Houston is a great city to explore with kids.  There are a lot of things to do, including visiting museums, parks and festivals, but here are 4 quirky things we love to do in our city!

1. Listening Vessels: Located in Discovery Green, these 2 limestone sculptures have concave interiors that focus sound waves. You can sit in 1 vessel and be heard in the 2nd vessel that is 70 feet away.  The vessels are tucked away in the Wortham Foundation Gardens. Find these by the Hilton and be ready to be amazed! 

2. Art Cars: Houston loves Art Cars. There is an annual parade each May and a museum that is open year round, for free! The museum is funky and small, making it great for a quick trip with the kids.  Head to the Houston Heights to see which crazy cars are on display.  

3. Beer Can House: When you drive up, you think you’re in just any residential neighborhood until you see a shiny silver house with beer can chimes blowing in the wind. This house belonged a retired upholsterer for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He was sick of mowing the grass, so he started creating "art." Over 18 years he added over 50,000 cans to his house.

4. Burp the Bayou: This goofy thing is our favorite thing to do in Houston.  In the middle of the brick column, on the side of the Preston Street Bridge, is a little red button. When you press it, the water in the bayou will bubble for several seconds. It’s not marked, so we don’t know whether we should press it or not. And if we do press it, what will happen? Where should we look? And say we see or hear the bubbles, what is causing it? We never get tired of this little game.

About Jill Jarvis: Jill Jarvis writes BigKidSmallCity. She is passionate about encouraging parents to get out of the house and into Houston; about making it easy for kids and families to understand how the city ticks, from city government to local companies and organizations; and finally, about giving back to the city that offers a high quality of life to her family. On BigKidSmallCity, she provides weekly lists of events for kids, things to do in Houston, interviews of local leaders and resources for parents. Jill is mom to Joe (6), Brooke (4) and James (2), and lives in Montrose with her family.

I dislike (we don't let our kids use the word "hate," so I try not to as well) the words "date night." Why does it need a name? Play date. Nap time. Date night. Can't we all just play, nap and go out without having some contrived name for it? And don't get me started on "selfie."

Anyway, last night was an evening for going out as a couple at the awesome 14 Pews, as coordinated by Mishpacha & Me at the ERJCC in Houston. In conjunction with the Jewish Book Fair, they had planned a night out consisting of a comedic introduction, book reading and Q&A by 2013 Thurber Prize for American Humor winner, Jewish father of two, and my new social media pal, Dan Zevin. 

A full house of couples, and one baby in a button down, listened and laughed as Dan read the chapter about going to Costco with his dad, from his latest book Dan Gets a Minivan. We learned his dad's secrets to grocery cart optimization, and that his dad still buys him paper towels. I forgot to ask if they like Costco pizza, but who doesn't right?

What I did ask was what kind of minivan he has. A Toyota Sienna. And my husband asked if he thinks that the overuse of hand sanitizer is leading our children to become wusses. While Dan did not seem to have a problem with the sanitizer itself, it is the dispensers that concern him. He believes that when our generation of children are parents, they will have the perfect balance of involvement in order to grow their own strong kids. So the pressure is off of us.

We got to enjoy wine, caramel corn, was it Fiddle Faddle? And a beautiful fruit platter, was it from Costco? We left with plastic baby bottles filled with trail mix for the kids at home. And an autographed copy of Dan's book signed to: The coolest couple in Houston! I will assume Dan knows lots of couples here.

The biggest takeaway of the night was that more people should name their kids "Izzy." Dan of the minivan thinks it is such a cool name. For a boy or a girl I am not sure. But name your kids Izzy.

My husband and I ended the evening with a quick dinner and drinks at Liberty Kitchen. We will need to head back for their red velvet pancake tacos. 

Posted by Rachel Teichman