The Beach... Finally!

It’s been years since Stephen and I have taken a beach trip. Years. We haven’t been to the beach since August of 2006. As I type that, I just can't believe it's been that long. I love the beach!

On Friday, while trying to decide what we were going to do that day, Stephen said, “We should go to Galveston.” Really?! I jumped on that suggestion right away and started packing. I woke Eli from his nap to tell him the exciting news. “We’re going to the beach, Eli. You’ll get to see the ocean, the waves, play in the sand. . ." Eli, in his sleepy voice, replied, “Mommy, is there a sandbox there?” How innocent and unknowing. In about an hour, we were packed and out the door. Many times, we heard the classic question come out of Eli’s mouth, “Are we almost there yet?”

Finally, the moment arrived and we were in Galveston. It was late, but before going to our hotel, we stopped at the beach so Eli and Bella could put their toes in the sand and water for the first time. When we got out, feeling so excited to finally be at the beach, I asked Eli, "What do you think about the beach?" He replied, "It stinks, Mommy." I laughed. Yes, it did stink. That wonderful aroma of dead fish was in the air. As we walked onto the sand, Eli immediately kicked off his flip flops and walked toward the water. Bella, on the other hand, did not like having her toes in the sand one bit. She froze with her hands in the air, crying.

Daddy had to hold her until we left.

Stephen, being the sun lover that he is, took off his shirt, and started running into the water.

Not really. He was just being silly, but this picture makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Galveston beaches were different from other beaches we have visited. All of the hotels are across the street from the beach, and there was a concrete wall along the beach, hence the name Seawall Boulevard. There was still damage from Hurricane Ike, but most of the hotels seemed new.

We all woke up early the next morning and headed to the beach. Eli and Bella enjoyed playing in the sand. Bella was okay with being in the sand as long as she had her shoes on her feet. She really liked walking off and exploring (aka finding things to pick up and put in her mouth).

She tried chasing after Eli when he went into the water, but turned and ran in the other direction as soon as the water hit her toes.

Once, she did let a small wave crash onto her, but she fell down as soon as the wave went back out. We all played in the sand and built a sandcastle. Eli wanted to be buried in the sand until he figured out he had to be still and lie down on the ground. After he came to that realization, he wanted to get up immediately. It was a fun, fun day at the beach. Eli, of course, did not want to leave when it was time to go.

We ate dinner at The Rainforest Café.

It was a fun place for the kids. There was a ride inside that took us on a journey through the rainforest. Some of the animals were very life-like, but others were just funny looking, like this monkey.

There was also live entertainment outside. Eli and Bella enjoyed watching the singing. When I asked Eli what his favorite part of the day was, he said it was walking on the rocks.

This was our first family trip to the beach, and we all had a wonderful time. This beach trip was vastly different from our past beach trips. There was no partying, no going dancing, no laying out and relaxing in the sun for hours. We did have one late night... when Bella didn't want to go to sleep. I'm so glad Stephen and I have great memories of our beach trips together before having our precious babies, and I am so,so,so looking forward to the many, many more memories we will create over the years as we visit the beach each and every year (hint, hint Stephen). I am so happy Eli and Bella were able to visit the beach. I’m sure Bella won’t remember it, but I think Eli will. We will definitely go back again soon. I was already trying to plan our next trip before we left. Stephen though we should just look later.

Oh, one more thing... Bella enjoyed her very first ice cream cone...