A Terrific Visit to Houston

A short, catch up blog today....Sparky went to Houston over the holidays to visit her youngest daughter and her little grandson, who's now 3 1/2.  It was a busy time but we managed to cram a lot of things into our visit...

We went to the Houston zoo, a really beautiful zoo, which is nicely laid out and saw elephants tussling with their tusks, and rhinos pushing and shoving each other....among many other wonderful exhibits. there's a marvelous children's section where kids can explore and play and have a great time. For more about the Houston Zoo, see here....http://www.houstonzoo.org

Sparky babysit her little grandson while her daughter went to work and participated in wrestling matches and tussling contests. Barron accidentally head butted Sparky one day and she heard a loud CRACK! And it wasn't her glasses that broke! We're not sure, but think there was a possibility of a slight fracture. Sparky iced it immediately, but it remained swollen and sore for several days....Three weeks later, and it's still a little tender....

We had fun making faces with each other...Barron would say, "GRANDMA!" as in "LOOK!" and he'd make a funny face.

Sparky would try to outdo him with an even crazier expression and he would erupt in peals of laughter. Every night he would ask Grandma to read him a story and tuck him in, quietly talking a little bit before going to sleep. We had some amazing conversations. He had five dinosaur silhouettes on his wall, and Grandma called them out one by one, "Oh, I see you have a Tyranosaurus Rex, a triceratops, a pterodactyl, a stegosaurus...." making conversation. But she accidentally got one out of order. HE says, "Actually, it's a...." and proceeds to name all five of them with their full scientific names IN ORDER. All righty, then...this kiddo is going to be a mover and a shaker some day! At least, that's what we hope for our grandchildren, and for them to be happy and healthy, too...Kerry is doing a great job of taking care of him and nurturing him to his fullest potential. He's almost ready to read, his daycare says!

We went to see a great kids' movie called The Good Dinosaur, by Pixar and put out by Disney. Sparky just loves Pixar movies... It was very good but a little on the scary side at times for a three year old. He managed to sit through just about entire movie with the help of popcorn, and then sat on Grandma's lap for the last fifteen minutes. Grandma didn't mind that at all....

The days went quickly by...Christmas was over in a heartbeat, and soon it was time for Grandma Sparky to head back home.....  :-(  Thank goodness for technology and being able to stay in touch a lot more easily when there's a lot of distance involved.....Until next time......