The Chocolate Bar to Celebrate!

This year I thought it would be fun to celebrate my birthday at The Chocolate Bar! I heard about this place from a friend but had never been.  I knew the kids would especially enjoy Mom's birthday if they were surrounded by chocolate! So after church Monica, Roger, the kids, me and Darrell drove to Rice Village for a chocolate treat.

We had all kinds of chocolate!  Chocolate covered bananas, strawberries, and apples were my favorite.  The kids loved the chocolate Oreos, cereal, peanut butter chocolate, and even chocolate pizza.  You could make your own chocolate bar with whatever fixings inside it, but we were so full of chocolate already so we didn't try it. 

Then Roger saw the Pop Rocks!!!  Oh boy, were they fun!  James' first experience with the candy I grew up with.  He took a whole hand full and crammed them in his mouth.  At first he wasn't sure about the popping sensation, but soon wanted everyone to play with his new found fun!

And to top off the evening, Darrell surprised Moe and me with the best... yep, you guessed it! Chocolate Coffee!  Truly one of the best bdays in a long time!  I was sick for days...

A couple days later my Higgins family took me out to Barcena's, our favorite Mexican restaurant.  It's always a ton of fun getting together.  The kids are so close in age and are always excited to see each other. I am blessed to have such wonderful in-laws.  I just wish we could hang out more often!

Best Zoo Trip Yet!

Every year I purchase a family membership at the Houston Zoo.  It pays for itself after two trips, so it's worth it for our fam.  This year our Spring trip to the zoo turned out to be the best one yet.  The new African Safari area was finally open and the giraffes were a huge hit!  Sydney, James and I were very impressed!

The first thing we saw was a baby giraffe sitting in the middle that was absolutely adorable.  We could see people on top of a fenced in area that looked like they were petting the giraffes so we decided to get a little closer.

We saw a line leading up to the petting place (so I thought) but after asking the zoo keeper what everyone was doing she said that they were FEEDING the giraffes!!!  Well we HAD to try that out.  So $5 later we were standing in the line waiting our turn.

Finally, Sydney turn... She held out her piece of lettuce like a pro!  The giraffes walking right up to get a bite. How exciting to see such a beautiful animal God had made so close up! 

Then James' turn... The giraffe was ready and waiting.  James stood back half reaching out with the piece of lettuce not sure about the long, dark purple tongue sticking out (eye level) of this creatures mouth.  It took a little coaxing from big sister Sydney before he stretched his arm far enough for the giraffe to get a hold of it.

I absolutely love hanging out with my kids at the zoo... especially when the weather is nice.  I praise God that we have such a beautiful place to explore and hang out with all the interesting animals that He created...  including MY little monkeys!!!