Children's Museum of Houston

Well, last Thursday my mom, and the kids and I FINALLY went to the Children's Museum of Houston. This place has been on my list of things to do for quite a while because it's in so many different travel guides. I'm just really excited I got to go with Lucas and Reu.

Playing with the puppets in the main hall.

The technology exhibit. To think of what they will be communicating with at my age is quite mind-boggling!

More puppet time! (Got them out of sync) Little brother follows Big brother everywhere and does everything he does. :) Catching fish in the International section. I think we were in Thailand for this exhibit.

Driving the streets in Thailand. There was a tv in front of the boys that looked like they were driving and you had to turn the wheel. Very cute.

BEAT THAT! Best picture ever lol

Inside the museum is a make-believe town called Kidtropolis. Kids get a bank account card and they earn paycheck cards by doing different jobs. Here we were at the police station. Reu was driving while Lucas was in the backseat. Coinsedence?? Lol I think not... Just kidding!

Then there was the HEB Market that allowed the kids to shop for plastic goods and even check out and pay with your little credit card.

There were so many different day cares here when we first arrived. We ended up going to eat at the cafe and then I finally got some time to study the map. I found upstairs was the Toddler area. Yay! Here there was a shut-in area with cars, slides, and toddler toys. It was a great area for the kids.
Lucas playing in a house. He poured me some tea. :)
Grandma and Reu racing cars. Gotta love that smile!

SLIDING.....

Lucas and his "girlfriend" playing in the car. He's even here with me as I write and he pointed to her and said "girlfriend." LOL love it!

And after having so much fun Lucas ended up reading with Grandma before we left. Overall, it was a GREAT place to take the kids and I hope to return when they're older to do some more investigating.

Itz

Last week my mom and I took the boys to Itz in Houston. It's a Chuck E Cheese and an indoor carnival all in one. First we partook in the many items of the buffet. Lucas and I ended up eating a total of 7 (small) brownnies together lol. Maybe more after we played lol. Anyways, then we played on the rides for the kids under 4. They had a bounce house too, so it was really cheap. My mom had already purchased some game tokens so Lucas played some easy games. Overall, it was a fun time. I had a lot of back pain and was really uncomfortable at times but I made it through and was excited to get out of the house. A week later I feel almost 100% recovered without any back pain. So excited!

The cups of brownies Lucas and I consumed :)

Reuban riding the train......

Lucas's turn....

ALMOST got a perfect shot.

The bounce house...

Rainforest Cafe in Galveston, Texas

Last weekend I went down to Galveston, Texas to visit my mom's side of the family before they left on the cruise. I so could have gone but am glad I didn't because I wouldn't have been able to get into the water and I want my first time to be the best. ;) Anyways, we ended up eating at the Rainforest Cafe. Fun place and it was really fun to be around the whole family at the same time. Love you guys!

Gotta love my uncle Jeff! LOL Love the face....

High five! Lucas was so nervous for a while but then warmed up to the place after the thunder and lightning stopped. I was so surprised he gave the alligator a high five.

Let's Get This Party Started

It's time to get back to blogging and get this summer rollin'!

It's only the end of June but I've already named Tutti Frutti as my favorite summer destination. Yes, it's only in Spring, Texas but it's the funnest place for summer fun. It's frozen yogurt that you get yourself, then you add toppings of your choice and pay at the end per ounce. Don't count out Captain Crunch. It's the glue that holds my Tutti Frutti together. :)

Well Lucas and Reuban are here. Roo is so big!! He's walking, running and trying to talk. He can say "Dada", "baby" and then "Aunt B" Yay!!! Love him. We spend a lot of our days on the back porch. We've had them for one week so far, and they are quite the handful. We get them until July 5. It's been a blast!

Just too precious not to post!

As you'll see in the next upload we went to NASA Space Center at the Johnson Space Center. It was complete fun. My back didn't really hurt as much as I thought. I was pretty impressed with walking up two flights of stairs after only 2 weeks from my surgery. ROCK STAR! :)

Ok, I'll be uploading the rest of the activities if I can get them posted tonight but it may be tomorrow....

Surgery

My bear from Brian.

Flowers from Jim and Judy, who were so great to send them to me!

Flowers from Intercermic, thanks everyone!

Well, my surgery was a HUGE success. It went the best that it possibly could. They took out the cyst and the 27 liters that were inside of it. It was a total of 55 pounds that came out of my stomach. The incision stayed at 4-5 inches below my belly button so bathing suits will still look cute. :)

The miraculous part of it all was that it was actually connected to my falopian tube and NOT my ovaries so I got to keep part of both. So basically I may still be able to have children one day. That, in itself, was a huge blessing. I just couldn't believe how blessed I have been through this journey.

This weekend was fun at the hospital because I was surrounded by my parents, Aunt B, and Aunt Barbara and Uncle Terry. Brian couldn't be there but almost as soon as I was in my room a package came with a way cute teddy bear. TOTAL surprise! The thing probably hasn't left my sight since I got it. Also, got some flowers from Jim/Judy and Interceramic. So lucky to have all them in my life. My family and I spent lots of time in the room talking and walking around. I was able to come home Sunday and have been relaxing a lot since then.

Travel updates: Las Vegas is definitely planned for the last week of July. Yippee!! Brian and I are busy planning all the fun things we want to do. He likes most of the things I suggest lol. My aunt Barbara told me we could still go to Colorado in July. SO EXCITED!! I just can't believe how lucky and blessed I am right now. I'm truly grateful. It's just amazing. I feel like I have a new life to live.

And to add to the happiness. My nephews are coming to visit this Friday for TWO WEEKS. Yes, two weeks of a fun filled time with them and all over Houston.

So, this summer is saved. I feel good. Look great ;) And can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store for me.

Love you all!! And will post some hospital pics when I get a chance.

It's OFFICIALLY summer break!!

Well, I'm not heading to Colorado tomorrow but I've learned a valuable lesson this year. Rather than travelling all over the world as expected I'm going to stay and enjoy the journey of my friends and family. I have learned in the past few months how valuable good friends can be. I work with and am friends with some of the most amazing people and I say that too often but it can never be said enough. People I don't even know that well, I hear their prayers and feel their hugs. It's just very....uplifting.

My surgery where they remove the mass is next Friday. Family is coming in on the weekend and then it's RECOVERY for all of June. Now, how many women go through the process of child birth for practice?? LOL The doctor says the surgery and recovery will be quite similar to women who have had a C-section so that's basically what I meant. I am NOT having children haha but if I were there would be four of them that fit inside the mass. C-R-A-Z-Y

Other than that we're still planning Vegas in late July or early August. Then I'm planning my mom's birthday dinner and going to THIRD GRADE classes :) Yes, you're looking (well you're not LOOKING but you get it) at the newest Third Grade Teacher at Lamkin Elementary. What, what! Oh, and then Brian, Deborah and I are planning a Chowdown Countdown tour of Texas in July. Love it.

So, all in all, I'm really not that disappointed in how the summer/June has turned out. I'm on the road already to recovering and having a very healthy body and spirit. I've got some wonderful people that I love dearly in my life now and to be honest I'm just....happy.

And isn't that everyone's goal? The pursuit of happyness, right?

So-movies, music, water, fruits, veggies, good friends, good people, family
What else could a girl look forward to for the next 3 months of her life? :)

Give ya an update after the surgery!