Jeannie’s been wanting to take Thomas here for a while now. Thursdays are half-off for rides/games, so off we went! I knew it’d be crowded when I saw a lot of kids outside waiting to get in. Then I noticed all the school buses in the parking lot. Well, we get in no problem, and find a section with only one other family there. They have several different areas to sit in, one’s like a drive-in theatre (this one had a lot of kids), another was a family area (had some oldie shows playing), another was like a school gymnasium (had cartoons), and the place we sat was The Diner (like a 50’s diner, I guess they didn’t have many TVs in the 50s as I didn’t see any here). We decided to eat first, and hope that the crowds would die down by the time we were done. The first round of getting food was ok, but then it was a mad house. No biggie though, everyone had plenty of food. Then it was off to the activity area!
We started off in the small kiddie area, since no one else was using it at the time. Thomas went straight to the small merry-go-round.
Next he rode the train.
Catherine wanted to drive a car. You can see why babies need a car seat.
Not wanting to be outdone, Thomas wanted to ride a car too (he tried to get in the driver’s seat, but they wouldn’t let him).
Once we were done playing, we went to redeem our tickets. I tried to get Thomas to choose between a green and a blue toy race car. He just put one in each hand and that was that. We had to choose the rest of his toys for him. It was nearly 4PM by the time we were done, so we decided to go ahead and eat an early supper. Thomas didn’t eat anything, he just zoomed his toy cars around the floor while watching Sponge Bob. Jeannie and I had a little to eat, and it wasn’t long before I regretted having an early supper. Once we left and were on the road, Thomas was out like a light. Yet another exciting day.
Yup, another trip to the zoo. We’ve been able to avoid the gift shop every single time, until now. Catherine found a toy she wanted:
And Thomas found one he wanted.
You just know he’s up to no good.
Thomas insisted I take his picture here.
Thomas in the water park.
It’s not a water fountain! You don’t know what’s been in that water!
Ok, maybe you do….
Catherine gets in on the action.
Thomas after a long day at the zoo.
Here’s pics from another outing to Memorial City Mall. Catherine played in the play area this time. Here she is climbing up a dragon’s tail.
Here’s Jeannie running on the kiddie bridge. She claims she was just keeping an eye on Thomas. I think she just used him as an excuse to play in the kiddie area.
We ended the day with Thomas on the Merry-Go-Round. He went twice, and was pretty upset when he had to leave.
Jeannie found a weirdly-named restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes. In some areas it’s called Souplantation. Anyways, basically they serve lots of salad and soup (they also have some other things like baked potatoes, pasta, breads, as well as a frozen yogurt machine with all the fixings). I was able to find a 2-for-1 coupon (with purchase of two drinks), making it under $14 with tax for the whole family (kids 2 and under eat free). We’ve been during lunch once, and Sunday brunch twice (they still have the huge salad bar during brunch, but the side areas have breakfast items like waffles, egg pizza, breakfast burritos, muffins, etc.).
As usual, the ice cream gets Thomas’s seal of approval (don’t tell him it’s actually yogurt!).
In the past week or so I’ve taken Thomas to the zoo and back to the Space Center. We went on the tram tour and were able to see part of the Johnson Space Center. We saw what I think was a mockup of the control center (maybe it used to be the official one, or it was made just to be looked at by visitors, I don’t know). Had to leave the room soon after we arrived due to Thomas not wanting to sit still and be quiet. He made friends with the tram driver named Amber. He kept touching her legs and even sat in her lap. I really thought I had another ten or so years before he started hitting on girls. Afterward we were dropped off at an outdoor area with some rockets on display. They had a big building that had an actual Saturn V rocket inside. Thomas really enjoyed his trip to the Space Center again, and even sat through a short movie about space exploration (there were lots of rockets blasting off, he loves those parts).
Jeannie’s been working quite a bit, but we’ve still managed to go out and do some activities together. Went back to Lupe Tortilla (the one with the nice outdoor sand area for kids). Everyone enjoyed it except Jeannie, and her only complaint were the mosquitoes (they love her, but hardly bother the rest of us). We did try a couple new restaurants. The Black-eye Pea has ok food, but the black-eyed peas didn’t taste that great too me (too fancy I guess). Aunt Bea’s Restaurant was like the small home-town restaurants we’re used to back home, their black-eyed peas were ok (as was the rest of the food). We also got in on the free KFC meals before the riots started everywhere (cashier wasn’t even sure what to do with the coupon, and no one else in line had any).
Jeannie has also received the official contract to start in Anchorage, Alaska on June 22nd. They finally worked out that she could start on an off-orientation week, but not before she went ahead and extended a week at her current assignment here in Houston, TX. We compromised and said she could start June 18th. That still gives us time to spend at home, have Thomas’s birthday party, and well over a week to get there. We won’t be taking the RV though. It’ll be parked at Dad’s, where my sister and two youngest brothers will get to play in it, watch TV, and take care of our three cats. At least the RV still has its benefits (we can’t get anyone to take care of our cats back home, but we can take the RV to someone who can).
I promise to take more pictures of everyone soon. In the meantime, please enjoy this picture of Thomas helping Grandpa work on the RV (they’re working in the area where the bunk beds are now).
