Galveston, part 1

Reid's first "real" vacation was a lot more work to get ready for that I originally thought.  He had never been to the beach, and I hadn't been to the beach since visiting Laura when she lived in Singapore in 2009.  Jason's last time to the beach was probably our trip to Thailand the year before that.  So there's a lot that goes into packing for a place you haven't been in awhile...and a condo you've never been to.  But that's part of the fun and excitement of any vacation.  Reid was SUPER excited to help shop for snacks at Sam's.  He chose the absolute biggest bag of trail mix I've ever seen in my life (you can't really tell from the picture, but it's about half the size of him!) and insisted on carrying it all by himself, tripping all the way and providing entertainment to everyone in the store and parking lot. 

Jason had to work the week before, and I had to find a swimsuit and shop for much needed beach goodies.  Reid got to play at Holli's (or "Hoyee's", as he still says) with some friends he hadn't seen in awhile so that I could wrap up end of school stuff and get this family all packed up.  We rolled out of the driveway early (yes, I'm talking 7:05am here!) Friday morning so we could beat traffic and make decent time.  It wasn't a bad drive and we stopped at Madisonville to gas up.  As soon as we got out of the car for a potty break, Reid said, "Beach!  Where's the beach??  I need beach!"  Must be toddler talk for, "Are we there yet??"  To my delight, we made it to south Houston early enough to have a nice lunch at Lupe Tortilla, our favorite Mexican food that we miss terribly.  North Dallas just doesn't have any good Mexican food that we've found yet.  We couldn't check in to the condo until 4, so we'd planned to come later, but Jason had a friend who was staying at Moody Gardens for the weekend and they sweetly invited us to come hang out in their cabana for the day.  This place was pretty amazing...lazy river, great kids' play areas (we didn't even see two others until we left, so someday we'll have to go back), cabana service, etc.  They have three kids, but two were at camp that week.  The son that was there with them, Nolan, had picked out a Cars ball just for Reid--so thoughtful!  We had a blast catching up with them, lounging around, and playing in the water features.  Reid even enjoyed his very first Icee, watching Nolan the whole time to see what to do. 

Nolan is going into first grade, but he was so sweet to play with Reid the majority of the time.  Reid absolutely ate it up and followed him everywhere.  They swam, they chased, they dug in the sand...you name it.

Four o'clock snuck up on us only too soon, so we said goodbye (Reid did NOT want to leave his new best friend!) and we loaded back up into the car to journey down to West Beach and see the family.  Grammy and Grumpy had visited Silverleaf Resort last year on their vacation and decided it'd be a perfect place for the grandsons, so they generously invited both sets of kids/grandkids to come share the neat little condo for a whole week.  We'd been looking forward to it for months, and Reid kept talking about the beach.  We unloaded and ate a quick bite before heading to the beach for the first time.

The condo was across a slightly busy street from the beach, but we had our own little parking lot. Reid ran the entire way from the parking lot to the beach with noodles...which I finally took away after he tripped for the bazillionth time (he was not happy with me, but he could run a lot faster!), over the bridge, down the ramps, and all the way to the water.  I was kind of surprised he wanted to get right in.

I wasn't sure if he'd even have any interest in the water, so I hadn't changed him.  After a quick wardrobe change, he was ready to jump waves with Daddy, clinging tightly to his leg, of course!

Two of my favorite pictures of his first time at the beach:

The next few days were a blur of sunscreen, sand, and waves.  Everyone had fun at the beach in the mornings, Reid would come home to nap, then it was various afternoon activities, such as feeding the seagulls...

...watching movies and playing on various devices...

...or having Grammy read a book.

We had a nice, laid back Father's Day, then on Monday Grammy and Grumpy went home for a couple of days to take care of their fast-growing yard and the cats.  Everyone was pretty tuckered out from non-stop action, so we took a day off from the beach.  Jason and I had a few random sunburned areas, so that seemed like a great idea as we didn't want to be too burnt and not enjoy the rest of the week.  (note to self...when staying in the sun half the day, do a base coat of sunscreen THEN touch up with the spray!)   The resort had a little media room and they were playing Ice Age, a movie I love and Reid has never seen.  The boys and I enjoyed that while Laura, Matt, and Jason had a little ping pong tournament just outside.  Laura ran to the condo and brought back refreshments, so everyone was quite content.

