Mom and Dad's trip to Houston

Mom and Dad came to Houston a few weeks ago for the open house and we had so much fun. Joe was quite the little tour guide and had a lot to tell them about Houston. He took us all over town to different attractions and made sure that mom and dad got to experience some good eatin'! The first night we took them to Lupe Tortilla for mexican food and mom couldn't stop eating the chips, salsa, and charro beans. She had never had those kind of beans before and she loved them! We had the best fajitas, and they seemed to really enjoy it. With dad and beans, we did kinda pay for it a little afterwards though=) The next day was filled with fun! We took them to the Galleria Mall. Its HUGE!!! It has three levels, an ice skating rink inside, and a running track on the top! We stopped to take a picture near the ice skating rink in front of the gigantic christmas tree!

Mom and Joe had fun with this smart car

I almost forgot that dad had asked Joe their first night here if it ever snows and he told him rarely, and it doesn't usually stick when it does. Well, the next morning we woke up to a blizzard!!! It made me feel right at home! Mom and dad couldn't get over it. They said they brought it with them=) Joe couldn't get over it either.

After the mall, we went to see "The Blindside" (which is a really great movie) and then we took them to the aquarium downtown for dinner. The food was outstanding. Dad said that was his favorite meal while they were here. Needless to say, it was a little weird eating seafood, and watching fish swim in a huge aquarium right in front of us=)

We went through the exhibits they had at the aquarium, which was really fun. Joe's favorite were the jellyfish. Besides fish they also had spiders, birds, snakes, and a white tiger. We were all intrigued, and we had a lot of fun!

There were stingrays (minus the barb) and little sharks in here that you could touch. We actually got mom to do it! Who said a little peer pressure isn't good?=) ha ha! She was a good sport about it, but she only wanted to touch the stingrays.

Joe was mesmerized! Just like a child.

So was I=)

I guess he didn't realize there were already arms on the scuba diver, or he's just trying to show off his muscles=) ha ha!
Saturday we headed to Palestine for the Open House. Sharon and Bob did such a great job. It was beautifully done, and we enjoyed visiting with everyone that came. These are some of Joe's friends.
This was the buffet table. They served cheeses, veggies and dip, grapes, nuts, stuffed mushrooms, meatballs, kolaches, desserts, and the best drink made from white grape juice and ginger ale.
This is Bob and Sharon's house in Palestine. It's the house Joe helped his dad build. It is beautiful!
On our way home we stopped at a Korean restaurant for dinner. We ordered the meat (which comes sliced really thin) and then we cooked it on that grill inside the middle of the table. They bring all sorts of sides (all the little bowls) like seaweed, potato chunks, tofu, spinach, cabbage, and many other things. We had them refill the sides because dad wasn't full yet. He tried everything and seemed to enjoy the meal. They got to experience all different sorts of foods while here. The best thing was that when they brought the check mom asked if we got a fortune cookie!!! Wrong restaurant! It wasn't Chinese!=) The waitress said "excuse me?" and Joe and I were quick to say "Nothing!" Joe was so embarrassed, but dad and I had a chuckle! Ha ha!