Garden Planting at Meredith's

Randy and I got to go to Meredith and Steve's house to help get their garden started.  Well, actually, HE went to help get the garden planting started.  I went to play with Emma.

Randy and Meredith worked for three hours and got a very nice garden in the ground.

BEFORE picture

IN PROGRESS picture

AFTER picture

AFTER picture

We stopped at Lowe's on the way there for a couple of last minute things and found Emma a Disney Princess gardening tool set.  She got a watering can, kneeling pad (every princess should have a pad to kneel on while gardening), garden gloves, and a shovel.  She watered everything in the yard she could find to water.  This included her Gerbera daisies, the rose bushes, crepe myrtles, dandelions, and herself.  :)

Spring has sprung

refilling the watering can

After the planting was done, Emma put on a show for us.  She danced what she has learned in dance class and sang for us with her karaoke machine.

Hershey was hoping Emma would drop some fish sticks.

Tinker Bell

Cinderella curtsy

Spring Break Day 6 - Houston Aquarium

Before leaving Houston for home, we visited the downtown aquarium and had a scrumptious lunch.  

Swordfish fountain in front of the aquarium

Ahh!  Randy's getting bit!

Train ride around the amusement park

Multi-story cylindrical fish tank as we entered the restaurant

Seahorse salt and pepper shakers

Randy's broiled Captain's Platter

Daniel's fried shrimp

My salad with baby greens and grilled corn

Fresh green beans and lemon rice

Shark Attack molten chocolate cake with shark cookie and 3 spoons

It really looked like a volcano.  Awesome and delicious!

Daniel ate the shark's head.

After our very filling, delicious lunch we went through the indoor aquarium exhibits. The pictures turned out much better than I thought they would at the time.  The fish were amazing to watch.

Leopard spot stingray

Stingray climbing the glass side of the tank smiling at us

Anemones and Seastars

Lionfish

Giant shrimp

Seahorse

Colorful circular tank

Jellyfish

I'm sure this little guy has a real name, but since the movie came out he is the "Nemo Fish."

Polka dot stingray

Tank to pet the stingray

This alligator didn't look very comfortable with his front legs on the log and the rest of his body in the water, but he must have been OK.  He stayed that way for a very long time.

Tree Frog

More anemones

Daniel made the bell ring and won a stuffed turtle

My favorite part of the Houston Aquarium was the white tiger.  I've long found tigers intriguing and have a collection of random tigers, stuffed, needlepoint from my sister, miniatures, and a painting Eli made for me when she was in high school.  The white tiger at the aquarium was beautiful in its blue-accented Maharaja's Temple setting.  These majestic felines seem to move in slow motion and appear on the outside to be calm and secure.

We drove back to Mesquite, ending our Spring Break adventure.  We had to pick up Collin from Andrew and Heather's, so we stopped by and gave Emma her souvenir Mexican dress and flowers for her hair.  Of course, she was adorable.

And that, my friends, brings to a close the Spring Break Adventure 2012 for Randy, Daniel, and me.  :)