Once upon a time, we lived in Houston.
Now… we don’t.
I never knew how much living in the country would change me. But it has.
I used to be able to fly in airplanes and drive in rush hour traffic without missing a beat. Now, I have issues. Serious issues.
As we approached the security gate, anxiety welled up within me. But I was still o.k. For some reason I couldn’t get ANYONE to take my unopened bottle of water before proceeding to the gate. It never occurred to me that I would be a threat… but I’d forgotten about airport security policies. Minor details. Thankfully, I was not arrested for trying to get a total stranger to take my bottle of water. But I was, however, a slight embarrassment to my husband.
At the security gate I almost had a complete melt-down, despite the fact that it really was not crowded at all. But we had about 10 carry-on items with us (and with three boys and a loony wife, I was glad that Gary was so used to going through airport security). And as the people behind us went into auto-pilot mode, I could not keep up. The travelers behind us were practically running over me. And I STILL HADN’T TAKEN OFF MY SHOES!!!! Then Levi thought it would be funny to run off in the opposite direction. Maybe he was intimidated by the security gate, too.
Stephen’s math wrap-ups posed a threat, and they had to examine his bag to make sure it wasn’t loaded with any weapons. I admit it, those wrap-ups can look pretty threatening.
I have this coping mechanism. I try to find the humor in the midst of a situation, which usually causes me to act a little bi-polar. So, when Gary saw the anxiety spilling out onto my face and asked if I was okay, I cried, “I’m just feeling so much anxiety right now, but… at least we didn’t bring the chickens.” (This was in reference to a funny Tim Hawkins video clip on air travel…)
And so began our trip from backwoods country life into Houston, city bumbling and rumbling with all things technology and… traffic.
I thought it was totally cool that our room overlooked the office buildings where I used to work in West Houston (in the distance in the photo). What are the chances?
Definitely a different view from what we normally see out our windows:
On Sunday night, I planned our week:
Monday – Houston Zoo
Tuesday – Health Museum & Children’s Museum
Wednesday – Drive 50 miles across Houston to go to our former church
Thursday – Museum of Fine Arts (heh.)
Friday – Downtown Aquarium
Saturday – The Alamo
The Zoo
On Monday, we spent about 20 minutes at the zoo before David first asked, “Can we go now? It’s SO hot!” (It was NOT hot. But maybe the transition from cool Autumn air to… Houston.. was just too much for him. Nevermind the boys were complaining it was too COLD just a few days before.)
Levi wanted to climb all of the fences. I’m not sure he really saw any of the animals.
But at least he and David enjoyed petting the goats. We’ve been thinking about getting goats, but after the great guinea gaffe, I’m not sure I’ll every be ready.
The biggest highlight for all of them was the water fountain.
We sort of raced through the zoo at lightning speed, that is until we reached the “excabanger” (aka, an excavator).
Of all the exotic animals at the zoo, Levi wanted to stop and watch the excavator, which was off by itself in a barricaded area. And then he got mad at me when I didn’t let him “ride the excabanger.” And so, with a 2-year-old screaming at the top of his lungs, we exited the zoo just 1 hour after we’d arrived. Thank goodness there were no tractors!
The next day, we had normal visits to the health and children’s museums…
The Health Museum
We walked through a humongous human body at the Health Museum. First, we walk through the mouth to get to the esophagus…
David places the liver back into the upper abdomen.
Stephen sees how is skeletal system works when he rides his bicycle.
Levi plays a skeletal system game inside the rib cage.
I’m thinking I need to get one of these things:
Stephen and David never force themselves to relax like this under normal circumstances. (Note to self: Install a Mindball game in every room of our home.)
The Children’s Museum
It was great to return to the kids’ favorite museum of-all-time. The Children’s Museum of Houston is the best we’ve ever explored. In Kidtropolis, David naturally gravitated to the restaurant to “cook” and “serve” us some meals.
…while Stephen and Levi enjoyed working as paramedics.
Levi would have stayed here all day poking the mannequin.
Their favorite part of this place is Flow Works.
Here’s where we skip forward to the delightful experience of taking a two-year-old to a Museum of Fine Arts. (I’m not sure how well thought-out this plan was…)
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston is really big. It was actually about ten times larger than I expected. Not only that, but there are also some really ritzy people that go to Fine Arts museums. We arrived in our t-shirts and jeans (Faux Pas number one). Before we even set foot into the museum we were already getting in trouble.
Evidently, the Anubis was not stable enough for the boys to sit on the base of the statue for a quick Kodak moment. The security guard started hollering at us waving her hands. So, we nervously approached the museum entrance…
I really had grandiose visions of taking the boys through the museum as they recognized works by famous artists we’ve studied like Rembrandt or Monet. I envisioned pointing out the techniques used, or discussing the differences between American Art and European Art, or even taking advantage of the Free Sketch Thursday event. But…
David started asking if we were done yet before we saw ANYTHING. We constantly told the kids to not. touch. anything. The security guards just kept shaking their heads as we passed them. I was so nervous having to pass hundreds of security guards. After all, I just wanted to see some purty pictures.
I was trying desperately to find the one area of the 5-building museum where we could take photos. After passing through the tunnel into the next building where photos were legal, we found a painting that showed perspective, so I took advantage of the opportunity.
It went something like this:
You see that use of perspective there, boys? Can you figure out where the vanishing point is? Great. Stand beside it. Wait! Where did David go? Oh, well, Stephen, get over there so we can capture this great memory. Okay, good. Now let’s go.
The picture turned out blurry.
Meanwhile, Levi was wailing at the top of his lungs, which meant we had to go BACK THROUGH the tunnel connecting the two main buildings as Levi’s voice reverberated through the walls of the entire museum.
We never found the American Art Gallery.
When we got home, Levi sighed, “I liked the pictures of the museum.” Really. Most of the time he makes me laugh. But this time, he made me twitch.
Some things I learned during this visit:
- Make sure your two-year-old finishes his nap BEFORE you walk into a fine arts museum.
- Wear something more sophisticated than jeans, t-shirts, and flip-flops.
- Little boys must have pockets on their pants so that they have a place to put their hands.
- Well, maybe it’d be better to hire a babysitter for that two-year-old…
Though unexpected, it was disappointing that we would miss the King Tut exhibit by ONE DAY. But it prompted us to research King Tut. So, it was not all in vain. And, we’ve conquered our first trip to a fine arts museum. Next time will be that much easier. Right?
We won’t say much about the Downtown Aquarium except that the kids absolutely love that place. Oh, and although it took some coaxing to get Levi to pet the crabs and the stingrays, he was fine with petting the rocks.
Somehow we were also able to get our first family caricature portrait during our visit to the Aquarium, though the artist was a little annoyed with us for “moving around too much.” Maybe that’s why it doesn’t look much like us.
And the Alamo? It was really, really cool. But we’re leaving that one for another post…