A Trip Down Memory Lane

We arrived in Maryland yesterday for my cousin Michael's wedding.  Finley had a fantastic flight here, with Grammy entertaining her the whole way while Grandad and I got good naps in.  The landing was a bit crazy since we landed in a thunderstorm. 

Today we headed over with Mrs. Perry to the Annapolis Mall, one of my favorite spots as a kid.  The area near Hecht's (now Macy's) had a big fountain with steps all around.  The fountain has moved and there is now a bridge and a much smaller grouping of steps.  I remember running all around the fountain as a kid, my favorite part was running across the metal service panel because it made the loudest noise.  Finley was equally happy running up and down the ramp.

Grammy and Grandad went to Uncle Chuck's and Aunt Mary's for dinner, so Finley and I were on our own. Which meant we were heading to another childhood favorite spot of mine, Friendly's, to get Fishamajigs and ice cream sundaes. I decided to drive by the old K-Mart by Friendly's to see if the small carousel was still there, it is. So we parked so Finley could grab a ride, like I had so many times as a kid.


After that, we headed down to Friendly's for dinner and a Conehead sundae, in pink of course. Yum!

Aprons and Frogs

Finley insisted on dressing in her apron and having her frog friend dress in their apron.  Later she dressed Penny the Penguin in an oven mitt.

It's Circus Time!

Finley and her daddy went to the Circus yesterday. It wasn't the first time they have attended the circus. The first year they went twice (one and two), she came home a huge fan of clowns and elephants. Last year she only went once and like the motorcycles the best. Finley has been super into bracelets since her cousins Zac and Josh made her a selection out of duct tape. She said she wanted a bracelet from the circus and they were handing them out for free, score! Until she dropped it in the toilet...whoops. She said they should have gotten more and will get more next time they go (next year!)

Children's Museum

Today Clifton had a eye doctor appointment, so Finley and I headed to the Children's Museum to take advantage of the early member morning. Finley wanted to go to Kidtropolis first and then we went to check out mini-Kidtropolis in the Mexico section, but we were surprised to see it is now Gullah-fied. Luckily, it still has the market and kitchen, so Finley was just as happy. After that we made a straw horn and some ice cream crafts. The highlight of the visit was that Finley asked to go into an area we had never been before, the Parents' Resource Library. I had no idea there were childrens' books there and that we could check them out. We checked out a book about the circus since Finley is going tomorrow.

July 4th Party

On July 4th we went over to Joe's house for a party.  There were burgers and hot dogs, so Finley was thrilled.  More importantly, Max was there, so Finley was doubly thrilled.  After lots and lots of playing, Finley ate (inhaled!) a slice of Miss Shannon's amazing cake.  We all headed outside to watch the boys set off fireworks to celebrate the 4th.  We didn't make it home until 10:30 pm and Finley was still awake.  She had so much fun.  She keeps asking me when she will be old enough for "sprinklers" (sparklers!)  Maybe next year Finley, maybe next year....

Crabs!

We finally got it together and had crabs down at Grammy and Grandads this week.  Finley napped through most of the eating, but she was a good helper in getting the crabs in the pot. Finley has been around crabs since she was a wee baby, but she still isn't a huge fan. I got her to eat a bite of crab cake tonight, but that was it. Let's look back at baby Finley...crab feast and crab feast.

Happy 4th of July!

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!

Paris: Notre Dame and Jardins du Luxembourg

Today was actually our first full day in Paris and we didn't want to overdo it. The plan was Notre Dame and Jardins dy Luxembourg. We stared with Notred Dame, where Finley was in no mood to be photographed and took off running whenever we tried to. Once we got inside, she knew she had to be silent. She wasn't impressed with the stained glass windows or the flying buttresses or any of the statues. She loved the offering candles. At each section, she had to go over and see them more closely. I was so worried she would try and blow them out. About one third of the way in, I heard what I have feared all trip, "mommy, I have to go potty." We got out of Notre Dame as quickly as we could and went off in search of bathrooms. She was promised pink ice cream if she could hold it. Luckily, Old McDonalds came to the rescue. There was one just a few blocks away. The bathroom had a passcode you got from a receipt, but we just followed a guy in. Thank goodness!
We were already en route to Jardins du Luxembourg, so we decided to continue that way. I wanted Finley to get a sailboat to push around in the fountain and to be able to play in the private play park. We got the closest thing to pink ice cream we could find to enjoy in the park. As we approached the fountain, I didn't see a sailboat in sight. Or anywhere to get one. The most recent information I have found was from last year, so I am not sure why there were no boats today. I was very disappointed and I worried the park would be a bust. Then we found the play area. You have to pay to get in, but it was worth every penny. Finley had an absolute blast running all over the park and playing on all the equipment. Her most favorite was the zip line swings. She fell off her second time, but it didn't phase her a bit. I cannot count the number of times she went on it. Clifton and I think Grandma needs to install one on the ranch. After hours of play, we toured the park a bit, then made our way back to Notre Dame to finish our tour, with a break in between for a snack. Finley chose a chocolate eclair and decided she only liked the filling, so she ate that with a spoon.

After Notre Dame. we headed to the Left Bank to eat at our favorite restaurant here, Le Petit Pontoise. Since we had last dined there five years ago, they have taken over the restaurant next door to become Le Petit Pontoise and Le Petit Pontoise Aussi. Both were still closed when we got there at 6 pm, so we decided to walk down St. Germain and explore the neighborhood. We walked by again at 6:30 pm and ran into the owner. She said they wouldn't serve until 7 pm, but we were welcome to come inside and sit. We told her we would just walk around a bit more and return at 7 pm.

We crossed back over to Notre Dame, this time taking a bridge covered in locks. The story goes that a couple gets a lock, write their name on it and throws the key into the Seine. There were countless locks, many decorated, and there was a handy street vendor you could buy a lock from. Finley said she wanted to bring a lock next time we visit for her and Bear Friend. Awww....We found a neat little park behind Notre Dame and played there until 7 pm. We headed back for dinner where two couples complimented Finley on her behavior. It was a full time effort to entertain her the whole time (lots of talking about the upcoming picnic with Max to see The Little Mermaid and lots of reading a French book she has,) but she made it through the two hour dinner without incident. She dined on cheese ravioli and lamb, with more ice cream for dessert. Tomorrow is Sacre Couer, Arche de Triumphe and trying to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Wish us luck!