A trip to Freeport…

"I think I caught something!"
-The kids

I hope you have snacks handy, this is going to be a long one.  This week was our yearly trip to Freeport to visit with Elaine, Leo, and the rest of Grandma’s family in the area.  The first thing we did the morning after arriving was go on a fishing trip in the gulf.  Uncle Leo was a great captain and took us to some good fishing spots.  The kids caught crabs, dogfish, croakers, catfish, and even a few flounder.  Mommy and Daddy spent most of the time putting bait on hooks but the kids enjoyed the experience.  Some of the fish were big enough to take home and grill that evening.

After fishing we spent some time relaxing and playing with cousins.  Then it was time to grill up the fish and enjoy the morning’s catch.

A trip to Freeport wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the beach.  We drove out to the shore the next morning during a break in the weather and let the kids play around in the sand and waves.  Isla spent most of the time covering herself in sand, Ashlyn tried to catch the tiny fish that washed up, and James kept trying to go as far out as he could without us yelling at him to come back.

Back at the house the kids enjoyed some homemade snow cones.  Afterwards they received some boogey board lessons from Grandma.  Ashlyn’s balance from gymnastics paid off, it took a little longer for the other two but James learned to stay up for a while.

More kids came over the next day and the whole group went to the local aquarium.  They got to see fish common in the area and touch a few of them in a tank.  Ashlyn decided not to touch the animals after a crab tried to bite James.  James didn’t seem to mind.

After all the walking around Aunt Elaine thought it would be fun to take the kids to the nearby train track and put coins on the tracks.  After the train went by the kids were excited about the flattened pennies.  Once the excitement wore off James did karate poses.

The next morning involved frog finding, swinging, and more boogey board lessons.  I think James has it down.

Another day, another trip to the beach.  This time more cousins joined and the kids had a blast playing in and out of the water.  Ashlyn practiced gymnastics on the beach and Mommy did a great job taking pictures of it.  The water was warm, the sun was shining, and the seagulls were stealing food.  It was everything you could hope for spending a day at the beach.

Once again we were overwhelmed with the hospitality of the Freeport crowd.  We had an incredible time visiting with family and the kids are already looking forward to the next visit.

Butterflies and pigs…

"In the world, there are two kinds of balloons. Up balloons and down balloons."
-Peppa Pig

When the kids discovered an injured butterfly in the yard they felt it was necessary to bring it inside to play with it.  The butterfly didn’t enjoy the experience as much as the kids did, but they were as gentle as they could be with it.  I’d like to say it was set free afterwards, but I think a cat ate it.  Oops!

James and Ashlyn didn’t get to go to World of Peppa when Isla went.  When a 50% off day came up they decided to go check it out.  It’s definitely geared towards younger kids, Ashlyn even went in with the adult price.  They had fun although I think Ashlyn and James got bored more quickly than Isla.

This is an example of great parenting.  The kids wanted to get the van washed, and Mommy told them if they cleaned the inside of the van she would take them on a fun adventure through the car wash.  They must have really wanted to go through it because they put in some hard work.  Their reward was a few minutes of water being sprayed on the van and seeing the roller go over it, while Sadie looked on in concern.  Was it worth it?  The van is cleaner than it’s been in months, so yes it was worth their trouble.