Beach Vacation Part 2

After a fun-filled weekend, the Chappells had to head back to the reality of daily life. In their place, came Cody's parents, affectionately known as Granna and Grandad by our brood. We were so glad they could come play with us at the beach. The kids enjoyed the extra special attention and Cody and I enjoyed having some extra help, especially since Cody was under the weather.

Lucas looking cute.

Ava stealing my hat. One of my favorite finds ever. The first morning at the beach the sun was driving me crazy. The glare was terrible, even with my shades. And my forehead was unbearably hot. I looked in one of the two tiny shops in town and found this adorable pink hat for $10. It became the staple of my wardrobe for the rest of the trip.
I've got to talk about this talented athlete of mine, and his creativity. Nate saw some teenage boys nearby doing skim boarding. It's a sport that uses a special thin board on the shallow water near the beach. Nate really wanted to try skim boarding, and he wasn't going to let a little thing like not having the right kind of board stop him. He got the boogie board, which is far too lightweight and bulky for skim boarding and made it work.

Skim Boarding 101
First, you run a ways holding the board to the side, or out in front in Nate's case.
Then you drop the board and quickly step on.
You ride the surface of the water for about 2 seconds before falling off or until the momentum ceases, whichever comes first. I didn't see what was so fun about this short ride, especially since it requires so much effort. But Nate did it hundreds of times.
Nate got quite a bit of attention from the passersby on the beach. I think they were impressed that such a young kid was able to do this, especially since he did not have the right equipment. The original teens that inspired him talked to him for a while. And a man wanted to photograph him, but Nate refused. At one point, a teenage girl who was walking along the beach stopped to talk to him. Nate looked at her and said, "Why don't you just go back to your walk." His mind was set on skim boarding...period.

One morning we visited Sea Center Texas which has a few nice aquariums and a wonderful touch tank for kids.
In the marshland area of Sea Center Texas we saw this enormous spider on a web near the path. I don't know if this photo really portrays how gigantic it was. It was probably 3 inches in length.
Ava became a budding photographer on this trip. She snatched the camera from her Granna or me whenever she could. She took this photo of me, and I really like it.
We pretty much did the same thing every day. We ate breakfast and hung out at the beach until lunch. Then we slept and played inside all afternoon. After dinner we headed back to the beach until bath/bed time. All good things must come to an end, so eventually the sun set on our relaxing vacation. I'm already looking forward to going back.