South Padre Island

I mentioned in the last post that the kids and I were blessed with a spur of the moment trip to South Padre Island, sadly, we had to leave daddy behind as he was working on some big stuff at work and just couldn't pull himself away. Thankfully, he was very supportive of sending us on our way, especially knowing that my parents would be waiting on the receiving end to shower us with love. 

Before going, we knew that we weren't going to have glorious sit-on-the-beach kind of weather. Winter in Texas is strange. It can go from 40 to 70 overnight. So we packed for a chilly weekend, but knowing we were leaving subzero temperatures helped us cope with one "chilly" day. Clearly the kids didn't mind wearing sweatshirts on the beach. We were all happy to have left our winter gear at home. 

I love the sandy beachy fingers :) 

And while we waited for the rain to pass, the girls baked cookies with Papa while Lincoln napped. I think it's safe to say they were pretty happy about this experience, of which, eating their creations happened to be their most favorite :) 

I should mention, it was raining, and not snowing. And so after they baked cookies, they took the opportunity to run around outside in the rain. They were drenched, and squealing with excitement to be playing outside. These poor kids hadn't been outside to play in nearly 2 weeks! It's just been too cold in Minnesota. 

It's no secret that my parents love to golf, and that is part of their reasoning for heading south each winter. So when they leave our state, they grab all of the scattered golf balls they have found throughout the year. My dad washes them....in a washing machine nonetheless (I can't imagine that sound!), and this 5 gallon bucket is filled with balls. 

Well, Lincoln quickly found all of the balls and picked up two. 

He dropped them on the tile floor and giggled as they bounced around. 

He went back for two more and did the same thing. 

Two by two he started emptying the bucket. 

Until it was to a point where he could pick it up, and suddenly....

dump! 

The noise, you can only imagine! 

And there were balls everywhere. 

We spent time exploring the island and came across these incredible sand castles. I mean really, they are truly works of art! And we spotted them all around the island, sometimes thinking it was a real sculpture made of clay when in fact it turned out to be a sand castle! 

Regan learned a little chopstick and came back to that keyboard whenever we had a free moment in the condo. She enjoyed her 'lessons' with Papa and I'm realizing that she takes direction from others better than she does her own parents.

Our absolute favorite place to be was the beach. We would ask the girls "what should we do?" and give them a couple of suggestions but they always went back to "go to the beach!". 

My parents have a pass that allows them to drive on the beach. We were nearly whisked into the gulf at one point. It was quite the scary experience if you ask me! I much prefered to walk the beach. 

Regan enjoyed teaching Lincoln a little about the ocean. At one point, he bent down to touch the tide, lost his footing and ended up face planting in the sand. No worries, he didn't cry, but looked at me wondering 'what in the world just happened?!' with sand covering him head to toe! 

It certainly wasn't warm enough to swim, and I think some of the old retired folks thought the girls were crazy for wading in the cold water, but they clearly didn't mind one bit. 

They would run into the water, scream as the waves would come close, and then race back up to dry land. 

Over and over and over again. 

All the while, this sweet baby walked and walked on the hard sand. By the end of each walk, his hair was a little sweaty and his curls emerged with all the humidity in the sea water. 

Lincoln did amazingly well throughout the entire trip. Obviously I didn't have a pack n play or crib for him to sleep in, so we had to wing it during nap and he never fussed about sleeping in the car as we explored or crashing next to me for a snooze on the bed. He soaked up all of the attention from grandma and papa and loved loved loved exploring their digs and walking around outside. 

One of the first things that the girls noticed was that we were no longer amongst pine trees, but palm trees! They loved the look of them and we could instantly tell we were ocean side by the smell of the salt water. No lie, as we emerged from the plane, both girls said "it smells like salt!". And it does. 

We found a cute little block with a bunch of palm trees. The girls were busy playing hide and seek in the great outdoors so the rest of us goofed off with taking selfies with my big camera. Clearly Lincoln was less than amused by picture 10. 

My parents couldn't believe the star fish that the girls were finding....I found it a little creepy because although they were washed up on shore, they were still soft and seemingly not fully dead. Sidney, in true Sidney form, flipped hers over and saw that there are open spaces declared "mine are girls".....oh this girl, she is too much! 

We brought them back to the condo to dry out and are anxiously awaiting grandma to ship them (the stench was a little much for me to agree sticking them into our luggage). 

We pulled the kids from school for this trip, and so I felt obligated to do a little teaching, real-life style. During our last sunset, we watched the sun literally vanish in a matter of minutes. It's something I recall seeing during our honeymoon in Hawaii, and the girls found it just as fascinating as I did way back then. They ooed and ahhhed at the color, and found it mesmerizing to watch the sunset into the water. The island is about 4 blocks wide, with the gulf on one side and the bay on the other. This was bay side and the water is much more calm. We had just finished dinner at the restaurant and were on their deck overlooking the bay when a waiter came and fed some fish. So fun for the girls to be a part of all these unique experiences. Life is made up of both academic style and real-life teachings; and we are fortunate to be able to show the kids a little bit about the state of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. 

There is a lighthouse just across the bay at Port Isabel and of course, we had to climb it. I live by the rule that when we travel, we have to find the highest point and take in the views. 

My mom is not one to climb high (I only once convinced her to join me and it was the Eiffel Tower in Paris so she knew she wasn't getting out of it); instead, she took this opportunity to stay behind with Lincoln who didn't meet the height requirements anyway. 

The rest of us went round and round up 70-some stairs/ladder steps until we reached the top and were able to see the beautiful bay and well into the island. 

At night my mom and the girls discovered a new card came and bonded over learning something new. I never did get in on the game....I think I was still chasing golf balls around trying to pick them up. And then I came across something fuzzy and dried up when I reached my hand under a cabinet which put an end to any golf ball searching I was doing :) It made for some incredible laughs by the girls (and my parents too): EEEKKK!!! 

Thank you so very much for letting us crash your winter retreat mom and dad~we love you~! We had an absolute wonderful time. Although we were sad to leave, we were happy to have been able to come. Next time, get your clubs ready and Ryan will be eagerly joining and seeing yet more of the wonderful sights!