Port Aransas, Texas...THE BEACH!!

First of all, I have to thank the Townsend's for the invite to the beach. We had such an amazing time. Lots of laughs, good food and friends...what more can you ask for? Thank you, thank you!!!

We left on Thursday for a 4.5 hour drive to Port Aransas. The drive was uneventful (which for my car...is a really good thing!! Go Exped!!) After we got there we walked through the house which was absolutely stunning. I forgot to take a picture of it but believe me...the decor was really fun. (Almost too nice for a rental.) While getting situated, Corry found some hawaiian shirts in a locker. Needless to say, the boys couldn't help but get dressed up and in the beach mode. Nice shirts!!!


We went to a restaurant called the Wharf. It was pretty good. My chicken was yummy...I am hoping to duplicate it sometime soon.



When we got back from dinner, we took a walk down the boardwalk to check out the beach. It was actually a really nice beach. The sand was really nice. The kids were really excited to finally be there. Everyone--except Gabe!! He wasn't really thrilled with the water or the sand. He did warm up to the sand a bit!








The boys threw the ball around. Gabe tried to join in the fun.




Halle's favorite part was the pool, which was absolutely freezing!! Kyle took out 3 garden snakes from the pool. GROSS!


Tammy paid Kyle $4 to put a tatoo on his forhead. My kids will do anything to make a buck!!




Tammy was the nice one to get down and dirty building a sand castle. The kids had so much fun with it. They all got buckets and poured water in the mote. Apparently the next day they built an even bigger one. I stayed back to let Gabe have a nap.




Can anyone say...DON'T FEED THE BIRDS!! We tried so hard to keep the birds away while we ate out lunch and our snacks. I don't think that Cory or Sara understood that!! They were out there throwing food to them and they couldn't get rid of them! I am surprised that no one was pooped on or physically attacked by them. Those things can smell food a mile away! *Notice little Kaylie in the corner just watching the birds with fascination. This picture doesn't even show all the birds that were towering around them. YUCK!!



The kids played the Wii for a bit until they couldn't agree on something to play and everyone was upset! Kids!!!


After our final dinner we stopped at the candy store. The kids had fun putting their own bags together with miscellaneous candy. Tammy also got hit on (while not in there) by the candy store owner!!! Isn't it nice to still have it Tammy?? You are one hot mama!!



Thank you Townsends once again for a fabulous vacation. We are so grateful for your friendship and for the friendship of all of the wonderful people that were there. It was definitely memorable!

Taking a Trip

I haven't had time to do any posts in the last week and we are heading out of town tomorrow morning to go to the beach. YEAH! We are all very excited. I will take lots of pics and even some video. Hopefully there won't be any run ins with any choice people...but if there are, I promise to be a good example and hold my tongue. (Or should I say...my rock!!) I must say though that packing for a family of six is very taxing. I need a vacation from packing and then I will need a vacation from my unpacking...I can't believe how much there is still to do!! CRAZY!! Luckily we aren't leaving too early in the morning. So I shall see you all next week...Have a great weekend. I know that we will. If any of you want to know what kind of beach it is, it is called Port Aransas, TX. Until then...

Lost Pines

On Sunday we decided to take a drive out to a National Park that we were told about. It was really beautiful. (I was quite surprised!!!) We drove around and looked at the cabins and camp sites that maybe someday we would go too. We then went to a little lake (pond) a finger of a bigger lake (Lake Bastrop). The kids had a lot of fun throwing rocks in the water. The girls were trying to skip rocks like Kyle but were pretty unsuccessful. But they had fun trying. We hung out there for about 30 minutes and decided that it was time to head home. Now this is a FAMILY place and there were a few people attempting to fish (who knows what kind of fish could be in this dinky pond). There were kids all over. Well on our walk back which was around a little bend, Kyle thought it would be funny to throw a rock in and try to get his dad wet. Well some smart fisherman made a snide "Thank You" really loud. I said to Steve, "Is this guy serious?" He (the fisherman) had his family (2 kids and a wife) sitting up at a picnic table. They were just sitting there doing nothing. YEAHH!! Oh the excitement. Well, I was mad that he would even make a comment to my son. Kyle didn't even do it on purpose. It is not like we take him fishing all of the time so that he can learn the courtesies of that sport...So on my way up the hill, I picked up a rock and threw it (I don't even think it made it to the water) The wife got furious and started yelling...What did you do that for? What kind of parents are you? blah, blah, blah...So Steve said: "These aren't our kids. We just found them here!" Nice come back. The dad then said: "Well maybe I should call the cops to come and pick them up." Seriously people get over it. These are kids being kids. Allow them some fun and some slack for heavens sake. We went back and forth and then we just walked off...all riled up with the adrenaline pumping. Granted I shouldn't have attempted to throw the rock in the water, but the guy was a jerk. There were lots of families there with there kids throwing rocks in the water. Whatever. Oh well...I felt bad about it afterwards. I should have been a better example to my kids...instead I was ticked off. Don't talk to my kids like that. So to end my story...we had a great Sunday until all of this happened. Then we drove home thinking of all of the things that we wished we had said...WAS I WRONG??? :)

Before & After

BEWARE: You may need sunglasses to view this post!! Last week I decided it was high time to get the girls room painted. We have been talking about it for months now. We decided on Cantaloupe. I thought that would be a fun change from your typical girly colors of pink, purple, etc. I bought the paint and started...WHOA! It went on beautiful...but then of course it dries darker. It looks really orange :) But the girls absolutely love it and with the hibiscus flowers that we put on the wall, I think that it really came together! For all you who may be worried, I used a low VOC paint...and yes I did the WHOLE thing all by myself! The girls had tons of fun putting up the flowers. They were a great help. Welcome to the HAWAII room. The ALOHA greeting will soon be put on their wall.

My Accomplishment...Oh & Steve's too!!

This weekend we had lots to do on the deck...it started with our visit to Lowe's where lots of money was spent. We bought more stuff for the railing, a grill, fans for the upstairs bedrooms and paint for the girls room. Yes I know...WAY too many projects. One at a time...well on Saturday, the railing for the top deck is almost complete. We just have to buy wood for one more topper. It looks amazing. We did the copper piping like my parents did on a deck in Island Park. I can't wait to see the finished product (after it is all stained!)My project for Saturday was to put a grill together. I am sooo proud of myself! I even had to put a gas conversion kit on it. And guess what? It worked that night, we grilled steaks and it was fabulous. So if any of you need schooling in putting a grill together and converting it to natural gas, I am your girl!! We also found that we have a new pet living under our deck. The kids named him Jack...he is a tiny Jack Rabbit (Bunny). He is really cute, but I don't think that I want him to stay there. The kids got out the carrots and tried feeding it. He really liked the carrots too. I think that he got bolder as the day went on too. He would just sit on the edge of a board and watch the kids. Anyone know how to get rid of these really cute pets?? I don't want to turn around and have a litter living there :)

Is It Warm Enough?? Can We? Can We?

Mom...do you recognize that look? I think he gets it from you !! :)







Everyday the kids are asking me...what is the temperature going to be? Is it warm enough? Is it warm like yesterday? Well, today they asked...is it warm enough to put the sprinklers under the tramp? Today was a bit muggy but we had a temperature of about 76*. Well, you may say, no it isn't warm enough. But my kids ask me everyday and finally I gave in!! They had a great time playing in the sprinklers and blowing bubbles with Gabe. I have to say though that being pregnant in Texas is awful. I feel soooo darn hot and sweaty all the time. When will it end?? :) Or has it even begun?