Crystal Beach Trip

While visiting my cousins, Dawn & Stacy (and their families), we made a day trip to see the damage from Hurricane Ike on Bolivar Peninsula. Of course, we had to stop and play in the sand! This was Roman's first beach trip. He wasn't too thrilled with the waves, but he liked the sand!

Jared, Mom, Dad, and my 87-year old grandmother accompanied us on this trip. What would I do without them?

Here are some videos of Roman's experiences. I apologize for the poor camera-work. If I waited to edit the video, I'd never get anything posted! I'm also posting a short video of Ava and Jared building a sand castle.

Sea World

We went to Sea World yesterday afternoon. We ate out at La Fogata first. It was there that Roman's fear of indoor spider plants returned. As we exited the restroom (where I changed him into a swim diaper), he let out a yell. At first, I thought it was some kind of barking cough, until I realized he was clutching me and staring terrified at a spider plant in the corner. After telling Gianni about it, I took Roman back to the spot to see if that was, indeed, what he was responding to. It was! He was terrified when I took him near the plant, though he didn't cry. He doesn't appear to be afraid of plants outside, just indoor plants.

After dinner, we went to the Lost Lagoon at Sea World first. Ava and I enjoyed the wave pool and another play area. Then, we went to see Shamu Rocks Texas. We tried to protect Roman from Shamu's first splash, but we were a little slow with the umbrella. So, Roman got splashed with chilly, salty water. He was so mad -- he started crying. I had to take him out of the auditorium. Ava and Gianni finished what turned out to be a disappointing show, while I changed Roman into dry clothes and nursed him.

Finally, Ava and I went on the Rio Loco water ride. We had to wait in line a pretty long time! Gianni stayed with Roman, who fell asleep waiting for us. Then, we went home!

We didn't take any pictures because Gianni and I didn't feel like lugging the camera around. We'll try to do better in the future. Juggling the various bags is challenging enough without having to worry about an expensive camera, but I was a little sad to have no pictures.

We've decided that we won't go back to Sea World as a whole family until Roman is older. He can't really ride anything, nor does he seem to enjoy anything else that much. So, one of us ends up having to wait around quite a bit. Gianni will be bringing Ava back to see Sea World attractions, while I'll bring her to the Lost Lagoon. Whoever isn't going will stay home with Roman. I'm sure next summer will be better for Roman!

Finally!

I've been wanting to set up a family blog after following some that belong to my friends. I will do my best to keep this updated, but who knows what will happen once school starts in August!

Ava, Roman and I go to the swimming pool nearly every day. At first, Roman did not enjoy it, but he is coming around. He is starting to splash a bit, and he just chills out and chews on a toy. Ava is like a little fish. She swims, dives, flips and does handstands. She makes friends with anybody willing to play with her. I think she's losing weight because she just goes and goes in the water!

These are some pictures from when we visited Mimi, Grampy and Grandmother in Brownwood.