Shoe Cookies

Michael baked some "shoe cookies." They were sugar cookies that were Disney Princess-themed, so Cinderella's slipper was on them. Michael saw them at the grocery store and really wanted to get them. You can see how proud he is to have them. He enjoyed putting the cookies on the sheet. But, most of all he liked eating them!

Laissez le Bon Temps Rouler

Southeast Texas Mardi Gras was last weekend.

The Museum is in downtown Port Arthur where Mardi Gras is held. Visitors could go through the museum to enter Mardi Gras, so we had a busy weekend. I had to work both Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday morning and afternoon were slow because of rain. The afternoon parade was canceled.

The scene from our house Saturday morning

But, Mardi Gras goes on. Once the rain cleared up a bit, things picked up. There was an evening parade, which I enjoyed with some co-workers. Floats were fun. Some of them:

And I got a neckload of beads. We were snatching beads, even from each other. It's bead greed. It takes over.  And I was stuffing beads into my front pocket too. It looked like I was pregnant. Bead baby.

Sunday, I worked again. I got off in time to meet up with Michael and David. We watched the final parade of Mardi Gras.

I think had Michael been born elsewhere, say...Omaha...he wouldn't have the word "beads" in his vocabulary. As is, he loves beads and had a lot of fun collecting them at the parade.

Started off slowly

Having fun while waiting for the parade

Quite a collection

Giant nunu

 Afterwards, we walked around Mardi Gras for awhile. They had a petting zoo. Welllllll.....Michael prefers looking at the animals over petting them.  The animals were precious though.

A little fuzzy because Michael was trying to climb as high as possible on Daddy

David is in the Spotlight

David was in the "Volunteer Spotlight" in the winter edition of the Museum of the Gulf Coast's newsletter. He helped with identifying NFL film clips for our sports gallery. 

You can download the newsletter here.

Two Stinkin' Cute Kids!

Another meet up with BFF James in Houston! A few weeks ago, Michael and I met up with Sarah and James at the Houston Children's Museum. The Museum is so big that we saw parts that we've never seen before!

As usual, the boys were happy to see each other and had a blast.

Afterwards, we went for a long lunch. Long because it was raining, and we were waiting for the heaviest downpour to let up a bit. Not that anyone minded too much! Too fun!

Carnaval! at the Museum

Carnaval! opened at the Museum of the Gulf Coast on January 28. It features pictures, costumes, musical instruments, and masks from Carnaval celebrations from around the world (including Mardi Gras).

We had a Family Fun Day, which I planned and worked. Along with crafts, we had performances by the dancers from the local Mexican Heritage Society and mini-Zumba lessons. Oh my goodness! Sooooo fun to watch...and of course, I had to join in the Zumba. (Some of the dancers from the Mexican Heritage Society joined too!)

And, best of all, David brought Michael to the Museum for awhile. He enjoyed the hands on elements of the exhibit.

Zoo Day

David, Michael, and I went to the Houston Zoo last week. Michael was so excited to see the animals! He sings, "Zoo, zoo." and "Animals, animals." We prepped him on what to expect at the zoo--elephants, tigers, bears, etc.

To top off zoo prep, Michael saw an episode of Dino Dan that took place at the zoo. I think Michael kind of thought that maybe, just maybe...but thank goodness, kiddo...this isn't Jurassic Park. But, I think the episode got him thinking about different features of dinosaurs compared to animals at the zoo. (For example, the elephant makes noise with its trunk, as the Parasaurolophus might have made with its crest.)

David also did prep work, looking at the map online and considering routes to see as much as we could.

We spent the day at the zoo, and I think MDC, Jr. and MDC3 were equally delighted. Michael and David liked to refer to the map to decide what to do. (Maps are another of Michael's favorite things.)

Some highlights:

The giraffes. One of the giraffes wasn't happy with another one and kept hitting the other with its neck. Even now, if you ask Michael what the giraffes were doing, he'll saying "hit."

Two cheetahs were grooming, and one was licking the other. Michael yelled at the cheetahs, "No, no!"

Michael would wave at the animals and talk to them. So sweet.

We got to pet a chinchilla. I pet a snake too, but Michael was a little shy for that one.

Michael loved crawling through the aquarium tunnel.

A carousel ride.

We brushed the goats in the petting zoo. Michael went to just about every goat and just tapped it once with the brush. Apparently, quantity over quality.

And Michael did get to see dinosaurs. The zoo has a "swap shop" where they had some pictures of dinosaurs and a few dinosaur fossils.

Michael's still talking about his fun day at the zoo!

The Goat Brush and Go