So you know how last time I posted I told you I was visiting my aunt and uncle in Houston?
Well, I've been here for a few days and had some Adventures, so it's time for an update!
Monday I mostly hung out watching Netflix while my aunt and uncle were at work. I tried Trader Joe's Cookie Butter for the first time and fell in loooove with it--it's gingerbread-y but also cinnamon-sugary and oh man. I might have to go get a second jar to take home with me.
My aunt and I also went to Costco and HEB's Central Market. Costco is basically like Sam's Club, and I'd been before--but Central Market was amazing. It was like a fancy-pants grocery store with samples of everything--the bread section was my favorite for samples. I tried some sourdough, challah, Irish soda bread, some Russian dark bread, and probably a few others I'm forgetting. The other great thing about Central Market is the candy section. They've got dispensers for all kinds of candy--chocolate, sours, almost anything you could think of--and you just get a bag and fill it as much as you want before weighing it and printing a label saying what kind of candy it is and how much you'll be paying. I could've spent a lot of money there, but in the end I got some Haribo peaches, some dark chocolate coconut cream the store guy who helped us called "Mounds on steroids," and some Irish creme cordials, which are basically sinful. Oh, and I got a couple of tiny macarons at the bakery section--blueberry lavender and chocolate chai. They were pretty good, although next time I would try different flavors.
Enough about food, time to move on to Tuesday's museum adventure! My uncle came home for lunch and dropped me off at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences for the afternoon. I'd been there before with my aunt and brother when we were younger, but I'd never been to a museum by myself before! It was a little overwhelming, if only because of all the people and noise, plus there was so much to see and I couldn't possibly see all of it! I went to the Hall of Paleontology, the Butterfly Center, and the Hall of Ancient Egypt.
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Top left: I finally got to see this pendulum knock over a peg after all these years! The idea is to demonstrate how the Earth moves--the pendulum swings back and forth, but knocks down a whole circle of pegs. Top right: The entrance to the Morian Hall of Palentology. I wanted to be a paleontologist as a kid, so dinosaurs still make me really happy. Bottom left: TRICERATOPS! My favorite dinosaur. Bottom right: A butterfly.
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I've also been working on my driving skills with my uncle. I'm still having trouble backing up, so that's a lot of what we've been practicing in parking lots. For some reason, it's really hard for me to visualize how the wheels turn when you're in reverse, but I'll get the hang of it and I've already gotten better just by practicing. My uncle's a pretty good teacher.
I didn't do much Wednesday just because the museum exhausted me and I wanted to take a day to recover, but I did get to go see The Fault in Our Stars with my aunt. I cried a lot. Your mileage may vary when it comes to John Green, but if you're into his work, it's a great movie.
Today, when my aunt gets home, we're going to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. I'm pretty excited--I don't go to a lot of art museums. Plus, it should be a lot quieter than the Natural Science museum, with all its campers and kiddos. I'll try to take pictures so I can update you guys in a few days!
In closing, here is a picture of me with a dinosaur.
