The Commons at Hermann Park

Friday the big kids wanted to just chill at Mimi's house while Stephanie and I took Jewell and Saylor to have a park day.

Hermann Park is the main park in central downtown Houston. It is the hub and heart of Houston. It has been around for a long time, but they have recently revamped a new section in the park called The Commons. 

It is super cool and had lots to do. We spent the entire day there. They have several play areas for the kids. This one had a cool rocket ship slide. 

They had a blast chasing each other around

But Jewell would not go very high up on any of the equipment. She does not like heights. 

We spent a good hour at the play ground

There is also a Carousel. For $6 a kid can ride all day long as many times as they want to

It was not busy at all so they rode 4 times each. Jewell wanted to ride the orange cat because he looked like Punkin and Rusty.

Riding together

They had so much fun and lots of giggles

Then we went to play on the monkey

And of course a trip around the park on the train

And the weather was great!

And lastly, we went to the new splash pad next to the park.

They ran and splashed, pushing all the buttons, with lots of screams and laughter

There's also a sand pit area. It was definitely a unique splash pad compared to the ones we have been to before

After the splash pad we headed back to Mimi's house to celebrate Alyssa's 14th birthday

 

A Day at the Museum

Thursday is free museum day in Houston. So of course, with seven kids we go to free museum day. Our first stop was the Houston Fine Art Museum. I went a few times in high school on field trips. I was big into art when I was younger. This place has definitely expanded in the last 25 years. It used to be one building but now three huge buildings connected by these cool underground lighted tunnels.

The tunnels were the kid's favorite part. 

Each tunnel had a different theme and represented art in some form.

This orange tunnel played tricks on our eyes. As you walk through it you no longer see color but only black and white. It was freaky.

This tunnel gave you the illusion that if you stepped off the side of the walkway you would fall for miles into the unknown

Coming out of the tunnel we were in the main art building. This building was filled with statues, busts and all kinds of cool objects and relics.

Some of the statues made the kids blush

I LOVE busts, I have no idea why, but I think they are very cool

Then we were off to see paintings, oil paintings full of different textures and techniques.

We saw Van Gough, Claude Monet, and many more

My favorite pieces of the entire art museum

Group photo!

Jewell hated the art museum, haha! 

She kept asking where the dinosaurs were and if we could leave

The older kids really liked it. It was something different for them and they appreciated the art work.

We were starving so we headed to the car, grabbed our lunch and had a picnic outside at the tables 

We had sandwiches, chips, drinks, fruit and gummies

Hermann Park fountains

Then we headed to the Health Museum. The kids have been here before. We thought we would give it a try again since we were already in the museum district. 

It is really kid oriented. It teaches the kids about the heart, exercise, your eyes and your health

This big heart lights up and beats

Playing in a big colon, lol

Seeing how far she can jump

The scream booth measures how loud you can scream

Haha trying out the bike

The kids had this much fun at the museum

They loved it!

Our next stop was the Houston's Children's museum

We have been here many times before but it's always fun to come back

Their favorite place is the grocery shop, diner and vet station

loading up on the groceries

Austin and Jolee had to get in on the action

Deciding what to buy sometimes is hard

Time to check out

Playing vet

Taking orders and serving up hot food

Once the kids got tired, we headed back to Mimi's house for the rest of the evening.