Our trip to Galveston and Houston

Here's our recent trip to Texas in pictures. Overall we had a great time enjoying the warm weather, and seeing lots of family. We had some ups and downs during the trip, but overall it was fun. I won't go into detail about our accomodations in Galveston. I'll just say they were disappointing, and we were all a victim of false advertising. I'll also mention that on the day we were to fly back to Michigan, our flight was supposed to leave in the morning at 8:45. Well...the Dow plane was delayed throughout the day and we didn't end up leaving until 7 at night. Jenny was already back in Michigan (she left a day early because of work) so it was just me and the kids stranded for the day in a rental car waiting on a plane to show up. The 3 of us finally arrived in Midland at midnight. It was such a stressful day and we were all fried at the end of it. But the kids held up well...and Ben especially was a little trooper. He never broke down once. He stayed strong for me the whole time. That day was actually a good experience for me personally. Now when I think I'm having a bad day I'll just remember that day waiting on the Dow plane. If I could get through that day with two little kids all by myself...while living out of a rental car...then I can handle anything.

Anyway...onto the trip.

It's 6 a.m., and we leave cold snowy Michigan...for warm and sunny Texas.


After we arrived in Lake Jackson, TX...Jenny had to take a Dow flight over to Baton Rouge for a short business trip for the day. So the kids and I drove north to Houston to see the Leslies. Ben had fun playing with Wil, Kate, and Hudson.

The next day Jenny had to work in Freeport for a few hours in the morning, so the kids and I killed some time around town. We went to the beach at Surfside, and then we went to the Sea Center aquarium in Lake Jackson. Megan seemed real interested in all the fish...much like when we took Ben to the aquarium in New Orleans when he was a baby.




Time for some fun in Galveston.


We met the Hames family at the Space Center in Houston. This place is so much fun for kids and adults alike. Ben and Jackson had a blast. The place has changed so much since I was there as a kid years ago. There's a scale replica of a shuttle cockpit that you can walk in, all sorts of vintage rockets and modules that you can look at, and a giant playscape that makes anything at McDonald's look pathetic. It was a very fun day.

















Happy Birthday Nana!




Megan steps into the ocean for the first time.

Though the temperatures were in the 70's, the water was kind of cool. But that didn't stop the boys from jumping into the ocean. They both stripped down to their underwear and ran in. The innocence of youth.



Enjoying some birthday cake with Nana and Big Papa and Uncle Randy.





One more dinner before we all leave. We enjoyed an evening by the shipping lane watching the huge cruise ships depart.