Spring has Sprung in Houston!

The azaleas and dogwoods are at their peak in East Texas! To celebrate, we headed over to the azalea trail after church last Sunday. The trail is put on by the River Oaks garden club and showcases beautiful homes and gardens around the city. We chose to tour Bayou Bend, the former home of Ima Hogg, daughter of Texas Governor Hogg. The home is surrounded by beautiful azalea, hydrangea, and tulip gardens, as well as dogwood trees and the natural beauty of the soothing bayou waters. I had lots of fun running on the greens and down the paths while Mom and Dad snapped photos. The rodeo is still rocking here as well, and Mom and I have had a lot of fun riding the light rail over to enjoy the festivities. It's hard to describe everything that goes on at the world's largest rodeo. Mom's favorite part is "window shopping" all the jewelry and western wear shops. My favorite is all the great agrigultural events for the kids--like going through a typical day as a farmer. I got to milk a cow, plant some veggies, feed the chickens and gather eggs . . .then take all my goods to the farmers market where I exchanged them for money to use at the general store! There are many other activities in addition to watching all the livestock and, of course, the carnival rides. I talked Mom into going down the gigantic slide with me yesterday--she screamed all the way down! We've had fun seeing my cousin Audrey show some animals, too. She and her parents are staying with us, although we rarely see them. Preparing livestock for a show, we've learned, is very demanding. They leave around 5:30 am and don't return until around midnight. Audrey has been sleeping in my room, but I have yet to even see her in there! We're hoping they make the big sale on Saturday with either their steer or goat, so keep your fingers crossed! Last night was a special treat. Mom's attorney friend called to say she had 4 tickets to the actual rodeo and show to give away! Dad was out of town, so we called our friends Mrs. Stephanie and Patrick. They live really close to us, and Patrick's dad travels a lot too, so we often hang out with them in the evenings. They were more than excited to join us, so we headed out to see the cowboys. Turns out, the tickets were on the CLUB LEVEL, complete with parking right next to the door! Patrick and I watched it all with our mouths hung open, from the barrel racing to the bronc and bull riding, and finally the chuck wagon races, we loved it all! Unfortunately, Reba took too long getting set up after the rodeo, and Patrick and I were getting tired. We decided to call it a night and head home. I'm looking forward to showing Dad around the rodeo this weekend and getting him on all the crazy carnival rides!

Posing on the Azalea Trail

Azalea Trail

Rodeo Days

Don't Cry for Me Argentina--We have a New Driveway!

So this week was full of celebration. First, Mom and Dad finally decided to give the go ahead on replacing our ruts and bumps out front with a new, white, smooth slab of concrete. I must admit, the old driveway provided quite a fun, challenging track on the big wheel, especially when pools of water formed after a rain. But the new drive is a much better foundation for cruising in and out on "Major Trouble," my big boy bike, as well as our tandem. It was definitely cause for celebration, so much so that I carved my name and date in the side! We also celebrated the Children of the World Fair at my school this week. Each year, the school chooses 5 countries, and each one is honored during the week. The kids get to learn and experience the cultures, food, language and customs through presentations put on by the volunteers. Mom served on the Argentina committee. We were all greeted on Tuesday with traditional Argentine music and Tango dancers outside the school. We learned about gauchos, the Argentine equivalent of the American cowboy. We also panned for silver and dug for dinosaur bones. Did you know that Argentinian paleontologists recently found the bones of a meat eating dinosaur larger than T REX??--and naturally they named it . . .Argentosauras!! They best part of the presentation for me, however, was the tasting of Dulce de Lece--I could definitely live in Argentina for that!

A Little Concrete

A day in Argentina

It's Rodeo Time!

Well partner, this Friday the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo begins. There's lots of celebratin' goin' on round here, seein' as to how we live so close to the Astrodome and Reliant park where the festivities git on. Today, my school celebrated with rodeo day, complete with a petting zoo and a hay bale and saddle to ride! We all dressed in our western best and had a ropin' good time. I even got to wear my western belt with the stamped JACK on the back--Aunt Sue and Uncle Othel had it made for me a couple of years ago--everyone was very impressed. Seein' as to how I didn't have any cowboy boots, Mom and I decided that my Lightening McQueen rubber rain boots would work just fine. I realized, however, when I got to school, that I really needed some REAL cowboy boots to put the finishing touches on my western ensemble. I addressed this need with Mom when she picked me up, and since I was a good boy today, Mom took me to get some. They're REAL black cowboy boots with green threading--so cool. I can't wait to wear them to the rodeo--we're planning on going several times since it's just right around the corner from our house. I can't wait!

