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......

Time to Visit the Grandson!

Sparky was so excited to get to go see her little grandson in Houston....It was a short visit, just four days, but Sparky had a ball! And so did little Barron. Sparky flew Spirit Airlines, and perhaps will not be flying them again any time soon. We were delayed at the Orlando airport for 2 1/2 hours ON THE PLANE because of "peeling paint" they said on a part of the plane, the cowling. After an hour or so, they did say we could disembark, but had to stay in the boarding area. We couldn't take off until all the proper clearance paperwork was done and the repair inspected to the 'nth' degree. Sparky got off with about one third of the passengers who chose that option, then waited, and waited and waited some more. She overheard some lady say she knew there was something wrong when she could see some sort of "duct tape" on the plane as she came on board...Yikes!....The captain did explain what was going on after a LONG period of time, so that information was appreciated. We eventually took off and Sparky landed in Houston uneventfully. By the way, Spirit charges for both carry on AND/or checked baggage...Their fares might be reasonable, but they end up getting you one way or another!

It didn't take long for Barron to remember Grandma from quite a few Facebook chats. Thank goodness for modern technology! Sparky remembers talking to her grandma and grandpa by her dad handing her old fashioned corded phone, saying, "HERE! Talk to your grandma and grandpa!" with having no idea what to say with awkward silences on both ends. Now, there's much more interaction and fun faces to be shared. Heck, you can read stories to your kids by FaceTime chat if you have an iPhone, or choose Skype, or Google Chat Room, or probably there are even more ways out there to connect! But attention span has to be there, too, lol!  Sparky is starting to lose ground with keeping up with technology, but at least she's very in the moment with talking to her little grandson by face time, he's almost three and growing oh, so fast......

He decided Grandma was going to be his latest and newest wrestling buddy! Within 15 minutes of arriving home, we were on the couch and Barron was tackling Sparky over and over and over. Of course she had to pretend that he was almost stronger than she, so she let him grab her by the neck and pull her down on the couch. He laughed and laughed. Grandma made all the appropriate groans and comments that he was just too tough! Barron likes to tickle Grandma Sparky, too. For some reason, he called his tickling, "mosquito bites" and he would say, "I'm going to give you mosquito bites, Grandma!"

The second day Sparky was visiting, we headed off to the Houston Zoo, a MARVELOUS zoo as far as landscaping and layout was concerned. It was truly a very beautiful zoo!

For seniors, 9.00 entrance fee---nice!  Barron LOVES the zoo very much and never tires of going....His favorite animals are probably the goats at the petting part of the children's zoo. The goat just quietly stood there and let him hug him quite a bit. He was very careful and gentle with the goat.

The children's section of the zoo was terrific! Congo drums to play....

Lots of hands on learning....Even if he can't read yet....But he's learning, he knows LOTS of his letters, can sing the ABC song, recognizes numbers up to 20 and has a very sophisticated sense of humor!

When he got tired of walking, he settled for Grandma's shoulders.....

We took lots of silly selfies....

We did chalk drawings on the patio, and Barron is laughing hysterically because he came over and swiped some orange and blue chalk on Grandma's feet and Grandma gasped in horror! (wink, wink!)

The four days were over before Sparky knew it.....Time to head home....It will be awhile before another visit, but we will stay close by internet and phone...Sparky can't wait to hear the latest Barron stories until she can go visit again....Thank you, Kerry, for a wonderful visit.....

Goodnite sweet boy, Grandma had so much fun with you and loves you very  much.....Until next time...