Beach Babe!

Our family trip to the beach in June was fantastic! We rented a perfect little beach house with some close friends and relaxed for a full week on the Gulf Coast, (sans oil spill goo, thankfully) enjoying the sound of the waves, collecting seashells, burying our feet, capturing tiny "crabbies," catching some rays, and riding the breakers. Lyla was hyped up about it weeks before our departure, telling me several times a day, "I wanna go to da beach!"

In anticipation of a long car ride down (aka "truck ride," thanks to Pap-Pap's loner!), Daddy and I invested in a portable DVD player and hooked it to the back of the seat in front of her so she could watch some of her favorites. So, the ride down was relatively painless.

We met up with some house-mates at a local (read: 40 minutes away from beach house) supermarket (read: Walmart) to stock up for the week's meals. By the time we got to the house, we were so ready to be there, and so pleasantly surprised by how immaculate and organized the place was. It certainly made for one happy Mama (who delighted in the fact that the owner had laminated scanned pages with the remotes on them delineating their uses and each button's function - woo hoo!).

Initially, we were disappointed by the lack of actual beach in front of the property. Since the hurricane two years ago, the beach beneath the deck completely disappeared. Sitting on the deck, though, with no land beneath us, felt like we were floating on the waves. Oh so peaceful and relaxing!

Apart from one trip to Moody Gardens and one fishing trip Luke took, we were total beach bums. Lyla seemed to enjoy the house as much as the beach, especially the loft and the stairs to the loft, which made for some slight stress. By the end of the week, she was a stair-climbing pro, though.

At Moody Gardens, we visited the Aquarium pyramid. Lyla enjoyed the seahorses and sharks in particular, and the underwater tunnel to view all the marine life. We then ventured over to the "Rainforest," which was another pyramid filled completely with plantlife (and humidity) and some animals to resemble an actual rainforest. We saw some really neat stuff, there. Lyla really liked the macaws we saw, and smelling the "root beer plant." From there, we visited the outdoor butterfly exhibit, which wasn't terribly impressive and unfortunately being at the end of our long day and outside in the heat, Lyla (read: Mommy) was kaput. All in all, an exciting day and tons of neat things you don't get to see every day!

Now, I know when I was a kid I loved the beach and swimming in the ocean, but it also had its drawbacks. I was nervous about big waves (still am) and not a huge fan of salty-eyes. My kid, however, was 100% sold on swimming and was brave beyond rationality (in my opinion). I'd let Luke take her out because I get a little too anxious about holding her and trying to balance my own (pregnant) self. That girl would try to swim away, not realizing that a.) she didn't actually know how to swim, b.) the waves would carry her away in a mini-flash, nor c.) what lurks in the unclear waters of the Gulf is meant to remain a mystery, yet something all should be wary of. When we put a swim ring on her to help minimize my slight panic-state, she would only swim off further and faster, singing loudly to herself and spinning around with a goofy grin on her face all the while. I loved, loved, loved, watching my sweet monkey go beach-bound.

We also set up Lyla's little pool on the deck, which was a life-saver for when we needed a break from the sun and salt. She was a complete ham, belly flopping in, spraying the deck with the hose and stripping out of her sandy suit to get clean.

One evening at sunset, Luke helped me take Lyla out in a cute little white dress to do a mini photo-session. The lighting was beautiful and I got a few photos that I'm proud of. It helps to have a completely adorable and photogenic daughter who totally mugs for the camera.

A couple of other times, we went out to the beach just before sunset, when it was cooling off. Daddy helped Lyla fly her Gabba Gabba kite, we searched for sand crabs and seashells, and played some Blongo-ball on the sand with our buddies.

Our last day there, it occurred to us to open up the canopy that we brought. We immediately regretted not having used it every day because it made the Texas heat so much more tolerable and we were able to stay outside for longer stretches of time. Live and learn, I guess! Being our last day, though, we milked every second of it outside.

Now, it may come as a surprise, but I took a few pictures. If you'd like to see 1/4th of them, please feel free to visit my Picasa beach album. We were ready to book another week at the beach immediately - it was sad to leave and return home to reality!

We had a great time!!!