A Staycation Somewhere Else
It’s good I waited. We took a little trip down to Rockport, Texas for Spring Break and it’s good thing I waited to post the pictures. After our last few days, I needed to be reminded of the fun we had, that we really enjoyed one another and how EVERY family needs to get away from all the normal responsibilities from time to time. My mom came in for a visit and I reminded her how, when the kids were younger, smaller, cuter.... just kidding....., how crazy the kids would act when she and Daddy would come. I would think, what happened to my semi-obedient kids? How did they lose their hearing, respect and manners when the grandparents came to town? I thought of this preparing for Mom’s visit being glad those days were over.
Right.
My mom witnessed two entire days of school and glimpses of her grandchildren that I know won’t be forgotten soon. Oh, normal stuff, I guess, but I told her that her presence kept me, well, in tact. In those moments, you forget that you really do like these people and that family is a beautiful thing. It’s where life happens and it’s the training ground for these little folks- and me. So if you haven’t read this post-- and if you aren’t reading Ann, you shouldn’t be reading me! She’s it when it comes to writing on family and parenting. So click on over there and be encouraged in your mommy role. Tuck these things away for when your little ones are a bit older. These truths shared, as our pastor says, “It’s money.”
And I’d say our vacation was also......”money”. We played, we rested, we toured and played some more. The investment of time together is always worth it. So as I was thinking about our week, I wanted it to be very different from our nights in this home. Not that there is anything wrong with nights here but I knew vacation needed to be different. Rockport is a sleepy town by the water and unless the weather is good for beach time or the fish are biting, there isn’t a whole lot to do. After a morning walk with a friend, something she said made me think of having “theme nights”. We kept them simple, but they were definitely the hit of the week. Money.
Of all the times we’ve been down I-35, we’ve never stopped here. I know everyone else does, but we weren’t in any hurry and we bought some treats for the week. Well worth our wait in line.
The house in Rockport sits back in this groves of trees.
A heron nesting
A little excitement on the pier Monday night as Jeff helped a group of women pull this drum fish out of the water.
{My Rebel is on the blink so get ready for a stream of “okay” photos. Found myself wanting to pray for my camera to get well…… then thought better of it.}
Our first theme night was “Sports Night”. Remember, I kept it simple and by simple I mean I didn’t want to have to buy any “costumes” or a lot of “props”. I went with themes I knew we could just grab from our closets.
We ate tailgating food for dinner and then played Minute to Win It games with stuff we already had. Cup stack, Cookie face, Cotton ball in the pot, Straws in the cup etc. Easy Breezy.
We ended our night with Remember the Titans. The kids were mesmerized by the football drama and Julia was jumping on the couch by the end of the movie. {Sorry, Mary Ellen-- I had her stop right away!}
Second theme night- Backwards Night. We dressed like this and ate dessert first all the way to appetizers at the end.
We played Bananagrams with backwards words and Rory’s Story Cubes starting with “The End”.
The last theme night was “Fancy Night”. Jeff cooked steak and crab legs and we ate by candlelight with free flowing sparkling grape juice.
I have a love/hate relationship with YouTube but it came through for me when I needed waltz lessons is 5 easy steps. This was really fun. And B, with the music in his bones, was great at it. I get offers to dance now in my own kitchen. ; )
We ended this night with Ever After-- a Cinderella story. Don’t tell B I told you but when we asked them which movie they liked better-- the Titans or Ever After-- he could NOT choose. He decided it was a tie!
Love this.
Love him.
And because there is a beach close, there are stores that have photo opps like this……...
And sell crawly creatures like this.
So we said yes and Julia had hers in the cage with her food, instructions etc. and was in line at the check out. She started questioning her purchase and decided she didn’t want them after all. She took her $20 to Ross and bought 3 shirts. She was very proud of her bargains and Jeff said that was a sure sign that she’s growing up.
It looks beautiful but it was frigid and windy.
Bays, beaches and bait stands-- fixtures by the water.
Spent one day in Corpus Christi and toured the aircraft carrier the USS Lexington. Very cool. Jeff and I felt like Harm and Mac on JAG-- except no uniform, no murder to investigate and no awkward friendship/do you love me type thing.
