A few weeks ago, my family and I stepped back 3,200 years into Ancient Egyptian history to learn more about Ramses II and the historical events surrounding his reign. The Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs, currently on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, is pure grandeur!

The incredible collection features a myriad of Egyptian-themed decorated rooms filled with awe-inspiring artifacts – coffins, royal masks, mummified animals, jewelry, one-of-a-kind-relics, and more that capture the highlights in Ramses’ reign. One of the most prolific builders of ancient Egypt, Ramses left his mark on buildings across Egypt and Nubia like no other Egyptian monarch.


We began our tour with a five-minute video about King Ramses, which served as a great introduction and overview for young kids and adults alike. It surprisingly held my 7-year-old’s attention. After the film, we were off to explore the artifacts and displays at our own pace.

The exhibition makes impressive use of lighting to make the rooms feel dark and mysterious. Walking through, one really gets the sense of having been transported to an ancient place and time. At one point, one of my teenagers (I won’t name names) asked me to stay close, because she didn’t like the feel of walking past all the artifacts – especially the ornate coffins - by herself.


I’ll let you in on a little secret. I don’t like having to do a lot of reading when I visit museums. I know reading is informative, and the labels and captions are how we really learn the history of what we’re looking at, but I prefer to just go to museums and gawk at all the artifacts without having to spend most of my time learning. LOL! Don’t judge me! This exhibition is perfect for such a thing. There are plenty of captions to explain the displays, but because everything is so stately, one gets a sense for what they’re looking at even without reading everything.

Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs is on display at Houston Museum of Natural Science through May 23, 2022. When you visit, be sure to use your WoodlandsMommy.com Corporate Discount to save on your tickets. CLICK HERE to snag the discount.

Walking through Lightscape at Houston Botanic Garden felt like a dream! The  internationally acclaimed experience wasn’t a crazy, over-the-top sensory overload for my family, but rather an elegant, magical, and beautiful trail of well-planned, thoughtful installations that kept us delighted with every step. The light displays are set along a beautifully illuminated path winding through the Garden. My favorite installation at the event was the Fire Garden, but I won’t be sharing my photos and video here because I need you to get there and be as much in awe at this installation as I was! In a word, it was captivating!

Click here to see the original news update and photos we published a while back.

When visiting Lightscape, you can even stop along the trail and purchase refreshments such as hot cocoa and snacks. (We had just finished our Thanksgiving dinner, so we did not indulge.) Roasting smore’s was also an option. Parking was easy and the parking lot is safe and well attended. Lightscape is accessible for strollers, wheelchairs, and mobility assistant devices. (Wheelchairs are not provided and cannot be rented on-site.)

And OK, yes, Houston Botanic Garden, located at 1 Botanic Ln in zip code 77017, is a bit further south in Houston than you would typically drive, but visiting Lightscape event pairs well with your next trip to the city for dinner or a show. Or add it to your itinerary if you’re doing Galveston or Kemah evens for the holidays. Lightscape will be absolutely the cherry on top!

For the record, I believe it’s worth the drive even if you’re not already in the area, but be advised that it takes less than an hour to walk through the grounds, so take your time, take plenty of photos, and enjoy the journey!

Lightscape is open to the public and runs on select dates through Sunday, January 2, 2022. For more information, CLICK HERE to visit the webiste.

Located in The Woodlands, just at the entrance of the East Shore subdivision, is a children’s wonderland. Play Street Museum awakens curiosities and delights the imagination with its multiple, thoughtfully-crafted play spaces designed for children from toddler to eight years of age. The Museum is spacious, clean, and modern, and offers open play 5 days a week. An attendant takes care to make regular rounds to keep things as tidy as possible, ensuring a pleasant experience for all who visit, no matter the time of day.

We visited on a Wednesday afternoon. The place was buzzing with children for a short while during our visit, but, as you can see from the photos, it certainly was not crowded or overrun.

The museum offers Legos, dress-up, arts & crafts, a construction zone, train table,  and a myriad of specially designed rooms / spaces for exploration.

Some of our favorite spots to play:

• Pet Shop / Clinic- We enjoyed observing a real bearded dragon (completely caged in) and taking care of stuffed animals. My little one got a kick out of the working dryer!
• House / Kitchen – We spent the most time in this awesome area. The kitchen is chock-full of dishes and fake foods to cook and serve! Cookies, birthday cakes, tea sets, and pint-sized furniture, bring this space to life!
• Grocery Store - Isn't a mini market a favorite of every children's museum? Children can pretend to shop and check out! 
• Ice cream truck - It’s loaded with different flavors of ice cream and all the tools you need to serve deliciousness to your customers as you operate your own ice cream truck.
• Bank - This room was small and simple, but my daughter absolutely loved typing on the keyboard as she pretended to handle bank transactions.

Other favorites: We climbed aboard a school bus, “drove” a trolley, and enjoyed pretend play with wooden toys and blocks.

