The Texas Coast

My first trip to the Texas coast since moving to Houston in 2004! Sounds a little crazy, but it is what it is! We started our trip in Corpus Christi, not really what I was thinking it would be like. But we still had fun. We went to see the Corpus Christi Hooks and had a great time. I taught Alex about all the cute boys in baseball. The next day we went to the Texas State Aquarium. It was nice, right near the ocean. The cool breeze helped, being that it was 95 degrees. We were able to see dolphins, sea turtles, sea otters, touch stingrays and check out lots of other wildlife. We went to the Birds of Flight show and Alex volunteered to be a helper for the first time.
She went right up there, and the lady started talking about the job that she was going to do. She put bird gloves on her and protective goggles telling her that this animal that they were bringing out was smelly and had sharp claws and of course, Alex freaked out!
Her face went from joy to complete terror in 3 seconds. She was telling the lady, "NO, I don't want to!" but she told her it was all a trick and brought out the animal. It was a member of the ant eater family, pretty harmless. And she quickly smiled with relief and enjoyed helping it eat it's treat of yogurt from a bottle.
We ended our trip at Mustang Beach, it was beautiful. Totally different experience for a born and raised California girl! The water was like bath water, I loved it. Alex loved the beach! David even enjoyed himself doing some body surfing.


Alex arriving at the beach finally!

Swimming in the ocean, so fearless!


So driving home was a new experience for us all. We got to go on a ferry from the island, so cool yet so terrifying. And yes, we took pictures of it. This was our view on the ferry. We were right in front. A great end to a great little family road trip!

Feeding the Ducks!

One of the greatest memories from my childhood was going to the park with my grandma and feeding the ducks. So I was excited to take Alex to feed the ducks on our trip to Long Beach. However the geese freaked her out!

Beach in Santa Barbara

We did end up making it to the beach in Santa Barbara. However, Alex did not enjoy the sand as much this time. She didn't like that she had to keep cleaning off her feet in the ocean, but every time she made it back to the towels there was more sand. She couldn't figure out how she was going to get the sand off of her. I told her it wouldn't stay on her, and that by the time we got to the car it would be gone. It was quite comical.



Our pedicured toes in the sand!




Attempting to clean the sand off her feet, for the 10th time!

Butterfly Garden

While in Santa Barbara visiting Auntie Allison and Baby Andrew, we went to the Santa Barbara Mueseum of Natural History and the new exhibit "Butterflies Alive". They had a enclosed garden where you could walk around and experience butterflies close-up and personal. They would land on you and you had to be very careful where you walked so not to step on them. Alex thought it was great and creepy all at the same time.





Auntie Allison and Andy


"Big Eyes" as Alex affectionately called Andy, such a cutie pie!


Various Butterflies on the ground.


One that landed on Alex.

Water Day

Alex and her friends from school had their last day at school that included Water Day! They had a great time splashing and swimming in the school's little pool. Finishing her day with popsicles and friends, she was excited for summer. But when she got home and realized that this was her last day at that school, she fell apart. She is totally bummed out! Hopefully our trip to CA to see Auntie Allison and baby Andrew and the cousins will help her with her grief!

Alex and Riley - Bathing Beauties


Entering the pool


Alex and Elizabeth - Best buddies


The three amigos!

Last Day of School!

The last day of Preschool is finally here! Alex has been excited for Kindergarten to start, but was very sad to know that she wouldn't see her friends or teachers all the time or at all. For the last three years she has gone to the same school, and usually saw her old teachers on the playground or around school. We will miss our little preschool a lot, but look forward to all her new experiences in Kindergarten.

The First Day of School, August 2008


The Last Day of School, May 2009

Hula Hoop Queen

For graduation, Mommy and Daddy bought Alex a hula hoop. She had wanted one for quite a while now, since her last one broke. After having the new hula hoop for just 3 days, she is a pro! This is a short video or her 1 minute and 25 second hula hoop session. Check her out!