangutans eat. It was fascinating really.
But despite the shade, it was still pretty hot. We decided to skip a few exhibits and head to the train - can't go to the zoo and NOT ride the Train!!!!
And a train ride is just what these boys needed to smile!
That afternoon, we were invited to stay at the Omni Houston to try out their Kid's Suite. It was amazing y'all - I can't believe that more hotels don't do this!
A hotel room decorated for kids, filled with toys, a Wii, movies, guitar and a basketball hoop??
The chalkboard wall was our FAV!! The kids were so excited to be staying here, that they asked to stay in for the rest of the day. So we did - we ordered room service and didn't leave - I have to say, it was one of our favorite things we did in Houston.
Thursday was BUSY - we expected to spend an hour or two at the Houston's Children's Museum but ended up having so much fun, that we stayed much longer than expected. We have been to just about all the Children's Museums in the state and it is nice that they are all vastly different.
This one had a ton of things for all the kids, hence the reason we spent so much time there.
And despite me telling the kids, "DON'T get WET!"...no one listened.....
Moving on to our next museum - the Houston Museum of Natural Science - they had a terrific Dinosaur exhibit that we all enjoyed. We also saw some pretty incredible gems (one named Morgan) and learned about sea shells. Houston has some awesome museums.
And then we traveled home - my little man is an excellent traveler - so easy going - considering all the time we spent on the road this summer, I am blessed!
The weekend was spent at the lake with some dear friends - 2 full days out on the water - we all had a fun time!!
Bubba had his pick of all these pretty girls.
And everyone played on the tubes.
Except this little man - his time will come!
One last slice of summer "watermelon pie" and everyone was digging in.
The NINTH Week of Summer
