Padre Trip 2012

This was our 4th family trip to South Padre Island. Each year the car ride gets better with Alice becoming a more sophisticated traveler ;-)  We dropped Cupcake Bailey (our little man / doggie) at the Happy Tails Pet Resort on Sunday August 19th and headed down to SPI that afternoon.  We arrived around 9:00 that evening and got checked in.  Alice fell asleep on the couch - a tradition for Alice on vacation.

 

Day 1 at the beach: We pretty much visited the beach and the pool and did little else than lunch out at Pier 19.  We also did a little shopping and got Alice her annual beach dress and a boogie board.

 

 

 

Day 2 at the beach: We started the day off with breakfast at Pier 19.  Alice ordered what the menu called a "Giant Cinnamon Roll".  We figured it was just pretty big, but boy did we get a suprise when the roll filled the entire plate :-o   We went down to the beach for a while to try out the boogie board.  Alice had fun for a while, but the weather got windy and Alice got cold, so we called it a day and went swimming in the pool.  Later in the day we went over to the turtle rescue to see the turtles and then we drove to the end of the island to walk around.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Day 3 at the beach: We got a late start to the day.  We ate breakfast in and louonged around until about 11:00.  We went down to the beach for a little while and then swimming again in the pool.  After lunch, we went on a dolphin watch / eco tour.  We spotted multiple pods of dolphons and they dragged a net to bring up some sea creatures to give us a look and touch.  Alice held a starfish, but was not so eager to hold the fish or crabbies.  At one point of the tour they took us to rougher seas and the boat jumped up and down, spraying us with sea spray and thoroughly entertaining Alice!  That night we ate at Pirates Landing.

 

 

 

 

 

 Day 4 at the Beach : We knew this would be our last day at the beach.  We started the morning off down by the shore.  First order of the day was to bury Alice in the sand and make her a mermaid!  Alice and I then sat in the surf and played princesses and buried our legs in the sand.  Later we went into the deeper water (up to my waist ;-) and floated the waves while discussing "things, life, whatnot...". When Alice began to tire, we went to the pool for a while and then up for lunch.  Later we went back to the pool and Alice practiced swimming around the pool several times and floating.  by dinner time she was pooped!

 

 

 Day 5 was our drive back.  We only stopped once for lunch and were happy to be home again.

 

 

Alice and Friends

It's been a while since I posted anything, so I thought I would just post some pics of Alice and some friends.

Secrets Shared, Daddy Speechless

Alice looks up quickly from playing like she just had an idea.  Turning to me she says, "Dad".  "Sweetie?", I say.  She walks over sporting a strange smile, an unusual blend of thoughtful with something new.  She comes right up to my ear cupping her hand carefully, protecting shared secrets.

She carefully whispers, "poop".  Fighting against laughter, she whispers "poop" three more times leaving a dramatic pause between each careful pronunciation.  She then swirls her dress around and dives right back into playing princess.

She soon starts singing snippets of princess movie songs and officiating over the Prince's third wedding of the afternoon, while I'm still working out how to respond to her awesomely executed tease.  I give up on adding to the joke, it was definitely all her's.

Who really needs a pig with cowboy boots?

We've all seen it....You are in the mall, the grocery store, the park, it really doesn't matter where.  It is every mom's nightmare.
I've had a few episodes with Alice over the past few years, but last weeks tantum takes the cake.
Alice had some homework for school (this is code for mom has some homework when your kid is only in preschool).  We were to make a poster for where your family comes from.  Since we are many generations of Texans, I decided that a quick trip to the texas store would make my job easier.  Alice decided she wanted to come with me.  We go to the mall and proceed directly to the Texas Store.  I let Alice browse around while I picked out some bumperstickers and postcards to use on the poster.  I even show Alice a few items she could have if she wanted something too (Texas cup with a lid - useful in the car, a Texas tee-shirt she could wear to display her poster, ie - not crap)  However, Alice decides to zero in on a stuffed pig with a cowyboy boots. 
I tell her she has TONS of stuffed animals and we are not buying a $20 pig!  She persists so I just pay for the texas items and start to leave the store.  Alice starts to follow me, but then yells and runs back in the store and proceeds to chant "piggy piggy piggy piggy".  I tell her I alsready said no and it is time to leave.  If she leaves with me voluntarily, we can walk around the Mall.  Alice poof's out her lower lip, runs away from me to pick up the piggy and continues chanting "piggy, piggy, piggy".  I tell her she has one last chance to straighten up and then we go directly home.

Chance not taken, I take the stuffed pig away from her and put it back on the shelf, I proceed to chase my child - finally catch her and pick her up.  Alice starts to cry in earnest and I look apologetically at the store clerk.  We leave the store and Alice picks up the volume and starts to struggle saying she doesn't want to go home - she wants to play at the Mall.  As I firmly hold my squeeling, wiggling, crying child I proceed toward the exit.  Many eyes look our way as I carry my child throwing one hell of a temper tantrum, but I never loose my cool.  I just hold her firmly and talk calmly to her to explain that she was naughty and we don't reward bad behavior.
We get home and Alice spends some time in her room to cool down.  Within the hour she is snuggled up next to me reading books and coloring.  It is tempting to give in to your child for every whim, but it is a good lesson to learn, and we really didn't need a stuffed pig with cowboy boots.

Arkansas 2012

Alice and mom went with Didi, Pop, Aunt Papa, Chris and Sean to Arkansas for a little vacation. Alice is a great traveler. She requires some attention, but for the most part she is pretty easy, if you can ignore the constant chatter coming from the back seat :-).
We tried putt putt golf for the first time, went swimming each day and took a boat ride on the lake. Alice got to spent time with her 'baby' cousins. She still has a little trouble knowing which one is Chris and which is Sean, but she was sweet and patient with the toddlers. It was cute hearing them ask 'where's Alice?'

Sea World

We took Alice to Sea World on a Saturday in April. Mom, Dad and Alice. We arrived early in the morning trying to take advantage of the cooler weather. We immediately went to see the Shamu Show first. Alice was very impress with the Sea World trainers. Ever since that show, she has talked about being a trainer at Sea World. I told her she had to at least learn how to swim first :-) Her second epiphany was the Journey to Atlantis ride. Alice was definitely tall enough to ride, but did that mean she would enjoy it? After riding it 3 times in a row, I would say she definitely Did like it. Other Alice favorites were the Shamu roller coaster and the Crazy fish ride she got to ride with her dad. We will definitely go back again sometime this year...maybe with a friend this time!

I made a joke causing Alice to laugh.  She leaned back and said, "You're joking me out!"