A few weeks ago, the family unit got the opportunity to take one more summer vacation before the new school year started. Once again, our wonderful friends Kenny and Hailey invited us down to their Galveston beach house for a long weekend. We of course accepted immediately.
As I have said in the past, I like to drive at night. The kids sleep (Lori too...most of the time), and there is a whole lot less traffic. No bathroom breaks, no food breaks, just straight driving. It's exactly 331 miles from our driveway to Ken and Hailey's beach house. Setting the cruise on 71ish mph, gets us there in 4 1/2 hours. We left on Wednesday night at 10pm, and arrived (very sleepily) at 2:30. After unpacking and de-stressing, we went to bed around 3:15am. Some people think it's crazy to drive so late, but doing this actually gives us a whole extra day to enjoy the beach. Who can turn down an extra day at the beach?
We actually got to sleep in a little on Thursday morning. I believe the kids made it to 7:00am instead of their usual 6:00am. Hey, it's a start at least...baby steps...baby steps. Before you know it, we will be living like kings and queens and sleeping until.......wait for it..........8:00am on the weekends. Oh to dream......
After getting up and playing around the house for a while (Lori of course went running on the beach), we loaded up and headed out to our sandy and salty paradise. We all love the beach, even Mystic. I do not think I ever see Mystic happier than I do when I tell her it's OK to go swimming. She is truly a water dog. I guess you could say we are an entire "water family". We all light up like a Christmas tree when we dip our toes in the big blue.
After spending a few hours at the beach (and forgetting to take any pictures), we went back to the beach house and waited eagerly for our hosts to arrive. Unfortunately for Ken, he ended up having to work late, so after calling me to inform me that they would not be arriving until almost 11:00pm, I fired up the grill, and cooked some chicken fajitas, and carne asada. Yummy.
We were all pretty tired after dinner, and went out on the deck to relax. As the sun started to set, a magnificent sky emerged, and the beauty was something to behold. Here is a picture of Aidan and Christopher with as gorgeous a backdrop as you will ever see.
Here is one more with all three of my angels.
The boys were really tired, and they went into their bedroom so Aidan could read him a book. Christopher was all smiles.
He really loves his big brother.
Christopher got into his bed shortly after, and they both were asleep in minutes. Lori and I waited down stairs for our host to arrive while enjoying some cold margaritas, and good music. Kenny, Hailey, Carley and Aubrey arrived about 10:30pm, and after helping them unload their things, we all were dog tired, and went to bed.
Friday started out with a good breakfast of bacon, pancakes and eggs. We played around the house in the early part of the day, and then we headed to the beach. The waves we quite small this trip so we did not get to use our boogie boards very much. We still frolicked in the water and played in the sand. Here is Christopher burying his mom.
While the great cover-up was going on behind us, Ken and I were enjoying the serenity, and contemplating life in general.
We left the beach around 5:00pm, and headed back to the beach house to start preparing dinner. I had picked up some tenderloin steaks before we left home, and tonight they were scheduled to be sacrificed. We fired up the grill, shucked some corn, and opened a couple of JW Dundees Honey Brown Ales. Life is good. After feasting, we got to kids to bed, and stayed up for the next few hours visiting. It always seems that conversation is effortless with great friends. We are very lucky.
Saturday morning came early. Aubrey was bright eyed and all smiles.
As you can see, her smile was contagious.
Once again, we played around the house most of the morning, and then our good friend Kirk came by. It was great to see him, and after he got there, we headed once again to our aquatic retreat. Once there, Kirk decided to join Ken and me in contemplating life's mysteries.
Mystic was frolicking as usual, and Aidan was nice enough to help her with her thirst.
We headed back to the beach house after a few hours, and started prepping the evening's meal. While we were getting the grill ready, Aubrey and Hailey enjoyed some mother daughter time.
Since it was our last night, Shrimp was on the menu. Mmmmmmmm Shrimp.............. We cooked about 8 pounds worth, and ate until we couldn't move. It was grand. After a pretty late night, Sunday morning came entirely too early. The kids were their usual crazy selves, except for Aubrey, who was perfectly content in her daddy's lap.
Christopher meanwhile was ready to fight crime as BOPPIEBOY!
After breakfast, we all went downstairs and boy and girls big and small enjoyed playing on the Vortex Super Slide.
While Ken and I played Kirk and his brother Keith in horseshoes, Lori recaptured a bit of her youth. Of course, I had to get it all on film.
Unfortunately, it was our last day in paradise, and after spending the entire day playing and joking with our friends, we packed up the CX-9, and left for our home about 9:30pm. It was a long and difficult drive home. I guess I was a bit more tired than usual, and I relied on Lori to help me stay alert for the last hour. We got home at 3:00am on Monday, and slept like babies until 7:00am. Grrrrrrrrr.................
It was good to be home, and the 8 months until our next adventure to Galveston seems like an eternity from now. Hopefully, we can convince Kenny and Hailey to load up and come see us some time in the near future. 8 months away it too long away for good friends.
William
