Korea 2014: Week 8 - Spring Break with Lindsey

We went down to Houston to hang out with my sister for Spring Break this week.  We'd talked about doing something big like going to South Padre or maybe north to Oklahoma. But then we realized that Lindsey was going to be in Utah for a few weeks before Spring Break.  She knew she wouldn't want to go on another big trip.  So instead we just decided to go to the beach in Galveston.  My kids were ecstatic about that idea and started pretending that they were going to the beach.  

They kept telling me they wanted to bring their chairs.  So I made sure we packed them up.     

Lydia was really excited to go.  She kept telling me that she wanted to bring her itty bitty baby, Moses.  Moses is smaller than a quarter and gets lost at least 4 times every day.  I told her there was no way that we would take him to a beach.  She responded in her high pitched Moses voice, "I wont get lost."  and I found myself having a conversation with a doll who is smaller than my pinkie.  Moses and I argued back and forth. It wasn't until Moses got lost (and then miraculously found) at the park that Lydia sort of realized that I might be right about not bringing Moses to the beach.

The drive down to Lindsey's was pretty uneventful.  The kids all woke up at the halfway point so we stopped at the McDonalds in Hearne.  I ordered a 20 piece chicken McNugget meal and three small fries.  Veronica ate half a chicken McNugget which was more than what Charlotte and Lydia ate.    

Then the kids played on the playground for a while to get their wiggles out.

Veronica and I relaxed.  It's funny, but 4 kids age 3 and under is actually a lot easier than 3 kids age 2 and under.  Last year I never would have dared take the older three kids to McDonalds by myself.  I guess it also helps that I'm not pregnant anymore.  I was so tired when I was pregnant that everything seemed hard.

We arrived at Lindsey's and all the cousins had fun with each other - sort of.  It's a running joke that our kids are always sick every time we get together.  And this was no exception.  Charlotte and Lydia had fevers, Knoxx was getting over an ear infection, Lindsey had been to the doctor that day for a sinus infection, Derrick had woken up with diarrhea all over his crib that morning, and Rocklond started complaining that his ear hurt.

But despite the sick kids we still planned to go to the beach in Galveston.  It's kind of a long story, but it was just easier that way.  I joked it would be like we were in the 1800's and taking a bunch of invalids to the sea shore for treatment.

Early Wednesday morning Lindsey left her house with her kids to pick her mother in law up at the airport.  She took her mother in law down to her sister in laws house so she could help with the new baby that was born there. (told you it was a long story)  Then Lindsey took Rocklond to the doctor to get his ear infection taken care of.  Meanwhile I slept in until around 8:00 and then took my kids, Lindsey's foreign exchange student Viktoriia, and her friend Jenna to Galveston.

Lindsey had drawn me a map, and I'd been there before with Brandon, so I felt pretty confident driving through Houston's crazy freeway system.  Last year I'd been in awe of Lindsey's ability to drive on the roads.  This year I felt like a real grown up after I'd successfully navigated from 290 to the 610 to I-10 to I-45.

We'd planned to meet up at the McDonalds next to Stuart Beach and then continue on and ride the ferry to the other part of Galveston Island.  My car arrived at the McDonalds first.  I called Lindsey and she wasn't too far behind, but after her crazy morning she wasn't interested in taking the ferry. I could see onto Stuart Beach and it wasn't crowded at all.  So that is where we decided to go.

The first thing we did was have a tailgate picnic. Lindsey says she's learned to just eat at the car.  Otherwise everything ends up all sandy.

And then we headed down to the water.  My kids were so excited to finally be at the beach.

Even Veronica had a good time.

We dug in the sand with our new shovels and made castles with our buckets.

The water was cold, but the air was really warm.  I made sure we were all smothered in sunblock.  Charlotte was good and even wore her coverup and hat the whole time like I asked her too.

At one point Derrick wandered off to a bluff.  I followed him while holding Veronica and the twins followed me.  I wish I'd brought my camera because we all had a nice time on that bluff.  Derrick threw sand everywhere, Lydia picked some leafy plants, Charlotte put sand into a little mold she'd discovered, and I put sand on Veronica's feet. It was really peaceful.  Derrick started laying down in the sand an I could tell he was getting tired.  We went back to where Lindsey was so he could lay on a blanket.  But he kept wandering off and laying in the sand.  So it was time to go.

