A Texas Summer

I probably should break this post up--it's large--but I'm just focused on updating so read through if you wish! :)

We feel so blessed to have been able to make it to Texas this summer. It's no small (or cheap) endevour to haul the monkeys halfway across the country, but SO worth it!!  Thanks for letting us come and abuse your hospitality, Texas Williams'.

The kids are really great little travelers. I'm pleased to say that Ben was our BEST travel buddy for our ride down, which was awesome for me cuz he was the one I was most worried about. Legos were a huge hit, and we actually didn't watch that much TV--which is totally shocking!

 

Our first hotel stop...they didn't have a pool, but we enjoyed their wagon! That's the same thing, right? ;)

Day 1: Happy Independence Day! God Bless America!  I was so glad I was able to convince Mike to leave a day early. It was fun the celebrate the 4th Texas style!  We joined Mom and Dad's neighborhood parade and the kids thought it was AWESOME!  Thankfully Grandma has held onto old doll strollers and the kids pushed their pets in glorious joy.  It. Was. Hot.  If I had ever thought that maybe I wouldn't notice the heat--ha!  I quickly changed my mind! :)

After a yummy dinner, Dad, Emily, and Linda took Katelyn to a neighbors house to enjoy fireworks.  Mike, Mom and I--and the boys--enjoyed watching the TV and going to bed.  Awesome.

Day 2: Sea World with the Watsons!  Man...two of my favorite things, combined! What a lucky lady I am!  The Watsons drove 5-6 hours down from Dallas to join us for Sea World adventures. Have you been to Sea World?  No?!  You should go--although, I'll suggest San Diego as it's cooler in temperature and closer. But if you are in the San Antonio area, hit it up. It was great!

These next pictures crack me up!  Love my Joshy--Love my Lukey...but they are about a different as they can be. Same ride, same time...check out the faces. Ha, ha!!

  

But then, Josh develops uncharacteristic bravey and rides this bad boy with me--and wants to do it over and over and over again!

 

One for Aunt Meg--we know she loves flamingos (or at least, we think she does!)

The dolphins.  We SO wanted to touch one...but we were too hot to wait and wait and wait.  Boo!

We sent the boys home to Grandma and Grandpa mid-day and then stayed late to catch shows and see animals. It was so great. Thank you Uncle Bradlee and Aunt Suzanne for joining us!!

Day 3: We spent Sunday at home, chilling. Dad is a Bishop, so he wasn't around much.  We took naps (I haven't taken a Sunday nap in FOREVER) and played games and ate food. It was grand.  The day after we arrived I went into Instacare and was diagnosed with Pneumonia.  This day of rest was perfect!  

Katelyn really LOVED Aunt Linda while we were there. She almost wouldn't leave her side.  So thankful for great Aunts!

A little piano lesson. I also got an organ lesson while we were there--it was FABULOUS!

We loved this game--another one to add to our closet.  It's called Labyrinth and was awesome!

Day 4: Did you know that Chick-Fil-A gives away free meals if you dress up like a Cow, once a year?  We did, and it was great. We missed the free 7-11 slurpees by 20 minutes, but Chick-fil-a was a hit! :)  We also enjoyed a family birthday party for FHE--there are a freakish amount of birthdays in July for the Williams family...it was the perfect day to celebrate!

And, a trip to Texas wouldn't be complete with a visit to good 'ol HEB. Man, I miss this store!  It was Ben's first time...he loved it. :)

Day 5, 6, & 7: Corpus Christi!!  Who doesn't love the beach?  'If there is magic in this world, it is contained in water.'  Man. We had SUCH A GREAT TIME here.  Initially I was disappointed--Corpus seemed like a dingy, commercial, power-plant full place. But we got to our condo, found a GREAT beach and loved it!  Wish we had a beach house to visit yearly!

  

Work it, girl!

 

Man, Aunt Emily is so great. Let me just take a moment to say how awesome she is--responsible, helpful, notices how to jump in and help, trustworthy. I love this girl!

 And yup, bird poop. This is the second time this has happened to Emily while I have been around...what are the odds!

The 2nd day we got to Corpus we sent the boys sailing. I'm afraid this may have ended up being a lame experience, but, at least Mike has now been sailing. It didn't take away his itch... ;)  The ladies and kiddos headed to a different beach to spend the morning. It wasn't as great as the beach we found our first night, but we still had fun. It was right downtown and was the perfect jumping off point for our Corpus touring: Whataburger (love that place! This one was a double decker and the first whataburger!), and a drive around the whole area. We hoped for naps for kids, but didn't get too much of one. It was fun to see all the sites though. In the future we will stay at Port Aransas. 

I missed my Sisters for shopping--holy cow.  These places were full of cheap junk and we would have had so much fun!

Day 8: Sea World, take 2.  We had a sad Katelyn at the end of the day after a lack of Shamu splashing, but all in all it was a great day. Hot. Did I mention it was hot?

 

  

Day 9:  We spent Sunday much the same as the previous Sunday. Games. Food. No napping (I had major insomnia the first Sunday...not cool!  I didn't want to risk it again!). We prepped to head home and mostly felt sad our vacation was almost over.

The drive home was, as expected, more miserable then the drive to Texas--but we survived.  The family was coming our way in a mere 10 days for a wedding, so it made goodbyes a bit different.  We talked seriously about flying next time we head to Texas...it's a tough 4 days! ;)  We LOVED our trip!!