Thursday, April 4, 2019

Spring Break--Baseball Style

We did not hit the slopes this year.  Instead, we headed south on I-45, bound for a weekend of baseball in League City, TX.  About the same, right?!
Not quite...but we did make the best of it!  First stop, DQ for some lunch and blizzards!

Next stop, Buc-cee's!  We arrived at our hotel around 6:30, unloaded the car, and then promptly found the closest Lupe Tortilla.  The best beef fajitas in the state.  Promise!

Our hotel was 5 minutes from NASA, so when we found out that the Eagles didn't play until 3:00 that afternoon, we made plans to go.  Do you see that space shuttle?!  So cool.

There were all sorts of fun exhibits for the kids to explore...


including the chance to crawl inside a space pod!

Jackson got to practice maneuvering in space...

while Cami tested out her weightlifting skills.

There were life-sized replicas of rockets all over this place!

And Lila even found Sally Ride's astronaut suit, which was fitting, since she'd just learned about her in school.

We took a tram after that, and it took us out to see some real rockets used by the USA.

This one was enormous!

We also learned that a local FFA club keeps their longhorns on the NASA property, 
which these girls thought was awesome.

We did a little souvenir shopping and Madison found the perfect shirt for Gigi.  I regret that we didn't buy it!

After we came back from our tram tour, we found a few more things to see...including this astronaut doing flips in space.  For a few seconds, Cameron believed he was real!

We ended our day there by going inside that big airplane and space shuttle that were at the entrance of NASA.  Very cool experience!

A few hours later, it was time for some baseball.

Play ball!  Let's go #7!

The Eagles lost their first game, but won their second.  We all went to to dinner together after it was over, making for a late night.  During dinner, we learned that the boys had to play at 8am the next morning.  Bummer.  It would have been bad enough, but it was also daylight savings day, making it even worse!  We all went to bed at midnight, and then had to wake up at 6am in order to be at the fields by 7:00.  But it actually felt like getting up at 5am.  Needless to say, the boys didn't play well.   
We got back to the hotel around 10:30 that morning and I told everyone that we were going to have nap time.  Of course, no one was tired...right!  Before I even got finished bathing Cami, both Lila and Madison had fallen asleep.


Cami and Jackson followed suit, and even Jared and I got a little shut eye.  

We couldn't waste the whole day, though, so around 2:00 we rallied the troops!

We headed down to spend the afternoon at the Galveston Pier.
I'm so glad that we did, because it ended up being everyone's favorite activity of the weekend.

There was a carousel, 

jumping frog, 

bumper cars, 


swings,

and games.  On his third shot, this kid made the basket!

And won the basketball of his choosing!  Hook 'em Horns!
Jackson opted out of most of the rides, but thought the Galveston Beach was pretty cool.
 


The girls must have gone on this ride 5 times!


While Lila and Madison rode the spinning cars, Jackson found the funnel cake.  Score!

Their smiles say it all--they loved it!

Maddie convinced Lila to ride the pirate ship,


and then it was time for my favorite, the ferris wheel! 

It went pretty fast and scared everyone in our fam, including Jared!

The sun was setting as we were leaving. 
We ended the night with a scrumptious dinner at Pappas Seafood House, and then said adios to Houston the next morning.

Good weekend with those I love most! 

Friday, March 22, 2019

Wild One!

Wowsers! Connor turned 1!  
Our nephew is growing up so quickly. We were thrilled to be able to celebrate his birthday at our house this year.

His mama outdid herself with the decor, cakes, and of course...

amazing cookies!

Everything was picture perfect for this little guy's first birthday party.

Lyndsie's mom even flew in from California and her sister drove up from Houston. 
They both love Connor so much.


Miss Lilly got all dolled up for the party and wore her best smile, too.


This picture just makes my heart happy.  Love all of them!


While the adults chatted, Connor and Lilly played on the floor.

Uncle Jared got a turn holding Mason, who was fast asleep for most of the night.

Cameron made quick friends with Ashley and her fiance Trent.  This girl has never met a stranger!

We watched Connor open his presents...

and then it was time for his smash cake.

The look on his face says it all.  Not a fan of cake, or icing!  Clearly, we've got some work to do!

While Connor may not have been a fan of his cake, the rest of us were chomping at the bit to get some of the big chocolate cake. So good!

With Connor and Mason added to the Hays side, the boys are making a comeback.  

We all enjoyed the night...


and loved watching this kid try to stand on his own.

So many good baby snuggles, 

lots of smiles, 

and I even got a quick peek at Mason's eyes while I was rocking him.  Pure sweetness.
Such a good night.

Happy 1st Birthday, Connor!  We love you!

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