We LOVE Houston!

A few weeks ago we were all supposed to go to Houston as a family (when Elina had her NASA campout), but Eli and Eulee got sick so we postponed the trip to last weekend.  The kids were even more excited this time and it did not disappoint!

Here were our highlights--

1. HOUSTON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
This was our first stop and we ended up playing there from 2-7pm.  We didn't even take a break to eat dinner...instead we went back to the car, stuffed our mouths with snacks, and went back into the museum to play some more!

This place was awesome.  Usually children's museums are geared for younger kids, but Elina said it was one of her favorite places.  There was a huge climbing structure that the kids couldn't get enough of.

They had a big water play area called Flow Works that was super fun.

One of our favorite spots was the Eco-Station.  There were lots of chicken eggs hatching and there was even one egg shell that was cracked with a tiny beak sticking out of it.  It was awesome!  The kids just loved watching those baby chicks.

2. HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE (HMNS)
We got there right when the museum opened at 9am and we didn't leave until they closed at 5pm.  That's how great it was!  The Museum of Natural History in NYC is one of my all-time favorite places, but this museum beat it in a lot of ways.

We started off with the Paleontology area that seemed to never end (in a good way).

Then we went to see the gem and mineral area.  This exhibit is definitely better than the one in NY.

We also loved the area with all the different seashells.  I never knew that scallop shells came in so many different colors!

We literally did everything we could possibly do.  We saw a big-screen movie called Tiny Giants 3D.  This was the cutest movie because it was mainly showed little critters up close.  We also went to watch a movie in the planetarium.

But my all-time favorite part of this museum is the butterfly pavilion.  It starts with an entomology exhibit that is just the best.

It has the right mix of interactive, hands-on things and real-life things.  

They actually had rows of real chrysalises pinned and you could see butterflies emerging from them!

Then the butterfly pavilion had butterflies that I had never seen before, too.  The most beautiful ones were the rice paper butterflies...they looked even more delicate than regular butterflies.

The only thing I didn’t like about HMNS was that everything was “a la carte.”  You pay admission to get into the museum and the permanent exhibits, but if you see a special exhibit, it’s extra.  If you see a big-screen movie, it’s extra.  If you go to the planetarium, it’s extra.  Even the butterfly pavilion is extra.  It all adds up.  So we just opted for the family membership because then the add-ons were half off, which is a huge savings for our big family.  (It also gives us an excuse to visit again within the next year!)

3. NASA SPACE CENTER

 NASA was really fun too….even if it was my second time within a month.   They actually added a few things and had a fun, new visiting exhibit.  It was a Ripley’s Believe It or Not exhibit but it wasn’t the cheesy stuff…it was actually really interesting.  There was even artwork created with unorthodox things…like a portrait of Justin Bieber made with only candy….another portrait made of only pennies and other copper coins…and a portrait of Einstein made with burnt toast!!  Crazy!

It took all day for us to do NASA only because of Eulee.  Man, a 2 year old really slows you down with all the potty trips!  But it was still an enjoyable day.  Eli was amazed by how big everything was and he had so many questions about space.  It was so cute.

4. HERMANN PARK

This park is where HMNS is located.  It is a beautiful park with lots of old trees that provide nice shade.  We walked around the lake and then went through the Japanese gardens.  It was a great way for the kids to burn off some energy before the 3 hour drive back to San Antonio. 

We really had a wonderful time in Houston.  We loved the museums and some of the places we ate at.  When people ask me about the trip, I feel like a commercial for Houston.  It was all so enjoyable and the kids are already asking when we can go back!  We will definitely go back for a visit!  Can’t wait!

Valentine's 2015

Valentine's Day was pretty simple for us this year.  The kids picked out cute Valentine's Day cards to make for their friends.  Evie chose glow sticks, Elina chose magnifying glasses (which I totally forgot to take pictures of!) and Eli went with little bugs.  All of them came out cute!

