Later this afternoon I picked the kids up early from school and took them to the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  This is one of our favorite places to hang out during the weekday afternoons.  James was very upset the last time Whitney and I went so we promised to take him today.  He was so excited about going I thought I was going to wet MY pants. 

I guess due to the 109 degree heat index half of the city was utilizing the A/C of the museum as well.  We had to park at the top of the parking garage due to the crowd.  Its funny how just going to the top of a garage is an adventure to a couple of little kids. 

The big attraction for the kids is the Cockrell Butterfly Center.  Before you enter the butterfly center they give you a map of the different butterflies in the building.  James was trying to decide which butterfly he was going to catch.  Unfortunately I had to take this from him when he decided to use it as a weapon on the first butterflies he saw.  

You start at the top of the center and work your way down. From the bottom the view is quite spectacular. 

On the second level there is a meandering path that takes you all over the center.  There were a couple of ladies that let the kids feel a butterfly.  Whitney enjoyed showing James how you handle a dead butterfly. 

Of course Daddy was busy trying to figure out the little Canon S5.  This camera has a nice little zoom that came in handy here at the museum.  The butterfly eating on a mango was about 10 feet away off the walking path. 

We thought this plant had some really cool colors.  It was a bright purple with dark green leafs.  Unfortunately the web only allows certain number of colors so the photo is not as vibrant as the camera image. 

At the base and lower level of the center there is a lagoon area.  The waterfall at the top spills into the lagoon where you actually exit.  It is pretty neat to go in the caves and watch the water.  Whitney was super sweet to make sure her little brother didn't' fall into the water.  She knows how to swim now so she is ready FOR ANYTHING!

Once we went back into the main museum we were greeted by students holding a bunch of bugs for the kids to touch.  Neither Whitney or James wanted anything to do with the bugs but they did like looking at them.  Whitney said , "Just take a picture Daddy." and so I obliged.

We found the biggest mosquito in the world!  The kids couldn't stop looking at it.  I had to reassure them that the mosquitoes in our backyard won't ever get this big. 

After we were done with the museum we ran over to the Houston Zoo to ride the train.  The kids love the train but the heat was enough to make even James buckle.  I thought he was going to lose his goldfish but we made it without any trouble.

After that we headed home to decorate Whitney's birthday cake.  Whitney received a call from her god father and they chatted it up almost the whole way home.  Its funny to hear her on the phone with other people.  I hear "WHAT!" a lot.