Beach Week

We took our usual May trip to Corpus Christi/Padre Island last week.  This year my cousin and her family who live in Houston met us there for the week. It was nice to be able to spend some time with some of my Texas family and get to know them a little better.

This is Shannon. She is my second cousin. I'm really fond of her. She is easy to get along with and has a very sweet disposition...knowing that side of our family I really don't know where she gets it from...lol.

This is Ted, Shannon's husband. Ted is equally as likable as Shannon. Ted is a manager at Chik fi la. That should give you an indication about how pleasing his personality is...

This is Emma, Ted and Shannon's little one. Emma is a hoot! There is nothing in her bones that speaks shy or cautious. She's daring and lets everyone around her know who's boss!!

I love taking pictures of small children. It's easy to get natural pictures of them because they are too young to worry about how they are posing or how their hair looks.

This year the beach was not very pleasant.  Not that I'm really all that much of a beach fan anyway. I find the beach visually appealing but once the reality of sticky salt water, humidity, sand, and the offensive smell of deceased ocean life sets in I'm done.

The water was really rough and the wind felt as though it was whipping at 1000 mph. There was also an over abundance of seaweed. Secretly I don't really mind the seaweed because of the cool beach creatures that can be found hiding underneath it all. ;-)

Although Bo was highly annoying on the beach with his attempts to catch the laughing gulls he kept his manners about him in his long, unattended stays in the hotel room while we were out doing stuff he couldn't participate in.

The wind was relentless our whole stay. We walked along McGee Beach and the sand stung fiercely as it pelted us on our walk. As many years as I lived along the coast I had never had this happen to me before...

Having fun at the museum...

Oddly enough one of my favorite moments at the Island was the little getaway Summer and I took to the souvenir shop while everyone else was being lazy and napping. We had a blast taking pictures and taking our time browsing for trinkets. It's rare stolen moments like these that make having kids worth all the bull shit in between.....

Another highlight of my trip was coming upon a yard sale with TONS of fabric for a steal.  I spotted the yard sale when Toby and I  were taking Bo on his morning walk in the neighborhood that backed up to the hotel we were staying in.

Because I'm not a serious seamstress or sew for profit, I always feel a little guilty when I buy it retail. The lady was an ex-home economics teacher and was trying to get rid of her extra stash. I came home with yards and yards of fabric for only $9!! Lucky morning dog walk for me. ;-)

It was a fun trip. I think I could live in Corpus Christi...even though Toby says "NO WAY'....never say never. After all,  5 years ago I managed to drag him all the way from Alabama to Texas. ;-)