We spent two hours at the museum and still hadn't thoroughly explored everything, such as the doctor's office that has examination tools, x-rays, and crutches.

The museum is relatively small in size but packed with so many goodies, you could pass half the day (or longer) here!

Play Street Museum is located at 207 East Shore Dr in The Woodlands. Free Play hours are Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm. Admission is $12.50 for each child ages 1-8;  children under 1 and 9+ are free if accompanied by a paying sibling. A snack is included with paid admission! My daughter was able to grab her favorite on the way out!

Don’t let the name fool you. Margaritaville is for all ages – from tots to teens and definitely us grown folk!

My family visited Margaritaville Lake Resort on Lake Conroe last month, and my girls are already asking to return to our lovely paradise escape. At only a 45-minute drive from The Woodlands (or 30 minutes if you’re coming up the back way / FM 2978), the resort is a destination my family plans to enjoy several times a year, especially during the summer months.

We had a choice to stay in either a tower suite (one of the rooms in the main hotel building) or one of the cute lakefront cottages. We chose the colorful cottages – because – well, we really couldn’t resist being just a few steps from the lake plus having a “room” that would accommodate all 6 of us, including an upstairs loft that the older girls were happy to hide out in in the evenings. Here’s a look at our well-appointed room that included a patio, coffee bar, a full side fridge, and even a basketful of treats and bottle of champagne upon our arrival. Thank you, Margaritaville!

Six loads, in and out in just over an hour total. We’re so fortunate to have a CLEAN, spacious, and reliable laundromat right here in The Woodlands - you know, for those times when your washer or dryer breaks, or if you just get really behind with washing and need to catch up quickly! It's hard to beat Express Laundry Center at 319 Sawdust Rd. The facility features: high-performing, oversized (as well as regular size) washers and dryers; tables and chairs for waiting; vending machines with snacks, drinks, and games; and friendly, knowledgeable attendants; and coinless laundry cards that are simple to use!

Express Laundry Center also offers a drop-off service with pricing that begins at 99cents a pound with no extra charge for them to fold / hang.

If you have a son or daughter who plays basketball or is interested in playing, I hands-down recommend reaching out to this Coach Deon and his effective training programs! He works with youth – high school and even college players.; his demeanor is pleasant and professional, and his coaching style is warm, engaging, and extremely constructive.

I’d  been curious about his basketball training and programs for over a year now, especially since I noticed his programs are located right here in The Woodlands (at Woodlands Sportsplex on Gosling Rd. and various other private locations and parks nearby). My 12-year-old daughter has ZERO (yes, all caps!) experience / skill with handling a basketball, so I was expecting a 45-minute private one-on-one lesson to be a bit fruitless, if not comical, but I was so wrong. I also expected more “talk” time before my daughter was able to really start the active part of the lesson, but… wrong again!  Coach wasted no time. He got her warmed up quickly and they spend a solid 45 minutes doing WAY more than I thought possible in that length of time.

They went over jump stops, pivots, dribbling, shooting, and footwork, and I was amazed at what my daughter was doing in less than an hour. Coach explains things so well, and I watched my daughter successfully execute everything he showed her. I was also thrilled to see her make basket after basket when applying his techniques.



I counted over a dozen phrases Coach Deon constantly used throughout the session to encourage my daughter and build up her confidence. I know this is basketball, but I can’t help but thing how much better off the world would be if all adults spoke to kids like this. “Pretty good, That’s okay, Perfect! That’s the right idea! I like how that looks! There you go! Great job! Let’s go – we need five of those!” And the list goes on and on. If she messed up on a move, Coach would tell her what she did that could have improved, and say something like “Think about it like this…” before explaining another way to approach the objective.

It takes a lot to impress my pre-teen, but after the lesson, she was eager to express how much she enjoyed it, and when we got home she reminded me to check into his programs so we could sign up again. Coach Deon offers private one-on-one training, group training, league play, summer camps, and other special programs. VISIT THE WEBSITE and/or the Facebook page to see all the details, but as a highlight, the summer camps are coming up soon and I know we’ll be signing up for at least a week!

When your child is 14 years old, he/she will be old enough to start driver’s ed!

MIND BLOWN, right? They just grow up too fast! When they’re 15-years-old, they can get their driver’s permit in Texas. And then it’s on to the provisional license at 16.

We’ve been enjoying our experience with the online driver’s ed program, Aceable, and I wanted to share some details here because I HIGHLY recommend it.

My visit to the Brookwood Store became the most pleasant shopping experience I had last week! Have you visited? The pop-up shop is open 10am - 5pm Tuesdays thru Saturdays and is located at 2025 Hughes Landing across the parking lot from Whole Foods. When I popped in, a treasure trove of high-quality handcrafted soaps, body creams, candles, decorative art, food products, and plants welcomed me in to gleefully spend the $50 gift card I’d received for Christmas.