Galveston Beach, 2015

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Galveston again this year! We met my cousins (Anne, Kate, and Nate) and their families in Galveston for a wonderful weekend. We laughed and ate some great food and made lots of memories.

first evening after dinner...on the beach

Tom

Walker

(same picture of Walker, just using a different editing process)

The boys...I think they were chilly.

Walker LOVED his boogie board.

Both Lainey and Walker loved playing with "Baby Beeba" (sweet Baby Eva will never outgrow that name, I'm afraid...). 

Saturday fun on the beach

hehe

Lucie

Eva

Eva was such a great sport. She loved the beach! And the sand!

The kids were trying to keep water out of this giant hole they were digging. Impossible. But fun to try. :)

Eva helped. :)

Walker chased a lot of waves. He LOVED running in and out of them.

Ben spent a lot of time playing in the ocean, too! You can see his head if you look closely...hear the horizon. :) 

This wasn't their best idea. :)

Oddly comfortable. :)

More love for the boogie board!

When the rain came through on Sunday morning, we spent the morning inside and then spent some time filling (and smashing) water balloons!

My cousins and I did this every summer as kids...so it's fun to carry on that tradition. :)

And Walker LOVES Baby Eva. He insisted that he sit next to her at meals. It was precious.

Walker also spent some time finding clams and rescuing them. Then he would "help" them by burying them again. He was fascinated by that whole process. 

Yum. Ice cream. :)

Tom (4), Andi (9), Eva (15 months), Lainey (7), Lucie (2-1/2), Walker (5), and Charli (5)

A comparison...2014 vs. 2015. Same house, same group of kids, one year later. :)

And a data point...Walker likes to do weird things with his hands. :)

Lainey and Andi are such sweet friends AND cousins. They have a lot of things in common; I think they would be good friends if they both lived in the same city!

Lainey and Andi with Charli

And with Lucie. :)

***

We had so much fun this past weekend. But, as usual, I failed to get any pictures of the moms! And I only got a couple of Ben! I promise, we were all there the whole time. Next year, this will be my goal...pictures of the adults...! :) Walker, once again, cried when we left. He didn't want to leave "Galveston Beach." :) I'm already looking forward to next year! Thanks everyone for a memorable trip!

Week 20

Walker // If you do something wrong or if you are embarrassed about something, you have a tendency to "not want to talk about it" with me or you want me to "stop talkin' 'bout it." :) I think because you know you did something wrong - even if it was an accident - and you feel ashamed. I guess that's a good thing? But it's okay to admit your mistakes! :) You also like to sleep with ten things - your two ducky blankies and your eight Minecraft stuffed animals.  If, for some reason, you awaken in during the night and you can't find all ten things, then you come downstairs and tell me that you only found "nine stuff" (or whatever the number is). I have to then walk upstairs to help you find all of your things, tuck you back in your bed, turn on your music, turn your Longhorn Dream Lite to "green," turn your turtle nightlight to "blue" and hope that you go right back to sleep. Thankfully, you do. And for that, I am grateful. :)

Lainey // You are very random. You say random things and have lots of random thoughts. You recently told me that "if you throw roly-poly behind you it won't die" and another time, when I was doing your bun for ballet class while you were standing in front of the mirror, you told me that if you had six arms, you would use four as feet and use the other two to hold up your body and neck so you could be a giraffe. And lastly - and this was hilarious - you said that you thought that "big people (meaning adults) can hold their pee longer than little people (meaning kids) because they have bigger bottoms." (And you did preface this statement with "I'm not trying to be mean but...."). Anytime you want to ask me something that you most likely know the answer to (but you feel the need to ask me anyway) you'll say, "Mama, don't say anything until I'm finished talking, okay?". And you'll ask your question and I'll give you my response. :) Which is usually the same response I would have given you had I interrupted your talking. :)

Sweet Lainey

Lainey's sense of style is unique. Floral skirt, camouflage sweatshirt, and purple boots. Due to the cooler, rainy weather we've been having...we've been using our fall and winter clothes into late spring! 

And Lainey wrote me this note during dinnertime. :) Clearly...she's crossed yet another vegetable off her list of "likes." Sadly, I'm not going to allow this one to come to pass. :)

Walker: Pre-K Graduate

First day of school...August, 2011. (Who IS this kid?)

Walker with one of his favorite friends, Kasen, on the last day of Pre-K, 2015. 

with their fabulous teachers, Mrs. Webb and Mrs. West

with Yiyia

Walker with Kasen, Yiyia, and Brayden...the boys love each other and they love Yiyia. :)

so big :)

We will miss this playground! We've done lots of playing here...and have made lots of memories.

