Any Kid's Dream

Last weekend, Chris and I took TJ to the newly remodeled and opened Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. We hadn't been to it before the remodel (it was under construction already when I moved here), so this was our first look at it. They did a great job - there was a TON to do and see and TJ had a blast!

Our first stop was the "DinoDig" where kids dig through sand to try to find the 'dinosaur bones.' TJ really liked this area since he's a big fan of dinosaurs at this age.

Chris helped him try to find some T-Rex bones......

Actin' silly out in the archeologist area!

And what's more fitting to be happening across the street from the kids museum??? A GUN SHOW!! Well, it IS Texas, ya know......

These big cactus/aloe (not sure which) plants were part of the landscaping around the museum - I loved them!! I want some for my yard!

Can you see the wheels turning in their heads? Learning about fossils.......

Then we headed outside again to this little water park thing where you can play with games and contraptions that have to do with water and the physics of how it flows and works. We liked the area where you shoot water guns at stuff!

Here are Chris and TJ working their magic....

Here's me and TJ shooting away!

I look very intent on hitting my target.....

More water experiments for Daddy and son....

Then we headed off to the 'building construction site' that they had set up. They had foam bricks and wheelbarrows and the frame of a building. The kids got to use their building skills!

It was such a fun day and we all had fun - nice job, Fort Worth!!

Old Red - A Courhouse, Not A Dog

After the Dallas Holocaust Museum, I headed over to Old Red - the old courthouse that is now a museum in downtown Dallas. It is located right across the street from where JFK was shot in 1963.

Old Red is absolutely gorgeous!!

And the inside was still decorated for Christmas:

The whole second floor was a museum about Dallas history and culture - there was a TON of stuff to see, but here are a few of my favorite highlights:

An oooollllldddd pair of handcuffs!

The gun that Clyde used (of Bonnie and Clyde):

These next few pics are not something I support, condone or agree with, but it's just a part of history. I'm shocked that the organization still exists today - the Ku Klux Klan.

Can you believe this?! On this sign it says "Meet Your Friends - Ku Klux Klan Day" at the State Fair of Texas. WHAT?!

Here's an old KKK outfit - VERY creepy and disturbing to see it up close. UGH.

A certificate of someone who joined the KKK - again, just disturbing.

JR Ewing's hat from "Dallas" the TV show!

A Dallas dollar bill that was legal currency a LONG time ago when it was more regional, I guess.

I just loved the stairwells in there - the whole building was really neat.

And since I went at Christmas time, they had a Christmas tree display up!

Atrocities Abroad

About a week ago, I drove to Dallas to visit a museum that I have been meaning to go to for a long time - The Dallas Holocaust Museum. I know, it's kind of a downer, especially since I went there the day after Christmas!

Anyway, I am absolutely intrigued with WWII and history, so I just had to go. When I was in Europe during college, I visited Dachau concentration camp near Munich, Germany and it was both horrifying and intriguing at the same time. And as sick as it sounds, they said that Dachau was like the "Ritz Carlton" of all the camps - mostly political prisoners, priests, etc. It was not an extermination/death camp like Auschwitz or others. Either way, it's just atrocious what happened at ANY of them.

Here is a physical representation of the timeline of the rise of Nazis...

These are actual 'uniforms' for the prisioners at a concentration camp:

These are some of the patches that the Jews had to sew onto their clothes to identify themselves.

So sick, but this is a container filled with gold fillings from people's teeth - before they burned the bodies, they extracted all of the gold/metals from their teeth so they could get the money for it.

And here are some childrens' shoes in a pile - when they made the prisoners strip down before going into the 'showers' (gas chambers). So sad.

Some cooking utensils from Auschwitz - by far the worst and most brutal camp.

And some barbed wire from Auschwitz....

Guards' whips from Dachau (the camp that I visited):

Here are some ashes from one of the camps - I imagine they are from one of the 'ovens.' At Dachau, the ovens are still there, with ash still in them. It is VERY sobering and devastating just to see even the remnants left behind 60+ years later.

This is a beautiful memorial that was in the last room of the museum - very pretty and moving.

Around the memorial, they had a chain with posts and each post represented a concentration camp.

Decade in Review

....Reflecting on the decade gone by. This decade I did everything I never thought I'd have the strength and courage to do, and it got me to a place I never thought I'd have the privilege to be.

Here are some highlights and lowlights of my decade:

I graduated college.

I started out in the 'real' world and the 'real' workforce.

I watched our country grieve after September 11th.

I watched our country go to war.

I got engaged.

I lost someone special in my life.

I got a new guardian angel in heaven.......named Dad.


I got married.

I moved to Ohio and started a new life.

I bought a puppy - my best friend.

I tried a new career and had a ton of fun doing it.

I went back to Europe for the first time since studying there in college.

I watched my heart break into a million pieces.

I got divorced.

I picked up the pieces and found out how strong I really am.

I moved to a place by myself where I knew I desperately needed to be: Texas.

I bought my first house...on my own.

I met a real live cowboy.

I explored.

I became well-versed in home improvement projects.

I met a really great guy that I love.

I reaffirmed how strong I really am.


Wow - a LOT happened in the 2000-2009 decade in my life. Lots of successes, accomplishments, and growing......and some very painful experiences too. But in the end, knowing what I know now and who it all made me become, I wouldn't change a thing.

What on earth will the next decade bring? BRING IT!

The Road of Life

When driving down the road of life, rarely do you know how good you have it, until you see it in the rear-view mirror. Which is not to suggest that you should look back now, but to remind you that where you are today is more awesome and amazing than you probably realize.

Chris had this quote as his Facebook status recently and I absolutely loved it. I tend to take the blessings in my life for granted and I don't fully appreciate how good I really have it in life. I tend to either re-live the past or preoccupy about the future....instead of living purely in the moment and enjoying what is in front of my face.

I'm sure we all do this, some more than others. I have found that having a dog has helped me focus on the here-and-now. Just watching her and her sheer joy of just seeing you at the end of a work day is enough to fall to the floor and play with her right there in the kitchen, not even taking your jacket off. Dogs live in the moment - not worried about the future, not living the distant past. I admire the ease with which they do it!

There have been many times in my life where I found myself complaining about something or feeling sorry for myself over some injustice.....and then later, realizing how good I had it at the time. Things could always be better, but they could always be worse too. Any of our lives can change with no notice or warning - for the good or the bad.

Here's to living right in the moment and being thankful for everything that has been and hopeful for everything that is to come!