Palm Beach and Kemah

I took the kids to Palm Beach at Moody Gardens in Galveston yesterday and we had a blast! I've been there but it's been years (pre kids) and I really couldn't remember what it was like. It's not a place I think the kids will like as much as they get too much older, but it is perfect for them now. There isn't a place there where the water is over 4 feet, which is great for kids who "think they can swim!"

Not sure exactly what I was thinking, but I decided to take the kids to Kemah after Galveston. We ate dinner, got ice cream and played in the water some more. And... the kids slept great last night!! I'm sure that was part of my reasoning for going all day nonstop! :)

Who knew cleaning could be so fun?

Well it's not for me, but Maya had fun "helping" me clean this week. While I do feel much better when things are organized and clean you can't tell that by my office space!? However, with school and fall sports quickly approaching, I felt the need to get my house in order sooner rather than later. So this weekend was spent organizing and cleaning - closets mostly. It's amazing how unorganized closets can get. As I organized 5 years of messiness in my closet, Maya ran across a few things...

First she found my wedding veil - I forgot I even had that in my closet! Should I be worried? She does look very adorable!

Admiring herself in the mirror... Then she got into my shoes...

I'm not sure why she chose these shoes, but let me just say, I wore these in a wedding and NO they weren't tied up on my calves like that!

Hmmm... I have no comment on these shoes... :-/

We eventually made our way upstairs and got to Maya's closet. With three kids, I have given away many clothes and baby items to cousins through the years. However, I saved things that I thought my sis would want once she finally had kids of her own. So this weekend, I sent my sis and Jon away with a truck full of items that I no longer have to store in my house!! Ahhh... purging feels oh so good!

Maya was in a picture taking mood this weekend and wanted a pic with her and all of her old clothes!

looks like the kids new cousin will be a...

GIRL! Kim had an ultrasound yesterday and they found out they are having a little girl!! The baby is perfectly healthy and Kim's pregnancy is going great. Kim and Jon graciously allowed me, both of their mothers, Jon's sister and our grandmother in the room to find out the good news. Even though I've personally been through those ultrasounds a few times, I'm still amazed looking at that little baby growing and kicking inside the belly. I am so happy for Kim and Jon and I'm sure I speak for both families when I say "Congratulations and we can't wait to meet the new addition!!"

The Snugglette

It’s the Snuggie for kids!! Seriously! The kids were watching TV the other day and the infomercial "The Snuggie For Kids" came on and they were all yelling over wanting this thing! I guess the next logical production was going to be for kids. So, if you’re so inclined, everyone in the family can sport the ridiculous yet oh-so-comfy Snuggie while watching TV, playing video games, eating dinner, or going to ball games. For just $14.99, kids can now humiliate themselves in their very own blanket with sleeves. With the first day of school coming up soon, I think I’ll buy all of us one so we can all dress up like cult members!? Riiiight!

Who am I kidding… my kids will probably get one if they keep bugging me about it.

24 hour camping

I have such fond memories of going camping as a child. Running and playing in the dirt, swinging from ropes into the river or lake, fried biscuits in the mornings and so on. My parents and I have been talking about taking the kids camping for a couple of years now, but I kept copping out saying Braeden was too young. It can be a lot of work to follow three young kids around an unfamiliar environment! Well, I finally gave in this year thinking they are now the perfect age. I would be able to let them run around the camp site and get dirty and play and not have to worry as much as I would chasing a young toddler around.

So, my parents, my sis, the kids and I loaded up last week and headed to Lake Livingston for the kids very first camping trip. Camden was really not looking forward to it much. He didn’t like the idea of sleeping outside (he was afraid he would sleep walk out of the tent and get lost?!), no TV, and being in water with sharks (I cleared that one up quickly). We had planned on definitely staying Thursday and Friday night, and possibly Saturday if the kids were doing well. We arrived to our camp site early Thursday afternoon and got the camp set up and the kids were slowly getting used to the idea. After we set up camp my sis and I took the kids to the designated campsite swimming area and while they were a little hesitant at first, they LOVED it! That’s all they needed, they were now fans of camping! I was so excited because we rented a boat for the next day and I just knew they would love that even more! We swam for about an hour and then headed back to our camp for dinner. I personally love grilled food, so I was very happy about dinner! :-) The kids ate and ran around and played some more as we settled in for the night. Camden went right to sleep in my parents’ tent. My sis and I were not so lucky with Maya and Braeden… I finally gave in and pulled out their Leapsters. It worked and everyone eventually fell asleep. Unfortunately, a rain storm woke me up in the middle of the night, but the kids were not fazed. We woke up the next morning hoping that it was just a summer shower and would pass so we headed to get our rental boat. Once there, my dad went inside to get the boat keys and the weather was on the TV and unfortunately the bad weather was there to stay. So we went back to camp and loaded up to head home – a mere 24 hours after we arrived.

The set up...

Our view... next time we're getting a site right on the water...

Wondering if he should eat the dirt...

Oops! They got a little crazy with the dirt and it ended up all over Maya's face...

Playing his Aunt Kimmy's Nintendo DS...

"I'm ready to fish! Can I wear JoJo's hat?"

The kids were a little disappointed that we didn’t get to go fishing, but we are headed back for our boat rental in a few weeks so they will finally get to fish then! Even though the trip didn’t last long, the kids did have a good time and we will definitely be going on another camping trip.