"Mom's Trip"

During the first week of June we headed to our friend's beach house in Rockport (about 3 1/2 hours south of The Woodlands) for a few days.  Three moms and six kids...not much of a relaxing beach vacation or a true "mom's trip" but we had a great time and I'll take any time that I can on the beach so it was perfect!  

We arrived on Tuesdsay around lunch time and after checking out their home and getting somewhat settled we made our way to the beach, about ten minutes from their home.  This beach was awesome!  It had a great playground so if the kids wanted a break from the sand and surf they had somewhere else to play and the water was just perfect!  It was just about knee deep for as far as you could go and the kids had such a great time body boarding and swimming for hours!  

 

 Ella helping carry the sand toys as we left the beach the first day.  

On Wednesday we hung out at the house in the morning and then headed back to the beach before lunch for the rest of the day.  It was another gorgeous day!  

 Joseph and Ella were both exhausted from a full day the day before as well as a late night and early morning so they both fell asleep on the beach!  It was so cute how they were snuggled up close to each other.  Joseph slept for almost 2 hours!  Sweet Ella didn't sleep very well on the trip so she was definitely a bit clingy and I resorted to giving her the pacifier during the day which we haven't done for months but it made the trip much more manageable! 

 Once they woke up we had lunch and shaved ice for a cool, summer treat!  

 On Wednesday night Tanna took Joseph to the dock to catch crabs.  They ended up catching 5 (which Tanna cooked up and made amazing crab cakes on Thursday for dinner!) and Joseph is still talking about catching crabs with Ms. Tanna!  

 We had a lot of fun hanging out back at their house with each other, too!  

The kids got into the baby powder on Thursday morning!

 The view from their deck!

 On Thursday we were up early again and headed to the beach early for the morning until lunchtime.  We wanted to get in a few more hours of beach time before leaving that night.  

 After the beach we headed to the local aquarium which was small but really neat!  Joseph was extremely interested in the display about the plastics which hurt the sea turtles and other sea creatures.  

 We headed back to the house after the aquarium to play, hang out for a bit and have an early dinner before we drove home that night.  

Looks like tired beach kids!  

 After dinner we decided to make one more stop at Goose Island State Park to check out The Big Tree! According to wikipedia, the "big tree" is one of the most famous live oaks in the world.

  

There are a bunch of other smaller big trees close to the big tree which the kids had fun climbing on!

 

 Attempt at a picture with my kiddos!

  The best we could get!

 The moms-me, Tanna and Emily!  Emily is due with her third just about 7 weeks after me!

 The crew!

 Getting the last bit of energy out before the car ride home!

 Overall the drive home went pretty well.  The four kids took turns having a tough time falling asleep but once they were all asleep it was smooth sailing.  We ended up getting home close to midnight and took Friday to catch up on sleep (Ella slept in until 8, took a 2 hour morning nap and a 3 hour afternoon nap!)  It was such a great getaway and we are so thankful to Tanna and her family for opening up their awesome beach home to us!  What a fun week!

Beautiful sunset heading home

Wrapping up May

We are definitely in summer mode during the second half of May!  We have spent many days in the little pool in the backyard, hitting up the splash pads and fountains in The Woodlands and even visited Rob Fleming (the village pool) both Sundays during the pre-season hours.  The kids are just so happy when wet that it is always a good time!

Having fun together in the backyard pool on May 17th.  

 Drying off in the sun

 And a little cheese for Momma

 With a few silly faces thrown in there...

 On Sunday, May 18th, we walked and of course had to stop to feed the ducks in the morning and then that afternoon went to the pool.  

 I haven't taken any pictures of the kids in the water yet in the pool (too busy to have the phone out at that point) but did manage to get a picture of Ella waiting not so patiently for the hot dog that Daddy bought.  

 And a picture of them lounging before we headed home.  

 On May 20th I headed out for our monthly night out with the girls.  We went to Cheesecake Factory this month and celebrated the upcoming arrival of baby Kramer.  

 On Wednesday, May 21st we met up with the Kramer boys at the splash pad for some afternoon fun.  Love these smiles!  

 Not so successful of a picture with Ella in it but you can still tell they're all having such a good time together.  

 On May 28th, Trace and Tucker came over to play and while Tucker and Ella were sleeping Joseph and Trace were busy catching a gecko. They were SO excited about it and it was hilarious to watch the two of them capture it!  It even escaped once it was in the cage but they managed to get it back in.  Before Trace left, we did let the gecko back out into the wild to find his family.  

 And, later that afternoon, we headed to the store and Joseph insisted on wearing his "tail."  This tie to my dress is either a tail or a rope depending on the day.  

 Ella enjoyed the sample of sherbert while shopping!  

 And, they are addicted to Buddy Bucks at HEB.  The cashiers normally give them 2 bucks each and they totally have the hang of it and look forward to it during the trip.  Joseph will load Ella's money into the machine and then she even knows to hit the button to stop it.  And, I think we need to take Joseph to Vegas soon because the past two shopping trips he was an instant winner both times (resulting in the instant winner prize junk to take home with us!)  

 On Friday, May 30th we met up with the St. Anne's mom's group from church for a playdate and ice cream sundae party at the May Valley Splash Pad.  Can't go wrong with a splashpad and ice cream on a Friday morning!  

 On Saturday, May 31st, our friend, Jamie organized a walk/run in support  of the HER foundation.  HER is a network that Jamie is involved with that gives support to women with hyperemesis gravidarum which Jamie has faced with each of her three pregnancies. We were so happy to support this cause and had a great morning walking the waterway with friends.  

 And to wrap up May on the afternoon of the 31st we headed over to Carson's house for his 4th birthday and fun on the water slide!  Such a fun party and both Joseph and Ella came home with all sorts of Spiderman gear and goodies so we are ready to begin June in superhero style!  

17 months

Ella turned 17 months on May 22nd so we had to snap a few pictures of her during Joseph's last day of preschool photo shoot.  Still as cute, sweet and snuggable yet also sometimes as fiesty as can be!  

My favorite thing that she does at this age is when I am counting for Joseph (normally as a warning) when I say, "1, 2, 3" she will hold up her fingers for 1 and point them out in the air with each number  I say...all with a serious look on her face.  It is hilarious!  

Joseph (or Da-dos or something along those lines) always keeps her laughing!  

So sweet!

She absolutely LOVES feeding the ducks these days so we were able to sneak in a walk with a stop at the ducks while Joseph was at school in the middle of packing for our Memorial weekend trip.  She never likes getting back in the stroller when we are done but has so much fun while we are there!  She also loves to get real close to the lake and often ends up with her feet wet.  Joseph becomes very protective of her when she ventures out and will often say, "Mom, stop her!"  

She also loves putting things in and out of purses, the shopping cart, empty boxes...pretty much anything, which has even included sticking her hand in the toilet as well as throwing empty toilet paper rolls into the toilet.  What a girl!  Loves climbing on the couch and jumping on it (ugh!), laying out blankets in the middle of the floor and lying on them, carrying around lunchboxes, backpacks, purses, etc and riding her bike.   

And I am sure she'll love me for these when she gets older but I had to include them...on May 8th she had a rough morning-it was just one thing after the other and all I could do was laugh (and take pictures!)  

 Thankfully she was able to snap out of it pretty quickly and was back to her cheerful self for the rest of the day but definitely woke up on the wrong side of bed!  

 Love that smile and she loves looking at the phone and saying "Eeese!"  (cheese!)

Happy 17 months Ella Bean (or "pea" or "cutie pot"-instead of cutie pie- as Joseph sometimes refers to you as).  We love you and will include all of your stats and info at your 18 month birthday!