Christmas International House - Day 10; Downtown Houston

Day 10
Woo hoo! This day I’ve been looking forward to for some time, as it is the day my daughters and I participate with the International students in their daytime events, and later my husband is joining us for the evening entertainment – a Rockets basketball game (and my first professional basketball game ever)!

It is fabulously fun, despite the gray skies and intermittent rain. We take a Metro train ride from the Theater district to downtown Houston where our first stop is the City of Houston Visitors Center at City Hall. We watch a short video clip on Houston and browse their shop and displays, then move on to the Niels and Mellie Esperson buildings with their beautiful Italian Renaissance architecture.

The Niels Esperson building is one of the oldest skyscrapers in Houston. As part of our tour, we ride the elevators to the 28th floor, then walk the remaining four floors to the open cupola at the top overlooking the city. This part of the building is not open to the public, and it is special indeed. We even get to see Mellie Esperson’s office, untouched and preserved as it was “back then.”

Next stop, the 60th floor of the Chase bank building where we see magnificent city views. From here, we actually look down to see the top of the Niels Esperson building.

Oh, and I almost forgot our yummy lunch. We eat in the downtown tunnels at Treebeards, another first for me and a place I will highly recommend.

We arrive at the Toyota Center for a tour of the facility, and then finally, the Rockets game!

What can I say? Ren Zhe is such a huge fan of the Rockets because of Yao Ming. She expects that even her father in China will watch the game, so we are all very excited and happy for her.  We have our faces painted to show our support of the Rockets and enjoy a wonderful victory over the New Orleans Hornets. A great ending to an already perfect day!

Christmas International House - Day 8; Sleeping

Day 8
Today the CIH program resumes with a play at The Ensemble Theatre in downtown Houston, one of our nation’s largest and oldest professional African American theatres. The play is Christmas with Great Aunt, a contemporary gospel celebrating family. Because the play is on Sunday, the whole family is able to participate in this program event, following church and a nice lunch at our neighborhood Country Club.

I must admit, many of the International students were not able to follow the play because the ethnic accents of the actors were too difficult for the students to understand. Overall, I think most of them got the gist of the play and enjoyed the music at a minimum. We lost a few of the students to slumber, however.

I unfortunately end the evening with a huge headache and head to bed as soon as we get home. I guess it's a day for sleeping.

Disney World Rocks Again!

No doubt about it, Disney World is a great family vacation spot! It rocks and few places compare! We had a great time, but I'm glad to be home because the parks are exhausting!

Every Disney trip has been different for me. As dinks (double-income-no-kids), my husband and I preferred Epcot. As a family with kids, I think we most enjoyed Magic Kingdom.

This trip we tried the optional dining plan for the first time. It's a challenge to eat all the food it includes and lots of fun trying! Don't do Disney without it. Plus it will save you a lot of money if you are eating in the parks.

It was also my first time to Animal Kingdom. My expectations were not high, I didn't expect much. Boy, was I surprised and pleased. My favorites at Animal Kingdom were the Safari, Mount Everest roller coaster, and the Yak and Yeti restaurant.

Highlights of the trip included getting autographs from many characters on the t-shirts my youngest daughter made for everyone. My oldest daughter decorated pouches we were able to use to keep our valuables so that we didn't have to carry pocketbooks.

The picture is of the family in front of a waterfall at Epcot.

Bye Mickey & Minnie, Goofy, and Pinocchio. Hope to see you again soon!

Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You?

I took a fun quiz that matches your personality with a Fantasy/SciFi character. I matched with Gandalf...

Gandalf

You can take the quiz also at http://www.tk421.net/character/. Be sure to post in the comments which Fantasy/SciFi character you matched.

Free Family Fun for Christmas

Anyone looking for free family Christmas fun in the Houston area, check out the live nativity at Woodforest Presbyterian church. They have live animals, a manger scene, and costumes to dress in. It's a great way to get into the Christmas spirit.

Puzzle Fun

This is a picture of my family taken at Thanksgiving. If you click on the arrow in the bottom left corner of the picture, it becomes a fun puzzle! I heard about this from the Stay At Home Mom blog, and you can create your own puzzle at JigZone.com.

Fun at The Texas Renaissance Festival

In celebration of my husband's birthday, we recently visited the Texas Renaissance Festival (TRF). What a wonderful time! A Renaissance themed event, it takes place for eight weekends in October and November and is one of the largest of its kind. Actors and spectators alike dress in period costume and partake in 16^th century repartee, food, and festivities.

Here are a few pictures.

Standing in the archway of the arena awaiting the Joust competition, older daughter is dressed as a fairy (note the wings).

Viva la France! We sat in the section that cheered for France in the Joust.

The gallant French Knight, Philip put on quite the performance but alas, did not emerge as victor in the Joust.