It Wasn't The Worlds Biggest Ball of Twine.....But

Well, it wasn't the worlds biggest ball of twine.....but Spring Break at home had plenty of exciting things in store for the Malouseks this year. We stayed close to home ..again. Todd and I have a philosophy about how much money we spend depends on their memory capability....when Todd and I were young, we both had trips or vacations we went on with our families, but were too young to remember much abou them. So, we decided to put off spending the big bucks until both the kids are old enough to remember all the excitement.

We started off the week with a couple playdates for each child on Monday. It kept me very busy - especially Carter's play date. Daddy took vacation on Tuesday and Wednesday. Yeah for daddy and his vacation days!! Tuesday we went to the downtown Aquarium. Kelsey was really interested in the inside exhibits. She got a big kick out of watching a giant octopus suck up a huge bucket full of fish. It was very strange looking..to say the least. Carter, in his words, "was a little worried" about ALL the exhibits. He clung very close to Daddy while pulling him quickly through each dark room. Then we came to the touch and explore exhibit where they had the opportunity to touch many sea creatures. This was Kelseys favorite part

While she chose not to touch the stingray, she was very excited to touch the starfish, horseshoe crabs, corals, and giant hermit crabs. Carter...not so much. His only interest were the drains in each water pool. I'm not sure, but we never even got an answer out of him if he saw any of the creatures or not.
After we made it through the exhibits, we had lunch at the restaurant. This was a big hit since we were able to sit right next to the giant aquarium. Then on to the train and carousel. Great weather, crowd was not too bad. All in all it was a great Day #2.

On to Wednesday - we started off the morning letting the kids pick a place for breakfast. They picked Denny's....of course. Again, neither Todd's nor my favorite place to eat, but we did let them pick. I cringe every time they say the word. One never knows how clean, how dirty, or how greasy it is going to be, but they absolutely love Denny's. Then on to Lowe's to pick up a few light bulbs and air filters and of course a few plants. Kelsey especially loves to pick out her own plant and plant it in our flower beds. Next, finally, the big event of the day....time for Kelsey and Carters' 6 month dental appointments. I don't know about others, but our kids love going to the dentist. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they get a toy, or the really cool sunglasses they get to wear. They both were champs. NO CAVITIES!!!Woohoo! ....yet. This trip to the dentist was extremely important for Todd and I - this set of X-rays confirmed we will need to start a special tooth fairy fund since they are both going to need extensive dental work as they grow older. Super! Hey, at least they both are blissfully unaware of the true meaning of no pain, no gain - right now.

To celebrate their great checkup, we did the famous Chick-fil-A drive through and went to a nearby county park. We had never been to this park tucked back off a county road, but were so glad we took the time to go stop. It had an incredible playscape - and it was shaded. The kids ran, climbed, bounced, slid and swung - they had a blast. We soon headed for home, with two tuckered out kids.

Thursday, Todd went back to work so we met up with friends at Ruckus Room. Every time I had asked the kids what they wanted to do this week, their first answer was always the same, go to a bouncy house. Ugh. Not my favorite, been to a million, wanted something a little more exciting. But, since the fog had been very dense this morning, we decided we might as well. So much fun for them. They ran and bounced and laughed and snacked and ran and slid, and bounced and ...you get the picture. They worked up such an appetite, after a couple hours the grown ups used this excuse for a change in scenery. By this time, the fog burned off so we headed over to Clay's for hamburgers and some outdoor excitement in the sandbox and petting the horses, calves, goats, donkeys, and chickens. By the time we got home, they were exhausted and slept for 3 hours. Woohoo for Mommy. I was tired too. Friday was planned around the house. We did go run some errands in the morning. one of them being to get Carter mop, ahhemm, I mean hair, cut. Upon returning home I was all prepared to get some laundry and housework finished that I had put off all week. I wanted to get it done before lunch since Carter had another playdate scheduled for afternoon. We had a unexpected fvisitor, but a very pleasant one, interrupt my plan. Not that I was complaining. Two grownups and 4 kids, all the kids ran and screamed and danced and got crazy. I made them all lunch and then they played some more before our friends had to head outand it was time for a nap. Whew. Would I always have to run them this hard to get them to take a nap? After their nap, we headed over across the street for Carter's playdate. Not realizing the time, Todd had already come home form work and joined us. We ordered pizza, let them run around some more, etc.. It was a late night for the munchkins - but super fun.

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Saturday, we woke up early, not like that is any different, made a backpack filled with snacks, drinks and camera and headed out to Zube Park to ride the opening day of the local Houston Steamers steam engine train ride. We only stood in line about 45 minutes. Not bad! Watching Carter watch all the trains is fun. He is just mesmerized! We saw several friends and classmates while waiting in line. The kids love it and get so excited when they see someone unexpected in an unexpected place. So funny. Finally it was our turn. Yeahhh,


We soon headed out to God's country...where the cows are happy, the hills are pretty and the ice cream is yummy! Brenham, Texas. It has become a tradition for us to eat at the Brenham airport restaurant, The Southern Flyer, every time we head up there. Yummy food. Afterwards, we sit out front and watch all the little planes and jets fly in and land. Then we walked around to get up close and personal with the planes and thier pilots. carter was very fond of the planes with 3 blade propellers as opposed to the ones with only 2. Kelsey and I really liked the one with only two tiny seats in them.
On this particular day, there was also a Ford Model T collectors association there displaying all their cars. So cool! The kids had a blast walking up to the planes and checking out the old cars. Carter said this day was his most fun ever. Trains, plains and cars. What else could a boy ask for? Way cool. then of course, we finished up the day with a pit stop to frolic through the Texas Bluebonnets. Took a few pictures and headed back. Like I said, it was not as grandiose as going on the adventure to see the worlds largest ball of twine, but it was very memorable and sure was fun!! Now, I can get back to the laundry.