Galveston

Last week, we did something we haven't done in a long time....took a little vacation!  It was super short and very last minute, but we had a blast.  The reason it was so last minute is that Matt changed jobs this week, and ended up having one week off between jobs.  He had not had a week off in years, plus he won't have vacation time at his new job for 6 months....so we decided to take Will to Galveston for a couple of nights.  It was such fun, and I know Will enjoyed the one-on-one time after 17 months of his new role of big brother to twins.  :)

We booked a hotel room through our Hilton points, loaded up the car, dropped the girls off with Mimi and Duke, and headed to the beach!  Actually, it was not that easy at all.  The night before we were supposed to leave, Caroline started running a low fever and acting really sick.  She was super fussy, then lethargic, and went to bed without even eating dinner, which has NEVER happened!  I felt ridiculous packing up our stuff that night, because I was certain she was sick, and we wouldn't be going anywhere the next day.  But she ended up sleeping just fine, and waking up very early after her early bedtime, but really not sick at all.  The nurse at our pediatrician's office could only guess that she somehow sensed that we were about to leave her and was acting sick so we would stay?!  I don't know what I think about that...but luckily she ended up being just fine.  So running on 2 hours of sleep {while everyone else was sleeping, I was worrying}, I finished packing that morning, and we headed out!  

We stopped at Bucees on the way, and then had to eat our lunch in the car.

{why don't they have tables there?!}

Picture from the parking lot while Matt was checking us in at the hotel!

We were very lucky to be checking in at JUST the right time, because no one was using one of their two fancy suites, so we got upgraded for free!  {It pays to use your Hilton AmEx for ALL purchases....apparently when you have lots of Hilton points, you get LOTS of Hilton credibility!}  It was so nice to have two rooms {and two bathrooms!}, so when Will was sleeping, we could watch tv and hang out without waking him up.  Let's be honest though....we mostly slept anytime he was sleeping!  The life of a 3-year-old is pretty nice when you have no other responsibilities to tend to.  :)

Checking out the view of one balcony from the other, with a little bit of ocean in the background!

Relaxing on the couch {makeup clearly was not a priority for me at the beach!}

Ready to see the ocean for the first time!!

{he really was excited...it's just hard to get a real smile for the camera these days!}

BEACH!

Since we were going to be out all day on the second day, we stopped by Wal-Mart before hitting the beach and got this awesome canopy, because there weren't umbrellas to rent on the beach by our hotel.  We love the canopy!

Will liked the ocean, but his favorite thing to do was build sand castles and shapes, and immediately SMASH them.

{can you see his Bucee's hat?!}

We decided to head out after breakfast on the last day, so we could detour through College Station on our way home.  We hadn't been in years, and it was so fun to walk around campus and drive around the town.  Plus, the radio station we used to listen to in college was having a "throwback throwdown" day....and the songs they were playing were straight out of the 1999-2003 era, so it was really like we went back in time!  Oh.  Except for the 3 year old, and the fact that so much has changed down there!  We stopped for lunch at Layne's Chicken, because I am a huge Raising Canes fan, and since they are so similar, I wanted to compare.  You guys.  It is no contest.  Canes is SO.MUCH.BETTER!  I almost couldn't even eat the food at Laynes!  Maybe we caught them on a bad day....but really.  Not good.  After lunch, we walked around campus and looked at the remodeled MSC, which is amazing!  I kept getting turned around as we drove through campus because there are so many new buildings.  We even drove by the fraternity and sorority houses, and the houses we lived in down there.  Will hung in there like a trooper, even though he really didn't know what we were doing, and why we kept wanting to walk around when it was 100+ degrees outside.  ;)

Driving to College Station!

Outside the alumni center

And the football stadium, which is apparently about to get even bigger!

And then back to the car to head home....with a worn out little boy!

And if you were wondering what the girls were doing while we were gone.....they were having a blast!  They stayed with Mimi and Duke, and we got photo updates throughout our trip.  It was so wonderful not to have to worry about them, because I knew they were in great hands and having a little vacation of their own!

Such a fun week for us all!  Now we're back to reality, and Matt started his new job yesterday.  However...we are hopeful that the new job will allow for more family time, and more fun vacations in the future!  :)

summer fundays

We have been having lots of fun this summer!  It has been pretty hot lately, so we've done lots of swimming and playing inside.  But a few weeks ago, we had a few cooler days, so one morning I took the kids to the arboretum to walk around.  Don't get me wrong...when I say "cooler," I mean like in the 90s.  So by the time we left after I pushed two kids in the double stroller while having a baby strapped on me for 2 hours, I was a sweaty mess!  But we had fun.  We walked around and looked at the flowers and fountains, we played in the grass {except the girls, who hate grass}, and we sat on our blanket in the shade.  In general, I failed at getting any cute pictures.  Mostly because this is the response I got from my children:

Or this....apparently picking dirt off Will's knee was WAY more interesting than my attention-getting antics.