I also put little hearts into the girls' hair for the holiday.  (I know, it's amazing I even remembered to do this!)

For Valentine's Day we actually had a lot going on...Eli had basketball in the morning, Elina and I had a Girl Scout cookie booth to work,

Eli had a Frozen birthday party to attend,

and then we had family friends over.

Since we had such a busy day, we did a makeover Valentine's Day the next day.  We had our heart pancakes and pink milk.  

Then we had a fancy dinner by candlelight...and we even brought out wine glasses.

Elina also threw one of her famous parties.  We had karaoke and dancing.  Definitely fun!

The kids also had their big annual Valentine's Day scavenger hunt.  Each clue was labeled with a child's name and only that child could go search for the next clue.  It worked out really well because there were different levels of difficulty.  Eulee's were direct ("Where is your potty?"), while Elina's were more mysterious ("Where do you keep paper treasures?"--her purse).

The kids and B even surprised me with a scavenger hunt of my own!  Total yummy surprise!

Another awesome Valentine's Day!  Love our big family, love the singing and dancing, love scavenger hunts...and love our crazy life!

NASA Camp Out

Elina and I just camped out with her Girl Scout troop at the NASA Space Center and we had an amazing time!

Originally, we were supposed to spend 4 days in Houston as a family, but both Eli and Eulee had the nerve to get sick right before the trip, so it had to be just me and Elina for the weekend.  It was a total bummer, but we've already rescheduled our family trip so we're definitely going back!  I felt so badly that we couldn't all go together because I had gotten the kids all excited about Houston.  Now they constantly ask about going to Houston!  I hope it lives up to their expectations.

Elina and I left on Saturday around noon and we drove the 3.5 hours straight to Houston.  It was nice to have only one older kid on the drive.  We listened to books on CD, played car ride games.  Then while she played on the iPad, I actually got to listen to some NPR.  It was a totally different road trip!

The camp out theme was energy so the Girl Scouts all worked on energy-related activities after dinner until 10pm.

By the time 9:30pm rolled around all the girls' eyes were glazed over.  They all looked like they might pass out.  The only one who looked sharp was Elina.  She was right in the center directing the girls with their wind power activity.  It was so funny!

Then we got ready for bed and lights were out at 11pm.  We really lucked out and got to sleep in the exhibit with all the stars in it.  The museum kept the star lights on and it was such a nice setting to sleep in.

This was my view when I laid down!

It took Elina and I quite awhile to fall asleep that night.  I could hear all the girls moving around in their sleeping bags.  Then right when I was about to fall asleep, one of our troop moms started snoring VERY loudly.  Wow.  So it took me some more time to fall asleep.  I'm not even sure what time I finally fell asleep.  And the sleep I had was the type of sleep where you feel like you didn't sleep any all night....you know, that light sleep where you still hear everything around you.

I finally woke up at 6:30am and when I sat up, there were already 3 girls sitting up staring at me--and Elina was one of them.

After breakfast, we watched a short movie and then went on the tram tour of the Johnson Space Center.  It was SO neat to see the mock-ups of the International Space Station and the Orion capsule.  It's hard to believe how big everything really is.

After the tram tour, we visited a few more exhibits.  Then we were lucky enough to meet the Director of Exhibits (friends of one of the troop mom's husbands) who gave us a tour of this airplane in the front of the museum that will be added to the exhibits in the future.  It was a cool behind-the-scenes tour!

And the best part of the whole trip, according to Elina, was that she got to get frozen yogurt from a robot.  It was $6 for a cup of frozen yogurt, but she thought it was the neatest thing ever.  Wow!
Then we met some friends for dim sum in Bellaire.  Totally delicious!

Then it was time for our long drive back.  I was SO very tired.  After the drive the day before and sleeping on a floor for probably 5 hours of light sleep, I was not in good condition to drive.  I had to stop about 3 times on the way back just to keep myself awake.

Definitely a tiring, but awesome experience!  We can't wait to go back in a few weeks!!