Conference, I'm ready!!!!

A picture is worth a 1000 words. It was a great conference!!!!

Taste of Texas

Conference Saturday we sisters decided to treat ourselves to the Taste of Texas, a very famous, one of a kind, real Texas restaurant when the men were at Priesthood meeting. They have fabulous steaks but since I don't eat meat so I had shrimp. They have a 9 lb. steak!!! Try and eat any of that would be overwhelming. We all got the salad bar which was the best I have ever had. I will go back again I hope before I leave just for the salad bar.

 We only had a 35 minute wait which the waiter told is sometimes 3 hours

 Me and my new friend.

 Sister Stevens, Sister Nelson, Sister Diamond, Sister Wofley and Sister Anderson

 This very much a Texas place with several gun displays like the one up top and this one. This star is made of rattlesnake rattlers.

Luau at Ponderosa Ward

This was the last activity held in the original Ponderosa Ward before it was reorganized and a big chunk was broke off to make another ward. Ponderosa wasn't even 2 years old yet but it grew so fast with converts and new people that we had over 400 people at our last sacrament meeting and not everyone fit. So here is the last party :(. We lost some really great people, the Piepers, the Elhers, the Bergs, our Bishop and his family and the mission president and his family. This was a great party! We had great food and games outside. I showed my skill with the hula hoop and helped in a tug of war. I have gained such a strong testimony of the people in this ward and many of the members in Texas. This is a great place to raise good, strong families. There is so much support. I will miss them.

 So much food - pulled pork, rice, salads, deserts, etc.

 Some fun stuff inside.

 People in Texas love their trucks, even Mormons.

Houston Museum of Natural History with Marilyn

I had a free Saturday due to the temple closure for regular maintenance so Marilyn Steinberg, my neighbor at the apartments asked if wanted to go to the Natural History Museum in Houston. so we went. It's a pretty big building and very well filled with things to see. there was the stuffed animals from around the world with sounds and some movements. There was the dinosaur exhibit which was huge. They have so many and they are all put together and the displays are  full of information. I really liked the petrified trees. I remember my Dad talking a lot about the petrified forests in Arizona. Most of the tree cut outs came from there. they are beautiful and have been polished so the colors stand out. Some pieces were very large. There was the Egyptian section with all kinds of sarcophagus, decorations, jewelry, bowls, mummies and statues. I can't believe they have so much and I wondered how they got it all. They also had a shell display with shells from all over the world. I didn't know there were so many different kinds of sea life and shells. some were very beautiful. What was really beautiful was the gem room. There were displays of all kinds of gems and minerals but the room was sooooo dark I couldn't take very many pictures. They also have a vault that holds very unique custom jewelry. Some pieces were old and others were fairly new creations. I met a young man who was a docent who had signed up with LDS Jobs. We spoke for awhile and Marilyn was very patient as I explained the value of our website and encouraged him in his education. There was also an art display of photographs that I wish I could have taken pictures of but they didn't allow photography. However, that didn't stop Marilyn who had to have a picture of a castle painting from Germany done in the winter. It was incredible. After all was said and done and we need a rest we stopped at their McDonald located in the lobby. And to my surprise when we went to get in the car I had a parking ticket. Marilyn said she parked there all the time and felt very bad for the ticket and tried to pay for it but I wouldn't let her so she bought me dinner instead at her favorite place, Texas Roadhouse. All in all it was a great day with a great lady, my crazy Jewish friend, Marilyn.

Me and Marilyn Steinberg my neighbor

 This clock is operated by a giant cricket that makes it rotate around. Very fun to watch

 Interior plaza from the second floor

 Mural on the wall downstairs

 These are the wildlife of the world display with all these stuffed animals

 This is a pendulum clock that is on the floor downstairs and the pendulum swings from the roof. It knocks over pegs every minute. also interesting to watch.

 Dinosaur exibit and there were lots!!!

 These 2 pictures go together

 These are petrified trees. The colors and trees are preserved because they were buried and sealed while still alive probably by volcano or earthquake.

 Fossil of shells

 This picture depicts the size of a great white shark in prehistoric times. that is mammoth elephant it is about to eat.

 Jaws of a great white shark. The measure over 10 feet high

 Displays and artifacts from Egypt 

 Time line of Egyptian rulers and other historical events

 Mummy from sarcophagus 

 Another mummy

 Toe and finger nail covers

Marilyn's sneaking photo of a photo she wasn't suppose to take .

 We were in the museum store and Marilyn was enthralled with this lizard head and wanted a picture.