Galveston!

Tim and I had not been on vacation since 2008 (yikes!) so we decided we needed a family vacation this summer.  So, we rented a beach house in Galveston with my Mom, brother and nephew.  We had a phenomenal time!  Mom, Carter and I were down there from Sunday to Sunday.  Tim, Scotty and Alex were not able to join us until Thursday evening - but they still enjoyed their time as well! It was so relaxing and fun - the beach was great, the weather was great, the kids were great -  Alex and Carter had such a blast playing together.  We couldn't have asked for more!  I'll explain as we go... (The picture above was taken at Pleasure Pier - which is out over the ocean.  It's like a carnival on a pier!  Super cool - not a whole lot for the little ones to do - but we for sure rode the Merry Go Round!)

The beautiful house...

The first evening at the beach...

A nap on the beach...so sweet!

Covered in sand!

Building sandcastles with Mommy...

...and with Alex.

Loving some baseball on the beach!

Boogie boarding!

Such a little beach stud!

 

Two sweet boys!

Cousins!

All the boys :)

Family pic :)

At Rainforest Cafe for dinner one night...

Balloon swords - AWESOME!

Pleasure Pier...

Gigi and her sweet Grandsons :)

Gigi and her two kiddos :)

Lovin' Mommy's shades!

Matching shirts!

Summer so far...

So far, summer has been jam-packed full of fun!  We've hit up the water park a few times, the library for story time (and to see a real Barnum & Bailey clown!), Home Depot to build (and paint) a really cool storage box, the movie theater for Carter's VERY FIRST "big movie" experience (Madagascar 3 - Europe's Most Wanted), Chuck E. Cheese for Brayden's birthday party, spent some fun time with family and friends, and even took a trip to the Dallas Zoo!  Whew!!  It's been so awesome so far!  Next week is our family vacation to Galveston - can't wait!  :)  Here are some pics... I think they ended up most recent first...

Of course - had to ride the Carousel - and it's no accident that he is on the giraffe!

We spent WAY too much time torturing petting the goats at the zoo!

Patrick - the Gorilla.  Yikes.  He is huge.

Carter - who generally has no fear - was a little scared to see Patrick up close & personal.  I don't blame him!

Unreal - these lions are only 3 years old, weigh 450 pounds and are not even close to being done growing.  Wow!  C was yelling at them to wake up...go figure!

Best party of the day - you guessed it, the giraffes!

Carter even fed this one some lettuce - he was so excited!

Playing with puppets at the library!

Such a big boy at the movies!

Happy birthday Brayden!  That is Brayden on the left, at the front.  Then Emmarie, Carter, Raegan and London!  Such cuties.

A little unsure of these giant animals - he kept asking what they are doing (I guess he was curious how they could play musical instruments!)

Rode this horse about 3,246 times.

Just chillin'...

Snuggle time with DD and Pops!

Helping Mommy mow the grass!