Fourth of July

Well, I had a fabulous, laid back Fourth of July. My dad and I had the boys so we chilled out all day, then we went to eat at Spring Creek BBQ. After that, we rode over to the Sam Houston Race Park where they do a firework show. There were SO many people around so we actually ended up on the other side of the freeway in a business parking lot. We set up our lawn chairs and the boys played around. It was about 20 minutes, which was almost perfect for the boys' attention span. Overall, great Fourth!

Playing with the bubble gun before the show started.

I bought Lucas these flip-flops earlier that day and he LOVED them. He kept running around the house wearing mine so I found some at Toys-r-Us for $1 so they were SOLD.

The boys had my pom-poms out. Yes, my brother is going to kill me but I digress. I told them they had to cheer for the fireworks while we were in the car...and Reuban loved his the whole time.

Representing America with my shirt...

FIREWORK TIME!!!!

Reu was captivated with the fireworks...

Awesome look on Lucas' face. Lol

"Aunt B, are you going to stop taking pictures of me and wach the fireworks?"

LOL pure excitement!

Waving the pompoms....

And the rockets red glare....

...the bombs bursting in air!

Happy Birthday America!!

The Aquarium Downtown

Last weekend my mom, dad the boys and I went to the Aquarium Downtown Houston. It was a lot of fun and I haven't felt like a kid that much since I was that age!

This would be the view from the Ferris Wheel we did later. I cropped it but it didn't turn out. Hmmmm I'll look at it later.
Once we got there everyone was starving so we went into the restaurant section which was in the main building on the 2nd and 3rd stories.

Walking up to the area from the parking lot was AMAZING. What a view of Houston!!

Ferris wheel that I FINALLY got to ride on! I have been waiting for years....

When coming into the dining area there are huge aquariums that have all sorts of beautiful sealife. Here is a turtle that was quite big. We saw him often. :)

Our table...

That was what our table faced. Quite dramatic and awesome to look at while waiting for our food.

Sting ray! And I love the school of fish on the bottom of the pictture. And a hidden, sleeping shark!

I ordered the Seafood platter or something to that effect with a piece of fish, stuffed crab and shrimp. I ALMOST ate every bite but just couldn't quite get there. Everyone's food was so good we ended up sharing each others. Lol it was fun.

Then we headed to the Boardwalk area. Dad was going to pay for everyone to ride the train ride to see the sharks (didn't know that at the time). Well the train was $5. I had my eye on that ferris wheel ($4) and I wanted to see the exhibit hall ($9). So I talked my dad into getting the Day Pass for $15 with unlimited entrance to everything. It was a GOOD idea.

Still just love this picture of Houston with some fun times in the middle.

They had about 5 different carnival games. Easier to win than a carnival but still a rip off with the size of prizes... However, the manager of the restaurant gave us a coupon for Lucas to get a free go at one of the games. He was so close at ringing the Coke bottles! They were very close, not like the State Fair or Rodeo where it's next to IMPOSSIBLE. But the prizes weren't gigantic either.

Then we all went on the train ride. It's really cute although you have to wait in line for about 20 minutes or so (or perhaps more). It actually takes you through the shark tank.

Say cheese! BEST BUDDIES!!!

On the first part of the train ride you get a brief lecture on how bad the shark populations are dwindling because of over hunting/poaching.

And...inside the shark tank. Cool pic huh??

Cool sharks swimming right over you!!

Then they play some suspenseful music and tell you one of the great white's escaped during Ike. Then there's a huge splash of water and this MONSTER pops out of the lake around the train. It surprised me pretty bad the first time. I'll admit I screamed!

After the shark train we did the Ferris Wheel!! I got kinda scared when the kids started moving around but it was an unbelievable view of Houston. I had quite the moment up there lol.

Grandpa and Reu (look at his face) trying to handle the tummies tickling and saying "woooo" on the way down...

THEN we rode on the carousel about 10 times lol no joke. There was no one in line so we just stayed on. I haven't ridden on a carousel is years but I had a blast!

The Latin beats husband and wife "band" was really fun to relax to. There was music playing throughout the midway and I love music so it was nice. We thought the boys would like to play in the water so we saved that until the end of the trip. Didn't go over so well...But definitely bring a bathing suit for the little ones. The singers were pretty darn good, though. The crowd was kind of dead for a while so I felt bad for them.

Found with downtown background.

So, next we into the Gallery or Exhibit. I forget what they called it. It was basically more aquariums but with a petting area for sting rays and a white tiger display. The boys LOVED the big fish.

Lucas ACTUALLY smiling for the camera in his pose.

White tigersssss lol they were just napping when we visited. Bummer.
BEST PICTURE OF THE DAY. Yes, I got it. Great ending to a GREAT day. My mom actually bought me a picture frame from the Aquarium (labeled) so I'm super excited to post a picture of me and the boys and enjoy forever. Love good travel days. Doesn't get any better than sharing a great destination with a great group of people that you love VERY much.

Blue Bell and the Brenham Airport

On Tuesday, we went to Brenham, Texas to go to the Bluebell Factory. On our way there I saw the billboard for the Southern Flyer Diner. It's right on the small runway where the small planes land. I thought it'd be fun for the boys so we decided to eat there. Too bad I'm a horrible co-pilot because my iPhone was not helping us find the place. However, we finally got there and enjoyed it very much.
The Diner

And not 50 feet from the entrance are the planes.

Lucas in the diner...he LOVED the girls in the poodle skirts

The burgers were voted some of the best in the area so I ordered one. Not bad.....

Then we were off to the Bluebell Creamery.

This would be the gift shop where they sell lots of Blue Bell merchandising. The boys got a football and I got a patch for my travel bag. When we took the tour of the creamery there are tons of free hats to put on. The boys definitely didn't keep theirs on but at least I got a good shot before this one was destroyed. It's really cute, though, to see a lot of the kids and families all have these on.

After touring the creamery everyone gets a scoop (or rather 2) or an ice cream of their choice. I think there were about 15 choices or so. I got the Soutern Blackberry Cobbler ice cream. NEW FAVORITE...wow.

The scoops really were very big, especially for the kids. I don't think that got eaten completely lol.

Then I took a picture of the boys in front of the Blue Bell statue and we left...

Other statue..I'm glad I got to go as tours are only Monday-Friday. For only $8 total plus souvenirs it was a great time had by all. The tour was maybe 20 minutes, 10 for ice cream, so it's great for those with small children. Would definitely recommend it.