The Woodlands "Stay"-cation

A local magazine, Space City Parent, had a contest a few months back for a "stay"-cation at The Woodlands Resort. You had to write an essay describing why your family should win. I basically described the last year in our house, and guess what?? We won! Last weekend we decided to use it.

Along with one-night stay, we also received a welcome cookie, four passes to their fabulous breakfast buffet, and a $50 gift card to a nearby shopping center.
I have checked out the website for their resort in the past because I had heard how great their pool was, and we definitely were not disappointed! There were 2 large pools, the perfect baby pool for Deacon, 2 water slides, and a splash pad.


Even better, during the summer there are tons of free poolside activities!!

Snocones:

Clowns:


Bennett was happy to just lounge by the pool.
After spending the afternoon soaking up the sun, we drove down the street to The Woodlands Mall for dinner and discovered their playground.
After dinner, we came back and roasted smores by the fire.
The boys had fun swinging on the giant beds too!
Bedtime was a little interesting, seeing as all five of us had to share a room. Deacon is used to sleeping by himself, so wasn't very interested in going to bed when he had an audience. By the time he finally crashed, Bennett was ready for a late-night snack. We eventually made it to sleep.

The next morning we enjoyed the breakfast buffet, which included a waffle and omelet station. We then went and packed up our stuff, loaded it in the car and went back to the pool.

Because it was Sunday and overcast we had most of the pool to ourselves. There was a dj with music and karaoke, a face painter, and balloon artist.
The balloon artists were amazing!! They went above and beyond the typical animals you would expect. Carson asked for a fish and this is what they made him:
After we were waterlogged, we got dressed to leave. Before heading home we stopped and spent our giftcard on lunch at Tommy Bahama's Cafe.

It was such a fun way to spend our weekend, we were so grateful for the opportunity to get away for a stress-free vacation and have a short 45 minute drive home!

Summer Camp

Carson went to his first overnight camp, at age 6! Our church takes 1st-4th graders to Carolina Creek Christian Camp for four nights to have fun and learn about God. He has always been Mr. Independent so we weren't too worried about him getting homesick, especially because he will go stay with my parents for a week at a time.
He left on Monday, and this was also the first time for me to take all three boys out by myself. Deacon and Bennett were on their best behavior.
We even got to wait with the other parents to wave Carson off on the bus.


The church had boxes set up to put mail in, which ensured he was able to get a letter each day without having to worry about postage.
They told us in advance that they would have the boxes set up, so I was able to create his mail beforehand. Because he is only going into 1st grade, reading a long letter wouldn't have meant as much to him, so instead I sent photos with short messages on them. He told me afterwards that the pictures are what kept him from being homesick:



The best part of camp (well, at least in my opinion) is that the church created a facebook page and updated it constantly with pictures from each day, so we were able to see him having fun before he returned. And I was able to have more pictures to add to the blog!

Another great feature were their amazing cabins:

Carson's group stayed in the zebra cabin. They even had a chant:

"Zebra, zebra, black and white, we think Jesus is dynamite!"
They had theme nights, one of them being Western Night.
With hayrides
pony rides
and a petting zoo.
There was a HUGE playground, named The Jungle.
Putt-putt golf
They played sports in the gym.
He also spent his time shooting bb-guns and archery, and rode a boat.
They had worship each night where they sang and danced.
He loved his counselors, Garrett and Big C, and even won an award for Most Enthusiastic!

Carson's favorite part was the waterpark!

Carson says he definitely wants to go back next year and said he wishes he could go to church every day! Success!!

"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!