I never knew what an amazing beach we had until we had kids. Growing up, when we visited the coast we came to go crabbing in the shallow areas under bridges, fishing off a very long pier or to visit the market for fresh fish and crabs. I don’t ever remember playing in the sand or jumping in the waves. I am sure we did, but when I was little bodies of water were meant for fishing.

We had the chance to meet some friends at the beach on a Wednesday. Ryan was working and I was hesitant about taking the drive with four kids all by myself. I didn’t even confirm that I was going until that morning. I had the girls help pack up our clothes and food. They were extra motivated to get their chores done because of the company that would be joining us seaside. I had to have a serious talk with the girls about how nervous I was about the trip and I needed them to be very good so that I wouldn’t stress out more than I already was. Thank goodness for movies in the car and a very good and sleepy baby that made the drive easy.

We arrived just a few moments before the other traveling family. The wind was blowing cool gusts all day. The clouds were huge and kept reforming every few minutes We watched the children nervously play in the rough water with their boogie boards. We finally decided that the mother’s could only relax if they stayed knee depth and under. For food I overpacked as always. I stopped at H‑E‑B and grabbed cut watermelon slices, spring rolls and cold lunches of cheese and chicken salad. I also bought chips and extra water. I was good and didn’t buy candy or sweets but of course the other family had plenty to share.

My favorite part of the day was watching all the kids pair off with their friends. Even Norah seemed to cling to someone other than her sister. Having a baby doesn’t afford me much time to play but having extra hands at the beach made it possible to jump waves with Norah and explore buried creatures with the bigger sisters. Norah sat in the water and let the waves splash her for the first time. The big girls caught small fish and made little canals for them in the sand. I am so grateful for days like this.

We drove to Lufkin Friday evening Ryan’s meeting with a client. We decided to stay the whole weekend in our hometown. We spent the night with my grandmother (whom we call Lola) and Aunt (also known as Tita Sally) when we got in around 10:30pm. We woke up to a huge breakfast covering the table. My grandmother always makes sure we eat. She adamantly insists we eat anytime we walk through the door or into the kitchen. After enjoyed our huge meal we headed downtown to grab some tea at a local shop. The weather was perfect for hanging out with our drinks on their shady patio.

We arrived at Ryan’s dads house later in the morning. The girls swam all day, ate burgers and hotdogs and enjoyed playing with their cousin. Our trip to Lufkin was for work but we enjoyed a little playtime as well. Ryan’s dad and step mom have lived in this house as long as we have been together and this was the first summer they had a pool. The girls love visiting even more now.

We woke up and attended Mass in the morning. Since my aunt and grandmother go to evening mass, they were still in pajamas when we got home from church. Madelyn made Tita Sally and Lola change for pictures with her instant camera. Norah has to take pictures as well. We visited my mom and her husband who had been sick.

We had big plans to go on a date while we had babysitters, but instead we fell asleep early.

Blessings,

Venice