Pleasant Valley Sunday

NOTE This entry was made by Brian.

Spring Break started this weekend and we were blessed with near perfect weather.   It allowed us to enjoy some rewarding gardening /planting in our yard on Saturday.  On Sunday, I set out with the kids on an adventure and gave Joan some needed time off.

Houston really has a lot of interesting things to offer when you are looking for entertaining children.  Some of these things are unique – like the San Jacinto State Park in SE Houston, which is where I took the kids.

San Jacinto State Park sits on the battleground site where Texas won its independence (http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/san-jacinto-battleground).  We ran up all the steps and circled the tall monument that is quite similar to the Washington Monument and even has a reflecting pool.  Next time, we will take the elevator to the top.

San Jacinto State Park is also the spot where the USS Texas is proudly anchored.  This was our main draw for coming here.  The USS Texas is a dreadnought battleship that was commissioned in 1914 and served in both WWI and WWII.  It was the first battleship to become a permanent museum and national historic landmark (http://www.usstexasbb35.com/introduction.htm).

I enjoyed seeing this grand lady through the eyes of the kids.  They did not appreciate the history or significance yet, but they were amazed at the size and features of the ship.

They were ready to climb up or down any ladder and peer over the edge into the water below.  They enjoyed the “hands on” activaities such as the gun turrets and the displays throughout the decks.

We took the scenic route on the way there (through the ship channel refineries and plants) to the Independence Trail.  On the way back, our adventure continued on the Independence Trail, but up the portion that required us to cross water by way of a ferry boat.  It was the kid’s first ferry boat ride and we had a front row seat.  They could not fathom the idea at first but were wide-eyed as we took the five minute ride across the water.

Always Smiling

I had a very interesting conversation this week with a teacher at St. Rose who administered Catherine's pre-K assessment. She noted how Catherine's personality appears to be a bit more assertive than Logans and I was like um yeah clearly!  She also noted that Catherine had leadership skills.  I laughed and asked if that was the politically correct word for bossy.  I mean leadership skills at age 3, seriously, how are you going to measure that? As our conversation ended she commented how Logan and Catherine are always smiling from ear to ear.

I have been ruminating about this comment since she said it and the truth is my kids do smile all the time. They laugh so hard sometimes it makes Brian and I laugh because laughter is indeed contagious.  Since I am in the details and the every day sometimes I fail to see these giant grins.  Sometimes the grins are covered up by the mental pictures of screaming hysterics when they are fighting over bath toys.  And obviously I don't stop to take iPhone pics of the screaming scenes.

So this week I am learning a lesson from my kids: smile, get excited, stay excited, and seize the day.