Family Vacay - Part 1

Let's get moving already! My show is on!

Oh ... and peek-a-boo to you too Emily!!

(in your forward facing car seat)

One nutritious lunch at DQ!!

Mommy always has to share her ice cream.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

We arrived at our friends' house Saturday afternoon, just in time for some fun. The neighborhood they live in has a lake and their house is on that lake. That evening, we cooked out and played outside. They neighbors had a boat parade around the lake and there were fireworks after dark. We enjoyed some of the party and watched the boats but then decided we would try to put the girls to bed before the fireworks so maybe we could enjoy them without the little ones. riiiiiiggght. Because being in the car all day and ending up at a strange house surrounded by strangers and being expected to go to bed in a strange place is something toddlers handle really well. SO ... we gave them a bath and set up their beds ... and let the screaming begin. We knew there would be crying and we were hoping we would get it out of the way before our hosts were trying to go to bed. NO SUCH LUCK. We heard the fireworks going. Sill screaming. We heard them come in and get their son ready for bed. Still screaming. I felt so bad for our girls and the family we were staying with. In all fairness, Em was really the only one screaming. Megan was pretty good through it all and she was the one we were worried about. After about an hour and a half of holding Emily and rocking her, she was finally deep enough asleep that I could put her down without it starting all over again. One interesting night ... with a few more to come ...

Decorating (eating) flag cookies at the Artzes' on the 3rd.

YUM-O!

Em's turn on the tricycle!

No matter where we go, Megan finds a trike and is set for hours.

On the 4th we just hung around the house for the morning. We took the boat around the lake then over to the neighborhood park so the kids could play for a while. It was kind of neat to boat over there. When we came back we couldn't keep the girls out of the sand so we hung out at their little beach for a while before hosing them off and heading in for lunch. Afterwards, we decided we should go explore the thriving metropolis of Magnolia and hope the girls would fall asleep in the car. If nothing else, they would have some down time watching videos in the back seat. Em napped the entire two hours we were gone. That afternoon we had more fun down at the beach, this time with swimsuits on. After dinner ... fireworks!

The motorized 4 wheeler is discovered ...

After a day at the lake beach.

Happy 4th!

Em LOVED this thing and pushed it around forever!

I have no idea why she's fussing.

Megan enjoyed the sparklers!!

Megan did NOT enjoy the big fireworks.

Megan got scared when the fireworks started (these are the DIY kind). I was surprised because she loved the sparkler so much but I guess the loud noises did her in. Emily started to fuss a little but we started clapping and oohing and ahhhing and she joined right in clapping and smiling. We didn't even try putting the girls to bed. We just went with the same routine. Neither of us were ready to call it a night but we didn't have a choice. Monday, our check in was pretty late so we took another cruise around the lake on the boat before we left. The girls wanted to play in the sand again but we had to be on our way.

Our friends' house from the boat. Love the sandy beach.

The fam on the boat!

Megan

We made a few stops and side-trips on our way down to Galveston Monday. James wanted to drive by his mom's old house. We planned to stop at Wings n Things for lunch ... the one we used to always go to when we first moved to Pearland and there was nothing down there. It was up by Reliant Stadium/Astrodome. We were excited ... then we got there and it was gone. Not just closed but the whole rank building was gone. We were so upset!! :( Plan B wasn't so bad though. We ended up at the Buffalo Wild Wings we frequented at the entrance of our old neighborhood in Pearland. It was a walk down memory lane even though most of our memories at that place are pretty hazy. You see, we didn't have kids yet. We could go up there in the middle of the afternoon and stay until they closed. Not that we ever did that ... ahem ... anyways ... We drove by our old house and it looks like crap. They got a new fence but I think they had to after Ike. Pearland sure has changed and I'm not sure if it's better. It's just crowded. We like it up here but we both still really miss Houston. A lot.

Look for Family Vacay - Part 2 (Galveston) coming soon!!