Galveston Vacation ~ Day 1

 Even though Autumn's spring break was last week, she isn't going to school this week. We got up at 6:00 am to pack for our trip to Galveston. Mom & Dad wanted us to have a family vacation together before they leave on their 2nd mission to South Africa. They had talked about going on a cruise, but that wasn't able to materialize. So, we decided on Galveston instead. Autumn & I got packed & headed over to Mom & Dad's so we could load stuff into the back of my car. We left around 9:30 when Nate & Riannon got there.

 We HAD TO stop for lunch at Buc-ee's on the way down. Nate, Riannon, Savi, & Nick had never been there before. I had to get their melty ham sandwich b/c it's so delicious! We got our food and drinks and then went outside and just ate off the hood of the car. SO FUN!

 Nick & Savi got to ride down with us, and we had a good time talking & laughing & listening to music.

 When we got to Galveston, we stopped at WalMart to get a few groceries. I like this nice sitting area they have outside.

 Once we got to the rental beach house and got everything unpacked, Papa was a brave soul and took all the kids to the beach. It was COLD, but that didn't stop them from getting in the water and getting wet. Autumn has never been to a beach before or seen the ocean, so she was super excited.

 We decided before we came that Mom & Dad would be in charge of doing simple breakfasts & lunches. Then each of us 4 kids would take a turn being in charge of dinner one night. I picked tonight, b/c I just made taco bean soup and it's super fast & easy, and it feeds a lot of people.

 Papa & the (wet) kids finally came back from the beach and we had dinner. Everyone said the soup was good and the kids especially loved it b/c it warmed them up after being in the cold water. Olivia got soaked, so Papa took off his shirt for her to wear. So cute!

 After dinner we watched one of the Disney movies we had brought down w/ us and had popcorn. We loved how much seating there was so everyone could be together in the living room.

 Once we got the younger kids to bed, Nate & Riannon got out one of their face masks for all of us to try. It was a lot of fun!

 We worked on a puzzle while we waited for the face masks to work their magic. We love doing puzzles b/c you can keep your hands & brain busy doing something while also talking & laughing & having fun together.

Autumn & I got this room right off the living room to sleep in. It was supposed to be for Frank & Spencer, but they weren't able to come down with us. It was comfortable and worked just great for Autumn & me. What a fun first day of vacation!