My cousin got married this past week near the beach (not ON the beach, but in a town close by). Brad couldn't go (he had to work), so I took the girls with the help of my sister and we made a little girl trip out of it. We first went to the wedding. I preached to the girls up and down all around that the first day we were NOT going swimming. We were NOT going to the beach. We were going to the wedding and that was it. Brenna said, "ok...fine. Kiss. Cake. We're done."
LOL!!! I have no idea where she got that from, but it was hilarious! Anyway. So we got down, and first had lunch on our way in at Bubba Gump Shrimp (always a treat) on the Pier.
Then, we checked into our hotel early (Moody Gardens!) and changed and headed to the wedding...
Not sharing pics of the actual ceremony here, but it was a nice wedding. SUPER hot. Like, miserable hot. Lucky for us, the reception was indoors so we got to all wipe off all our sweat when we came in (serious. it really was THAT hot). Took a few pictures with family, enjoyed a nice meal (Italian style! - fettucini chicken alfredo, lasagna, and salad...yum!), some good toasts and talks, and delicious cake. Kiss? Check. Cake? Check. We're done. :P
The cousins (that were present) with the bride and groom...
Us with Aunt and Uncle
The girls w their great aunt...
We got back to the hotel that night w a full day ahead of us the next. We were staying at Moody Gardens...but only because with my sister's military rate, we got that hotel as cheap as we could get any other 'beach' hotel.
We weren't planning on doing any of the attractions there (that cost money)..we were just there to enjoy the facilities...which included a NICE pool, the nearby beach, and their own included "Palm Beach", which had slides and rides and wave pool, etc. So, first we headed to the beach. The real beach.
The girls got to play in the water some, play in the sand some, and we had a picnic lunch. And we fed our leftovers to the birds.
Look! We found a mermaid!....
My all time favorite picture taken from our trip: ----v
After lunch, we cleaned off and headed back to the hotel to enjoy some pool time first.
Another break after that and we trekked over to Palm Beach. We had been before and really enjoyed it, but after a hurricane a few years ago, they had to redo it and honestly..while they added lots more 'stuff', I think I enjoyed the old Palm Beach better. It was roomier, spread out more and had a much bigger nicer pool. They added slides (that were kinda slow and boring though) and a lazy river (which was nice...just crowded and short) and a super duty splashpad area (which my kids never seem to like. They like to be IN the water...not be splashed by water). But we checked everything out, got to play in the white sands and had a lot of fun.
I hesitated to even post this next picture. I swear she looks too old. But so beautiful I couldn't resist....
After a bit, we headed back to the hotel for dinner. We changed, freshened up (we were sandy and waterlogged) before eating at the hotel. Our food was pretty good, but the after dinner s'mores were sooo much better. They were included every evening in their courtyard area and oh-so yummy. :)
Brooke wanted to go check out the gift stores at the Pyramids. We told them we were not doing all those activities as it was expensive and we didn't have a lot of extra time. But she still wanted to go look. So as we were walking out that evening to head over right before they closed, a nice couple stopped us and asked if we were going to the Pyramids. We told them 'no'...we were just going to the gift shop. They, in turn, handed us four any-attraction reusable tickets that were good for one more day. They explained they had been there all week and were leaving, but their tickets were good for another day. We could have them and still use them over and over again at any attraction/exhibit. WOW! How super awesome of them, right?!?!
Since we now had no reason to go to the gift store that night (we were going to do everything the following day), we went back and headed over to Palm Beach for the Bands in the Sand concert and end of night Fireworks show that happens on weekend nights there. It gave me some extra time to get some pictures around the beautiful grounds, during the 'golden hour'....
Then, when we go over to Palm Beach, we got a great seat right on the bay (where they shot off the fireworks) right next to the band. The band this night was nice and relaxing, not too loud or obnoxious. While we waited the girls had more fun playing in the sand. I enjoyed just sitting and relaxing. ;) Shannon's always got to get as close to the action as possible - haha!!!
The fireworks were pretty good too! Not a HUGE amount...but it was a good 15 minute show with a nice little grand finale and all. The best part was it not being so crowded or hot. It was very pleasant.
That was the night for us. We went back to go to bed as the next day would be very busy, trying to cram in all the other activities before we headed home!
The next day (and our last) we first went to the Aquarium Pyramid. Lots of fish, shark, turtles, penguins...you name it.
After the Aquarium, we walked over to the Discovery Pyramid (science-y stuff). Lots of musical instruments and 'how things work' exhibits. This is where we went and saw the Bodies Revealed exhibit last year that was so cool.
From there, we were right next door to the limited time Dinosaurs Live! exhibit. It was a tent full of life size true to life dinosaurs that moved, growled, chewed, whatever.... it was VERY realistic. Motion sensored as they would follow you with their eyes, heads, etc. So realistic in fact, that the girls were kinda freaked out by it - haha! Pictures don't do it justice as the movements were what made them VERY realistic.
And last but not least, we went to the Rainforest Pyramid...full of birds, snakes, bats, monkeys and such.
After making all the pyramids, we ate a late lunch at the Pyramid restraunt...which was actually one of our best meals of the trip! It was buffet and so the girls actually ate something besides chicken nuggets or hamburgers! The only not good part was dessert. But that's good, right? ;)
We went to the gift store... Brooke picked out a penguin to take home, Brenna a bat...not a baseball bat. A bat, like that hangs upside down and turns into a vampire kinda bat? Go figure. It is Brenna. ;) And after the gift store, we headed home, still making it home before dark.
I think it was a very nice wedding, a great trip filled with more activities than we even planned! Thanks to the people who gave us their tickets. Oh..and before we left, we were sure to pass on the same tickets to another couple with a young child. They still had a good portion of the day to use them! Anyway, the girls had fun hanging out at the beach, getting waterlogged at Palm Beach, seeing all the attractions and hanging out with their aunt that they don't get to see very often! A very successful trip all in all. :)
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