Rice Homecoming

After our visit with Karen, Logan, and Kayleigh, we headed to our alma mater. Adam and Lottie had never been, so we gave them a partial tour. Of course, Rice has built so many new buildings, we didn't recognize everything. The main academic quad did look the same, except that the hedges had been scalped from waist height to about knee height. We introduced the kids to Willy (William Marsh Rice, our founder - his ashes are under the statue).

Then we took the obligatory picture in front of Lovett Hall. We're hoping at least one of them ends up here in another 18 years or so.

We also took them to our respective residential colleges. Adam and Lottie hung out on the Hanszen sign.

Then they found Hanszen's beloved swing.

After our tour, we went to the tailgating area near the stadium. We didn't watch the football game, but let the kids try out all the bounce houses that Rice had set up. Adam and Lottie made friends with our college friends' kids, which was fun to see. I didn't get any pictures, but Adam spent over an hour bouncing with his new friends. We did see a few friends from the old days, but never got over to the "young" alumni tent.

Once the kids had napped, we checked out Lot 8, the boutique run by Chloe Dao, the Season 2 Project Runway winner. It was gorgeous - I wanted everything in the store. Chris bought me a dress (Christmas gift). We got to meet Chloe too, who loved Adam and Lottie. Nice to see talent staying in Houston. Then we took the kids to Amy's for some ice cream.

After a good night's rest, we headed to the Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market. Adam and Lottie especially liked this year's theme - Going to the Dogs. We all did some shopping (and Lottie did some napping in Daddy's arms), then we went to our favorite Houston restaurant, Patu, for some delicious Thai food. After gorging ourselves, we headed back to Austin.

On the way home, Lottie fashioned a "toy" out of a jelly candy and a piece of her hair. Yuck! She was super pleased with herself, and Adam also wanted one. Crazy kids.