Clint had to go to Houston for work, so Madelyn and I tagged along! We stayed at Katie's house and were able to see some other friends as well. Thank you Katie for being such a wonderful hostess...cooking, giving us your bedroom, and driving Clint from car repair shop to car rental place and so on...did I mention we had to put a new transmission in Clint's car while we were there?...yuck!
Despite the car troubles, we had tons of fun! We went to the zoo...
Madelyn brushing the goats...
She specifically asked to see the giraffes, so we had to track them down...
After the zoo, we enjoyed a picnic by the water...
and then rode the train...
I had heard about a park in downtown Houston that had water features, so we went to check it out. I put Madelyn's water shoes on and thought she could just kick and splash a little in the big fountain...
which she did! But she then headed over to these fountains...
where at first she was content with Clint just lifting her up to get sprayed a little...
But then, you guessed it, she was soon right in the middle of the sprinklers soaking wet!! She had a blast!
Thought she looked cute here...this was kind of like a trampoline...
As I mentioned before, Clint's car had to be in the shop the whole time we were there, so Madelyn and I were stranded without a car! Thank goodness Patrice and Olivia were kind enough to pick us up two days in a row and take us on super fun outings!
We went to the children's museum...which was awesome...way better than the one in Dallas
She finds a book wherever we are!
The cutest miniature staircase...the hand rails were low enough and the steps close enough together that she could do it all by herself...which is a HUGE selling point with her these days!
practicing with all kinds of locks, switches, knobs...
Madelyn and Olivia in the car...
and playing at the water table...
They then shopped at the HEB where they gathered all their own groceries, put them in the basket, and took them to the register to pay!
Gramma will especially appreciate this one!...
Then they markered pictures to take home to their daddies...
These are from one afternoon when we went to the park with Katie...Madelyn is practicing her balancing skills...
Katie with Madelyn and Twinkie! Twinkie was the sweetest dog and let Madelyn pet her whenever she wanted!
We met Holly for dinner one night! It was so great to see her and catch up!
Fun times with Katie and Twinkie...
Patrice also took us to this great place called Wonderwild...it was awesome and let the girls expend some energy!
playing in the balls...what great sharing!
This was a giant inflatable slide that I think Patrice and I had more fun on than Madelyn and Olivia. The roles were definitely reversed as the moms kept saying again, again!! Here we are at the top...
and on our way down...
Madelyn loved these trains! She had to use her arms in a circular motion (the pics may help explain) to make the train go forward
She is losing a passenger!
This was called a jumping pillow and was also very fun. We didn't get any pics with us on it, but I had never seen one before, so I thought I would show you...
Another park...we definitely stayed busy! Here is Madelyn flying down the slide, and yes, she flew off the bottom of it!
Katie and I with Madelyn...and don't forget Twinkie! Madelyn would wake up in the mornings asking for Twinkie!!
On our way back to Dallas, we stopped to have lunch with Nana and John. It was a quick visit but so good to see them.
We played in the backyard while waiting for everyone to arrive. They had tons of fun toys like slides and a basketball hoop to entertain the kiddos.
Then we "attempted" to have all the kids come inside while Lauren (Hudson's mom) read a story so all the eggs could be hidden
Hudson (one of the hosts)...don't think I got a picture of Mac
This is after the hunt started...Madelyn was more interested in the slide!
We tried to get a group shot...ha! This was the best one I had and we are still definitely missing kids!
Once Madelyn discovered her eggs had goldfish in them, she planted herself down for a while and enjoyed her treats...
A huge thanks to Lauren and Elizabeth for hosting such a wonderful hunt and inviting that many toddlers into your home! We all had a great time! 
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