Reid continued his "anyone but Mommy is my favorite person" routine...Aunt Lala even rated higher than Daddy this week.  He looooves his Aunt Lala!  He also followed Alex around all week and copied anything he or Ben did, usually yelling, "Hey guys!  Hey guys!"

Laura snapped this adorable one of Reid and Alex on the beach one day.

The first day there, the boys discovered "hot dogs" on each of the beds. Who knew decorative pillows could also double as jousting sticks, light sabers, and various other creations the rest of the week??  They were as big as Reid, but he sure didn't mind!

We discovered an infestation of jellyfish early in the week and were afraid that no one would be able to play in the water.  Thankfully, it was really just that one day where they were very bad, then the rest of the week we just had to watch out for them.  Laura and I discovered that keeping our kids safe was also a little bit thrilling.  We caught jellyfish using sand castle strainers, then a little net I found while beach combing.  Little did we know that by the end of the day, we'd have about 40 jellies that we'd been collecting in this bucket to throw away.  The real fun came when we got ready to throw them away so no one else would get hurt, but then discovered the side was busted and jellies were leaking out of it! 

Happy 3rd Birthday!!

Reid's 3rd birthday fell on a school day since school went all the way through the first week of June, so we decided to celebrate the weekend before.  We had Uncle Steve, Taunt (Aimee), Henry, and Harrison over for dinner and cake.  (Hayden was at a friend's house)  All the boys had a blast playing in the backyard, and they even cooperated for dinner.

But the main even was Reid's "Cars" cake.  This kid is obsessed with Cars!  His wonderful sitter/friend/cakenista made him a beautiful and scrumptious red velvet cake.  It was to die for!

Couldn't get a good pic with him...but who could blame him since there was a big cake right in front of him?

The boys were soooo excited...

...especially the birthday boy!

He actually kind of knew what to do this year.  Got the best video of everyone singing, but (of course) it wouldn't upload.  Blogger never seems to like my videos.  When the cousins were gone and it was 10pm, the latest I think he's ever been to bed, someone had a major meltdown.  Plus, Daddy is his favorite once again...Mommy can't help with anything!

The next day, we tried out his new scooter (Cars, of course!)  It was a big hit!

On his actual birthday, I had to sing to him.  Luckily, I also got one other cute thing he's been doing lately:

 He didn't really like the sticker from Aunt Lala's card ON him, but it was too cute to not wear.  Once he was at Holli's, he forgot it was there, anyways.

Once home from school, we let him open his presents.  Red, the firetruck, and "new Sally" lined right up with the other Cars cars.

He also got GeoTrax racing cars and had a blast!  He cried when it was time to eat.  Looks like Mommy would've thought to feed him, then do presents.  Live and learn, right??

The next day, we let him open Hi, Ho Cherry-O.  He sorted the cherries several times and was in heaven.

Can't believe this not-so-little guy is 3!!  Time flies and it is neat to see his personality unfolding.  Hoping he will grown into a fine young man who loves God, his family (including me, lol!), sports, and reading.

End of May

I found some more May pictures on my phone.  I thought once we got rid of the camcorder, I'd have one less device to download from, but it's still three...phone, camera w/ video, and fancy camera.  Sheesh.  Anyhow, I discovered some more pics from our trip to the Grapevine Aquarium when Aunt Lala and family were here.  Uncle Matt was playing golf with some of his business people, so Jason, Laura, and I decided to try taking the boys to the aquarium.  Laura and I had attempted this (and given up, after seeing the line!) at Spring Break.  It was so crowded then that I'm not sure we would've even gotten close to anything or enjoyed the inside.  But on this particular day, it was perfect!  We saw all kinds of fish, sharks, rays, and other sea creatures.  Reid was still more enthralled with the "stuff" to do, especially the playground at the end.

The last time we'd taken him, he was barely walking.  Back then, he was confused by the plexiglass floor and kept falling.  This time, he had to hold on to a side the whole way across.

The best pose I could capture.  This kid does NOT like to have his picture taken...

Looking at the jellyfish...

In true Reid fashion, he was still extremely excited about the coin tornado.  We have to visit the coin tornadoes at Sam's and Wal-Mart every time we go, too.  I'm sad I didn't get a picture (or video!) of the little tide pool where you can touch the creatures.  Most of them were too far down in the water for him to reach, but he was still enough for a cute little shrimp to come crawl on him.  It was adorable!  But the funniest part was when he accidentally got his arm in all the way up to his shoulder.  He doesn't realize the water is kind of deceiving just yet.  Reid screamed and jumped about a mile into the air.

