Beach Vacation

For many months, the girls have been begging to go to the beach. They have never been. So, this past weekend we took the girls to the beach with our friends the Blackwells. We had a fun time!

We left on Thursday and stopped for lunch in Austin with our now retired pastor Dennis and his wife Linda. It was nice to see them. Then we made our way to Corpus Christi and our hotel on Padre Island. The hotel was right on the beach. We walked on the beach for a couple of minutes and then went in search of dinner. We found a great pizza place.

The next day, we ate breakfast and then went to the beach! When Wes and I walked into the water with Lizzie and Gracie the first time, they giggled and giggled. They loved the feel of the waves. It was a fun moment for our family.

Gracie stopped long enough to have her picture taken

Matt showing baby Alysse the ocean for the first time

Chandler, Gracie and Lizzie

Building sand castles

Gracie and Chandler in the sand

Chandler

 After the beach, we cleaned up and headed to lunch and to see the USS Lexington. It was a huge ship and we didn't even get to see all of it. The kids were ready to go after a couple of hours. It was really interesting to see. Its like a little floating city.

Lizzie and Gracie with their new hats that nana sent

Looking out on the deck of the ship

The kiddos

 We parked next to a store that had a giant shark in front. The kids loved walking in and out. We teased them that the shark was spitting them out.

Taking a break after all that walking in the belly of a shark

 After the tour of the ship, we went out to dinner. The restaurant had a miniature golf course. It was a beautiful night so we sat outside to eat and then the kids played golf. It's funny to watch five year olds play golf!

Penny and baby Alysse

Getting ready to "tee off"

Sweet girls telling daddy about their day

 Saturday, we headed to the beach first thing and then around lunch cleaned up and went into Corpus Christi. After lunch, we went to the Texas State Aquarium. The aquarium was fun and had a splash pad. The kids loved playing. When they were done, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

We headed to Port Aransas for dinner. It was crazy busy and the restaurants were packed. We ended up having dinner at Whataburger. The kid loved it.

Lizzie wearing my sunglasses

Wes at lunch

Lizzie and I

Fun captains wheel

Watching the giant sea turtle at the aquarium

Watching dolphins

Splash park!

So focused

 We had a great vacation and enjoyed going with the Blackwell family! I asked all three of the big kids what their favorite part was and each said playing in the pool. Go figure.