Author Archives: Sparkbark

Things to do in Houston for Families

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Okay, so I love that clown pic below but after really looking into it they want money and I hate that when you can do just a little research and get the information yourself. So….here is a basic list that I came up with for local Houston things to do for families. It’s easier and free to check out the websites yourself and get the information online. Hope this helps you as much as me – we have lots to do and discover!

Hot Sauce Festival – http://www.houstonhotsauce.com/

The Health Museum – http://www.mhms.org/

Brazos Bend State Park – www.brazosbend.org

Old Town Spring – www.oldtownspring.com

Houston Zoo – www.houstonzoo.com

Downtown Aquarium – http://www.aquariumrestaurants.com/downtownaquariumhouston/flash_content/index.html

Memorial Park Conservancy – http://www.memorialparkconservancy.org/default.aspx?menuitemid=221

288 Lake (formerly Tiki Lake) – www.288lake.net

Blue Bell Creamery – www.bluebell.com

Dewberry Farm – www.dewberryfarm.com

Armand Bayou Nature Center – www.abnc.org

Marq*E Entertainment Center – www.marquehouston.com

Bayou Wildlife Park – www.bayouwildlifepark.com

Miller Outdoor Theatre – www.milleroutdoortheatre.com

Theater Under the Stars – www.tuts.com

Kemah Boardwalk – www.kemahboardwalk.com

City of Houston Parks & Rec – http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/index.html

Mothers of the Woodlands (resourcel list) – http://www.mothersofthewoodlands.com/resources.html

Woodland’s Children Museum – www.woodlandschildrensmuseum.org

Holocaust Museum Houston – http://www.hmh.org/

Houston Travel & Visitors Center/Info – www.visithoustontexas.com

Houston Wilderness – http://www.houstonwilderness.org/default.asp?ID=1

Galveston Island Travel & Tourism – http://www.galveston.com/default.asp

Things To Do in Houston (for Families!)

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So the kids are bored. Up until now this vacation hasn’t been much of a vacation. Sure, we took a day off to go to Schlitterbahn and we’ve been swimming almost every day but I think the kids are itching to get out and explore their new city. I’ve been trying to research family oriented things to do online and the above pictures link to two of the sources I’ve found. We know nothing will compare to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo so we’re looking for other substitutes. I’ve been to the children’s museum here and it compares to Omaha but surely there’s something else…we are anxious to try the aquarium as we’ve heard it’s wonderful. Are there any splash parks? I know there are other places out there that only locals know…if you live near Houston (we’re willing to drive!), please email me and let me know what you family enjoys.

In Progress – More House Pics!

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Contract pending and still in progress. The home inspection went well and there really were only a few things we’re requesting of the seller so fingers crossed that they’re willing to keep negotiating with us so we can move in soon! We went on a family walk on Sunday evening (it was still 100 degrees out at 7:30 at night) so we sweat like pigs and didn’t want to stalk/scare the family selling the house to us so we walked over to the street and back again. It’s about a mile away from Don’s parents’ home. The pool, school and rec center are just about halfway between – how fun! I posted a bunch of home pics over on our flickr account if you want to view more. Just be sure to select Sparkbark’s photostream and then slideshow – it’s the easiest way to view them. Hopefully more good information coming soon. I know you’re all sick of me and house subjects (selling AND buying) so I’ve got to get moved in so we can get back to family stories and knitting and sewing and school and giveaways and design and work and…real life. Real life sounds pretty good about right now, work and all!

House Pictures!

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If you look really closely you can see the owner has a FAITH sign hanging near the kitchen sink. So appropriate. I need more faith and if I’d had more while we were going through our trials this past year I wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed by this blessing. As a family, we had a big talk in the car about how all good blessings come from the Lord and how He paves a way when it looks like there is none. This house and contract acceptance are a huge blessing from the Lord and we have been on our knees in thanks many times this day. We accidentally met the owner and she was so kind – she told us that she chose our offer over the other because our realtor had told her about our family and where Don worked and that we had family in the neighborhood so that sealed the deal. Thank you Lord, thank you Corlas Pearsall (Coldwell Banker Buyers Agent only) and thank you to the Zellmer family (current owners).

Beautiful Moment: Offer Accepted!

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I was on the computer early this morning, checking out any brand new listings or price reductions because I was SURE we didn’t get the house we made an offer on yesterday (there was a competing offer) and it had only been on the market for 2 days.

Beautiful moment: Don came upstairs and asked if I’d checked email and when I saw his face, I knew that we had gotten the offer accepted!!! I wish I could freeze that moment in time.

After a long year of cleaning and showing and taking a huge loss on our home in Gretna, we finally found some good news! We found a beautiful home for a great price in a great neighborhood with great schools that is large enough for our family AND clean and in great condition (everything else we’ve looked at so far needed so much work for the same price). Now we just need the continued prayers for a smooth inspection, appraisal and closing!

Check back later today as I’ll post some more pics after we get back in to show the kids.

Galveston & Schlitterbahn for the 4th of July!

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We had a blast. It wasn’t quite as fun as Noah’s Ark in the Wisconsin Dells but it was really fun! Afterwards, we wanted to eat at Joe’s Crab Shack so we followed Lole’s directions (our GPS is named Lole) and she took us along Seawall which was crawling because of fireworks off the beaches of Galveston and it ended up we couldn’t get to the restaurant because it was blockaded so we went to the next nearest one and when we got there it was boarded up from hurricane Ike damage and hadn’t been repaired (probably never will be). You can see the mark on the wall is well above my hand where the water line was during the hurricane. There were a ton of cars in the parking lot, though, so we asked a kid what all the cars were for and he told us he worked at one of 3 restaurants nearby so we walked to one called Fisherman’s Wharf (next to Willie G’s Steakhouse) and we had a great time – it was right on the harbor and had a neat ship we could watch just outside our window. The kids thought it was really fun and great food.

