Beach Day

Between trips for work and obligations at church, we weren't able to squeeze in a proper family vacation this year.  So last night, we had a family council and decided that we had earned a beach day.  

We quickly loaded up the body boards and beach gear and headed down to Corpus Christi for the day.

We ended up at Mustang Island and it turned out to be a beautiful day!  The surf was just right for the kids (not too big!)

And we pretty much had the beach to ourselves, with just a couple of other families farther down the island.

Everyone gave the body boards a try - with a little help from Andrew to make sure they caught the wave.

We perfected our summer tans...

And when the surf started to die down, we settled in to make a few sandcastles before heading home.

Lovely!

Pioneer Day Breakfast

Our ward had an activity this morning to commemorate Pioneer Day.

It's always a great excuse to hang out with friends

Eat yummy food

Climb some trees

and play a few games

We also got to hear some great stories about how members of the Church played a big role in 

establishing and strengthening settlements here in the hill country of Texas.

A great way to spend the morning!

Wildflower Center

One of our Summer Checklist items was the LadyBird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Most of the popular wildflowers have already faded by this time of summer, but there are still lots of them around... especially the butterfly favorites.

The Center has added a new section since the last time we came - the Family Garden.

It has a wandering stream that ends in a waterfall and a cave.

Exercise equipment that my kids seemed to think was playground equipment

Tree stumps to climb on and build forts around

And huge bird's nests - with giant wooden eggs!

We spent a lot of time playing in this area, but made sure to leave some time for our favorite...

the tree swings!

Superhero Training Camp

 Our city library system always comes up with fun summer programs for the kids.

The favorite this year was the Superhero Training Camp.

Since my kids are really into superheroes right now, they loved getting to make up their own alter-egos!

Batman

Invisible Man

Not so strong Man

Cat woman

Independence Day

We usually watch the fireworks over the river from the top of a hill in our neighborhood, but this year they are renovating the shore of the river, so they moved the fireworks way out east.

We decided we didn't want to drive out there, so we celebrated in the backyard with sparklers and glow sticks...

Happy 4th of July!