A Week In Houston

A few weeks ago, the kids and I made a road trip to Houston to see my sister Kyla and her family. My sister Kristina and her kids also went. We had a super fun week and we enjoyed the extended time together. We had lots of great activities planned for the kiddos. We got there Tuesday afternoon and after dinner at Kyla's we took the kids to her neighborhood park so they could run off some energy since they had been sitting all day.

Look at those sweaty kiddos! Mission accomplished!

On Wednesday, we took the kids to the Children's Museum in downtown Houston. It was a great place and the kids had a blast. Annie had a doctor's appointment so she and Kristina were only able to stay for a bit.

Joseph resting while the other kids played. 

One of the favorites was a grocery store where they could act as the cashier. 

Playing in the news station.

Energy experiment

Shopping in the grocery store

Gracie loves, loves, loves playing with Sarah. They were playing in the vet's office and Sarah had a hard time parting with the stuffed animals she found. 

Building time

Fun day!

That night for dinner, Aunt Kyla had all the fixings for the kids to make their own pizzas!

Thursday we went to the Memorial City mall and enjoyed the super fun castle play area. I have never seen a mall play area quite like this one and all seven kids had a blast! Thankfully, the security guard at the entrance let Jacob and Gabriel in despite the fact that they were a bit above the height limit. We got lucky on that one. They would have been so sad to miss out on the fun. After the play area we went to lunch and actually were brave and went into one store with all the kiddos. 

Joseph is sixteen months now and had a great time exploring everything.

Later that afternoon, we took the kids swimming at the pool in Kyla's neighborhood. Which is wonderful I might add. Great splash pad, huge baby pool and a beach entry pool complete with a twisty slide and a lazy river.

On Friday, my parents and Jim came into town as well and we all headed to Schlitterbahn in Galveston.  I was a little hesitant on the idea of going to a big water park with so many little kids but it turned out to be a great day. The weather was not hot, it was not crowded and the kids had a blast. We packed snacks and lunches at Kyla's and were able to have a little picnic lunch there by the pool. I was impressed with how many areas they had for the small kids.  I realized I didn't take too many pictures here. Toting our camera around the water park just didn't happen! :)

The pirate ship was a big hit with all the kids, especially the little ones. 

Sisters!

Me with Sarah, Annie and Luke in the background. 

Perfect for the little ones!

We left Schlitterbahn around dinnertime and found a Mexican restaurant on the main strip in Galveston to stop at for dinner. Jim, Dad and Michael ended up trying the Coronarita. A margarita with a Corona in it. They all seemed to like it.

On Saturday, Kristina and crew had to leave and Mom, Kyla and I went out for a girls lunch to Cafe Express and pedicures afterwards. It was a fun day and we all enjoyed being able to talk and catch up without any interruptions from our little people. :)

The final product! 

While we were gone, the boys had kid duty and were also smoking all different meats for dinner that night. We had quite the tasty feast. We also celebrated my birthday that night with a delicious ice cream cake!

The boys also enjoyed several games of Dominoes. 

And of course we had to have horseplay before bedtime!

I have to share this sweet story about Luke while we were there. He was playing in the entry way by the front door and started yelling for me to come over to him so he could show me something. He seemed so excited about something so I walked over there. He then said, "Mommy, mommy look. It's a rainbow. It's a promise from Jesus that he has GP"(Grandpa Eckel that died in June). We all heard him say it and we were all speechless and teary-eyed. It's amazing, truly amazing the innocence of children. I have no doubt Jesus was sending us all a little message through our sweet Luke. Bless his sweet, sweet heart.

The kids loved sitting all together in their big comfy recliner.

Thanks Kyla and Michael for a wonderful week and weekend. We had a great time  and appreciate you hosting all of us! Thanks for making my birthday so special as well. We have to do this again soon! Love you guys!