The Kulas: Hot Town, Summer in the City

August is an extraordinarily hot time of the year to be in Texas. Yet here we are! With three weeks before school started, Bud and Ashley helped us get settled into their house while we wait for Josh. The kids were delighted at their bunk beds that were all set up for them. Bud and Ashley live in a beautiful and quiet neighborhood, which is nice for the kids when we take walks.

For obvious reasons, we avoid going outside until late afternoon or evening, and even then I would not call the weather "cool." We once attempted to draw with chalk in the afternoon while barefoot. We couldn't even stand still long enough to finish a picture because our feet couldn't take the heat! ("All around, people looking half dead, Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head" - to quote my title song again.) But with kids, going outside is an absolute must. So in the evenings, out we go, coming back sweaty and ready for baths. An upside to the hot, humid weather is the plethora of cool bugs and lizards, as you will see.

Bedtime stories with Ashley and Bud

Uncle Bud and his cool toys

Making forts in the bunk beds

Chalk art

Sebby's octopus

Our collection of cool cicada molted skins

Little lizards are all over in the tree branches! They have proven hard to capture.

Is he adorable or what?

This Yellow-crowned Night Heron landed in the backyard.

The juvenile of the same species has this black mask. Thanks to my father for the IDs!

We like this park, which is within walking/cycling distance.

All the trees are in bloom.

Indoor entertainment - puzzles

and building 3-D punch-out ship

Thanks again, Grandpa, for shipping us the unicycle!

Sebby is now a master on the longboard. I have met many neighbors because my children are so "athletic."

Cuddles with Watson

More love for Watson

Misha and Bud get into the Zumba dance-exercise game for X-Box. It's great!

We spent one afternoon on the Kemah Boardwalk, where Ashley works at the Aquarium restaurant. We splashed in the boardwalk fountain, walked around until we wanted relief from the heat, and then headed into the restaurant to eat and admire their huge, amazing aquariums. After that, we visited the basement of the restaurant where we got to feed and pet real sting rays. This was the best activity for the kids - they loved it. You hold the minnow in the water, between your knuckles, and very quickly a hungry sting ray swims up and covers your hand to suck up the food. Their mouths are quite far underneath their bodies. After getting over the initial scariness, the kids loved feeding the sting rays. Petting them was just as fun - they were soft and slimy. The sting rays were delightfully social, swimming along the edges so people could pet them, sometimes jumping up against the ledges and giving on-lookers a good splash!

On the boardwalk

The huge aquarium in the restaurant

She's three years old and 200 pounds.

The Scuba guy is real - he was feeding the fish.

A dragon-like eel

A sting ray swimming gracefully in the aquarium

A colorful salt tank

We indulged in a volcano dessert. Sebby helped too.

And two minutes later ...

On to the sting ray attraction! See the mouth on the underside?

Misha petting the sting ray

A big one!

New friends

So soft

Coming to say hi

Splash!

Graceful and gentle

There was also a tiny alligator and some tortoises on display. (They're also real!)

The sting rays made such an impression that I couldn't deny them the stuffed animals that they fell in love with at the gift shop.

Back home - Ashley and Watson

The kids helped me add essential details to my castle and dragon.

Sebby gave my centaur arm tattoos and Misha turned him into a romantic.

Thinking cool thoughts.

One evening when Bud had to work, Ashley introduced us to the Seabrook beach, only a 10 minute drive away. It's small and not crowded, and the water was bathtub-temperature warm. We made castles, turtles, and village sand-men, and splashed in the waves.