Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam flew down to Texas this past weekend with his girlfriend Addie for a visit with Grandpa Jeff before the big move. Of course, this gave us another excuse to visit the beach.

This time around, Peter had no fear of the water. We had to keep a sharp eye on him because he kept making a break for the surf - he loved jumping the waves and having them crash against him!

Leah and Lincoln had a great time playing with everyone too, at least until Leah had a little run-in with a jellyfish. Luckily, Sam was there to come to the rescue. And after a little break, she was ready to hit the waves on the body board. (We almost couldn't get her out of the water after she discovered the joy of riding the waves this way!)

Peter and Lincoln finally took a break from the waves to play in the sand.

Then everyone cooled off with sno-cones

before helping to bury Uncle Sam - Lincoln had a turn too.
Peter was more than happy to help with that one.

What a great day!

Beach Day

Andrew and I got back to Texas on Tuesday evening and decided to make a run down to Galveston to visit Grandpa Jeff while we still have the chance (since he's moving to Pennsylvania next month!) After stretching our legs and eating a little snack, we packed everyone up and headed to the beach.

Digging for buried treasure with Grandpa Jeff and Sunny.
Leah actually found a dime!

Lincoln mostly wanted to jump waves.

While Peter was content to sit in the surf and play in the sand.

I have to say, the public beaches down in Galveston are actually looking pretty good, but the rest of the island is still struggling with the aftermath of Ike. The city has picked up most of the trash from the storm, but you can tell a lot of the homes are empty and you'll still see the occasional boat sitting in the middle of a parking lot or some strange spot. One of the biggest losses right now is the trees. Probably 75% of the trees on the island will have to be cut down because they essentially drowned in salt water - killing all the leaves and making it hard for them to survive. But it's still a great place to go play for the day. We'll be making another trip down at the end of June when Andrew's brother is down with his girlfriend.

Our Splurge

There are so many Cirque du Soleil shows in Vegas, we couldn't leave without seeing at least one.
The Beatles show was our top choice and we came across a super deal one day that we just couldn't pass up, so Friday night we went to see "LOVE". It was absolutely beautiful! While not as over the top on the acrobatics like most Cirque shows, this one was so poetic in telling its story - and of course, filled with Beatles music. It was incredibly creative and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

M&Ms

In my journey down the strip, I came across M&M World...
the perfect place to pick up a little treat for the kids!

And here we see the reason I'm not in any of the pictures.
All I need is an M on my belly and I could stand in for Mr. Yellow!

More Vegas

Our last morning in Vegas, I walked the Strip while I was waiting for Andrew to finish up his conference sessions. Here are the sights from that little trip....Flamingos at The Flamingo (of course)

The Eiffel Tower at Paris

The Harley Davidson Cafe

New York, New York

complete with Statue of Liberty

This one's for Leah... a fairy tale castle at Excalibur