Labor Day in Galveston

For the second year in a row we have gone to Galveston for Labor Day weekend. We have some friends here who have a guest house about three blocks from the beach in Galveston who have let us use it for the past two years. I have to say that this little trip is a big highlight for the kids, and the timing of it (about 2 weeks after school starts) is perfect! It is a nice little break from the new harsh realities of the school year, and we just love it. These pictures and this post in general is going to be a little reminiscent of last year's post, but that is because we are creatures of habit! When we find something we like, we stick with it! We always do the beach. LOVE the beach!! The thing I love the most about going to the beach is that there is something about it that gets kids and adults just playing together. Have you ever noticed that? Just look up and down the beach next time you're there - moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, all burying the kids in the sand, running out into the surf, throwing the frisbee, building sand castles. Families are just playing together! So we played and played and played, and could have stayed there all day. But alas, we decided to leave at a decent time so that Ruby could get a little nap in and we could all get cleaned up before our big outing to dinner. (I could go on in some detail, also, about the ritual we go through post-beach in ridding our children and selves of sand before getting in the car or especially the beach house. It involves a lot of carrying and hosing and stripping and depositing straight into the shower. And I have to say...we are good! There wasn't a grain of sand to be found in that house!)



The boys would dig these giant holes, and Ruby kept calling them hot tubs or "baby pools" and wouldn't get out! So they were forced to start new ones!

Then Ella joined in...

And here they start a new one!


OK, so on to our favorite restaurant in Galveston - the Rainforest Cafe. What is not to love about the Rainforest Cafe?? We learned our lesson last year after the two hour wait, and we went early this year. It was fun and memorable as always! We always splurge and get the Volcano Cake for dessert, and it is just a dang fun and gigantic dessert. And it's one of those things that we just know that kids will never forget. The kids have recently learned that there are other Rainforest Cafe's besides the one in Galveston, but they all agreed that they didn't want to just go there any old time. That it had to be saved for special occasions! Pretty cute.


I have no pictures to prove the following information, but I do want to note (for my memory's sake) that we went to Schlitterbahn in Galveston on our second day there, and it was by far the best water park I have ever been to. We loved it!! It will definitely make the cut for a repeat next year. We also hit the downtown candy store two nights while we were there (I got the homemade Apple Pie Ice Cream again this year), and we also added a new winner of a restaurant this year. It was called the Fisherman's Wharf, and we enjoyed some great seafood. And the best part? We ate outside, right on the water, and we saw dolphins swimming out there! Dolphins, people!! The kids made quite a scene, I'm afraid, when we spotted the dolphins, but I think that even the old folks there appreciated the excitement. Right? And they may not even have spotted them without our kids yelling, jumping, and pointing! So anyway...we can't wait for next year!!