Neal and I started talking about trying to get away a few months ago and we happened upon a fun looking condo that wasn't too costly and we were sold. The bonus to this trip is that we got to pass by Houston to see our good friends, the Klugs, to meet their newborn son, Landry!
After meeting sweet Landry, we hit the road again and got to Galveston in plenty of time to make our first trip down to the beach. Jillian, who has not been to the beach since she was only a few months old, was possibly the most excited of all of us! She kept demanding "simsoos" (swimsuits) so we could hit the "BEACH!!!" (complete with arms thrown in the air). She was so enthusiastic, she would try to get there through the most direct path - our balcony door. We finally convinced her to take the front door for safety reasons, however! I didn't have my camera for our first excursion, but got plenty on the other days to make up for it.
After a quick trip to check out our beach, we took it easy the first night - we had dinner in the condo and then I headed out for a few groceries while everyone else got ready for bed and watched a movie. When I got back the girls were dying to go to bed since they got to stay in these super-cool bunks that even had their own lights that the girls could control. What could be better?
Meredith was pumped to get the top bunk. We had to really work on her climbing down because she slipped one of the first times she was doing it and then was a little spooked, but by day 2, she was a pro!
I was a little afraid we would have a fight for the top, which I was not willing to let Jillian win for fear she would fall, but she was just thrilled with her bed. She and Sissy did play some on the top bunk which seemed to be just perfect for her.
The next morning after breakfast and me taking the opportunity to go for a run on the beach, we all headed out for a full day of fun!
Jillian, still excited, would periodically, do this "Beach!" pose!
Meredith was most excited to build sandcastles, especially since she had promised to send a picture of one of her creations to her Sunday School teacher.
One of the many castles we made - this one has a Capri Sun packet as a flag. We also made a sand turtle and a sand hippo. Sadly, you can't tell much about them from the pictures I took, but the girls loved them!
Meredith was also pretty excited to fly kites with Daddy. Sadly, I had decided that the two pack from Dollar Tree would fit our needs. This picture shows about how well that kite flew even in some pretty windy conditions.
Luckily, our shell hunt was more successful
Jillian was pretty excited to get into the water too - she loved going out to jump and splash! Big waves scared her and neither girl liked to have water in their faces, but they just loved the beach!
The tiny people out in the water are Jillian and Neal - Meredith stayed behind after having been splashed in the mouth right before this. She made fun in the little waves jumping, though - and then when she saw how much fun they were having, she and I ventured out too.
We also took full advantage of the pool at the condo. Meredith worked on swimming and Jillian loved riding on Daddy's back as much as she could!
At Fisherman's Wharf - the food and view were both really nice. The girls loved taking breaks from dinner to check out the boats, fish and birds they could see.
The rings were a hit!
Jillian was pretty excited to get into the water too - she loved going out to jump and splash! Big waves scared her and neither girl liked to have water in their faces, but they just loved the beach!
The tiny people out in the water are Jillian and Neal - Meredith stayed behind after having been splashed in the mouth right before this. She made fun in the little waves jumping, though - and then when she saw how much fun they were having, she and I ventured out too.
We also took full advantage of the pool at the condo. Meredith worked on swimming and Jillian loved riding on Daddy's back as much as she could!
That night we headed out to The Strand to explore a little and let Neal get some seafood!
At Fisherman's Wharf - the food and view were both really nice. The girls loved taking breaks from dinner to check out the boats, fish and birds they could see.
The next day, we decided to try out Schlitterbahn. We had so much fun! We spent lots of time in the kiddie pools and their river but we also got everyone on a ride or two!
Our last day we decided to devote to being total beach bums!
There were lots more sand castles!
We tested out floating in the waves
Our last day we decided to devote to being total beach bums!
There were lots more sand castles!
We tested out floating in the waves
The rings were a hit!
Then I tried to teach the girls to let the waves bring them in from out in the ocean. It turned into them just riding me back to shore, but we had so much fun laughing and splashing!
That afternoon, I was out searching for shells with just Meredith and I was just overwhelmed with what an amazing time we had. I truly just felt like I wanted to bottle up the whole week so I could just go back to it over and over. I was so struck by how big the girls are getting and how blessed I am by this family that I have. I just want to be able to allow myself the time to feel that in normal everyday life. The best part was that, to top off this great vacation, we got to meet our friends, the Hooks family, for dinner. They had just officially moved to the Houston area the week before. I was already missing Jackie and Meredith couldn't stop talking about how she was missing her friend, Grace. We kept the dinner a surprise and she was so excited to walk into the restaurant and see Grace sitting there! After dinner, they came back with us for some fun on the beach. Again, such a great way to end our trip!
This amazing family God has blessed me with! I took advantage of having Jackie there to snap a quick family picture.
Pretty much the only way I get smiley pictures out of the girls anymore is to promise them a silly one. This is the first one we got to do as a whole family and I think I want to keep this tradition up! :)
That afternoon, I was out searching for shells with just Meredith and I was just overwhelmed with what an amazing time we had. I truly just felt like I wanted to bottle up the whole week so I could just go back to it over and over. I was so struck by how big the girls are getting and how blessed I am by this family that I have. I just want to be able to allow myself the time to feel that in normal everyday life. The best part was that, to top off this great vacation, we got to meet our friends, the Hooks family, for dinner. They had just officially moved to the Houston area the week before. I was already missing Jackie and Meredith couldn't stop talking about how she was missing her friend, Grace. We kept the dinner a surprise and she was so excited to walk into the restaurant and see Grace sitting there! After dinner, they came back with us for some fun on the beach. Again, such a great way to end our trip!
This amazing family God has blessed me with! I took advantage of having Jackie there to snap a quick family picture.
Pretty much the only way I get smiley pictures out of the girls anymore is to promise them a silly one. This is the first one we got to do as a whole family and I think I want to keep this tradition up! :)
After lots of playing in the waves and the sand, the Hanks and Hooks kiddos tried out their hands at a silly group pic too!
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