Texas Summer Trip Part 3

After the visit with Pops, we drove back to Houston to finish up our Texas trip for the summer.   The evening we returned, we went with Gigi to see the Sugar Land Skeeter's play in Constellation Field, and ironic enough, they were playing the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, whose home field is just 45 minutes from us in Maryland.   Constellation field is a wonderfully family friendly and fun park!  There is a splash pad, a huge playground, bounce houses, a carousel, and so much more!  The kids did great and in letting us watch half of the game before we the playing started.

 

 

 And the fun didn't stop there!!! The next day we hit Kemah for even more fun!!!  Good food, fun in the sun, lots of rides and so many giggles!!!  And most importantly, Gigi and Nico finally got to ride the Ferris Wheel together!  

 

Our last day in Houston before we head back up north we had big plans....Gigi bought tickets for the all of us to see the Broadway musical of Little Mermaid!!!  I am pretty sure I must have been the most excited out of all of us!  So to get ready, Natalee had her finger and toe nails painted for the first time, new shoes found to match the Ariel costume dress we came across!!  Natalee completely looked the part.  Before the show, we had dinner at Birraporrettis, which is a tradition I had with my dad. He always had season tickets to the Broadway series in Houston and we would always go to Birraporettis either before or after the shows.  Overall, during the show, Natalee did well. Although, other might not have thought so.  I brought her IPad to try to help her in case she got fussy, but we were asked to turn it off.  Of course, as soon as we took it away from her, she began wailing. That did not go well. So we moved seats, to some that were more isolated and gave her back the iPad.  From this point forward, again, we thought she did wonderfully! However, there apparently were some others who did not appreciate Natalee saying "Mermaid" when Ariel would come out on to the stage.  I guess some people who expect perfection should not come to a performance of a Disney children's story. I am 100% sure that this is the first of many Broadway musicals Nico and Natalee will be attending.

Texas Summer Trip Part 2

The morning after the Astros game, the kids and I drove down to RGV to visit Pops and celebrate his birthday with him!!! We had a great few days together while we were down there. 

One of the advantages of Pops' backyard is that it is a haven for taking pics of the kids!  However, this time around, we did have to fight off some off mosquitos.

 

 One diamond in the rough in the RGV is the Brownsville Children's Museum.  It is a great place for the kids to run around, use their imagination and have fun.  It is not overwhelmingly big to scare over protective Mommas like myself, but the perfect size for the kids to play and you can keep your eyes on them. 

Everyone was tired after the Children's Museum, but we certainly needed some DQ ice-cream...something we don't have in Maryland!  And while we were there, Natalee got her first ice cream cone!

 

The next day, while Pops went to work, the kids and I drove over to South Padre Island for a little beach time!  I LOVE South Padre.  The blue waters, smell of the salt water and the sounds of the waves rushing up on the sand....this is a real beach. I did have to warn the kids that this is different from what we go to in Maryland...there are waves that are potentially dangerous if you are not careful and you can not just go far out into the water because it does get deep especially when those waves rush over you.  Natalee mostly stayed out of the water, running up on the sand away from the waves, but she had a great time. Nico, on other hand was determined to beat up on the waves and seems to have no fear!  Thankfully, he was still cautious.  After spending a few hours on beach, we had a great lunch at one of my favorite restaurants on the island, Black Beards.

 

Overall, we had a very nice time visiting with our sweet Pops!!! The kids miss him already and we can't wait to see him again in September.