Lydia found her sunglasses and put them on in the car. (Don't worry I made her fix her seatbelt before for started driving.)

Derrick was covered with sand.

Charlotte was so tired she couldn't even look at the camera.

Veronica was happy, but she was also due for a nap.  All four kids fell asleep before we were off the island.

Everyone took a bath when we got back to Lindsey's.  Then the five of us ate 3/4 of a large box of Kix.  We'd all worked up a huge appetite. We just kept eating and eating and eating.

Lindsey came home a little while later and we just let the kids play around the rest of the day. Rocklond was feeling better, and my kids seemed to be over their colds.  The trip to the sea had worked.

Lindsey was dog sitting a dog named Louis.  My kids loved him just as much as they love Gretta.  It seems like everytime I wondered where one of my kids' was I'd find them sitting near the dogs.  I like that my kids can get their dog fix at Lindsey's house.

That night Lindsey and I watched the Veronica Mars movie via Amazon instant video.  I was so happy to see that movie.  I might even write a whole post about it.  But in case I don't I'll sum it all up - closure.

The next day we went to the Oil Ranch.  It's a working farm that has lots of thing to do and see.  I was very, very impressed by it.

We went with one of Lindsey's friends and her family so we got a group rate.  It would have been $15 a person, but we got in for $8.

They had a cow that you could milk.  I tried it and it was really cool.  Char was too scared to try to milk it, but she did feed it.

After the cow we went and stood in line for pony rides.  I really liked that everything was already included in the admission.  I didn't have to pay extra for the kids to ride on the ponies.  Here is Lydia.  I actually was changing Veronica's diaper (yes on the grass) when I heard Lydia yell, "Mom look at me! I'm riding a horse!"  She hadn't been afraid to get put on the horse at all.

And here is Charlotte.  She wasn't afraid either.

Derrick had been content playing with rocks and dirt so we didn't even try to put him on a horse.

Then we went in a barn that had lots of different animals.  Here are the bunnies.

And the ckicks.  You could buy them for $4.50.

And a pig.

And a horse.  Later we walked by the horse and saw him peeing.  I'm pretty sure it changed Charlotte and Rocklond's perception of farm animals forever.

There was also a big blow up slide/bounce house.  The kids had lots of fun with it.

And there was an area you could pan for gold.  Rocklond bought a bag of dirt with some birthday money and sifted a bunch of gems out of the dirt.  My kids were content to play in the water.

There was even a train.  Again, I was so happy that this was included in the cost of admission.  We could have ridden it as many times as we wanted.

All our kids were really excited to ride.

I love Derrick's face.

The train took us all around one side of the ranch.  We were able to see cows, sheep, geese, lamas, and other animals without needing walk around.

We even went into one of the cow pastures.

After the train ride we stopped for lunch.  Can I just say (again) that Lindsey is amazing.  She made us all sack lunches.  It was so easy to serve everyone by just handing them their labeled lunch.  I will so use this idea in the future.

Veronica had kind of a rough time because we didn't have her binkie. But she fell asleep after I let her suck on the nipple to her empty bottle. I like how she kind of looks like a passed out drunk baby in this picture.

We'd wanted to go over to the area we'd seen from the train, but our kids were all pretty much done.  So we just went home.

Later that evening we went on a little walk and the kids picked flower/weeds from peoples yards.  They loved their flowers.

We've learned from past visits that our kids usually start fighting by about the third or fourth day.  So on Friday it was time to go home.  I'd wanted take the kids to the splash pad, but I ended up coming down with the cold that everyone had.  Instead I took a nap while the kids watched a movie.  Then we drove home.

I'd skyped with Brandon several times throughout our visit.  He remarked that I looked very relaxed.  I'm so glad that the kids and I have family so close by.  It's nice to visit Lindsey and have fun with her.  I can't wait until our next visit.