Last weekend, Part 3

So I know by now it wasn't really last weekend- in fact it has been three.  Nevertheless I am picking up where I left off.  Friday we went to the Space Center and Kemah boardwalk.  On Saturday, after I taught my Core Rhythms class, we decided to head to the Houston Zoo.  

We packed a lunch at home and headed downtown.  We stopped on the way at a Fiesta grocery store where we could buy discounted Zoo tickets.  When we got to the zoo, we couldn't find a map and thus we just wandered around...the zoo is kind of in a big circle and fairly convenient.  We saw the turtles and fish and such first.  Then on to the giraffes and elephants.  We went through the monkey house and past all of the cats...saw a big bear and some weirder animals before stopping for lunch.  

We had a mini-picnic with our homemade lunch but splurged on a ice cream with sprinkles to share for dessert (because there were NO chocolate covered frozen bananas!)  Then we continued on to the reptile house (I was far too creeped out by it all and mostly just tried to find the different frogs...in fact I actually saw two frogs play "leap frog"!!!)  We made it past the birds, butterflies, and zebras on our way out.  We were so exhausted that we didn't even browse around in the gift shop...not that we would have bought an over-priced stuffed animal anyway!

The Houston Zoo is in a nice big park downtown and we took just a moment to dip our toes into the big lake when we were on our way to our car.  Our feet were quite tired of all the walking we had done during the weekend, and we were parched from being outside so long, but it was a very fun weekend and I am glad Nick got to explore Houston a bit.  Hopefully in the upcoming weeks we can see even more of the big city we call home!

Pictures are as follows:

This mom and baby elephant danced the whole time we were there...they would stand and sway in unison like they were listening to some song we couldn't hear. 

This bird had a tiny baby bird in his mouth- he kept slamming the dead baby bird against the log he was sitting on, eventually splitting it open so he could get to its guts.  Definitely gross, but slightly fascinating and by far the most interesting this we watched while at the zoo...the animal kingdom in motion!

I was very disappointed that only one of the flamingos was standing on one leg.

Seeing how he "measures up".

A big Cheetah...Nick was fascinated by them!

Just be glad this isn't your name!!!

Nick, being a good sport, posing by the map we finally found.  Please notice the ice cream with sprinkles in his hand :)

Us at the Zoo!

This monkey was taking a bath in a hose that was pushed through the fence...it was kind of funny.  He would put his face right down in the water and make it spray all over.

Nick loved this bear who was happy to pose for everyone.

Nick trying to imitate the bear he liked so much.

A cougar...Nick and I felt a special bond with this one!

Last weekend, part 2

After the Space Center, we went down to the Kemah boardwalk to walk around and have some dinner.  The water looked very inviting after a long, hot day!  It was actually a really fun time because it was Nick's first time to see the Gulf!  We ran right next to the water for our half-marathon a few months ago, but we didn't get to see that much of the actual Gulf.  So it was fun to go walk along the boardwalk...we didn't play any games or ride on any of the carnival rides, but we did have a delicious dinner at Joe's Crab Shack and watch a performer juggle fire and such while kids ran through the splash pad to a live band.  It was kind of a wild night for us!

Last weekend, part 1

Houston, we have a problem.  No, not really. :)  

Of course Nicholas and I are dying to brag about our perfect new addition, but first I wanted to post pictures of last weekend or I may never get to it.

Since Nick and I both went in to his office and worked the Friday of the July 4th holiday, we took it off the next week and decided to see some of the sights.  First we headed off to the Johnson Space Center down by the coast.  We had fun looking around at the exhibits and artifacts, seeing some

cool footage, and even visiting a Saturn 5 rocket and Mission Control.  

The pictures are of  Nick pretending to float like the astronaut above him, us touching a moon rock, Nick wearing a space helmet,  the Saturn 5 rocket (over 30 stories when it is stood upright...these are the ones used in the Apollo missions), both of us on the tram taking a tour of NASA, Nicholas by the big engine things on the back of the Saturn 5 rocket, and me being "I Dream of Jeanie" by the space capsule above (does anyone else remember the intro to that show where she finds her "master" in one of those?)

Nick is 26 - Part II

For Nicholas's birthday, we stayed in and made dinner with each other...a favorite activity of ours.  I surprised Nick with a special cake for his big day...and we were so impressed with how it turned out that I took many pictures.  

It was a checkerboard cake (yellow and chocolate cake) with chocolate frosting and Skittles to make a 26 on top.  It sure was yummy!  I had just enough extra cake batter to make 4 cupcakes...so I frosted them and spelled "Nick" with Skittles.

Also, here is Nick in his new apron (for those of you who couldn't see it well in the other birthday pictures).

It was so fun to celebrate his birthday together!