Fun at the Beach - Galveston, TX

Having fun at the beach: sandcastles, waves, seashells and more!


Jim wrote our names in the sand - the boys had fun running through them



Peter filling his bucket with "dirt" (AKA: sand)



Andrew & Pop-pop's sandcastle...
which "Peter-zilla" destroyed when they left to go play in the ocean.



More castle building

Pop-pop & Andrew in the waves

Peter and the ever-popular beach ball

Peter playing with sea-shells

(this one's for you, Em!)

Andrew chasing the beach ball

Peter Pursues (sand)Piper

Peter frequently took off to chase the birds. Sandpipers were his favorite prey. It was hilarious to watch the bird doing figure 8's and running speedily away, while Peter doggedly chased after it...giving up only after several minutes of running!

On a Boat

There is another island near Galveston Island called Bolivar Island. Instead of building a bridge, the state runs ferries between the 2 islands. It's technically part of the interstate system, so the ferry rides are free. You wait in line on land, drive your car onto the boat, get out & walk around for the 15 minute ride, get back in your car & drive off. We saw pelicans, tons of seagulls and even dolphins during our 2 boat rides!!


View of another ferry from our boat



Jim had to get a picture of this one - hey, mom, notice the name on the truck!



More (really BIG) boats docked in the Gulf



The lighthouse on Bolivar Island



On the ferry, out of the car...
We are all still soaking wet b/c we got caught in a rain storm earlier in the afternoon.



A navy ship & sub at 'Seawolf Park'

Andrew on the staircase to go to the upper level on the ferry

Pop-pop and Peter following behind us...

View from the top deck (where we saw dolphins) - it was pretty neat to be above the flying birds

Boy in a Basket

Andrew plays 'robot'

Andrew has been, um, exercising his imagination lately...
He decided that he needed to dress up as a robot one day using a box.
So we cut out arm holes from a box and labeled it. Andrew decided on the head gear himself.
(Fans of 'Curious George': notice the XF-71 - Andrew was insistent it be 71, similar to the 17 on the show, but different because he's "not George").

it's a 'joe'

Andrew has recently discovered that there are different kinds of cars. I suppose it's not all that surprising being that he IS male and my brothers did the same thing to my mom when we were younger.

He particularly likes Nissans & Hyundais as those are the types we have, and Jeeps because the 'J' reminds him of the huge JCPenney storage building near our house. He takes great delight in yelling, "Hey, it's a Nissan!" or "Look! A Hyundai!" REALLY loudly from the backseat while you're trying to drive.

Andrew's little friend, Joe, has a Ford. Andrew, however, does not know it's called a Ford because we've avoided teaching him more car makes to cut down on the loud yelling from the back seat that scares the crap out of you while driving.

So, Andrew made up his own name...and now every time we drive by or see an F-150, a Mustang, a Flex or an Escape, he yells, "Hey, look, it's a 'Joe'!"

So much for our brilliant parental plan of 'withholding information'.

S'more Summertime - Aug 2009

Andrew has REALLY wanted to roast marshmallows this summer. So one weekend night after Jim grilled dinner, we surprised them with marshmallows for dessert. They had a great time making 'cheater s'mores'!!


Jim helps Andrew get set up...



My boys and the 'fire' - Peter is QUITE excited.



Happy Andrew!


Blue eyes and a messy face...

The Aftermath...

(cheater s'mores use the striped shortbread cookies)

It was a hit...we'll have to do it again soon!