Galveston Vacation

At the beginning of this week our little family of three went to Galveston Island for vacation.  Matt was super ready to be off of work for a few days, and we both were excited to show Brazos the beach.

When we arrived on Sunday evening we checked in to our hotel {Harbor House}.  The building was a warehouse that was renovated into a hotel.  It is located on the port side of the island, so we got to watch all the big ships come in and out, as well as the oil rigs light up at night.

Brazos loved our room because it had so many toys - telephone, alarm clock, microwave, light switches, refridgerator, and more!  He even did good sleeping in a big bed for the first time.

Later Sunday evening we took Brazos to the seawall to see the beach.  Here's his first visit to a beach!

 

On Monday we rode the ferry to Boliver Peninsula and drove on Crystal Beach.  We also played in the sand at Crystal Beach later on Monday evening and visited an old military battery {a place where weapons are stored}.  Brazos enjoyed lunch with the gorillas and elephants at The Rainforest Cafe.  Matt enjoyed touring the Ocean Star Oil Rig Museum.

 

On Tuesday we took Brazos to Moody Gardens.  I have to be honost and tell you that this was not the most enjoyable of our vacation.  Brazos began the day throwing a fit and refusing to hold our hands while walking.  We tried to do Super Nanny on him but it didn't work.  He wasn't interested in the animals, except for the seals for about a minute.  He didn't want to sit to watch the 3D movie, although he did enjoy the 4D movie with Dora and Diego.  We did have some peace when he slept for a short while on the paddleboat ride. I just don't think Brazos was ready for a museum environment, but we tried to make the best of the day.

Wednesday was our last day of vacation.  We went to Seawolf Park on Pelican Island.  Matt tried to do some fishing on the pier but he had little luck.  We could see fish swimming around, but no bites.  He did manage to catch a small perch.  Brazos and I just enjoyed walking around the park.  Later in the day we tried another failed attempt to tour the Moody Mansion.  We got to walk through two rooms of the manion while Brazos was sleeping, but once he woke up our tour was over because he threw a fit.  It's a good thing our tickets are good for a whole year, so maybe we'll make it back to Galveston to finish the tour one day.

Overall our vacation was great and Brazos was a happy camper as long as he could run free on the beach.  Now it's back home and time to practice some discipline so next time we don't have a temper tantrum while in public.  We'll see how that goes. 

Burleson County Fair Parade {On a Safari}

The Saturday that our fair was ending, another county fair was beginning.  Our neighbors down Highway 36 were having the Burleson County Fair.  They too start their festivities with a parade.  My mom and I were asked to be judges for the floats.  Some of these floats were a work of art!  If you didn't get to go to the parade here are a few photos of the event.



Brazos waving to the floats driving by




He was the official photographer for the day.



Washington County Fair

Last week was a great week!  It was time for the Washington County Fair.  I love going to the fair to watch all the animal shows, to watch the rodeo, to see all the photos and crafts locals have made for contests, and see the latest western fashion that people are sportin' these days {which seemed to be daisy dukes and cowboy boots}.

The week started off with the Fair Parade in downtown Brenham on Saturday.  For the past several years I have riden on the "Past Queens" float because I was fair queen in 1999.  This year I rode on the float with my sidekick Brazos {and my mom since she organized all the ladies for the float}.  My little buckaroo was a rootin' tootin' cowboy!

Later that evening we went to the fair grounds to watch the crowning of the fair queen.  Tatum Westerfeld was the winner and she was the first fair queen to win to be sponsored by the local Anchor Club!

Brazos was much more interested in the rocks and dirt on the ground.

The actual fair started on Wednesday.  Brazos went to the fair with my mom that morning while I went to my monthly doctor's appointment.  Later I met them there and we watched the pig show and lamb show.  We walked through the Country Creations building to see how mine and my mom's photo's did in the photo contest.  I got two blue ribbons and a red ribbon.  I alos got a blue ribbon on my scrapbook.  My mom's photo got Grand Champion!

Pointing to his grandma's Grand Champion photo...it's of him!

He found more dirt to play in, too.

We went back on Thursday evening and walked through the tractors.  Brazos enjoys sitting on tractors and lawn mowers.

You can't go to a county fair without eating an ear of corn!

We went back on Friday afternoon, too.  I helped work at the commercial steer auction and we watched the rodeo.  Brazos even had to steal the camera and take himself a self-portrait.  I think he loves the fair just as much as his mommy!