Spencer remembers!

I was so proud last night at dinner at Spencer's ability to dig into his memory for an answer. Our Sunday afternoon outing took us to the Houston Museum of Natural Science where he got to see butterflies up close for the first time. While he was equally pleased to play in puddles on the paths, he did enjoy seeing the butterflies all around (after getting over his initial fear when they flew right at him!) At dinner I asked Spencer if he had fun at the museum ("mu-see-uhm," he repeated) and to tell daddy what we saw. He sat there and thought for a few seconds and then announced "butterflies!"

It was a great end to a great weekend. Saturday morning we celebrated Nicholas' birthday at Pump It Up. Having never been there before, I was a bit concerned because Spencer doesn't know how to jump! But he had such a wonderful time! I do expect that we'll be returning sometime soon, especially since it is so close to the house! Saturday afternoon and evening I spent back on Rice's campus and it felt great. I was initially taken aback at the nearly six hours of time planned for the Rice MBA spouse/partner orientation, but I enjoyed every minute. It felt good to be in such an intellectual environment again. For at least a second, maybe more like two or three, I wished that I were part of the elite program as a student again. Indeed, I met a few spouses that afternoon who had received their Rice MBA a few years earlier and were now supporting their partners through the process. But, as the spouse of a student in the class of 2006 commented, "we both tought the program is very valuable and right now she is enrolled as the student, but I can still read the cases too, get the benefit of stimulating discussions and don't have to write papers and take tests!" For now that is the attitude I am adopting as well, and I guess Jim and I will see where our priorities lie two years from now.

Pics from the weekend have been added to the August photo album.