"Stay"-cation

We are fortunate to live near a big city like Houston, where there is tons to do. But, when you have lived here your whole life, you forget some of the fun attractions our city provides. I think sometimes "stay-cations" are even more fun than going out of town for vacations!

Earlier this month, Brian's brother, Jay, and his wife, Robin, and their four kids, ages 7, 6, 2, and 1 all came to visit from Washington State. They stayed at Brian's parents house for the week, along with Brian's grandmother, Carson's cousin, Jakob, and for a couple of nights, Carson. They had a full house!

Gerald and Kollette made tons of arrangements ahead of time, so our week was scheduled with tons of fun activities! We came back in town from California on Saturday, which was the same day Jay and his family got in town from Washington. On Sunday we spent the day at Gerald & Kollette's house grilling yummy fajitas, sliding down the huge water slide they rented, swimming in the pool, and hanging out visiting. Brian's aunt, uncle, and cousins also spent the day there, so we got to catch up with them and play dominoes as well. I was too busy playing to take many pictures, so here's the 2 I got:

WATERSLIDE!!!!!!!!!

Swimming

Monday, Brian and I had errands we had to run, so we weren't able to go, but the rest of the gang went to Space Center Houston.

On Tuesday, we all packed up and drove to Schlitterbahn in Galveston. This was our first time to go, and I had heard mixed reviews, but I thought it was awesome. There was plenty of things for the little ones to do, as well as the older kids and adults. The kids area was covered, so it wasn't nearly as hot, and we didn't have to worry as much about sunburns. The other added bonus was that you can bring in coolers, so you don't have to spend a bunch of money on food and drinks. (Although we did splurge on the huge Icees with their 20 fun flavors!) Kollette was super wonderful and packed us all lunches:

This handsome devil is Jay's oldest, Brandon

Carson would only slide down backwards, so the only way I could get a picture was to stand at the top of the slide

My little cutie-booty

The only way to get him to smile in a picture is to tell him "you better not smile"-works EVERY time

My favorite picture of the day: PaPa and all his grandsons

This one was a close second; the babies were so worn out!

We got Dairy Queen when we got home!

The next day, Robin, Kollette, and I had a girls afternoon at the Galleria and dining at the Cheesecake Factory, while the boys watched the kiddos. We were planning to go to the circus that night, but they were sold out, so we improvised and spent the evening riding rides in Kemah. The kids had a great time, and were ready for bed by the time we were done.

Peyton, Robin, and Carson on the ferris wheel

On Thursday we invited everyone to our house for bbq & "margaritas." After we were done with lunch, we went to the splash park, and then onto the circus!

Big kids table

Sweet baby girl

Carson playing

Concentrating

The circus was awesome! I have never been before, so I thought it was pretty amazing. Carson was captivated too!

Enjoying their $12 cotton candy!

...although it did come with a really cute top hat!

He loved it

The older cousins

Carson & his great-grandma

Friday, Jay, Robin, and the older kids went to Moody Gardens, while the rest of us stayed home to recuperate...we were worn out! :) On Saturday they headed back to Washington.

We had such a blast having them in town and getting to meet a couple of new family members! Gerald and Kollette did a FABULOUS job keeping everyone entertained for the week and for opening their house to such a large crowd!