HMNS with Max

It has been a long summer for Finley and Max so far.  Finley misses her best friend so very much and the feeling is mutual.  So both kids were so excited to see each other when I picked Max up from school on a day he had early dismissal.  It was near impossible to grab pictures of the two of them, they were constantly on the move.  And the random hugging just melted my heart.  It seemed as if every five minutes they were embracing each other.  Max's favorite part of the museum was the Mayan temple, just like Finley's.  He liked it so much, we visited twice that afternoon.  The both loved the new Paleontology Hall and of course the "lion eating the zebra."

Gymnastics Camp

Instead of doing summer gymnastics class this year, we decided that Finley would attend gymnastics camp at HGA for two weeks this summer.  Her first week was this week and she loved it.  She is still asking to go back to gymnastics camp.  I think the main reason is the jumpy house.  Finley started at HGA last summer and was always wanting to go in the jumpy house like the campers were, but her class only got to go in a couple times over the summer.  So this year, I promised her that she would get to jump.  I enrolled her in the half day camp, since I knew she would not make it until 3 o'clock with the full day campers.  I was very nervous about her going to camp.  She was going to be one of the younger kids and she was used to me watching her do gymnastics in class.  She picked out a new lunchbox for camp (Mickey Mouse at Old Navy for three bucks!) and I got her a new leotard.  I explained that she would be at camp without me and she seemed okay with it.  My biggest concern was her getting her leotard on and off for potty breaks.  When I picked her up on Monday, she was so excited.  She kept telling me that the jumpy house was "crazy!"  She had so much fun.  Today was the last day and they had pizza for lunch and got their faces painted.  She did not want to take off the butterfly from her face, she was so proud.  Her next camp isn't until August, so I hope she stays this excited to go back.

Happy Birthday, Bella!

It was Bella's third birthday and she had an amazing party at Wonderwild. Unlike most parties we have been to there, we were able to play at our leisure, use the party room and play some more. It made it so much easier to be able to return to the play area after pizza and then again after cake. Finley was so excited to be reunited with her best friend Max for the party. Happy birthday, Bella!

Back to HMNS

This weekend we went back to the Houston Museum of Natural Science to explore the new Paleontology Hall more. As per usual, it was so hard to get Finley to smile and pose for a picture. And the one picture I got, Clifton has a strange look on his face. Ah well. We also saw the exhibit where the Terra Cotta Warriors were on display. Finley was most fascinated by the bowls and dishes, she was so curious as to what each one held. We also saw my sorority sister (and fellow Junior Leaguer) Kristen working the touch carts at the museum. Finley loved playing with all the instruments she had on display.

Happy Father's Day and Happy Birthday

Today was a big holiday in our house, both Father's Day and my birthday.  Finley had made Clifton a mug for Father's Day and we got him Apple TV.  Too bad I didn't realize that it needed an HDMI cable, so off we went to Best Buy.  Turns out, Amazon has a way better price (shocker!) so we will have to wait a couple days for the magic of Apple TV to enter our home.  For my birthday, Finley and Clifton got me a trip to the brand new Cars Land in Disney's California Adventure.  Finley was so excited to tell me about all the rides I would be enjoying there.  We had a delicious dinner at Pappadeaux and the bribe for being good during dinner was throwing pennies in the fountain, which is a carry over from the Louvre...and I promise I will get to those pictures this week.  Finley has gymnastics camp this week, so I will have some time to go through them.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day.

Birdies!

In school, Finley made a bird feeder and a set of binoculars from toilet paper rolls.  They have been some of her most favorite school crafts that she has worked on all year long.  She still talks about feeding the birds.  So today, we decided to make a new feeder.  I coated the empty roll in peanut butter and let her roll away. She had so much fun making it.

Parents of the Year

Even though there were no boats in Luxembourg Gardens, there was an amazing children's park with an awesome zip line for kids.  Finley rode it at least 20 times.  And the one time I caught it on video...

School's Out for Summer

Finley's last day of school was only a half day. Her class had a pizza party and also had cupcakes to celebrate Rohan's birthday. Finley has so loved her teachers, friends and school. I did a little interview with her:
Who were your teachers?
Miss Sydney and Miss Juliana
Where did you go to school?
Kids Day Out
What was your favorite thing to do in school?
go on the playground
What was the favorite thing you made in school?
Olympics flag
What do you want to be when you grow up?
lizard
Who is your best friend at school?
Max

Hall of Paleontology

The day before we left for Paris (and Finley's last day of school,) was also the opening day for members for the Hall of Paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. After her school party, we headed over to the museum to check out all the amazing fossils. I expected great things, but this exhibit was so far beyond what I imagined it would be. Finley was in awe of all the dinosaur bones. The exhibit isn't even totally complete yet, the docents said more interactive exhibits are still being installed for the official grand opening. We can't wait to return to see it. If you get a chance to visit, do so. It is a great summertime activity (as in good for kids and air conditioned.) If you do check out the exhibit, ring us before you go, it is walking distance from our house, so I am sure we could meet up.

Eiffel Tower

It took two hours in line...but we made it to the top!