Our last night, Jeff and Brighton made us a fire on the beach. It was perfect.
This was the first week long vacation just the four of us have taken without meeting friends or extended family. So these memories are made-- going down in the short history of our little family.
Can’t wait for the next one!
Right.
My mom witnessed two entire days of school and glimpses of her grandchildren that I know won’t be forgotten soon. Oh, normal stuff, I guess, but I told her that her presence kept me, well, in tact. In those moments, you forget that you really do like these people and that family is a beautiful thing. It’s where life happens and it’s the training ground for these little folks- and me. So if you haven’t read this post-- and if you aren’t reading Ann, you shouldn’t be reading me! She’s it when it comes to writing on family and parenting. So click on over there and be encouraged in your mommy role. Tuck these things away for when your little ones are a bit older. These truths shared, as our pastor says, “It’s money.”
And I’d say our vacation was also......”money”. We played, we rested, we toured and played some more. The investment of time together is always worth it. So as I was thinking about our week, I wanted it to be very different from our nights in this home. Not that there is anything wrong with nights here but I knew vacation needed to be different. Rockport is a sleepy town by the water and unless the weather is good for beach time or the fish are biting, there isn’t a whole lot to do. After a morning walk with a friend, something she said made me think of having “theme nights”. We kept them simple, but they were definitely the hit of the week. Money.
Of all the times we’ve been down I-35, we’ve never stopped here. I know everyone else does, but we weren’t in any hurry and we bought some treats for the week. Well worth our wait in line.
We got to eat dinner with this sweet family-- they left a BIG hole in Fort Worth.
The house in Rockport sits back in this groves of trees.
A heron nesting
A little excitement on the pier Monday night as Jeff helped a group of women pull this drum fish out of the water.
{My Rebel is on the blink so get ready for a stream of “okay” photos. Found myself wanting to pray for my camera to get well…… then thought better of it.}
Our first theme night was “Sports Night”. Remember, I kept it simple and by simple I mean I didn’t want to have to buy any “costumes” or a lot of “props”. I went with themes I knew we could just grab from our closets.
We ate tailgating food for dinner and then played Minute to Win It games with stuff we already had. Cup stack, Cookie face, Cotton ball in the pot, Straws in the cup etc. Easy Breezy.
We ended our night with Remember the Titans. The kids were mesmerized by the football drama and Julia was jumping on the couch by the end of the movie. {Sorry, Mary Ellen-- I had her stop right away!}
Second theme night- Backwards Night. We dressed like this and ate dessert first all the way to appetizers at the end.
We played Bananagrams with backwards words and Rory’s Story Cubes starting with “The End”.
The last theme night was “Fancy Night”. Jeff cooked steak and crab legs and we ate by candlelight with free flowing sparkling grape juice.
I have a love/hate relationship with YouTube but it came through for me when I needed waltz lessons is 5 easy steps. This was really fun. And B, with the music in his bones, was great at it. I get offers to dance now in my own kitchen. ; )
We ended this night with Ever After-- a Cinderella story. Don’t tell B I told you but when we asked them which movie they liked better-- the Titans or Ever After-- he could NOT choose. He decided it was a tie!
Love this.
Love him.
And because there is a beach close, there are stores that have photo opps like this……...
And sell crawly creatures like this.
So we said yes and Julia had hers in the cage with her food, instructions etc. and was in line at the check out. She started questioning her purchase and decided she didn’t want them after all. She took her $20 to Ross and bought 3 shirts. She was very proud of her bargains and Jeff said that was a sure sign that she’s growing up.
It looks beautiful but it was frigid and windy.
Bays, beaches and bait stands-- fixtures by the water.
Spent one day in Corpus Christi and toured the aircraft carrier the USS Lexington. Very cool. Jeff and I felt like Harm and Mac on JAG-- except no uniform, no murder to investigate and no awkward friendship/do you love me type thing.
Our last night, Jeff and Brighton made us a fire on the beach. It was perfect.
This was the first week long vacation just the four of us have taken without meeting friends or extended family. So these memories are made-- going down in the short history of our little family.
Can’t wait for the next one!
Comments