Visitors!

My mom and brother came in for a long weekend visit in August. My mom's cousin was throwing her husband a surprise 60th birthday party, so they decided to come on down to see us and attend the party. I'm not sure what I did to deserve a family visit in the horrific heat and humidity of August, but I'll take it! My mom made sure I knew that she wouldn't consent to leave breezy Connecticut and head to the inferno unless it was to see me and my guys.

Their visit was just a few days after Michael's 16th birthday, so we celebrated with some Mexican food and a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. I'm not sure what Michael thought of the "Cars" cake theme, but it was just too perfect for a kid turning 16. I couldn't pass it up!







As you can see below, we did a lot of relaxing when they were in town. Of course we also ate more than our fair share of good Houston grub - Mexican, Shipley's, BBQ, Ragin Cajun, Sonic. Deciding where to dine is always a big part of our days when they come back to Houston.







Wondering why Elmo wormed his way into this picture?


Well take a look at the first picture Mikey took.


Do you see ANYTHING but my belly button? Mikey said something about it, and I figured he was exaggerating. I made him let me see the picture on my camera's screen, and I was mortified and unable to stop laughing. That's why my face is beet red in the picture with Elmo.

On Mom and Michael's last day, we took advantage of some rather decent weather (it was late evening) and played outside in our cul-de-sac. Who doesn't enjoy a little playtime? It was my favorite part of their visit. Nothing like some good clean family fun!

Mean mommy

This is what I get for letting William play in the garage for 20 minutes. It was a hot August day - hence the sweaty mess I had on my hands. I decided to suck up my pregnancy discomfort and let him climb in the bike trailer...then out...then in...then out. Play with his helmet. Play with Mikey's helmet. Put a ball in the bike trailer. And so on. After awhile, I figured it was in the best interest of both of us to go inside, get some water, and cool off. He rewarded my kindness with a crying fit of epic proportions. I have to say, it was pretty funny because it was so dramatic.

Aquarium adventure

William and I went to the downtown aquarium with Marion and her mom, Katherine. You may recall Marion from the infamous Halloween party last year. It was actually Mar's stuffed monkey that resulted in the greatest Halloween picture ever. In case you've forgotten...




It's a miracle Mar is still speaking to William after he tried to steal Mr. Brown Dog. Bad move, little buddy. Don't mess with the dog.

Anyway, we took the kiddos to the aquarium on a random weekday. The biggest challenge was dodging the summer camps/daycares that were having field trips there that day. We perfected our slow down/speed up moves by the time we got through. It's really dark in the actual aquarium, so I had a terrible time getting any good pictures. My favorite part was the white tiger. I don't know why, but I have always thought they were exceptionally beautiful. I felt a little bad that it was stuck in such an unnatural setting, but I seem to remember that they have four of the tigers and rotate them in and out of the exhibit. I'm guessing/hoping their time off the clock is usually spent outdoors with grass, water, etc.


I know this is a terrible picture, but at least you can see both kids and the tiger!

After we finished up indoors, these two pregnant mamas braved the July heat to take advantage of some other activities. They have a fun train that takes you around the property and into a tunnel that's surrounded by sharks. It's way cool.



Of course we had to ride the carousel after that. The kids did great on it!



At that point, we were all pretty hot, so we changed the kids into splash pad attire. It was William's first splash pad experience. He wasn't really sure what to think of it, but he managed to do a bit of splashing and a whole lot of standing around. He was mostly interested in all the big kids that were playing.





Thanks to Katherine and Marion for letting us tag along!