The rest of July...I am getting close to caught up!!

In July, Cindy and I convinced Alan to let his hair down a little and take the kids to Galveston for the day. (He's not normally a fan of beach-for-a-day type activities.) He graciously played along and ended up changing his mind about Galveston altogether. We got there in time for lunch, then took a "Dolphin Tour" around the harbor. I was really doubting the "dolphin" part of this tour when our captain turned around to head back...but not to worry, he found us dozens of dolphins on our way back in. SO FUN!!! Then, we headed over to Stewart Beach for the afternoon. It was extremely crowded, but man did we have a great time! The girls spent time making castles, searching for sea shells, playing on the boogie board, and even flying kites! They had an amazing time. I knew they would...it was Blake that totally surprised me. He immediately fell in love with the sand. He has NEVER palyed in dirt before, and I handed him a shovel. He took it and instead of puting in directly in his mouth (pretty standard for Blake) he stuck it in the dirt and began digging. Are you kidding me??? How did he know what to do with that dirt and shovel??? I tell you what, boys are 100% prewired to be boys, I will never ever be convinced otherwise. He was amazing to watch. God is pretty cool like that! Anyway, we all really enjoyed our time on the beach and then briefly showered off and headed for The Strand. We took in a fabulous dinner at Willie G's and then walked the strand a bit. Our final stop was our all time favorite candy and ice cream shop, LA King's. We indulged in both candy and ice cream and even got to watch a Master Candy Maker pull taffy. The girls were very in to that. On the way back to the car, Payton got to pet and feed a horse (she adores horses) that was pulling a carriage. We didn't get home until really late, but man was it worth it. Did I mention that the kids were pretty much angels all day...even Blake (especially Blake) without a single nap!

On the Dolphin Tour

These 2 always play so sweet together!My ALL boy little boy LOVED the dirt!!!My handsome husband was quite a trooper!Look at him throwing the dirt over his shoulder!He also loved getting to freely walk around.This little boy surely adores his Papa!!!Gorgeous girl hunting for shells!My adventure-loving child on the boogie board!Hahaha! She's so mad that we asked her to come back toward us...she was getting too far away...LOVED that mad little face!Dinner at Willie G'sAt the candy store watching the Master Candy Maker make taffy. Payton feeding a horse...big sister was too scared to do it, so Payton helped her out too!

We also had the awesome opportunity to meet up with some college friends this month. Marc and Kathy brought their new little bundle to Montgomery and Matt and Tara brought their new little bundle and we all got to eat and talk and laugh and play together! We love these guys and loved getting to spend time with them! We just had to get some pictures of our ever growing families! Boy have we grown! Just look at all those kids!

Tara, Aubrey, Kathy, Corbin, and meAlan playing with the girls on the oh so safe very old playground equipment!The dude just walked all over the playground while we talked and played together! He was a sweaty mess!Dare-devil!!My little beauties!