Serendipity

We are spending this weekend at the lake- just the 5 of us. It's been like a mini-vacation. Mind you, meals still have to be cooked, laundry done and we are cleaning up after ourselves, but just being away from home is a treat.

We got here yesterday and Blake and I ventured back into town to shop at HEB. We got back, swam in the lake, the boys kayaked, we had chicken tacos for dinner, icecream for dessert and played. Today, we drove over to Horseshoe Bay and swam in the pool and played at the little beach. Chris and I took turns sitting with Emily in the shade. She was a great sport.

This afternoon, Hunter and I went into town to stick our heads in a couple of shops. He was especially fascinated with an antique store that had junk piled out in the front yard. He was in search of a treasure and found some blue Mardi Gras beads on a rusty iron table. We went hand-in-hand down Main Street (it felt like such a "memory" moment)and looked in several other shops. He was not nearly as interested in the clothing stores as I was. He still had his sights set on the beads as his treasure for the day, so after a stop at the icecream shoppe we drove back to the antique store to "buy" the beads. The lady was precious and allowed Hunter to take his treasure free of charge. :)

We have had fun sitting on the dock, the boys have jumped off of the back of the boat and swam, taken kayak rides, saw a little snake (yuck), and had a wave runner ride. All are tucked in their beds- well, except for Emily.

Chris and I watched Marley and Me last night and boo hooed at the end... again. That movie does it to me everytime. I have been much nicer to my dogs today.

I played around with my camera while the boys were on the kayak and took many pics of my most captive audience. Enjoy!

2nd Annual Jones Family Beach Va-cay!

We are back from our 2nd Annual trip to Port A. We had a great time! The boys both love the water and the sand and basically everything that goes into a beach trip. My dream is to one day have a place at the coast. Someday!

I really didn't take too many pictures like I usually do. It's hard to get your camera out with all of the water and sand, but here's what I did get...

Here's my 10 month old baby boy and I the first day out at the beach. He's not really looking at the camera, but seriously, it's so rare for me to be in a picture, I had to include it.

This is me taking our picture. Not the best angle to get Blake's face!

Chris and Hunter- isn't it a neat picture with the sunlight?

Baby boy needs a bath!

Bubba roo loves himself some bathtime when Big Brother isn't hogging the front. I feel I need to tell Kristin sorry for all the baths that I hogged the front. Those poor 2nd children.

Hunter having a "ball" in the pool at Port Royal. He loved that he could stand and was like a little fish. Thank you swimming lessons!

Blake in the boat- truly this was a lifesaver. It kept him out of the sand, saved me from having to hold him the whole time and he loved pulling up on the sides.

The boys in the boat- as you can see, they loved every minute of it.

Hunter getting his feet buried. See, I really did not get great pictures of him. He does not like the camera much these days.

This is a beach tradition. I took a picture with Blake this trip...

...to do like I did here with Hunter back in 2006.

THE COAST TRIP

A last minute adventure is always fun! Sarah and I loaded up the kids while the boys were in their annual Beeville golf tournament and roadtripped it down to Port A.

48 hours worth of gear successfully loaded...

3 children ready to go....

1 baby boy thrilled to be at the beach...

2 boys having fun in the sun....

2 Anderson girls loving every minute....

3 Beach Bums....

1 Lone Star State boy enjoying snack time...

And finally, my ONE little guy that let me take his picture all the time...

Oh What Fun!!!

We had a great time in Seaside last week! It's never fun to go back to "real life" after such a relaxing and picturesque vacation.

You feel like you are in another world when you are in Seaside. The streets are brick paved, there is a town center with a large grassy knoll, fun beachside restaurants and outdoor shopping and houses that are all different colors each with their own unique white picket fences. Seaside was the location for the movie, The Truman Show, and you do feel like you are in a perfect little world. We stayed in Watercolor which is cozied right up next to Seaside and wraps around the back of Seaside. The house we were in backed up to Seaside, so we could jump on our bikes and ride down a little path and be right in Seaside. Watercolor also is a beautiful place with gorgeous homes, a beautiful lake, wooded areas, walking and bike paths and incredible landscaping. Everyone in the area rents bikes and that becomes your main mode of transportation through the day. We would load up on bikes to head to town for ice cream, go to the beach or pool or just ride around. Hunter loved it! Thanks Mom and Dad for such a great trip! We had the best time!

Hunter heading towards the airport. He loved having his own bag to carry on. Funny story... a couple of days before we left, Hunter would tell me he packed his bag. I dumped it out one night after he had gone to sleep to see what he packed. In it was: a t-shirt, a bathing suit, a pair of underwear, his wallet and a cap gun. Yep! Ready to go!

This is the house we rented. It was so neat with great porches- both screened and open air. The 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms were on the bottom floor off a large screened porch. Upstairs was one large room that had a big family room, powder room, kitchen, dining room and 2 porches.

This is looking at the back of the house. We parked our bikes back here and there was a paved "alley" with bike paths that cut right through to Seaside.

The kitchen.

Here is the dining room.

The family room looking towards the kitchen and dining areas.

The master bedroom downstairs. I have no idea what all the spotty things are on the picture.

Kristin and I posing before our first night in Seaside. She suggested that posing with your arms on your hip makes your arm look skinnier- as you can see, it's worth a try!

Uncle Blake straight out of the car from a long drive from College Station and so excited to see Baby Blake. Looks like the feeling is mutual!

Chris and Blake are SO happy to be there!!

Daddy and Hunter enjoying the ocean. It was so sweet to watch how much Hunter counted on Daddy to make him feel safe out there.

Blake loved the buggy that we attached to the back of my bike. I'm telling you- it was a total workout to drag that behind me, but he loved it! So fun!

The Boys...Uncle Blake, Chris, Hunter, and my Dad (No baby Blake in that pic)

Hunter and I waiting on the swing at Fish out of Water

Blake sitting on the beach- his very first time ever!

The boys posing on the beach. Hunter really couldn't be troubled with my requests for pictures. He had much to do out there!

Hunter loving on a huge fish in the restaurant.

Me and Blakey under the umbrella- see, I really was on the trip too!

My dad and Blake having fun.

Big Bwake- as Hunter calls him- playing with Hunter in the pool.

Hunter and Chris out looking for creatures.

Blake and Chris playing one of the many games of washers on the beach.

Blake and I once again- he wasn't quite sure what was so great about the beach.


Thanks to my mom and dad for such a great trip!

Weekend at the Lake

This is the new room at the lake. We absolutely lived in it this weekend.

Hunter played pirate and looked for "ships" out the window.

He was mesmorized by a fishing show in TV and was watching with big eyes as the guy pulled in a shark.

Me and the boys in our grubs.

Funny story... this is Blake sleeping in Cooper's dog bed. It's more like a platform that we call his "place" but it served as a great sleeping place for Blake this weekend. The Andersons forgot their pack-n-play, so we let them have the one at the lake and sent Blake to the dog bed. It worked out great! Don't worry... it was clean and perfectly fine for him to sleep on.