Surprise visit to Houston!

We are in Houston, Texas! We came to surprise my husband’s mother with a 60^th birthday and retirement party. After the thrill of Legoland, we flew out to Houston for the week. Wait! I have to say something about Legoland!

This place is a must see with any child who LOVES Lego. For most homeschoolers, with our massive supply of Legos, this place will inspire some serious projects. My 8 year old did not want to leave. To see New York City, New Orleans, Houston, New England and so much more all made out of Legos, was mind boggling and amazing. Every Lego person living in these places had its own personality. There were lovers in the park, kids eating ice cream, and even someone sitting on the toilet in the bathroom at Grand Central Station! I think mini-town was the most impressive, though we had fun in the rest of the park. Like when my oldest son, was able to get his driving license or my youngest got to ride his first fast rollercoaster (which is made to excite the younger crowd.) I do have to say that there is a weird fascination with Volvo at Legoland. One of the first things you see when entering the parking lot is the front row section reserved only for Volvo Parking. Luckily for us, my cousin, in fact did have a Volvo. There is also a full sized Volvo with real wheels sitting out in the middle of the park. Overall, I would say this park, though with its over protective height restrictions, and short open hours (they close at 5), is just plain cool. If you have older kids and are going for the rides, you may not have the same kind of fun, as most are for a younger audience. Needless to say, for the Lego sculptures alone, both of my boys were in heaven and I hope to go back, one day with my husband, as the kid in him will also be impressed.

My husband flew out to Houston and we met within an hour of each other. It was so fun to see the kids run up to him with such passion. I wanted to, too, though being a parent is always taking second to such moments. We did however see each other and as he hugged my youngest son, his eyes said hello to me in that way that makes me feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

I said, “You look skinny.” He said, “You look tan.”

It is strange to be away from each other this long. I just don’t know how so many of the country’s marriages do it in the military and those with traveling careers. There is an initial excitement, and then the aftermath. After being so excited to see him, and all the sparks and love, there is the second half where after we retrieved the luggage, I was ready to go to sleep. I was ready to say, “Here are the kids, and I am going to go to bed for a couple of days.” Of course, my husband, who had to get up at 3:30AM, was feeling about the same way. I wonder, however, if he had fallen asleep on the plane, only to awake seconds later at a very loud, “MOM!!!” when the child next to him needed to tell the joke he just read. No, I decided. I am definitely a lot more tired.

With a few stolen glances and kisses, it was time to go out to meet his father and woman-friend who had come to pick us up. The minute we walked out the door, I knew we were in Texas. Unlike my husband, we were used to the heat, but the raging humidity threw me off balance. My poor husband had to deal with both. Told me the temperature in Seattle had been in the mid 40’s. Houston is an interesting place. It is so flat, which is familiar to me growing up the Sacramento area, but it is so large and flat, it is almost unnerving. The whole 45 drive from the airport, I don’t think we drove up a hill, once. Just flat and flat and flat. The city sure is impressive, however, from sights from the plane to when we drove through it at night with all of the lights shinning.

It was good to be at his dad’s place. My older son immediately took out the new Lego Star Wars ship he got at Legoland to work on, my youngest immediately wanted to wrestle with Daddy. I found a comfortable recliner to sit in, and never wanted to get up. Funny how just 8 years ago, that would be the last thing going on. My son and him upstairs making loud noises, and me downstairs reading a book on how you can use SPAM as a furniture polish. Ahhhh…Parenthood. Though, after 2 weeks, all seemed good and right with the world that night.

The next night was the big party. There was lists of to-dos, details and set up. When she walked through the door at the restaurant, what a fun surprise she had.
It was wonderful! Just wonderful. Charming Italian restaurant, gorgeous flowers, beautiful cake and sparkling candles all set the backdrop for a touching evening of celebration with longtime friends and out of town family. Everyone in the place had a smile on their face and yummy food in their tummies. Oh and the toasts and fun poems and heartfelt sentiments!
Lots of crying, and only a roll of toilet paper to dry the tears. With more wine and a chocolate cake that was like butter, the evening ended. Memorable. Beautiful.

So we are here until Thursday to visit and have fun. Then Disneyland here we come!!!