Ben and Alex were really into the creatures.  We were all kind of everywhere, but I managed to snap a funny pic of Alex in the bubble near the fun zone.

Reid got to see both sets of cousins, two weekends in a row!  The weekend prior to Memorial Day was Hayden's first communion.  I can see why most Catholic people with kids I know don't go to church/mass...they don't have childcare!!     It was right in the middle of nap time, so I (attempted) to get Reid down early for a nap.  Of course, it didn't work.  So he was extra awful during the ceremony.  But then again, most of the other young kids were, too.  I finally gave up after sitting him in time out three times for crawling all over me, hitting me, etc. and I took him out into the atrium.  We thought we were going back over to Steven and Aimee's house and had brought extra clothes to change, but we ended up doing an early dinner at Buca di Beppo...appropriately, in the Pope room.  All the kids were bonkers, so we adults were thoroughly entertained.  Thankfully, it was early and there were very few other diners.  After dinner, Hayden wanted to celebrate with their huge ice cream sundae.  The two boys swore they could finish it, but then it came out.  Larger than life!! 

Best pic we could get of our little family...and our wild boy!

I also realized that I can retrieve pictures off of my messages, and I haven't posted pics of Reid at Holli's house.  I love it when she sends them to me during the day...brightens the hum drum a bit.  This was from the beginning of the year...a very busy lunch time!!

A few months later...the bucket heads!  I am amazed at how young Reid looks (and this was just around Christmas time!)

And one of his sweet little buddies...Maddie.  Reid was the only boy for most of the year, so I'm hoping the sweetness and less rambunctiousness of the girls rubbed off on him, lol!

Memorial Day Weekend

As evil as it was to have a four day taste of summer, it was also quite fabulous at the same time.  Memorial Day weekend was a much needed respite before the final stretch of the school year marathon.  Our little stinker is doing some very cute things right now (and, at times, some very naughty things like yelling at Mommy, pushing, not napping...) and I honestly don't always think of getting the camera out.  In fact, it's been so long since I used our small camera with the video on it that I had a slight panic attack when I couldn't find it on Sunday evening.  On Monday morning, I realized I'd put it (along with a thumb drive of pictures and a few other very important things) in a Ziploc and stashed it in our tornado kit.  Yes, the kit has been out many times lately with this insane weather we've had.  I just sent a donation for the Granbury tornado, then donated stuff for the Moore, OK tornado (pretty sure some parents in the carpool line thought I was crazy as I hauled several loads of diapers, water, and food onto the sidewalk and eventually into the school building on Thursday!!).  I can't imagine how it must feel to attempt and rebuild a great part of your life, but how uplifting that EVERY person I heard on the news last week with the Moore tornado mentioned something about their faith, or God, or both.  Seems like so many faith-driven people right now are especially being persecuted.  My sweet student from last year, who is going through chemo, had surgery, and will endure more chemo soon...his grandfather just had a heart scare.  Please, please keep this wonderful family in your prayers!!  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jjbryant

But I digress...  So back to our not-so-little guy who continues to amaze us each day.  He has loved the Dollar Tree tongs I bought him (so that I could have my own cooking tongs back) and practices picking up random things around the house.  The teacher in me realizes this is great gross and fine motor skill practice, so I'm all about it!  And he just has to do it in Mommy's sequined leopard slippers, of course.

 "Good morning, fishies!"

"Eek!  She caught me!"  Don't you love the deer in the headlights look?  And the fan isn't there for decoration.  Long story short, the aquarium leaked (not sure for how long, but it was the mildewy smell that alerted me to it, so that can't be a good sign).  We can't move it because it weighs so much, so I heavily Lysoled it and put several fans on it for at least a week.  Of course, the first box fan we put out proceeded to tip over and break off a blade.  Murphy's Law.   Not too long after that, Jason was doing yard work and  the weed eater caught a rock and shattered a window.  Good news?  Our glass is double paned, so the house wasn't open to flies and other creepy crawlies.  Bad news?  Our glass is slightly tinted green, so it was upwards of $300 to have it replaced this afternoon. Oh, and that was all on Mother's Day weekend.  Already a sore weekend for a gal who's been trying to get a bun in the oven for 2 1/2 yrs again AND ended up with bronchitis.  Yep, bronchitis...as in, in bed, antibiotics/oral steroids/codeine cough syrup/FIRST inhaler of my life.  Not our month.

