jonah's birthday week

we just may have started a trend with birthdays for our nieces and nephews this year.  for jonah's tenth birthday, we presented him with the offer of spending a week in houston with us.  without hesitation, he jumped at the idea, and the plans were made.  following brendan's birthday party weekend, we picked up jonah on our way out of town, and the fun began.

we packed as much as we could into his stay with us, covering much of houston and much of jonah's interests.  jonah and lee kicked things off with a trip to museum of natural science and the butterfly exhibit on monday.  the museum of natural science had climbed atop his list of favorite places here after his first visit a year or so ago, but they have since added some new features to make it an even better experience.  the butterfly exhibit was a first for both of them, and from the descriptions, it is definitely a place i want to check out in the future...butterflies, insects, and reptiles.  the day would not have been complete without lunch at pappa's burgers so the guys capped off the day with a burger and shake as well.

tuesday, the guys hit the greens.  the heat stopped them after nine holes, but jonah was still able to wow uncle lee with his 170 yard drive that landed on the green.  in case you are not aware, that is amazing...especially for a 10 year old.  brendan and i then met them for lunch at freebirds, another food request.  we made a trip to the neighborhood pool after some afternoon rest time.  jonah and lee played for a while, and brendan and i mostly watched from the side after he quickly tired of his float.  jonah helped me make dinner that night and then we all treated ourselves to baskin robbins for dessert.

wednesday, we all hung out together and visited the waterwall and galleria.  with jonah's help, i was able to capture some cute shots of brendan on the lawn.  we packed a picnic and the frisbee for our time outside.  thankfully, the water wall was the perfect refresher when the heat got to be unbearable.  just as we were about to head into the galleria, the guys noticed the little condominium office building that has resided across from the water wall for the past few years was being torn down.  at that moment.  so we stood (in the shade, thankfully) and watched as a bulldozer took out an entire side of the building, one chunk at a time.  now, you may think the day was plenty full of activity by this point, and you would be right, but the guys still had one more event:  the astros game.  lee was glad he was able to take jonah to his first major league baseball game, even if it was the astros ;)

 

thursday, jonah's last request was to see lots of big animals....so off to the zoo they went!  as a farewell dinner, we drove to cafe express in the woodlands for dinner.  we went to the grassy area in market square (does it have an official name?) for the guys to throw the football and discovered free entertainment in the form of a music school recital...and free snow cones & popcorn were an even better bonus!

jonah, we are so proud of the young man you are becoming.  thank you for being an example for brendan to look up to.  we had a great week with you, and we hope you did too.