Big Time in the Bayou City

Cael and I had one final adventure in 2013.  Zac had a trip planned right at the end of the year so I thought it might be fun to take the little guy on our own overnight excursion.  Houston was an easy choice ... quick Southwest flight, lots of kid-friendly options and I enjoy any chance to spend some time in my first Texas hometown.

Cael was thrilled to learn that we would be taking a flight as our kid loves the airport and airplanes.  He watched the ground crew and reported on all of the activities on the tarmac as he enjoyed his Fruit Loops and milk (a breakfast request he made a few days ahead of time ... quite the planner).

After the excitement of the flight, rental car retrieval and hotel check-in, the traveler was ready for a little rest so he zoned out with cartoons and room service for awhile.

After a few hours of relaxing we were ready to start our adventure for the day at Hermann Park.  We rode the train,

visited with the ducks,

and wandered all over the park.

We worked up our appetites with all of that exploration and grabbed dinner at a great little café outside of the Houston Zoo.

After we warmed up over dinner we were ready to see the Zoo Lights, an amazing display of Christmas lights throughout the zoo.  We spent hours "oohing" and "aahing" over the lights.

We had an awesome evening making new friends,

riding armadillos,

and drinking hot chocolate.

We headed back to the hotel where we curled up in bed watching Monsters University (our little guy does LOVE Sulley!) and got a good night's sleep.

Our final day in Houston was spent at the Houston Children's Museum.  We happened to be there with almost every child in Houston ... who knew that was THE place to be on New Year's Eve?!  We still had a great time.  Cael thoughtfully treated a patient in the ambulance.

He loved shopping in the grocery store.

I just loved being in an HEB again ... yes, it was a pretend HEB, but it's better than real Kroger any day!

Cael spent a lot of time driving, whether he was talking to dispatch in the taxi ...

... or loading up the truck for a trip.

All of the fun finally came to an end as we took our final chance to practice echoing in a parking garage, enjoyed one last spin on the rental car bus and consumed our final round of airport food.

We had a nice trip home and were able to enjoy the last few hours of 2013 with Zac and Scrappy.  2013 was a wonderful year and we look forward to all of the new adventures that 2014 will bring!