Children's Museum

I was feeling restless last Saturday, so I dragged the family downtown to the Children's Museum.

We hadn't gone there in several years because it wasn't age appropriate for our little kids at the time, but they seemed to enjoy it this time around. We started in the physics-themed area, where the favorite was the spiral golf ball ramp.

They had do-it-yourself face paint and some other crafty things in the main hallway. Olivia was a kitty and Carmen was a kangaroo. Damon thought it was hilarious.

They had a cool water exhibit outside where you could manipulate water flow in different ways, a farm and nutrition area and several other things I didn't remember from last time.

Olivia's favorite part was Kidtropolis, a kid-sized town where you get to do adult-sized things, like working a job, getting a paycheck, going shopping, going to the bank, etc. Olivia often talks about wanting to be a "store worker", but she was more interested in shopping than running the register at the grocery store.

Carmen liked working in the veterinarian's office.

They also had a bike repair shop, city hall, hospital, bank and art studio. Here's Olivia getting us some food at the diner.

After work, you could go make a deposit at the ATM.

We walked to the zoo for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon. Olivia wanted to see the birds, because they would be scared of her cat face paint. I had more fun in the aquarium, where we cooled off before seeing the elephants and monkeys.

By that time, everybody was about ready to go home, whether they wanted to or not.

Rain rain

Unlike most of the country, we've had a lot of rain lately. Since not even the rain can cool the temperatures here too much, whenever it rains the girls get their swimsuits on and head outside.

Umbrellas also come out, although they are more for fun than protection.

They have water toys in the back that are fun to fill up from the rainwater dripping off the roof.

They're awfully cute to watch.

Coral

Some time in late June, Amber's parents sent Coral to visit us so they could go on an Alaskan cruise. She was here for a couple weeks and got to take in some of the sights of the Houston area.

Amber took her to the George Ranch Historical Park to see some cowboy culture.

And she visited the Houston Zoo and got to feed the giraffes.

She was also here for the 4th of July, so we took her downtown to Hermann Park, where we got to ride the train, play in the splash pad, listen to the Houston Symphony, and watch some fireworks with some very tired kids.

She's headed off to BYU in the fall, so hopefully she got her summer fun in!

Running

As I mentioned a while ago, I started running in the mornings again. I decided to go twice a week, to give myself time to rest and to avoid burnout but still get enough exercise and I think I've found a good balance. I hadn't particularly enjoyed running in the past, but I like the extra energy it gives me, and I like feeling healthy and less like a pudgy slug.

Soon, I was using Google Maps to measure out different distances to run as my initial run around the block became too easy. As it turns out, there are some very convenient intersections to use as landmarks to make 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and 5 mile runs from the house and back (after that, I run out of street) so I started increasing my distances a little every week. Surprisingly, I was kind of starting to like my morning runs, and I started extolling their virtue to Amber, who was in need of some energy after battling three kids all day every day, but it didn't quite take.

A few weeks ago I read an article on Slate subtitled Why nearly every sport except long-distance running is fundamentally absurd, and as silly as it sounds, it really inspired me*. The premise of the article (which you should all go read, it's very interesting) is that long-distance running is the only athletic activity that humans are better at than any other animal. I never felt like I was particularly good at running, so it was comforting in a way to know that this is what my body is designed to do.

Reading the article also got me thinking about races, and I ran across a training schedule for a 5K, which was nearly identical to what I was doing except I skip the Saturday maintenance run. So I started looking at 5Ks in the area and found the perfect one. It's close to us, and towards the end of August it is soon enough but with enough time to get ready.

The article, which I shared with Amber, my encouragement, the goal of a 5K, and the fact that I needed a running shirt finally got Amber pounding pavement. Even at 5 in the morning it's hot and humid enough here to come home soaked in sweat and I needed something better than cotton t-shirts. Amber came with me and got her own running clothes and is now alternating weekday mornings with me (and giving me a run for my money). She, in turn, has since used her toned figure to inspire someone else in our ward to take up running.

All that was to preface what I really came to blog about, which is that I ran 5 miles this morning, in 55 minutes. I realize it's not an exceptional distance or time, but it was my de facto goal since starting this endeavor and the farthest I've ever run. I'm looking forward to the 5K (a little over 3 miles), which should now be like a run in the park.
 
*It also made me proud to be a human, since it seems like we're always getting reminded of how wimpy we are compared to apes, or slow compared to cheetahs, etc.

Olivia script

Since she has reading down, Olivia, without prompting, has started writing. It's fun to come home from work and find papers strewn around the house, like notes to Amber or these gems lying on her table in her room.

"Once a pony named Twilight Sparkle was doing hard work."

"Once a pony harvesting apples named Applejack was h..."

(The O and C stand for Olivia and Carmen. For the uninitiated, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack are from My Little Pony, which they love.)

My favorites are the ones that appear to be some ancient runic script where there are no spaces and words wrap across line breaks. I'll admit, I had to go to the Rosetta stone for translations of these ones.

"A beautiful lady was dancing on a dance floor."

"A monster ate a Carmen a long time ago."

Runic script aside, I don't think she's going to be lagging behind in kindergarten this fall.