Upside Down Boys

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The boys stretching after our first day out of the car. Thankfully, I think this couch has seen much worse but we’re trying to not let them treat it like a jungle gym. I read a quote somewhere that said, “Boys don’t sit on couches, they RIDE them.” So true. Nadine – don’t panic – we will hurry and clean everything before you come home and pretend like some things never happened (unless it slips, of course).

Swimming in Houston

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Just look at my man with his boys. What a sight! Do they look mischievous or what?! All the kids want to do is swim. I go back and forth between wanting to buy a house with a pool…and not wanting to buy a house with a pool. The kids would love it but I want to be sure there’s enough room for a garden. Plus I’m constantly worried about someone drowning. The yards in Houston are TINY until you get out to the country. Many of the houses we’ve seen have no back yard at all after they’ve put in a pool (seriously – NO grass at all). I guess, to some people, that would be a plus! It takes Don about 20 minutes max to mow his Dad’s yard. It’s like a postage stamp compared to our yard in Gretna which took an hour or two to mow. Crazy! I like having a yard and I’m looking forward to having a patio I can walk out to from my kitchen. If there isn’t one, I will be putting one in. We haven’t found the right house for us yet but I am hoping it is out there and we will find it soon!

Summer Car Trips “Carcations”

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We have coined the term car-cation. I have heard of a staycation but we’ve called most of our family trips carcations because we have too many kids to fly affordably. I just thought these were great carcation shots from somewhere along our travels from Omaha to Houston. We don’t have DVD players and only one child has an ipod and he didn’t even use it very much at all! We enjoyed four new cd-roms of music (I love Alison Krauss but thumbs down for that cd she made with Robert Plant – yuck) but we enjoyed listening to Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson and Rascal Flatts. Some are a few years old but since we don’t listen to country very often and we haven’t bought a physical cd-rom for YEARS, this was a great way to kill time on a road trip! I think we’re going to make it a tradition to pick up some new cds every time we take a long car trip to discover many great songs we’ve missed over the last decade. Maybe next time we’ll do Billie Holiday – I never get sick of her songs. Or maybe show tunes! That would drive the kids nuts!!! If you have a favorite album – any genre – let us know and we’ll try it out on our next trip.

Old Friends in Gravette, Arkansas!

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Thanks so much to a very dear friend, Elaine Holmgren Brandli, and her family for providing us a much needed home cooked meal on our way to Shreveport, Louisiana. We loved Elaine’s home and what they’ve done on their acreage with a great gardens and chickens. My kids loved the dogs, bunnies and chicks. Arkansas is a beautiful place. We drove through Bentonville and have never seen so many Wal-Marts in our entire life (it’s the headquarters). I was so surprised at how green Arkansas is and the weather there was not bad at all. I really, really liked it there but most of all it was fun to see Elaine and her family – we have been friends a very long time and it is fun to see her kids – and they are all such good kids! Thanks, Elaine & Fred – we appreciate everything! Come and see us in Houston anytime!

Joppy in Joplin

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I have a ton of pictures to post from our trip but first, these from Joplin, Missouri. It was our first night away from Omaha and our second night away from our home in Gretna. I took Daisy out in the early morning hours at the hotel and the pool guy had just saved this toad from the drain. I brought him in for the kids (who hadn’t gotten out of bed yet) and they loved him and named him Joppy for Joplin. Joppy the Hut – die hard Star Wars fans that we are, we really had no other options. More pics coming soon!

House Hunting in Houston

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We found a country home we love but there’s one problem: it’s just too small! It’s the one affordable (if you think $244K is affordable) house among half a million dollar homes on acreages in Magnolia. My heart started pitter-pattering when we approached and as we went to the front porch, a baby deer scampered off into the backyard gated portion where it frantically tried to get out. The poor thing couldn’t find its way out of the gated acreage and scurried around the edge the entire time we were inside. I thought it might have a heart attack (can that happen to wildlife?!). So we explored the inside of the home which is just as charming as the outside – a sunroom, large master with closet but only 2 bedrooms upstairs. As we were leaving, mama deer was just on the other side of the fence trying to help her baby find her way out – how sweet is that?!

Bennie Has a Grill-Friend (aka Girlfriend)

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Pretty self explanatory. We love it! We are going to miss the Derr family but I think that Ben might miss Kaylie the very most.

Sandy Gervais Fabric Designer

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Sandy Gervais, fabric designer, has a new blog! Check it out! Her bio tells how she was “discovered” at a quilt show by Moda Fabrics and the rest, as “they” say, is history.

p.s. Gotta run or Don will catch me blogging (what an addiction!). The movers are here and I’m supposed to be helping pack and sort!

Online Outdoor Deals – Steep & Cheap

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My newest online addiction is Steep and Cheap. One item is listed for 15 minutes or so – only one item at a time – and when they run out they’re gone! They have all sorts of great markdowns on popular gear and clothing including Marmot, Patagonia, Smith Optics, and other varied camping and backpacking gear. My hubby gave me the link and I’ve only bought one thing (yeah for my new Smith Optics sunglasses!) but the shipping was extremely reasonable and FAST – I had them in hand in 2 days!