The 2023 Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival will soon come to life along the banks of The Woodlands Waterway and Town Green Park on the weekend of Friday, April 14 through Sunday, April 15. As a long-standing springtime tradition for families and local residents for 18 years, the festival is a jewel of the Texas fine arts tour and is ranked among the top arts festivals in the country, and has been voted as the Best Event in The Woodlands.

Here’s a rundown of the top ten things to enjoy and appreciate this year at Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival: 

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most common disabilities to date, impacting around 1% of the entire population, including many of our WoodlandsMommy.com families.

For many, ASD can create difficulties with communication, learning, and social interactions. With autism being a common diagnosis, it is likely you or someone you know may be impacted. April is Autism Acceptance and Awareness month, a great opportunity to get involved in the community and learn more about autism. Below are some interesting facts you may not know about ASD, presented by BlueSprig Pediatrics: 

Jerry Matheson Park - the fabulous "tire park' located at 1240 Ulrich Rd. in Tomball, is getting a facelift. Wait a minute. Facelift is the wrong word. The park is getting a COMPLETE overhaul! Last year, when I heard that they were re-doing this charming playground, I was disheartened. "What could be better than an awesome park with TIRES GALORE?" I wondered. But then, I stopped at the park this week to check it out, and I was AMAZED! The playground is completely new and it's spectacular! 

I won't spend much time writing out some commentary. I know YOU want to see photos, so here they are:

Here is a look at the many play structures. As you can see, the second one is perfectly sized for younger kids:

A climber's paradise! Jerry Matheson Park has so many structures on which to climb, including these three beauties. We love the monkey bars:

I can't get over the beautiful rope swing that's large enough for several riders. The motion is side-to-side. The park has about 4 regular swings, some baby/tot swings, and several specialty swings They are NOT all picture.

 Imaginative play at its finest! Toddlers and preschoolers can sit and enjoy this little red train for hours! 

Here are a few other favorites! A zip line, teeter totter, and more!

In case you're interested, here's the master plan of how Jerry Matheson Park when the $2.3 million update is complete. There will be a splashpad, pickleball courts, and other new amenities, coming soon.

Meet Lori S., our Spotlight Mom for February 2023!

If you're a mom interested in being in our Mom Spotlight in 2023, please CLICK HERE. 

Please tell us a little about your family:

My husband and I met in 2002 in Conroe, and found out we shared the same birthday among other things we had in common! Needless to say, we hit it off and we’re married in 2004! Since then we've had three beautiful children and I have stayed home with them and homeschool them. Our daughters have been involved in National Youth Theater for several years and love it!

Do you have a business you'd like to share with our readers:

I do! Years ago I started MakeThingsPersonal.com, a blog about connecting and making meaningful relationships in our busy, disconnected world, because relationships have always been important to me. That is a continuing work in progress. Then in 2018 I started my photography business and I absolutely love getting to capture the love, joy, and connections in the families I work with! What a privilege! I also offer Senior Portraits and serve business owners with branding and headshots.

Favorite place to go in The Woodlands area:

I love visiting the parks with my family. Being in nature, taking a relaxed walk, swinging with them for a few carefree moments, those are the moments that fill up my heart. Rob Fleming, North Shore, and Town Green Parks are among my favorites!

Favorite blogs I read:

I love WoodlandsMommy.com for all the local happenings and articles specifically for moms. I also love NotConsumed.com. It’s been fun to watch her grow over the years and I have enjoyed many of the Bible studies and resources she provides!

First job:

Oh goodness! My first job was being a cashier at McDonald’s! Living in a small town the options were limited. I did enjoy it, though. Getting to work with people, serve them with great customer service and mop the floors with excellence! Yes, I was regularly complimented on the floors the next day! LOL

Favorite childhood book or story:

Growing up, my favorite story was The Giving Tree. It was still one of my favorites to read with my children when they were little! Love and Giving is what life is all about!

