Galveston Vacation ~ Day 4

 We got up, had breakfast, and talked about what we wanted to do today. We had said we might go to the Children's Museum, but then we realized that it wouldn't take very much time. So, Papa & Mimi decided to take everyone to Schlitterbahn. Lexie was NOT on board w/ that, so Lexie & Nick & Savi all decided to stay home and enjoy the peace & quiet. We loaded everyone else in the cars and hit the road.

 We staked out a place inside where it was warm & not windy. Then Dad, Andrew, Autumn, & I went to go down these slides. We went down the yellow/green ones but Autumn decided at the last minute that she wasn't doing it. I'm glad I did it once, but it gave me a big huge wedgie and once was enough for me.

 It was nice that we could be inside so the babies & kids weren't freezing. This is what the picnic table area looked like. Everyone kind of went off and did their own thing, which was nice.

 Then we all met back up for lunch. It's nice that we were able to bring in our own food & drinks. We had packed stuff for sandwiches and also brought chips, Gatorade, and water.

 Adam cracks me up w/ his cheesy Cheeto crumb face. He & Papa have such a special bond.

It was fun to spend time w/ Autumn!

We pretty much spent the whole day in the CRAZY river. It's supposed to be a lazy river, but this one was also a wave pool. These HUGE waves would come and push you along down the river. The waves were strong enough that Autumn, Jackson, & Olivia all got thrown off the rafts at different points and were thrown into the river. The time Olivia went in was really scary b/c she didn't have on a life vest. But we saved her in time and all is well. We had such a good time and the kids kept saying, "one more time!"

We finally called it a day b/c the little kids & Spencer were exhausted and the adults were ready to go home. Jon had set out these frozen rolls this morning to thaw for the meal they were making tonight. Mom LOVES raw bread dough and had to sneak a bite.

Lexie & Jon made Navajo tacos for dinner, and they were super good! All of the dinner meals have been excellent on our vacation.

There was some leftover dough, so Riannon had the idea to let the kids play w/ it like playdough. They had such a good time! Since we didn't have flour, we used baby powder instead to keep it from sticking to the table.

After dinner, everyone took some time to relax or take a nap.

I went & took a shower b/c I felt disgusting. I laid down on the couch & Nate climbed up on the back of the couch and copied me. LOL!

Dad gathered everyone together & said he'd like to have a little Family Home Evening before we have to go home tomorrow. It ended up turning into a big testimony meeting/cry fest! He shared his testimony (the tears were freely flowing) and then Nate shared his, Nick shared his, Lexie shared hers, and I shared mine. Then each of the spouses shared theirs, and even Andrew shared his. The Spirit was so strong and I think this is my very favorite picture from the whole trip b/c of what a special & sacred experience it was!

After all that emotion, I needed time to think & process so I said I was going to go down to the beach for a walk. Everyone else wanted to come too, so we all put on our shoes and headed down to the beach since this is our last night in Galveston. The sunset was so pretty tonight!

I LOVE this group of people so much (Adam stayed at the house b/c he was asleep & we didn't want to wake a sleeping bear). This has been such an amazing vacation & everyone has gotten along so well. I'm sad it has to end tomorrow.

I decided that Autumn is a "Siren Of The Sea." She LOVES the ocean and couldn't stop collecting as many shells as she could on our walk.

She reminds me of Moana, so I'm going to start calling her "Moautumn."

I don't think I've ever seen a BLUE jellyfish before. There were a few of these guys washed up on the beach. We picked this one up w/ a stick & threw it back into the water. Hopefully it will live!

It was so peaceful & calm to walk along the beach at sunset and have the waves wash up on my feet. I gained some good clarity I was looking for & had a good spiritual experience. As I walked along & had a prayer in my heart, this thought kept coming to my mind ... "Be STILL." (Mark 4:39) It was a good reminder that Heavenly Father is in charge and that I need to let things happen in His own due time.

We came back to the house, got the little kids to bed, and then we played the "Watch Yo Mouth" game. Basically you put in these dental cheek expanders and you have to say phrases and others have to guess what you're saying. I'm actually really good at it and am easy to understand. We were CRACKING UP when Lexie & Savi tried to talk. It was sooooooooo FUNNY!

After that, we played Mexican Train dominoes. It was so fun to spend time w/ just the adults and end our vacation on a funny note.