A Saturday at the Beach

The day before Easter, the kids & I spent the day at the beach with my parents, my sisters & their families.

The kids had fun playing in the sand 

and in the water.

Riding four wheelers

Alex rode the 4 wheeler with Jared first.

And then he rode again with me. As we were going, I asked him if he was ok. He said, yeah, it's just a little scary. I said, didn't you just ride a few minutes ago. And he said, yea, but not with you, you don't know what you're doing! Lol! Which was true, I had to ask Jared how to drive it before we took off!

and loving on Dash!

We roasted hot dogs

and marshmallows

and made s'mores.

When it was time to leave, I found Alex doing this...

Writing 'I hate leaving' it the sand! 

(He really does hate to leave any place we go!)

It was a chilly, overcast day & we live by the ugliest beach around. But... it was still fun & we all had a wonderful time!

Southeast Texas State Fair 2016

I love fairs but I hate crowds. So we never go to the carnival at the Houston Rodeo because I can't deal with that level of crowdiness. Especially with Addy, it's just too scary. And I also can't deal with the parking at Reliant. But that's another story!

But luckily, the Southeast Texas State Fair in Beaumont is usually a week or two after the rodeo. And it's nowhere near as crowded as the Houston one.

And so that's where we bring the kids to get my fair fix!

When I told Addy we were going to the fair on the weekend, she ran off & mapped out what we would do, starting with the bumper cars in the bottom right corner

and ending with the ferris wheel.

And when we got to the fair, we were REQUIRED to follow her schedule!

So... our first ride was the bumper cars!

The merry go round was up next. Unfortunately there wasn't a carousel in the kid's part, but there was a kid's Himalayan that went round & round & so Addy considered that an acceptable substitute. 

After that was the giant slide. It wasn't on Addy's schedule, so she didn't do it.

But Alex did.

Twice!

Next up was the fun house.

And the rollercoaster.

Which Addy loved & Alex said he was never doing again!

And then the 'Sky Cab" as Addy calls it. We got in line to ride it & then she said, "Oh wait, I'm afraid of heights!" So I told her we could skip it & she said "No, you have to do it!" So I rode it. By myself. She's lucky I like rides!

Next on her list was a water ride. The only water ride that we saw though flipped upside down, which Addy was not going to do. But there was another Himalayan ride & it had waves on the sign, so we went with that.

And last but not least was the ferris wheel!

And of course, before we left, Addy had to have some ice cream

& we had to try a deep fried something. 

We let Alex decide & he went with deep fried cheesecake.

Which he thought was awesome & told everyone we passed on the way out that they should try it!

It was a fun day. I'm so glad Addy has a love of carnival rides like her momma does & is not an ol' fuddy-duddy like her daddy who won't ride anything! Lol

Brazos Bend State Park

On Friday, March 11th (yes, on Alex's birthday) Addy had her 3rd grade field trip to Brazos Bend State Park.

The schedule for the day was to take the trail from the Nature Center to the George Observatory & have the kids participate in a space program. After that, we would have lunch & then take a hike around a lake.

So we get there & start waking towards the observatory. And what do we see on the way to the observatory?

A mommy alligator and all her little babies!

They were so cute! 

When we got to the George Observatory

Addy & her class participated in the Mission to the Moon Expedition Program. 

Addy was part of the medical team.

After that, we walked back over the Nature Center & ate lunch in the little amphitheater beside it. 

And then it was time for our hike. 

We took a trail called the Pilant Slough Trail. It took us through the woods and over a bridge 

& came out along Elm Lake.

When we got to the lake, we saw several alligators including this one that was actually on the trail (that we had to walk right by!!!)

and another one that was right off the trail. 

The trail was right about a mile long & Addy started getting tired towards the end of it.

So her sweet friends took turn giving her piggy back rides :)

When we were done with the hike, we went back to the Nature Center for a bit & Addy was able to pet this cute little baby alligator, which of course, was the highlight of her day!

This was not the first time that we had been to Brazos Bend, but it was definitely the most exciting time, what with being so CLOSE to so many alligators & all!

Happy Birthday A-Man

Alex turned 7 on March 11th.

The very first thing that he did when he woke up on his birthday was ask if he could open his presents. No big surprise there! Lol

His favorite present was a big o' pile of poop!

Since it was a Friday, he unfortunately had to spend his birthday at school. (Something this girl with a summer birthday never had to experience!)

Later that evening we went out to dinner for his birthday. We let him pick where he wanted to go & he chose Ninfa's. (Again, no surprise there! He loves his Mexican food, just like his mamma!) He kept telling everyone in the restaurant that it was his birthday & was so excited when the waiters sang to him.

The next day, we had a family party for him at our house.

We went with a Star Wars theme & Addy made all the cousins play party games, including musical chairs & a Pin the Antenna on BB8
that she whipped up that morning!

Here are a few pics from the day...

A few days later, he had another party, this time with his friends, at Stomping Grounds in Sugar Land. It's the same place we had his party last year, but he had so much fun that he wanted to have it there again.

He had a lot of fun running around with his friends & boy was he hot, sweaty & tired by the end of the party!

It was a great couple of days celebrating his birthday & he's already told me what he wants to do for next year's party. (He told me that he wants a surprise party. And it's a whole year away so he won't even remember that he told me he wants one & so he'll still be surprised! Lol)

And to close out this post, here are a few things about my sweet sweet boy...