Horse Lovin'

The Montessori school close to your house had an open house the other weekend.  The school is preschool-8th grade school and they opened up their classrooms and garden to the public, so we decided to go take a look.  The school was pretty amazing and Ryan enjoyed checking out the classrooms, but they also had a petting zoo set up for the day.   Ryan liked looking at the bunnies (he wasn't interested in holding them, they were too wiggly for him), holding the baby chicks, and petting the goat.  However, Ryan LOVED brushing the miniature pony.  He brushed her for a looonnnngggg time!

Sharkarosa

We have a place near us called "Sharkarosa".  They have rare and endangered wildlife -- like zebras and horses and camels.  The neat thing about it is that you ride a train that has food buckets attached to the side, so the animals come close to the train and you get to see some of this interesting animals up close.  They also do animal presentations so that you can learn more about some of the animals that live here.

Petting a joey.

Chef Ryan

Ryan always wants to know what is for dessert.  Around our house dessert is typically fruit.  On this particular night he declared that he was going to make dessert and instructed me not to look.  He got out our grapes, sliced them in half and then put them on sticks.  When they were finished he put them in the fridge so that he could "surprise" us when it was time for dessert!  He then took this picture . . .

Kemah/Space Center/Grandma and Grandpa's

We recently took a trip to Houston.  We got to see Kemah, a boardwalk, the Space Center and Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Camille.

The only thing Ryan wanted to do at Kemah was to ride the little train that went around the boardwalk.  It was nice because the weather was a bit chilly, so there weren't many people around.  We were practically the only ones on the train.

The next day we went to the space center.

Space Center

A couple of the favorite activities . . .

Ryan loved getting the beach ball to "float" in the stream of air!

He giggled about THIS for a long time. . .

It was a scale that weighed you and showed you how much you would weigh on Jupiter.  It said that Ryan, who weighs 38lbs on Earth, would weigh 88.5lbs on Jupiter.   The part that he thought was hilarious the funny mirror that made you look wide.

Touching a Moon rock!

Future Astronaut

Although Ryan thought that the above activities were all fun, the thing that he was most excited about was going to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  He was actually mad at us and shed many a tears on Friday as we driving because we were staying in a hotel that night and wouldn't be at Grandma and Grandpa's until the next day.  When we FINALLY got to their house Ryan had a blast with Grandma, Grandpa and his Aunt Camille.  He says that his two favorite parts were digging potatoes out of Grandpa's garden and playing with his 10-year-old cousin Lacey and her friend Rena.  Lacey and Rena were great with Ryan and he loved playing with them.  He liked jumping on the trampoline (especially in the sprinkler), playing ball, and blowing bubbles.  Too bad I didn't take any pictures . . . 

Live Green Festival

A couple weekends ago we went to the local Live Green Festival.  We have gone several years in a row and always have a lot of fun.  They have lots of neat children's activities and other "live green" stuff as well. 

Irregardless of how it looks in this picture, Ryan LOVED seeing the bee hive.  He liked watching the bees buzz around and he seeing the honey.  He wanted a picture with the hive, but I don't know what is up with his facial expression!

He looks equally thrilled about receiving his first Emmy.  HAHA!  The Emmy is real, but it isn't his.  We went and listened to a talk by the guy that hosts a show called "The Daytripper" and the Emmy was his.  He passed it around for everybody to look at/hold   "The Daytripper" highlights all kinds of "day trips" in Texas.  We learned about some neat places that we can visit!

Maneuvering the arm on the garbage truck that grabs the trash can and dumps it in the truck is ALWAYS a favorite.

Jumping on the trampoline -- one of his favorite things at the festival!  He is even smiling in this picture!

Glow Stick Bath

Sometimes bath time presents a challenge for a little boy who doesn't want to stop playing.  So, enter glow sticks and bath in the dark and presto, all bath time complaining disappears.  The pictures aren't great, but Ryan had a blast and it did look really cool.  We only used 7 glow sticks.  Next time we will have to add more, I'm sure that will be even neater to look at.

How cool is this . . .

We play outside A LOT!  However, sometimes it is just too hot/cold/rainy and we have desperately been looking for an inside place to play.  The inflatable places are great, but kind of costly.  The mall play areas are OK, but Ryan is starting to get a little big for them.  So we have continued to search.  Then, thanks to one of Rya's good friends from school, we discovered this place!  It is inside a local church.  It has a play structure, places for pretend play, a lego table, a rock climbing wall, and one of those interactive motion game things that project on the floor!  Amazingly enough, it is FREE and you can bring a lunch and eat it at the picnic tables.  They also have a little cafe to purchase (inexpensive) food at if you want.  What a neat idea.  Ryan had a blast.  He played for 4 hours!  When we first arrived there were a lot of kids, but this is what it looked liked for the last 2 hours. . . empty.  What a neat idea!

The only picture I got of Ryan actually playing . . .