Favorite meal to prepare at home:

Oh, hard to choose! I make a Mexican Casserole that everyone loves. Basically layers of rice, refried beans, taco meat, onions and peppers, crushed tortilla chips and cheese baked to yummy, melted goodness!

3 Things on my Long-Term To-Do List:

This past year I began one of them -- taking care of my parents as they age, when my father had a stroke. All my life it’s been important to me to be there for them when this time came. It’s not always easy, but I’m glad I can help them.

Another thing on my long-term to-do list is continue my education. I have so many interests, I would like to dive deeper into some of them, and become a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach and maybe a naturopathic dr after that! I’d also love to becoming a parenting coach.

The 3rd thing on my Loooong-Term to-do list— I’d love to buy a house in the Bahamas one day!

How I spend my Friday evenings:

Some of our Fridays are spent taking our daughters to Theater rehearsals, but if we’re not doing that, I may have a photo session, or a date with my husband or a movie night in with the family!

Favorite non-homemade dessert (and where can we find it):

I’m a sucker for a no-sugar added fro-yo at Chiller Bee, but if you’re on the area, Caroline’s in Tomball makes amazing low carb treats as well!

Best way to spend $50:

I love spending time with my family, so I’d spend it eating out with my family, roller skating with them at Rainbow Roller Rink, or some other experience having fun with them!

Something in your purse that has an interesting story behind it:

I have a Visa gift card with 42 cents left on it! My daughter didn’t know what to do with it so she offered it to me! It’s hanging out in my purse for when I find something for exactly 42 cents! LOL

My life:

…is nowhere near perfect, but it’s perfect for me. We’re so blessed and I try to soak up the moments of love, joy, and connection with family and friends; laughing, serving, giving, and growing!

How can our readers find you?

Sure! I’m on Facebook at
Facebook.com/LoriSlottPhotography

And Instagram at
Instagram.com/LoriSlottPhotography

Saturday morning we received our first cookie delivery from Brown Butter Bakery, a cottage bakery located in Willis, TX, and – OH MY STARS – these tender, beautiful, slightly puffy cookies were downright delicious! I promised myself I’d have just a couple of nibbles (I’m still trying to shed holiday pounds). But then I went back to the box on the kitchen island… and back to the box again… and then I taped the box shut… and minutes later I was ripping the tape off…and…  Well, let me just tell you I was a whole mess over this indulgent, delightful cookie delivery!

When Megan arrived at my door, it felt like Christmas! She greeted me with a big smile and she even let me snap this photo:

Our delivery included the following flavors: Snickerdoodle, Chocolate Chunk, and a couple of Valentine’s flavors – Red Velvet Smore’s and Burning Love.

Brown Butter Bakery delivers their fresh cookies from Willis all the way south to The Woodlands and areas nearby and in between! They're a convenient way to get your cookie fix on, all while supporting a small local family business.

I had seen photos of Brown Butter Bakery cookies ahead of time, so I figured I’d really like the chocolate chunk cookies. I couldn’t have guessed how moist and richly textured these cookies would actually be! They were soooo delicious! From what I could tell, the chocolate chunk includes 3 different types of high quality chocolate, and you can actually see the morsels and chunks throughout the cookies, so it’s not some melted amorphous mess, but rather, it’s a beautiful work of art!

The cookies are soft with a bit of a crust on the bottom, so if you’re cutting a cookie in half to share (but why would you?) once your knife gets to the bottom of the cookie, you’ll need to give it an extra wiggle to cut through. Its perfect for a bit of tender crunchiness. And they’re topped with just the right amount of flaky sea salt for a decadent, gourmet touch.

The Red Velvet Smore’s was another of my favorites. It’s a Red Velvet cookie with the added deliciousness of milk chocolate chips and a freshly toasted marshmallow on top. Genius!

The snickerdoodle cookies were surprisingly delicious as well. I say “surprising” because when my kids get snickerdoodle from those other places, I’m never tempted to try them (snickerdoodles are kinda boring in my opinion), but these cookies were richly colored and slightly darker than most snickerdoodles I’ve met, so I gave them a try. Sooo good! These are actually the cookies that I kept going back to the kitchen island for!

