Galvaston Vacation Day #3

After our yummy cinnamon roll breakfast it was time to head off to our adventure of the day....Schlitterbahn!!

Carli decided today was not the day to be adventurous so getting her to ride any rides was a nice test in patience! Ava pretty much would try if you asked. If Drew could wear a bubble over his head and not get his face wet, he'd be up for anything! Maggie actually did really well but honestly without Naggy and Pappy we couldn't have pulled off the day!

They had three nice toddler areas and Drew was content to stay in them but his favorite was riding the lazy river.

Drew tried the goggles but that felt too funny and he didn't even make it to the water with them on.

We had a hard time getting pictures of Ava bc she was always on the go...see, here she is coming off a slide...

Maggie started in a swimsuit but after a trip around the lazy river we had to change her diaper and the swimsuit didnt seem so appealing after that!

She was so happy to have found a sippy cup to chew on while sisters rode the World's tallest water slide.

And ride that water slide they did! We managed to force Carli to quit being tentative and pouting after the seagulls stole her lunch and actually admitted she had fun! She loosened up quite a bit after that and I even caught her smiling and laughing more than once.  Ava was all about the slide until we got to the top and she got a little freaked out about how yall it was. She pushed through and at the end decided it was fun but was okay not going on it again!

The raging white water river was a lot of fun, and they had a few water slides that we rode more than once but after being at the park for 5 hours we were all worn out and done...except Drew who true to his personality was just warming up to the idea of the water hitting his face. We managed to convince him to leave with us and he didnt make it very far down the road before he was out!

We spent our evening just chilling out and trying to stay awake until it was time for bed. It was a great day!

Galveston Vacation Day #2

Monday morning we headed to the beach after an awesome breakfast of Naggy's cinnamon rolls!! Drew was so eager to get back to the beach and the waves and the sand! 

As proof that I was actually there...Maggie and I took a selfie. She was umimpressed!

But once we got our umbrella set up to block the wind she was a happy camper until it was nap time.

Naggy managed to snag a family picture before the kids all scattered like anys!

Drew rotated from playing in the sand, to jumping waves, to chasing seagulls, crushing sand castles and resting just for a second before starting it all again!

After the beach, some lunch and a good nap, we practiced a little softball and played some beam bag toss before dinner.

After dinner, we meandered down to the activities center and played some miniature golf.  Carli was eager at first but her perfectionist personality got the best of her and by the end she was so frustrated!  Ava didnt quite ger it but was a good sport. Drew may have tried to hit his ball like a pool cue. Pappy and Keoth beat me by one stroke...but in all fairness, I shot nine holes nursing Maggie and using one arm...so...

After mini golf it was finally dark so we went to the beach to find some crabs. Oh the squealing that went on!  Those crabs was pretty fast!! And it was really neat to see...

After a pretty busy day, it was beyond past time for bed...

Galvaston Vacation Day #1

Surprisingly we woke up Sunday morning with plenty of time to shower and make it to church, it helped a lot that service wasn't until 11.  The church we always visit when on the island has the best acoustics! And they sang the old songs Sunday morning!  If my hands hadn't been full holding a baby I totally would have taken a picture of Drew song leading from the pew!

After church we went to Uncle Danny's favorite restaurant for lunch. Naggy and Pappy got to town just in time to eat with us too. 

We are super thankful to Uncle Danny for sharing his timeshare with us this week. The week has only just begun and we are already having a lot of fun. It's always a good day when I get to visit with Uncle Danny.  He'll never know how much I value his words of wisdom and encouragement. And the best part is that my kids love him so very much. They were so disappointed that he wasn't staying the week with us.

After lunch, we had to say goodbye to Uncle Danny since he had to work Monday and we headed out to the condo to get ready to spend the afternoon on the beach. Drew was beyond excited to go play!! 

Last yr we got to introduce Drew to the beach but he didn't really enjoy it. But this yr he was so ready. He talked non stop about coming for weeks.  And while his reaction did not quite measure up to Ava's reaction when she first saw the beach when she was 2...it totally fit his personality.  He was in awe...but was weary of all that water!

Maggie was unimpressed and demanded to eat and nap! Ha!

Drew's personality is such that it takes him some time to warm up to new things. Those waves and the wet sand moving under his feet were a bit out of his comfort zone. 

Ava on the other hand, saw the sand and literally rolled in it.  Then she dug, threw sand, wallowed in it more and was the definition of pure bliss.

While she didn't comprehend Drew's tentativeness, she did her best to encourage him to join in her fun!

Beach, sand and mud are totally Ava's favorite things!

Carli hit the water first thing, and then went shell hunting or rather treasure hunting.  She even started to build a sand castle but she couldn't get it just perfect so she abandoned that idea in favor of more treasure hunts!

Meanwhile this is what Grandparents are for...patience. Pappy and Drew stood like this for over 30 min, literally moving forward less than an inch at a time.  But Pappy's patience paid off and by the time we were ready to pack up for the day Drew had made it almost chest deep in the water!

Carli found some unique treasures among her seashells. With Grammy's help via text msgs, she things this is a Jamaican Navel Spurge Sean Bean.  

She also found two hermit crabs, which we convinced her to release at the end of the day.

We got back to the condo and grilled some burgers for dinner. Maggie decided she'd give Drew's juice a try.  She maybe my first baby to crawl before 10 months. She is so eager to get up and go. She gets so frustrated when she can't but finding Drew's juice pacified her long enough for us to finish dinner!

Our first day was great and it ended on an awesome note. Drew begged Ava to move her air matress by his and was so happy when she did.  But then he asked her if she'd pray and thank God for all the sand on beaches so she did and that made me one very emotional happy Momma.

On Vacation We Go

We packed up, and finally hit the road like a herd of turtles Saturday afternoon!  We have much to be thankful for to be able to take this week long vacation. Uncle Danny for letting us use his time share in Galvaston, Grammy & Pa for letting us use their Excursion and Becky for house/dog sitting for us. 

We didn't head straight to Galvaston, but detoured through Corsicana for softball practice first. It was Carli's softball team practicing but Ava geared up and practiced with them. We told Ava to just do the fielding drills and not worry about hitting. But first, we had to take a before picture because nothing says sisters like a little sibling rivalry!

This is their before picture all nice and clean...now who would be the dirtiest at the end of the day?!

Well, it was kind of hard to say! Ava did a great job hanging with those older girls. She slid and dove with the best of them and Keith said Carli upped her game too! Ava earned the name "mini me" from coach Ricky and stayed on the field the entire 4 hr practice!  And in Avas words, no matter how much she dove, slid and rolled the dirt just slid right off her!! We agreed the girls tied...

But if you really wanted to know who got the dirtiest during a 4 hr practice...Drew took that prize hands down.

After practice and some dinner and one long pit stop we finally made it to Galvaston...at 1 am. Surprisingly, Drew, Ava and Carli stayed awake til we got here and were in good spirits. Maggie screamed most of the way...have I ever mentioned how stubborn and strong willed my children are?

We made in bed by 2:30 am and everyone slept hard in anticipation of the fun week to come!!