Galveston Beach Trip and Tri

So, we finally took the girls to the beach... for their first vacation ever!!

We usually drop the kids off with the grandparents and escape somewhere exotic, just the two of us. Since we were only going to Galveston (not so exotic), and were going for a triathlon (not exactly a vacation), we decided to make it a family event. We even invited my sister and her family, and what do you know, they actually came along! (she's very busy... you know, being a doctor and all.) While the adults had a few reservations about the kids, they actually did very well with only a few exceptions...

The first incident started with a pair of cheap flip-flops. Before leaving, I went to Old Navy and bought each of the girls a pair of flip-flops for the beach. I mean, they need proper beach attire, right? And the shoes were on sale - I think I paid a total of $5 for both pairs of shoes. I shouldn't have bothered. Those stinkin' little shoes were death traps.

Soon after arriving on Friday, we were walking around Moody Gardens looking for the tri check-in. Well, the adults were walking and the kids were going at hyper-speed. Just as I opened my mouth to tell Addie to slow down, she eats pavement, and eats it hard. Poor kid skinned her knees pretty badly. She started crying (which is actually kind of rare - the kid is tough) and Kris picked her up to carry her the rest of the way to the check-in area.

Luckily, we found a nice girl at the information desk who had a first aid kit and offered to clean and bandage Addie's bloody knees. She probably regretted helping us soon after, as the shock of seeing all that blood made Addie lose her lunch... all over my feet, of course.

After cleaning Addison up with one of the volenteer shirts (how's that vomit shirt working out for you, Loren?), I passed her off to Kris so I could hold Alex, who was also being a little clingy and whiny. I guess she had good reason to be upset, because she blew out her diaper not five minutes later.

So here we are, Friday afternoon, the beginning of our first vacation with the girls and I've got vomit on my feet and diarrhea on my shirt. I'm hot, I'm tired from carrying the girls all over Moody Gardens, and I'm thinking: "Oh yeah, this is why we leave them at home!"

Actually, I wasn't. I was really hoping that this wasn't going to ruin the girl's first vacation. And it didn't. They rebounded quickly and had a blast. We went to the beach on Saturday and again on Sunday, then headed over to Moody Gardens to catch the last mile of Kris' 70.3. Oops. Sorry, hon.

The kids played well together all weekend (with the one exception being the disagreement Addie and Taryn had over a disney movie... she's a witch! No, an octopus!), and all three even slept together in the same room. I didn't actually think that would work, but it did!

Here's some pics from the beach on Saturday. We stayed in a great 3-bedroom condo right across the street from Stuart Beach. I think you can see it in one of the pics.

And here's a few pics from the triathlon on Sunday. Kris and I got up early and went to the tri, while the rest of the kiddos slept. I only stayed through the swim and bike transition before heading back to the condo, so that's why the pictures end there. The swim was pretty brutal, the bike was windy and the run was hot. So, not the best conditions for a race, but he finished in decent time without injury (well, except for the third degree sunburn he acquired by lack of sunscreen). His buddies didn't fare so well... and that's the other reason for no "after" pics. The boys didn't feel up to a photoshoot. Oh well, better luck next time.