Family Vacation '14: Galveston

Late in the evening in Houston we started receiving messages from our cruise line that Galveston was having heavy fog and the port was closed so there was a chance that our cruise would be delayed. While we were bummed we decided we would still get up early and head into Galveston to make the most out of our day.
 We started our day with breakfast at the hotel.

We started the 40 minute drive into Galveston and oh so conveniently there was an outlet mall, right on our way :)

 We scored some great deals and since we were the first customers at the Disney Store that morning, James Henry was able to use some of Mickey's secret magic to open the store. It was super cute!

After shopping we were hungry so we headed to Galveston's Pleasure Pier, it's normally beautiful but the fog was so thick you couldn't see anything!

We had lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, which is always yummy and a fun atmosphere.

After lunch we headed toward the port for more shopping and sightseeing.

We stopped at La King's old fashioned ice cream parlor, it was so fun!

After killing time most of the day and never seeing the fog clear the cruise line officially delayed our cruise at 5pm in the hopes we could sail the next morning. It was a big disappointment but we headed to Kemuh to stay the night and at least we were together, making the most out of it. 

We told ourselves we would sleep in and take our time since we had no idea when and if we would leave but the cruise line woke us up bright and early to head to the port for boarding. It was a mad dash to get everyone ready quickly.

This was our first view of the ship driving into the port.

Since the fog had delayed us and everyone received the message to board at the same time it was busy in the terminal. I am so thankful for my husband who carried James Henry on his shoulders through the long lines.

                               Finally we were boarding our ship for vacation and ready to sail!

Family Vacation '14: Houston

We recently returned from our first ever big family vacation! Our vacations normally consist of visiting family or quick weekend getaways but we decided it was long past time for a major family vacation, so we took a cruise!
  We left on a Sunday morning and drove to Houston to stay the night. After we checked into our hotel, we headed to the downtown aquarium.

It was a lot of fun, they have sharks and  jellyfish, an octopus and even a white tiger!

Towards the exit they have a stingray tank where you can touch them. 

After the aquarium, we walked across the street and ate dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe. Yum!

Makayla figuring out our tip for us! 

After dinner we headed back to our hotel to get some rest before we headed to Galveston the next morning! 

James Henry, The Little Ninja

In keeping with Lis family tradition, James Henry started classes at Extreme Martial Arts this week. He is in the "Little Ninjas" class. He has been so excited and talking non stop about taking Jiu Jitsu like his dad and brother.

  He was so excited to get his Gi and insisted on getting a black one! He really enjoyed his first two classes and received his white belt! He is super cute during class and really rocks that Gi!

Valentines Day 2014

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day this year! The kids each had a school party and bought gifts for their classmates and teachers. 

The fun thing about being the room mom for Makayla's class is your husband getting roped into playing Minute To Win It games! He's such an awesome dad! 

We had a great family day too, heart cinnamon rolls for breakfast..

We grilled out for dinner and the kids had cake for dessert! 

We don't go overboard on Valentine's Day because you should make your loved ones feel special every day but we did get the kids some gifts.

It was just an all around great day together! 

Christopher's an orange belt

Last night Christopher took his second belt test at Extreme Martial Arts. He has been looking forward to it all month long. 

He looks so mean.... 

His test consisted of some kickboxing techniques and escapes from the mount, bear hug and the front choke. He did an outstanding job and was promoted to orange belt! 

Christopher with Chief Garrett!

In keeping with Lis family tradition we celebrated with sundaes! 

We are so proud of you, Christopher! Keep up the hard work and soon you'll be wearing a black belt! We are blessed to watch you do what you love!