Palm Beach

After being on "real" beaches, the Texas gulf coast was not something we were in a rush to jump into! Luckily there is an awesome place in Galveston called Palm Beach, a water park, complete with water slides, hot tubs, and a man made beach. We had all the fun of the authentic beach experience, and we were actually able to see in the water, major bonus!! The last time we were at a beach was when we were living in Florida and Ryan was Jaina's age at the time!! Wow, time sure does fly by when you're having fun I guess. Ryan loved pretty much everything about this place, building sand castles, playing in the water, going down the slides with mom and dad! We will definitely be going back soon. On Friday nights they have this awesome event called "Bands in the Sand". Live entertainment, fireworks, and beach fun, you can't beat that!

Ryan loved learning how to build sand castles!

Making sure the pail is full to the tippy top

These guys look comfy!

Jaina wondering where her swimsuit is

Loving the water :)

Ryan had a blast on this water slide!

Holding onto Ryan tight!

Daddy's turn :)

Brazos Bend/Observatory

We have been trying to get out and do different things around Houston. So today we decided to alligator hunting! Since we lived in Florida for three years, I thought I knew what we were getting into....not so much! Well let's start by saying that Ryan just started potty training, and this is the first time I've had the courage to take him out for any length of time. The park is about an hour away from the house. So when we were almost there, Ryan declares from the back seat, "Mommy, Daddy, I'm going to get Bob wet! Who is Bob you may be wondering?? He's referring to his bob the builder underwear! No restrooms in sight, not a lot of anything in sight...so Angel pulls over to the side of the road!! Ryan looked at me like I was a little crazy, but in the end, he thought it was hilarious and was very proud of himself! So we get to the park, see a few alligators in the lake. Decide we want to do the 1.2 mile trail around the lake to get to the observation tower on the other side. We weren't even on the trail yet and Ryan falls down and scrapes up his knee, poor guy! But he recovered quickly and we were on our way. We came across a pretty big snake just laying in the middle of the trail. Angel was the brave one and inched up on it to see if he could get it to move so we could pass. Come to find out, it wasn't alive. So we got to the observation tower, which Ryan LOVED!! He is a climber :) It was too cool, they had a water station with ice cold water, and even one for dogs! We saw one alligator close up in the water and then decided that it was getting dark so we should keep going. I've seen alligators pretty close before, but we were in the safety and comfort of our own car....this was WAY different. There were two giant gators laying on the side of the trail. Jaina and I quickly reversed, and prayed to God that there weren't any alligators in the other direction. Ryan and Jaina would be bite sized snacks for those guys!

Goin' on a gator hunt!

Found this snake instead! YIKES!!!

Woah daddy, hold on tight please!

Here's what they were leaning over to see

The Observation Tower

Love the face big guy!

It was a HOT day, thankful for the COLD water

Look at that Ryan

Trying to get back to the start of the trail.....reverse!!!

So we made it back to the start of the trail, and as it got dark headed over to the observatory. I have never been to one before, it was pretty amazing. There were a lot of people there with their own telescopes that were letting us look through theirs. We were able to see Venus, Mars, and a really good view of Saturn and the moon. Ryan loved it, and so did we. Although he was disappointed when we went into the domes to look through the high power telescopes and didn't "blast-off!Jaina was content to lay back in her stroller gazing up at the sky as she sucked down her bottle :)

A 1st for us all, an observatory :)

Ryan was already a pro before we left the gift shop!

"it is WAY past my bedtime guys"


Ryan looking at Venus :)

Nature at its best!

summer starts!

One major plus of moving was living in a subdivision with a community pool, and we have three!! We are taking advantage of this free, cool fun as much as possible :) Since Ryan finished his swim lessons this year he is a lot more secure in the water, and is having more fun! Jaina just floats around the pool in her pink floaty, flirting with anyone who glances her way...boy are we in trouble with this one!! I think I'll let Angel worry about that for the both of us :)

Morgans Wonderland

This place is by far the most fun place we've taken Ryan to this year!! It's the world's first fully inclusive theme park and it's in San Antonio! So when we went home for Ryan's birthday this year, I knew that we had to go check it out. Everything there was a perfect fit for Ryan's age. We brought his older cousin with us and she had a great time too! We got there when it first opened, so there was no wait for anything, that was awesome! You have to make reservations before you go because they limit the number of people they let in to avoid overcrowding, genius idea!! I I doubt six flags or sea world would ever adopt that idea though, for obvious reasons! Then you get a wrist band with a gps locator in it in case anyone gets lost, again amazing idea!! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves :)

I love this boy!

Ryan's 1st driving lesson!

Hey little man, keep your eyes on the road!

Sensory Village....my favorite place!

Cousins!

Future meteorologist??

Doing some grocery shopping!

Designing his truck!

Roller slide....cool concept!

Not afraid of gators one bit!



Muscles!!!

Aaarrrrr matey!!

Captain Ryan!

Ryan thought these water cannons were so cool!

A catfish stole our bait!

Sand area, we had the whole thing to ourselves!

I knew Ryan would find the truck!

The water area was amazing, glad I brought extra clothes :)

Ryan's Toy Story Party

Ryan loves Toy Story, and with the 3rd movie coming out this summer, it was the obvious choice for his 3rd birthday theme! Aunt Flo was gracious enough once again to let us use her place to throw the shindig! Great BBQ, great company, and a huge bounce house....everyone was happy!!

Uncle Richard has awesome BBQ skills :)

Ryan LOVED the bounce house!

Thanks Joseph and Brenda!!

The big kids got in on the action too!

Cousin Becky never misses our parties :)

Jaina loves Aunt Flo, all smiles :)

It was SO hot, but we still had fun

The Cake.....wish I could say I made it!

Ryan was in Toy Story heaven!

Which one first??

Opening presents like a pro!

Food = Happy camper :)