Dear Kids,
The week before Thanksgiving break, Daddy tells me that he has 3 more days of vacation left this year that he has to use up and with you guys having the entire week off, we decided that a trip to the beach was long overdue. We had wanted to visit Moody Gardens for awhile, so we booked a hotel on Galveston Island and on Monday, we were off. The pictures somehow got loaded chronologically backwards so I'll just recap what we did.
One of the highlights of the trip was the FREE ferry ride from Galveston to Bolivar. It was windy, but not terribly cold. We saw lots of birds and even some dolphins swimming alongside the boat!
Then we stopped by the strand area and walked around the historic part of town.
We had to stop by the candy store because the day before, everyone was tired and grumpy so I pulled a bribe card and promised you guys $3 worth of candy each if you didn't whine. Both of you held up your end of the bargain (for the most part) but Nathan, you chose to take the $3 and put it towards a toy that you have been saving up for.
Hannah ended up picking up an assortment of salt water taffy
and Hailey, you got your first lollipop. After watching Nathan and Hannah eat their lollipops from Halloween, you've been asking for one too and so far I've been able to placate you with gummy vitamins skewered on a chopstick. This trip, you got a real one. You were so excited!
After the candy store, Nathan and Daddy played a quick game of checkers using the giant chess pieces at a park. The girls played with the knight pieces.
After a delicious lunch at Rudy's, we stopped by Johnson space center for a bit. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our Thinkery membership got the whole family into the center for free. We saved over $100 there. We were able to explore almost the whole center (minus the shuttle tour) and here are the pics from that trip.
On Tuesday, we visited Moody gardens. The first pyramid that we explored was the aquarium. Hailey was excited to see all the things.
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| We saw lots of tropical fish, including a "unicorn" fish. |
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| Had close encounters with penguins |
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| And Hailey even saw real Gogo (which is her favorite stuffed animal seal). |
After the aquarium, we explored the ice world exhibit. It was a cold 9 degrees Fahrenheit inside. But the ice sculptures were all so amazing.
I just had to take a picture of the space needle because we were just there this summer.
And Daddy took a picture next to the hockey players because, you know...he plays hockey.
We managed to get someone to take a few family pictures for us.
And then at the end of the exhibit were 3 giant ice slides. They were so much fun!
On the way out, we
had to take a picture next to the shark. Hailey still loves Baby shark.
We left for some lunch at a restaurant on a pier nearby and then afterwards, returned to explore some more.
The rainforest pyramid was pretty cool and we saw all sorts of exotic birds and plants. There was even a smelling station.
In the mornings, you big kids would wake up early and just spend time by the window playing. It was a beautiful view.
On Monday, we hit the road after rush hour traffic, stopped for lunch and arrived in Galveston around 2 in the afternoon. After we checked into our hotel, we walked over to the beach for some playtime. Nathan, as usual just wanted to stay in the hotel, but you girls both were pretty excited to go to the beach to play. We arrived and the water was cold. The sand was cold and the sky was patchy with the sun peeking through every few minutes or so. You all splashed around in the waves, I found a few cool seashells and then towards the end, everyone was just playing with the fine sand.
Overall, it was a nice vacation with a relaxed pace. We really didn't have anything planned out, just a short list of things we wanted to do. I'd say we could do it again soon.
The next few pictures are from before our Galveston vacation. But in no particular order.
We went to get family portraits done and since I had gotten family pajamas, I figured we'd just go simple and do a quick shoot at JCPenney's and call it a day. We even brought Teddy along. You all did such a good job cooperating (for the most part) that we went out for ice cream afterwards.
That evening I bought tickets to watch Frozen 2, but Nathan ended up not wanting to go, so we invited our neighbor instead and I took the 3 of you to the movies. They had a cool family event with crafts and even a "Let it Go" sing along where all the kids got to go to the front and sing along. Hailey, you are now pretty obsessed with the song and often request it.
As fall creeps in, the leaves are starting to change color and fall. We had our usual play in the leaves afternoon before Daddy sucked up all of the leaves and put them by the curb.
On a Friday, we had a MOPS play date and we met up downtown at the childrens' library. Hailey you enjoyed the story time, especially the songs and the story.
We usually have some time in the morning before we leave the house to run errands or for me to go to the gym to exercise. Sometimes we take walks and explore the neighborhood.
Sometimes we paint, which almost always ends up with you painting your hands and stamping them all over the table and missing the paper completely. But I really don't mind, because it gives me about 15 minutes to clean up or do some sort of chore close by.
On a Tuesday, we joined our church to serve our neighbors by putting on a family event at foundation communities. You guys "helped" me prepare and run the crafts.
I marked my calendar with the wrong time, so we ended up showing up 45 minutes too early. Luckily they had a small playground to play on and it was a nice day.
We also celebrated Hannah's baptismal birthday with your God-parents. We had lunch and they gifted you with this super cute necklace.
Another evening we had bingo night at school. We sat with friends and it was intense.
There were times where you almost got BINGO, but then someone would call it before you got to put your last chip down. You all were disappointed, but it was a good life lesson. Believe me. Life can sometimes suck, but find the good in it and move on.
Hailey, you love watching TV. Sometimes when I drop you off at the gym, they have a movie playing on the TV. I snapped this picture below because I thought it was hilarious that even through the credits, you were still craning your neck to look at the screen.
Here's a perfect example of a "lollipop." You, like most kids on Earth, enjoy eating food off of a stick.
On Thanksgiving, we just spent it at home with you three. Despite many invites for Friendsgivings and the possibility of us hosting, taking you 3 to any sort of social even usually ends up being stressful and not super enjoyable. I know that this is only a stage that will pass too quickly. It's just way easier to be home, in our element and enjoy the time we have with each other.
On Friday, Auntie Momo came and we had hot pot for dinner.
Afterwards, we hung out on the couch and talked as our "puppies" took naps.
Saturday morning, we drove downtown to watch the Blue Santa Parade. It was OK. The kids were pretty excited to see certain characters like a Pikachu appearance and the big balloons, but after watching the Macy's parade on TV, this one waned in comparison.
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| Nathan's favorite: Pikachu |
We had lunch afterwards and then decided to make a Costco run. Hannah, you wanted to hang off of the cart handle bars and Daddy and I thought it was funny enough to snap a picture.
Oh, and Hannah, you lost your first tooth! The toothfairy came that night and exchanged your tooth for a dollar and a letter that basically said that you are awesome, but just need to whine less.
That's good advice. I'd suggest you follow it.
Well, that's about it for now. Until next week, 2 weeks, or month.
Love,
Mom