But on a much happier note, Aunt Lala and the boys got to come visit for the long weekend, and Uncle Matt got to see our house for the very first time!  I ended up with not so many pictures because we were soooo active the whole time, but we made lots of memories.  Reid loves his cousins and we got to see the Grapevine Aquarium, go swimming at the pool, play in the sandbox, play lots of crazy games, and Reid's favorite?  Bath time with cousins.  I got no good "clean" pictures of that one.  He also decided he wanted to begin peeing standing up after watching the big boys.  Not such a good idea.  Let's just say there's no longer a bath mat in his bathroom, but it sure made for a good blackmail pic!

He also loved storytime with his cousins.  Aunt Lala read to the boys, so I (attempted) a pic but couldn't ever get them all looking at the same time.  Reid later "read" them The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Ben thought it was hilarious that Reid mumbled half of it and only said some of the words.  I'll have to get it taped because it really is pretty funny.

Dinnertime was also entertaining. Couldn't ever get a good pic, but it was funny.  This was as good as it got. As luck would have it, all the boys liked different things, but we made it a contest to see who could eat the fastest.  No one really won, but it was funny to watch!

It was so good to see family, and it gave us a little glimpse of our beach trip coming up in June.  I do wish Reid was closer to age with all of his cousins, but God has His reasons ;)  I am just glad he's at the age he can interact more with them, now. 

Derby Time

The past few weeks have been total chaos.  That's about the nicest way I can phrase it.  And I guess it's caught up with me because I have bronchitis.  For the first time in 36 years, I now have an inhaler (hopefully short term!) and four other meds I'm on as of Saturday.  I missed school today (no, it's not as glamorous as just calling in sick...since I'm a teacher, I have to find a sub, go leave plans after the building is open, but before the kids arrive, etc. etc. etc.  Let's just say it's easier to be there than it is to be gone!!) and am just now feeling human again.  Sleep has been nonexistent between my random coughing fits and the inhaler and/or steroids keeping me awake.  And I can't work out this week (GREAT use of my new gym membership, right?), which makes me sad because I'd gotten in a pretty good schedule.  But the bronchitis also explains why my lungs felt like they were on fire during/after last Thursday's Zumba class...  Ouch!

Somewhere in the chaos, I found a night to make my Derby hat.  I miss making crafts, so this is one thing I look forward to each year.  I also realized I never got a very good picture of the hat on me, so glad I snapped this one before we left.

I was totally exhausted Friday because we'd had our zoo field trip.  I had my new kid (let's just say I'm thankful he hasn't been here all year--I know that sounds mean, but I can literally tell him something 19 times in a row and he still won't do it!!), a special friend, and then an injured friend in my group...all boys ;)  They wore me out!!  I raced over to Holli's to get Reid, raced to the house to finish loading our stuff, then attempted to race down to Jason's office.  Of course, there was traffic and it took us forever to get there.  I struggled to stay awake, but we made it and Jason drove us safely the rest of the way.  Reid was actually willing to try the headphones this time, but began yelling, "No more!!" about 20 minutes into the movie.  So Jason and I got a little music, but Reid was so happy to watch Cars 2 that we didn't mind.

The Frenches hosted us and took Reid to his first golf tournament on Saturday right after Jason and I left.  There are a few cute pics on Jason's phone that I'll have to download and share.  He had a blast and even got a ball from one of the players.  Jason and I headed down to the Heights for the Carlins' annual party.  So glad we were able to go this year, even though it was last minute, because they won't be in Houston much longer.  We finally got to meet their adorable twins, whom we have been praying for!  Their sweet family, all dolled up for the Derby:

Babies Ford and Lucy Cole even had drinks named after them in honor of Derby day!

This was a neat idea...one of our friends couldn't make the party, but had a bottle engraved in their honor.

Our annual Derby picture.  It's a golfer...it's a caddy...it's a very tall jockey?

Getting ready for the race...

"Who are you betting on?"

The Gents

The Ladies

Everyone

The Gents' After Party

We enjoyed seeing old friends and making some new ones.  It was a quick weekend with lots of driving, but so much fun!  The party gets tamer each year, and there are sweet new, little faces to meet.  So thankful for true friends :)