This is the bag that Walker used for most of his preschool years. I got a little sentimental and took a picture of it. Ironically, his new red backpack (for Kindergarten) arrived on Tuesday so he took it to school on his last day. :) He might be ready...but I've learned not to hold my breath or give any sort of predictions when it comes to Walker! :) 

Week 19

Walker // You refer to things that actually happen in life as things happening in "real life." For example, you'll ask, "Will I do that? In real life?" or you'll say, "That really happened. In real life." It kinda makes sense, I think. You just want to know if something is real or not. We've started using that phrase in our everyday language, as well. We'll ask you if something happened in "real life" or if it was just something you made up. :)

Lainey // You've started liking preserves! This is big! :) Previously, you've said "no" to anything with jelly...saying you prefer "homemade jam" (Kate, if you are reading this, please know that Kim's jam is still a winner in Lainey's book). I think you like the real deal...the yummy, sugary, gooey preserves as opposed to the congealed form of jelly! 

T-Ball and Friends

All dressed for his first official not-rained-out T-Ball game! So cute! Walker has declared that he doesn't like the warm-ups...no stretching exercises for this kid. He flat-out refuses to participate which just makes Ben and I frustrated. I'm trying to get him to see the importance of stretching and warming up before practices and games. Sometimes, if you lay facts before him, you'll get a better result! We'll see how this goes... :) 

just cute

Lainey was so excited to watch Ainsley and Kaitlyn perform at their WOGA Gymnastics Meet on Saturday evening! 

After the gymnastics meet, we all went out to dinner. We love the Loredos and the Baders. :)

The girls had a serious game of "family" going on. Lainey was the mom, Ainsley was the big sister, and Kaitlyn and Camryn were "twins who were turning two years old."

And this is just cute... We played "Guess the Word" the other day and Walker spelled this word for me and asked me what it was. W-O-D-W-U-N-R. If you substitute the "w" sound for an "r" sound you get "roadrunner." That was his word. :) We'll get those "r" sounds eventually! Right now his r's sound like w's (in most instances). :) 

Week 18

Walker // You act like a stinky little boy sometimes. For example, the other day you tooted. You asked me to smell it. I replied by saying, "No, Walker, that's not polite." So you promptly responded with "Mommy, can you PLEASE smell it?" You thought that's what I meant. That's not what I meant. I don't need to smell your toots, Walker. Even if you say please and ask nicely. You also say "I know dat" a lot. It's cute. I'm wondering when you will master that "th" sound. ;) You know lots of things, Walker. Lots of things!

Lainey // You're seven years old and all of a sudden you're acting more mature! You're saying things in a more mature way and you seem to not get as upset about things...you still have your moments, but for the most part, you're becoming easier to reason with. And for that I'm so grateful!

"Ocaissoly" Awesome

Open House in between dance classes.

Lainey's outfit (her choice) for Open House: black glittery shoes, navy blue leggings, black and turquoise exercise shorts, a pink tank with rhinestones, and a little white bolero jacket (also with rhinestones). This girl has some good taste! :)

The following morning at school, we ran into Kate! She was helping with carpool! :) 

Lainey, Kate, and Peyton

Apparently, I'm "ocaissoly" (occasionally) awesome but at least I can give some outstanding hugs.

We had our final dance convention/competition of the year this past weekend. After competing Friday evening, she took a jazz class with an amazing instructor. This is her typical stance - she stands this way when she's listening, thinking, or paying attention to anything other than her posture. :) I also think she's playing with her tooth in her mouth. Or maybe chewing her nail. I'm not sure. But she does this a lot, too. :) 

Exhausted after Saturday's classes. Exhausted! I wanted to join her! :) Too bad I was driving.

On Saturday evening, we celebrated Mother's Day with the Harris side of the family. The kids played Four Square outside and I joined them to make sure that Walker didn't run into the alley unsupervised.

Walker got a little frustrated with the game.

He ended up having a good time, he just doesn't like losing! :) 

We left shortly pretty quickly after this, as Lainey had dance classes all day Sunday as well. It was a great, exhausting weekend! Hope all you Moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Swimming!

Swimming! I am eager about the possibility of the kids (specifically Walker) getting in the pool without needing me nearby. This is kind of exciting...I see a fun summer ahead of us. :)

This is Uncle Matt and Whitney. We are so excited about their upcoming wedding in November. And we love being able to see them as often as we do!