First Family Vacation - Galveston 2014

It's a minor miracle that I even have the energy to write this. Chris and I just survived our very first family vacation. Don't get me wrong, we had an amazing time, that you'll read about in the coming paragraphs. But the word "vacation" is misused in every instance in this blog. There was not a single second of this that was relaxing. Even when things were less crazy, you're just waiting for the next bomb to go off. Let me offer some background...

Other than a trip to NYC in August of 2012, we have never gone anywhere except to see family (Gilmer or Houston). And even those trips aren't as frequent as we'd like.  With Oscar being born last summer, that put us pretty out of pocket for traveling for some time.  Enter our awesome neighbors, the Allen's and the Bloem's.  They both have experience with Galveston and came up with the idea for all of us to rent a house and do a group vacation. Our kids range from almost 5 to one year old. And there's six of them.  Three are all right about the same age...3 1/2.  You know a lovely little age that always listens and never throws tantrums. Even knowing all this, I still think the family vacation is a great idea.

A number of things had me nervous nelly about this trip (none of which had to do with all the company we were bringing). I was worried about the drive (it's five hours non-stop and there's no way we're not stopping with the two boys). I was worried about sleeping arrangements (our idea was to put all the big kids in one room. A sleep-over first for Walt!). I was worried about sleeping in general (Oscar takes 2 naps still, and Walt is the only big kid who still takes an afternoon nap).  I was a little worried about the ocean (sharks, jelly fish, riptide...).  Honestly, every single one of my worries was a non-issue.  The boys did amazing on the drive (both there and back). Walt was a stud sleeper and functioned decently without a nap (Oscar slept with us and also did outstanding). The ocean was barely a factor, mostly because there was a ridiculous seaweed problem (understatement) that really prevented us from a) getting too close or b) spending too much time out in the water.

The weekend was planned perfectly. Each family owned certain meals, so we were always well fed. We got to eat many dinners outside looking at the ocean and the kids had a blast.

I'll share the rest of the vacation through pictures (while it looks like Oscar was barely there, he's only absent from pics because he's a snoozer and sleeps a lot):

And a partridge in a pear tree...

This was the lovely view as we drove onto the island. The chunks of black is all seaweed. It smelled as lovely as it looks.

A little seaweed wasn't stopping us! While it looks like I have a drink and a cigarette in my hand, it's just a drink. #classymom


Oscar was super excited about the beach
Big boy :)


Here was our view for three days. Not too shabby!


Another big boy flying a kite.

These boys were excited about their ice cream

Him too...

We got a family pic!!! Thanks, Heather :)

Here is my beach hair. Tie it up and forgetaboutit #humidity
On the last night, we had an Italian dinner on the deck while listening to Frank Sinatra. My handsome little big man danced with me :)


Ready to go hunt some crabs!


Bruns Family Selfie (minus one... Sorry, Oscar)

One of the crabs we tormented found
Hunting crabs makes you goofy

My beach buddy (and a Bridgette photo bomb)

This is what three days at the beach will get you

 We had a really fun time with everyone. I was so grateful for the older kids who did a great job entertaining each other (and annoying each other too). We can't wait to share many more years of family vacations with the boys!