Padre Day 1

Ok so I have a really good excuse this time for being behind on blogging :). We were on vacation in South Padre Island for a week. We got home and literally 48 hours later, Kinsey came down with 104 degree fever. That night she was diagnosed with the Flu (Type A) and since then we've all been sick with something or other...we are just now better.

So we came home with something like 1300 pictures from Padre - I'm not even kidding. I'm working them one day at a time :).

So Monday, September 21st, we left early (after a STELLAR minivan packing job by ME!) and headed south. The weather was clear for the drive, although the big rains were headed in from the north. Douglas was on Staff Retreat and would be flying down to join us Tuesday night (chicken!). Pops drove the minivan and Nana followed in their convertible. I was in the passenger seat, aka the "give-the-kids-whatever-they-want-on-the-6-1/2-hr-drive-to-the-beach" seat. It actually wasn't a bad drive. Our kids don't sleep in the car so Tag I think got like a 30 minute nap. But we had snacks and movies and car games and we made it.

We unloaded our stuff and Kinsey headed down to the beach with Pops and Nana while Tag took a much-needed nap. Unfortunately, Pops had a reaction to a bite on his leg and had to go to the doctor. The doctor said that he needed to elevate it, and of course that meant that Kinsey needed to elevate her leg as well ;-) Meanwhile, Tag was feeling the effects of a long day in the car and a comfy couch.
He tried a Diet Coke pick-me-up, but it just didn't work. Of course I'm kidding. He loves a cold coke can (a closed one of course!). So that was Day One. We turned in pretty early that night. If we had known what was coming on Day Three, perhaps we would've run outside and soaked up just a few more rays, but alas. We hit the sheets instead.

Day Two was incredible. Sunshine, but cloud cover as well so it wasn't too hot. The beach wasn't very crowded - going at the end of September has its perks. Nana and Kinsey started the morning blowing shell bubbles with the bounty collected the night before. We headed down to the beach ready for action! First order of business was for Pops and Kinsey to gather some seashells for a sandcastle. Tag on the other hand decided that this sand stuff was pretty cool... ...and might be pretty tasty as well. Nana and Tag worked on some sand art and tried to keep as much of it off of his face as possible :-) Time to head down to the water. We were not really sure how Tag would do in the water because Kinsey wasn't so steady on her feet on her beach trip at the same age. But we need not have worried. His natural physicality (is that a word???) and good balance made him a natural for playing in the waves. He took his share of tumbles, but it never seemed to phase him. He spent quite a bit of time talking to the water. It was hilarious! He pretty much talks all the time at home, but these were impassioned speeches! It was so fun to see both kids in the water. This was Kinsey's 3rd trip, but I'm not sure how much she remembers from last year. She was right back at home in the water. Back up to the house for Tag's nap and some lunch. We had some rest time at the condo,took some good naps, and had some snacks. When Tag woke up, he got a quick storyand then back down to the beach again! Kinsey loved to make different recipes down at the water with the sand and water and the buckets. RIDICULOUSLY CUTE PICTURE ALERT!!!!!! DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU:Tag played HARD and every hour or so would need a break - some juice and shade and a snack. Pops had set up a way cool canopy for us (in the pic above you can see it in the background - blue tent top) so I took him up for a break. The kid loves chairs and being able to sit in one of the grown up chairs was a real treat for him in the sand! He had just eaten a chocolate chip cookie, hence the chocolate mouth and big grin. So here's the photo I was going for: but my aim wasn't good and so I got this one first which I actually thought turned out very cool. Kinsey couldn't be pulled out of the water with any snack temptation and we had to beg her to break for juice. Awesome Day Two! That evening the weather started coming in and I headed to Harlingen to pick Douglas up from the airport. It was pretty scary looking but didn't actually rain that much. We had sushi and then went for dessert and drinks. It was so good to have him there with us finally!