Ready to Rodeo

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you got lots of valentines this year--I sure did! I had my Valentine's party at my school on Thursday. My classmates and I had all decorated bags to hold our valentines we exchanged with each other. I gave everyone a Shrek valentine that Grandma Pat and Papa had sent me in my Valentine care package. They were really cool, and I even signed my own name with a little help from Mom. I'm getting better and better writing my letters--it helps when you have to write your name 15 times! The teachers asked us to distribute our valentines all by ourselves, too. It was very challenging to match the name on the bag to each valentine, but I did it! We had tons of fun at the party decorating cupcakes and playing balloon games. This weekend, we had fun celebrating at home, as well, eating lots of chocolate and cooking a wonderful meal from Central Market. While we were grocery shopping, we stopped to have lunch at the grill outside and listen to the live Zydeco band. I was introduced to one of Mom's favorite songs for the first time--"Don't Mess with my Toot Toot"! It was a lot of fun dancing and watching all the interesting instruments the band used. Hope you had a wonderful Heart Day too!

Cupcakes

Party Games

Joe's Party

This weekend, Mom and Dad got to see all their old friends from their previous time in Houston 10 years ago. The reason for the reunion was Joe's 40th birthday! The bash was held in his hometown of Moulton, TX. With a population under 500, the party goers practically brought the town out of recession by completely filling its one and only guest accommodation, a bed and breakfast! Mom and Dad has lots of fun at Moulton's American Legion Hall where everyone danced to the music of a great local band and dined on fajitas cooked out back by Joe's brothers. The whole gang was there, including Andy and his German girlfriend Simona who together had flown in from Europe for the big event. The next morning, Mom and Dad were able to visit more with their friends over a wonderful breakfast prepared by the charming B&B owners--the wife also doubles as the town's mayor! On their way home, Mom and Dad stopped to see a historical landmark of the area, one of the beautiful painted churches. They hope to be able to tour more of these amazing artworks when they're in the area again.

Friends, Fun, and Florida

We've had a great couple of weeks visiting some wonderful friends. It started MLK weekend when the Schwantners from Coppell came to stay with us while they cleaned house and settled the estate of Stephanie's grandmother who recently passed. Jackson is one of my very best buds from our time in Dallas, and he and I had lots of fun together. Both of us love cars, and he slept with me in my Lightening McQueen room. We also had fun helping Mom make brownies and playing outside with the soccer ball and in the sandbox. Mom got some "baby time" too holding Jackson's sweet little sister Abigaile. Our next visit with friends took us all the way to Orlando Florida! Dad had a conference scheduled for work there this week, so Mom and I flew in early with him to enjoy a little vacation. Our trip started with a visit to Disney straight off the plane. Jodi's friend Tom, an official "cast member", escorted us in the gate and gave us a quick tour of all the fun new things Mickey and gang are planning. We spent the whole day at the Magic Kingdom and it was magical! My favorite rides were driving the cars (of course) and the Pirates of the Carribean, but I was most enamored with seeing Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, the Princesses, and all the others in the "Dreams Parade." Mom and Dad let me pick our my own souvenir in the gift shop on the way out--I chose a toy replica of the monorail, as I thoroughly enjoyed our fast train ride through the Disney resorts to and from the parking lot. The next morning we were invited to lunch with the Parrots and Hinshaws at the Hinshaw home--a beautiful Florida home overlooking the water. It was wonderful playing outside in the beautiful weather with the kids--David, Pamela, Cassie, and Matthew. Maria and Lina fixed a delicious lunch, and Mom and Dad had lots of fun remembering old times with Orlando friends. We headed back to the Marriott to do some swimming and lounging before our big night out. Dinner Sat night was at the home of Joey and Peggy with guest chef Jodi! The ladies prepared a wonderful meal of lamb, eggplant, and many other delectables. We once again ate poolside, enjoying the lovely Florida breeze. I conked out early with Sophie the dog in Joey and Peggy's bed so Mom and Dad could continue visiting. We had a leisurely morning on Sunday, then met the Toccos for lunch near our old hood. I had lots of fun coloring with Sophia at Jason's Deli in my new McQueen coloring book the girls brought me. After lunch, we drove over to our old house. Bob's truck was out in the driveway, so we stopped in to see the neighbors. Bob and Gloria looked great, and I even got to pick some fresh Florida citrus from their trees outside--it was an experience I'll never forget! After a quick visit to see Scott and his family, including new baby Mack, we spent Sunday evening lounging by the pool at the hotel. What an enjoyable trip! We hope to always stay in touch with our wonderful Florida friends! Thank you all for a great vacation.

Disney!

Swimming and Lounging and the JW Marriott