Day 10 of vacation 2011

Day 10:
Was spent with John's family, parents and his two brothers and a niece and two nephews.
We all loaded up and headed to the theater to watch the new Smurf's movie and then afterward headed to a small water park so the kids could play and keep cooled off.

I think the kids all had a blast spending time together.

Day 9 of vacation 2011

Day 9: Time to hit the road again and head towards Salina. But at least we made plenty of stops in different places which makes the trip not feel like we are spending the whole time in the van. Family to visit on the way up which included those that are not with us anymore.
After a few stops we headed to my grandparent's house in El Dorado, where we had some nice catching up to do since it had been almost 4 years since we had seen any family.

Afterward we headed over to my Aunt Micaela's and another good visit and dinner, thank you Aunt Micaela, before having to leave to finish our drive to Salina that evening.

Day 7 and 8 of vacation 2011

Day 7:
It mostly consisted of driving up to Kansas from Texas. We stopped off in San Antonio to visit the Alamo, a break from driving... then it was time to hit the road again.
We arrived in Ark City about eleven o'clock that night.

Day 8:
It was just a relax day in a way. We spent the day in Ark City. John took the kids to the swimming pool and I went to visit an old friend that my sister and I met in the first grade when we first moved to B Street in Arkansas City..... maybe I shouldn't say old friend, long time friend... Sorry KIM! LOL
I didn't get any pictures of the kids in Ark City at all liked I had planned, day just flew by... O'well next time.

Day 6 of vacation 2011

Day 6 started bright and early with us driving a little further south for the afternoon and over night. We drove to South Padre Island, visited the Port Isabel Lighthouse. Alexandria wouldn't climb it, so John stayed down with her and I took the other two and climbed to the top and remembered, I really don't care for heights either. As I scooted my back along the edge of the wall I took these shots from atop the lighthouse.

Then we headed to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. The water was the clearest I have seen in a long time. It looked just beautiful.

I still can not get over how well these two got along on this vacation. At least until almost the last two days....

Day 5 of vacation 2011

The afternoon was spent hanging out at dad and Julie's swimming and having a cookout. Nice and relaxing.

Day 3 and 4 of Vacation 2011

Day 3: was just driving to Webster, Texas. A very long and at one point in Louisiana, very stormy trip. But we arrived in Webster at around 8:30pm, checked in at the Holiday Inn Express not to far away from either parent... which I highly recommend that hotel.....if you don't mind spending $96 a night....A fairly new hotel that opened in 2010.

Day 4: was spent with my mother going to the Space Center with the kids in which the theme is sports this summer. So the kids got to try different types of sports, like soccer, baseball throwing, human Foosball, which was fun to watch.

basketball

Lexie rode this shuttle simulation.... a mistake she will not make again.

Day 1 and 2 of Vacation 2011

After 4800 miles and over 2000 photos, I think I might be able to start sharing our vacation trek across parts of this country. A much needed vacation, and an uneventful one for the most part.
The first few days were a little hard on Elizabeth after learning her cat Snowball was going to be spending some time in the hospital when it was learned that she had a hairball blocking her colon. But all is well now and that cat is back home adjusting to life again after having surgery to remove the blockage and spending the whole vacation in the clinic.

The first stop on our trip was in Florida near Mayport Naval Station where we lived for five years after John joined the military. Right next to the base is a park and campgrounds where we camped out for two nights.

After setting up camp, we walked down to the beach and strolled along the shore to cool off from the hot day. That is what I missed about living there, walking distance from the beach.

The next day consisted of more beach time and some friends to go along with it.
We spent the morning at the beach, left, had lunch, and then headed back meeting up with friends I had made while living in Florida.

These two used play together ALL the time, along with another friend who has long since moved from Mayport.

Aubrie and Lexie were only three the last time they saw each other, so they didn't have the chance to get as close, but you can't tell that from the photo.

Friends picking up where they left off........

These two, Anthony and Ryan, have stayed in touch through xbox, playing games together the last four years..... They used to play baseball together, a lot of baseball.

Two teenage boys building a sand castle, I think.

Skim boarding I think he called this.
The friend really good at it,
Anthony...... not so much.


I unfortunately missed the part when he fell. He didn't last very long on it. fun to watch.