Back from the Beach

Out of my way.

I'm going to the beach.

Mommy & Bop

pulling Daddy out to the waves

going swimming

Chowing on some apple sauce, pool side
Daddy & Bop at Pointe West

Pointe West Beach House... really pretty place & awesome pool

... and then they had THIS posted on one of the doors.

Something about alligator mating season &

helpful hints on how to avoid the alligators that roam the grounds.

historic Galveston... very cute.

the old school ice cream parlour... beautiful

don't let this face fool you.

She loved the stuff.

the candy store in the parlour.

In my excitement, I sideswiped a display case and broke a lollipop.

poor Galveston was hard hit during Ike.

The subjects of my pic were pretty tired of my photo shoot by this point.

me and my Bop

new discovery... Bop LOVES watermelon

even the rind

Daddy flying the ladybug kite

Claudia having a blast at the aquarium. =)

Daddy hoisting the Bop for a view of the sharkies

Daddy and Bop

Daddy doing what it takes to make Claudia (& Mommy) smile. =)

I bought a grab bag of shells from Murdocks and hid them on the beach for Claudia to find.

Here she is hoarding one of her exquisite discoveries

This was a baby conch from Murdoch's shell grab bag.

the view from our balcony

that pesky garbage can wound up in the background of half of my beach pics.

Cursed receptacle.

Grandpa's kite. What a beaut!

Claudia trying her hand at kite flying .

(those are mosquito bites you see... they swarmed in the last day)

Claudia running the shore.
Sorry Gram, didn't mean to cut your head off. =)

It's just not a McLendon family photo if we're not all sweating buckets.

An attempt to get a pic with the Grands.
Claudia kept grabbing their hair,

so this is the best we got.

That's all folks!

Today we returned from the beach. This vacation ended like most, everyone feeling refreshed and thankful for the break, but ready to get back home. It doesn't matter where you go, nothing compares to sleeping in your own bed. We rented a lovely beach condo in Pointe West, which is about a half an hour west of Galveston. It's a secluded little beach community and we loved it! The short drive from Houston was definitely the key. You see, Claudia has carseatitis and its very painful for her and other passengers on long drives. =)

We had all sorts of adventures, including a trip to the historic area of Galveston, where we did some souvenir shopping and went to an old fashioned ice cream parlour and candy shop. It looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting and I could have stayed there all day. The place had the best central AC system ever. We even let Claudia have a little ice cream, which she loved. One day we meandered over to the Moody Gardens Aquarium. If you don't already know, Russell has a fondness for penguins. He and Claudia were bowled over by the penguin exhibit. I preferred the sharks and giant sea turtles.

The rest of the trip was spent playing in the sand, splashing in the waves and floating in the pool. Gram and Grandpa also came to visit and we all played with some beautiful kites. The kites were probably intended for Claudia's enjoyment, but the grownups involved probably had the most fun. In sum, it was a great vacation... but we are happy to be home!