Our First Family Vacation!

In late September we took our little family on our first "family vacation" to South Padre Island. We rented a condo on the beach for 4 nights and got to spend some serious quality time together! Ava could not get enough of the waves, sand and sea shells. She put her sand castle molds to good use every day we were there. Elizabeth, at almost 3 months old, spent most of her beach time napping or protected in the shade wearing a sun hat.

Ava wore Adam and I out! She wore herself out too, taking almost 3 hour naps on a couple of days!
One TIRED girl waiting for her dinner at a brewery/restaurant we went to one night...

Miss Ava got 2-3 showers a day, between beach visits, trying to get the sand out of her hair and every crevice between her nose and toes!

We spent a little time at the pool as well, during the sunniest times, to be sure Elizabeth didn't get too much sun.

Adam whipped up his famous eggs, sausage and biscuit breakfast each morning we were there. Getting to eat on the condo patio with a view of the ocean was a treat!
Adam taught Ava how to feed the seagulls from the patio...

She laughed and laughed and didn't want to stop giving those crazy birds all the crackers in the package...
Miss Ava had NO fear of the waves and even when they would knock her underwater, she'd get right back up, sputtering, and attack them again. Adam had fun throwing her into the waves...she LOVED the splashing fun!

Ava got a kick out of chasing the seagulls...

Peek-a-boo, Elizabeth...what a sweet girl. She was so patient and good for the whole trip, including the plane ride there and back!

Ava and Mommy buried Daddy in the sand and made him look like a mermaid!

Ava had a great time stomping on the sand to break Adam free...

We had so much fun at the beach that we're planning to go back every year as a family to enjoy the beach and, more importantly, one another.

Ava's First Musical!

Adam and I got season tickets to the local Summer Musicals. He and I went to see Wicked, Chicago and Spamalot, but we were excited to give my ticket to Ava for The Lion King! We bought the Disney DVD version for her a few months back so that she'd be familiar with the storyline and recognize some of the music. We talked about the upcoming musical to her for at least a month in advance. She would see the commercial advertising the show on television and yell, "Mom, look...The Lion King. I'm going to see that with Daddy!"

Here is a picture of Daddy and Ava getting ready to leave for the show. Don't they look nice?

Elizabeth and I stayed behind and caught up on a little shut-eye.
Adam took Ava downstairs to see the big fountain. She was impressed by the giant chandelier.

Miss Ava loved the show and when Adam asked if she was ready to go home during intermission, or if she'd rather stay for the rest...she insisted on staying!
Look at these two having a blast together on their Daddy-daughter "date"!
They each came home and were so excited to tell me what a wonderful time they'd had. Ava asked me the next day if we could go see The Lion King again!