•12:01 AM
I forgot to add this really cool video I took of the octopus being totally sociable. Check it out!
Homeschooling As an Introvert
4 days ago
•10:25 PM
This was another side trip on the way back from Houston. There is a hidden treasure there that many don't know about. This place is call the Forbidden Gardens. It's kind of small, but it's really cool. Read up on ancient China before you take a trip out. Expect to take a guided tour of the place. You'll learn so much!
This is a replica of one of Emperor Qin's terracotta army chambers only discovered in 1974 by some farmers! These guys were created about 300 years before Christ for the purpose of protecting his tomb.
There were over 8000 soldiers baried. What a way to spend a lifetime! You can barely see a statue of the emperor at the end of this chamber.
These are the replica of the Forbidden City. This was built in another city a few hundred years after Emperor Qin existed to house the imperial family. There is so much detail involved in the design of this place and they way they lived. It's a fun place to study architecture and culture. Of course, I had to purchase a book to read more about it.
There are interesting statues all around this place. Hurricane Ike left it's mark even here though. There was quite a bit of damage from the winds.
This is a replica of one of Emperor Qin's terracotta army chambers only discovered in 1974 by some farmers! These guys were created about 300 years before Christ for the purpose of protecting his tomb.
There were over 8000 soldiers baried. What a way to spend a lifetime! You can barely see a statue of the emperor at the end of this chamber.
These are the replica of the Forbidden City. This was built in another city a few hundred years after Emperor Qin existed to house the imperial family. There is so much detail involved in the design of this place and they way they lived. It's a fun place to study architecture and culture. Of course, I had to purchase a book to read more about it.Now, if you look really close, near the green tree on the left side of the picture, you can see us standing there. Look close. Do you see us?
Okay, I'm sorry... I just had to do that for those who would actually look. I could hold that tree in my hand. Yes, it's a miniature replica of the city. But, all of this really is in China. As soon as I get a job there, would you like to come with me and help me with my kids? :-)
This is the imperial vacation home. What a lovely place.
And that's all for the pictures. There are a few more areas on the tour. One being the weapon room and another being the architecture room.
And, the final display is the Venice of China. Here's some info about that: http://www.micktravels.com/china/tongli.html It's very interesting. This was always the place where men would go to find their wives. All women here were beautiful and had those lovely cripled feet the Chinese loved so much. To this day, men still go to Little Venice or Tong Li to find a wife.
Happy Ancient China studies!!! Now, get to Katy!
•9:48 PM
One of the joys of my work is the ability to travel with my kids. I recently got a short-term job offer in Houston. I managed to con my friend into coming with me to watch the kids and stay in a hotel with a heated indoor pool. Not a bad bribe.
I wouldn't say that the Houston Aquarium is all that we thought it would be, but we still had fun. It's deceiving three-stories are for something like private parties. This is not part of the aquarium. There were some pretty good highlights though...
We rode of the carousel. You'd expect there to be all marine animals.
And so there were.
My Louisiana friend chose the croc. Who'd have thought?
And, the lovely train.
There weren't many visitors as it was a school day. This was a field trip for us. This train was actually pretty cool. We went into a tunnel and stopped. The front and back doors of the tunnel closed. The walls were glass and there was water behind the glass... and in the water were... sharks! That was cool! I didn't get pics in there but I'll post my friends pics if she'll send them to me.... Deanna?... Deaaaaannaaaa?
There was also a faster than usual moving Ferris wheel that we rode on. That was nice. We saw some of the cool building in downtown Houston... and some of the blown-away ones that Hurricane Ike takes the credit for. And, the busy Houston highway. 
White Tigers in the aquarium. Hmmm... Guess they needed an addition. The tiger saw was very pretty, he just seemed out of place. How is a white tiger related to an aquarium? Predator and prey? Well, whatever.
I wouldn't say that the Houston Aquarium is all that we thought it would be, but we still had fun. It's deceiving three-stories are for something like private parties. This is not part of the aquarium. There were some pretty good highlights though...
We rode of the carousel. You'd expect there to be all marine animals.
And so there were.
My Louisiana friend chose the croc. Who'd have thought?And, the lovely train. 
There weren't many visitors as it was a school day. This was a field trip for us. This train was actually pretty cool. We went into a tunnel and stopped. The front and back doors of the tunnel closed. The walls were glass and there was water behind the glass... and in the water were... sharks! That was cool! I didn't get pics in there but I'll post my friends pics if she'll send them to me.... Deanna?... Deaaaaannaaaa?
There was also a faster than usual moving Ferris wheel that we rode on. That was nice. We saw some of the cool building in downtown Houston... and some of the blown-away ones that Hurricane Ike takes the credit for. And, the busy Houston highway. Okay, now the unusual part...
White Tigers in the aquarium. Hmmm... Guess they needed an addition. The tiger saw was very pretty, he just seemed out of place. How is a white tiger related to an aquarium? Predator and prey? Well, whatever.Here's some interesting tidbits that we just learned in our Zoology III study. White tigers are just regular tigers. They are very rare because they're simply albinos.
Oh, the fearsome beast. He might take my purse!
Oh, the fearsome beast. He might take my purse! Here's some more aquarium as you would expect to see.
A view looking at the sting rays from below. They also had some nice horseshoe crabs. Yes, we did discuss trilobites. We can't resist reinforcing what we learned. Trilobites are the extinct relative of the horseshoe crab. They were huge. We learned about them in Zoology II last year.
Oh, this was the coolest part. I've seen these spraying water fountains before, but this one was really pretty. 
Deanna didn't think they were so cool when she saw what I was letting the kids do. Oh yeah! 
A view looking at the sting rays from below. They also had some nice horseshoe crabs. Yes, we did discuss trilobites. We can't resist reinforcing what we learned. Trilobites are the extinct relative of the horseshoe crab. They were huge. We learned about them in Zoology II last year.
Oh, this was the coolest part. I've seen these spraying water fountains before, but this one was really pretty. Deanna didn't think they were so cool when she saw what I was letting the kids do. Oh yeah! They got soaked. And my poor friend had to stay up half the night drying shoes and clothes because the shoes kept popping out of the drier.
I'm sure the other guests at the hotel are still mad at us for making all that noise. Have you ever heard the sound of four pairs on tennis shoes in the drier? :-)
I'm sure the other guests at the hotel are still mad at us for making all that noise. Have you ever heard the sound of four pairs on tennis shoes in the drier? :-) 