Did get one fake smile though!

And one real one.  :)

And the girlies got to practice standing up!

{This was several weeks ago, and they are finally officially walkers now, although they still prefer to crawl most of the time.}

{two pics above are Emily, one below is Caroline}

Whew.  Time for a drink break!

And even though I cut off half of his face, I love this pic of my sweet Will.

Aaaaannnnddd....this is how I found the car when we got back to it AFTER spending 2 hours in the arboretum.  At least I remembered all the kids?

We've been playing in the playroom a lot when all kids are awake, because the girls are still too little for me to handle all three in the pool by myself.  {Although I have tried...it involved one mad baby in a wet baby bjorn, a second mad baby being held awkwardly, and a somewhat bored Will wondering why I couldn't really swim with him.}  So we entertain ourselves inside, and I love seeing what the kids come up with.

Caroline puts little balls in a stroller walker and walks them all over the house.  She loves her ball babies.

And Emily stands on chairs.  She loves to sit on them too, and that is typically the "mama approved" version of this, but I couldn't help myself and had to take her picture standing.

so. proud.

Oh.  And this is what happens if I leave the room to go to the bathroom.

 

OH so dramatic!

We also put up the bounce house in our bedroom.  Weird, yes...but it's the only big open space that isn't in the way.  I've found that the key to good afternoon naps is a combination of bounce house AND swimming if possible.  :)

And Will has been really into the show American Ninja Warrior lately, so we often set up a course in the living room for him.  He LOVES it. 

And when the girls are napping....we swim almost every day!  Will can swim like a pro now, but he still has to pull out the vest for his signature move off the diving board...the "back yard."  The vest pads his back enough that he can do these over and over...hilarious!

And finally, we beat the heat with popsicles!  Will loves any kind, but lately we've been making them ourselves with this cool little popsicle maker from Aunt Ryan.  It even has a straw so you can drink the juice as it melts.  Genius.

Cousins!

Last week, we had the most fun visit with my cousin, Brent, his wife, Tilly, and their two adorable kids, Carter and Nora.  We really couldn't have planned our kids better if we COULD plan such things. :)  Carter and Will are only 9 months apart, and Nora and the girls are 2 months apart, but if you go by the girls' due date, they're pretty much the same age!  So even though the kids are technically something complicated like first cousins twice removed, or second cousins once removed, or some such nonsense, we decided they can just be cousins.  :)  This was the first time we had gotten everyone together since the girls were all born, and it was greatness.  And we were lucky to have my parents there too, or we would have been VERY outnumbered during the day while Matt was at work.  

Carter and Will were immediately best friends.

No idea what they're looking at, but I'm sure they were having fun!

Could they sit any closer?

We also had lots of floor playtime with all the girls.

Sweet Nora tried on E & C's headbands

And Caroline showed everyone her new favorite pose on her newly found favorite pink pillow.

Nora impressed us all with her walking and trampolining skills {and also her ability to grow hair, something our girls are still working on}

Most anyone who will read this is aware that my sweet baby girls are not known for their ability to warm up to new people quickly.  HOWEVER. Caroline and Uncle Brent bonded immediately over a bowl of yogurt melts, and she decided he was pretty awesome.  :)

We decided to give Brent a taste of double baby duty.

Will LOVED hanging out with his Uncle Brent. During all the other kids' naptimes, they did this:

I loved getting to meet Miss Nora!  Such a sweetheart.

And of course, precious Emily spent her day going back and forth between me and my mom, her safe zones in a world of scary {aka kind and loving} other people.  :)

After all naptimes were over, we swam!  The diving board saw a lot of action.

cannonball!!

And, of course, when you get 5 kids and 2 cousins who barely get to see each other together, you have to attempt a group shot!  Most of the pics turned out something like this, with maybe one person looking at the camera.

I wonder what Will, Emily, and Caroline are discussing here?  C is not amused.

I think this is the best one.  I mean, even though zero kids are looking directly at the camera, at least you can see almost all of their faces. {sorry E}  Soooo....we have a winner!

What a fun day!  Can't wait to watch these kids as they grow up!