When a mom eats a Brown Butter Bakery cookie, the ethical thing to do is to cut it in 4 pieces and share it with any other nearby household members. I mean, the cookies are large and thick, so they are plenty shareable. But when did ethics become a part of cookie-eating? Take that cookie into your bedroom closet, close the door, and enjoy it alone with a glass of cold milk. The kids (and hubby!) will be none the wiser!

I wanted to hear more about the family behind Brown Butter Bakery, so meet Kyle, Megan, Briley, & Colt Brewer, and enjoy the Brown Butter Bakery Story as told from Megan:

The Brown Butter Baker story

Our story began about 30 years ago, when Kyle, was just a boy. One Christmas, he was tasked with making sugar cookies for the holiday celebration. It was a simple bag-mix of cookie dough, but everyone seemed to love them and told him what a great job he did. This is what sparked his love of baking. This love carried over through his life, and soon after graduating from Texas A&M, Kyle and Megan met.

Shortly after we married in 2014, we found out we were expecting our daughter, and life led us to the Conroe area. Unsatisfied with the local dessert options at the time, Kyle began his journey of creating the perfect chocolate chip cookie. For months he tested different ingredients and ratios, trying to get the taste and texture just right. After finding the perfect balance, he shared the cookie with family and friends, and it quickly became a highly requested item. (This is still what his sister requests for Christmas each year!)

Like many families, baking and cooking has always played such an important role in our home. When our daughter was a toddler, we constantly had her in the kitchen, helping us with any and every recipe we knew she could handle. Once a week, Kyle and her plan a whole menu for the evening, and they make anything Briley can dream up!

Fast forward to 2022, our family had grown again, and we found ourselves in a position where we needed a little more income, and I had the idea to begin a cottage bakery. Though reluctant, Kyle agreed to start a baking business with my encouragement and support. Thus, Brown Butter Bakery was born!

We began offering our gourmet cookies to our neighbors in The Woodlands Hills, and they were a hit! Now, we attend local markets, have pop-ups at other local small businesses, and we’ve even had the honor to work with some big organizations such as Howard Hughes, the National Hot Rod Association, and the Montgomery County Fair Association.

Each member of our family holds a special role in our operation. Kyle, of course, is the baker while Megan runs the day-to-day operations, communications, and marketing. Our children are our official and most honest taste-testers – we know when they truly love a new cookie, and when they would prefer to do without!

With every box we sell, a portion is held back to help provide donations for local fundraisers. We have had the distinct pleasure to provide cookies to assist fundraisers which benefited The Woodlands Pavilion Scholarship Program, Willis Education Foundation, CF Swing for a Cure, and even private benefits to help local families battling the worst unexpected twists life can bring such as cancer and unexpected deaths.

Our mission is simple: Create and serve the most delicious gourmet cookies you've ever tasted and give back to our community in the process.

The next time I receive a Brown Butter Bakery cookie delivery, I’m telling Megan to go around to the back bedroom window and knock gently. Or better yet, I’ll meet her down the street. The other folks in my house don’t need to know these beautiful, delicious cookies have been delivered! You guys have to go check them out! Here's the link to the website to order.

If driving outside of your Woodlands bubble is unthinkable to you, they you’re really missing out! When you discover all the community programming offered for FREE through Harris County Precinct 3, you just might think you’ve struck gold! Precinct 3 covers a large portion of Suburban North and Northwest Houston, with many of the events taking place at parks along Spring Creek Greenway, just minutes away from The Woodlands. (These areas were formerly under HC Precinct 4, but the maps / borders changed in recent years.)

My family and I recently enjoyed the Park After Dark "Fireside Storytelling" event, and in the past, my kids and I have signed up for canoeing, kayaking, archery, and more. All have been wonderful experiences!  The events were very lightly attended (just a handful of families during our times out there, so no lines or crowds), the equipment is always clean, and the hosts are very informative!