Trip to Galveston

I posted the video, so obviously if you watched it, you know we recently went to Galveston. 
 

Several people have asked me, "are you back from your vacation to Galveston?" 



Well, the truth is that we spent less than 24 hrs in Galveston, then about that long in Houston, and then dropped Daniel off at the airport so he could take a business trip to Mexico while the kids and I trekked over to Beaumont to spend a few nights with some friends there.  We drove back to Houston to pick Daniel up from the airport on Friday, and we booked it back home that evening--since I worked the following two days.  In short, it wasn't exactly a vacation. 
 

Actually, "vacation" is probably a misnomer if it describes any trip of any length with tiny people who can't potty alone (or respect your desire to) and get crabby when they skip a nap.






However--that's not to say there weren't some genuinely fun parts.  We packed good snacks, ate out of the cooler at a nice rest stop (bravo, Texas--your renovated rest stops are amazing), and reserved the DVD player for the very end of the car trip. 




We drove straight to the beach. 



The beach experience, I must say, is an assault on your senses. 




Between the sunscreen and salt water that get in your eyes, the gritty sand that gets everywhere, the brilliant sun that causes you to squint, and the scorching hot dry sand under your feet... it's just pretty intense (and I mean that in a very euphemistic way). 



The kids were ready to go after an hour or so (except Elliot, who badly wanted to stay). 




The pool at the hotel, on the other hand, was amazing. 
 

Saline, shaded, warm, with a swim-up bar--I could have stayed there for the duration of our short trip. 
 

The kids were a huge hit, showing off their floating skills and enjoying swimming back and forth between the steps and us.  It sparked a lively conversation about infant survival swim classes, and the kids (especially Lucy) seemed to be enjoying the attention until an ill-timed #2 incident necessitated that our crew quickly vacate the pool. 







We ate our favorite--Olympia Grill--for dinner on the floor in our hotel room and then got all the kids to bed. 
 


The next morning started early, with cheerios in plastic cups (another hotel room "picnic"), swimsuits again, and another little venture to the beach. 
 



Let me tell you -- the beach is pretty empty at 8am.  The big kids ventured out with me far enough to see the "jumping fish" and diving gulls. 



Daniel told me later there was a dolphin just behind us, but the kids and I missed that. 

I probably took too many pictures during this trip, but we live in the digital age--and these years won't last. 


 So I'll post pictures from the rest of our trip in the next few days.

Our Sweet News -- with a little revision

Remember that video I made, announcing baby #4 was coming in November and was to be a sister?  Well... that video needed a revision, since we found out we are actually having a BOY!

I hope the above video plays for you.  If not, here's a quick summary in the form of a photo:

Future Siblings

Beaumont with Sadie and Pop

About 6 years and 1 month ago, I met one of my favorite couples.


My father-in-law had become aware of the fact that the housing assignment during my internal medicine rotation was pretty sketchy -- maybe unsafe.
 

He thus took it upon himself to correspond with the two Episcopalian priests in the town, who each asked for volunteers -- kind people to take me in for 4 weeks during the rotation.





As luck or destiny or fate or God would have it, Pop and Sadie were those kind people.




And we are all thankful for my father-in-law and his protective thoughtfulness.



We travel to see Pop and Sadie 1-2 times/year (more, back when we lived closer, in Galveston), and it is amazing how much changes and how much stays the same between visits.


But this weekend was particularly nice.



We made the drive (6 hours) Friday afternoon, and the kids did decently well, considering they were strapped into their car seats the whole time.  Man.  Car seats.  What a kill joy.  Don't get me started.



Anyways, we made a quick stop at a rest station so the kids could get out some energy before falling asleep in the car.  Everyone's mood quickly deteriorated after that.  Daniel and I were gritting our teeth, determined to make it to Beaumont whether the kids were losing it in the back or not.

 

Thankfully, we came across a fried chicken place (we almost never get fried chicken), and a couple of biscuits and chicken tenders later, everybody was happy again.  Food is amazing.  What a beautiful idea... food.  




We spent our time in Beaumont visiting with Pop and Sadie, having tea parties, playing in the play room upstairs, building teddy bears, reading in the library, and making new friends at the park.
 

We always visit this park when we're in town, but between last visit and this, the park had been completely renovated.  It was SO much fun!
 

There were tons more toddler-friendly fixtures like see-saws and springy animal statues to bob back and forth on.


 

We met interesting people, like a woman from Albania, a man (and his son) from Germany (they had just moved from Paris, France... to Beaumont), and a woman from California (with three kids my own kids' ages).



The kids shared bubbles and complimented each other's clothes and took turns on the slide.  It was all that I could have hoped for in brand-new, for-the-moment friends that we'll never see again.
 

If there was a theme to this recent trip, it was clocks.



Lucy and Elliot were positively elated by the clocks at Sadie and Pop's house.



There is the huge grandfather clock in the entry way, the magical musical clock in the living room, and then the bird-chirping clock in the utility room.



They are off set from each other by a few minutes, so the kids' routine became observing the entry-way one, then the living room one, and finally the bird one.




On our first full day, I asked Lucy if she was ready to go to the park, and her reply was, "No, I'm going to stay here and watch the clocks."



Lighting in Sadie and Pop's house is interesting and challenging.




There is some natural light and a lot of fluorescent light.

 



I find it to be a continual exercise when I'm there -- how to compose, where to position myself, what white balance to use, and how to post-process.






I adore the upstairs rooms -- they have tons of beautiful natural light and clean, fluffy carpet.
 

Sadie treated the kids to Build-A-Bear, a toy store in the mall where kids can create their own stuffed animal.



They not only pick the animal, but also the sound effects included inside, the amount of fill, and the clothes.


We opted to skip the clothes this trip.


Both kids picked "For the first time in forever" to be the song inside the paw.  Kind of random, since they've only seen Frozen once and weren't particularly fond of it.



The kids get to stand on the pedal that blows the fluff into their new little animal friends, and then they take the stuffed animal over to the sink to give it a "bath" and brush its fur.



Air blows from the "faucet".  The whole idea is really pretty cute.  Elliot named his bear "Bo" and Lucy at first named hers "Gustov" but then changed his name to "Lightening".  




To say that the kids were upset to leave is a gross under-statement.



They were having so much fun.
 

I began preparing them to leave a full 48 hours ahead of time, setting expectations appropriately that we would--at some point--be returning home.


The last morning we were there, Lucy was devastated she wouldn't be able to "sleep in her bed" again until our next visit.



I informed her we would visit again once Oliver began walking, and I subsequently overheard her conspiring with Sadie to teach Oliver to walk ASAP.





We had a wonderful time.  We miss our friends.  But we are so glad we got to visit them, and we are thankful for a safe trip there and back!