SUPER SPRING

GALVESTON BEACH

Since Ryan had a week off, we planned a few fun adventures around Houston. First stop, Galveston Beach.

The nice thing about going to the beach during the off season is that I don't have to worry about losing the boys in the crowd since they don't exactly stay within arms reach anymore.

All the boys love exploring and will head off in an interesting direction without one backward glance.

We didn't bring any sand toys, but Ben was quite content with just his cup of fruit...

...and a plastic spoon.

Sam liked the plastic spoon too.

They unearthed plenty of sand and treasures with their plastic spoons. I may just bring those in the future and scrap all the buckets and shovels.

Joshy was just elated to be at the beach and to run all over the place with his Daddy.

FERRY FEEDING FRENZY

We rode the Galveston ferry just for fun and so we could feed the seagulls off the back of the boat. Ben was brave enough to throw some bread at the birds.

Joshua loved it! Ryan loved it when he put a piece of bread on my head (without me knowing) and a bird swooped down and pecked it off my head.

Sammy was not so sure about the whole thing & opted to sit on Mom's lap the whole time.

And, since it was my birthday, we ended our fun beachy day with a bit of strawberry shortcake and candles!

VISITING THE BLUE BELL ICE CREAM FACTORY

Here's Sammy sporting one of the awesome hats we got at the factory.

I think he actually liked wearing it... for a full ten minutes.

Cute little hat boys!

While waiting around for our tour to start, Ben was just so happy to wander around holding his precious sippy cup.

He really is such a happy, smiley guy! He was a very serious and sometimes unhappy baby, but he definitely grew out of his frowny phase.

Happy Ben!

And since they are twins, it's only right that Sam be a happy, smiley guy too, which he is! Here he is overjoyed with the sound his sippy cup makes when whacked against a bronze cow.

So, he hit his cup against the cow again.

Wow! That makes a great, loud noise!

Ben did actually find something in this bucket, a bunch of wilted flowers that I'm sure another child picked and put in there.

Here's Joshy sitting on that roasting hot, bronze cow Sam likes hitting.

We loved taking a tour of the ice cream factory and seeing how it was made and packaged. But, I think, our favorite part was eating the ice cream!

Sam...

Ben...

... and Josh all ate every last drop of their ice cream.

Josh wanted to be extra sure he got every last drop out of his cup!

Ben's face very definitely communicates, "No. I do not want you to help me finish my ice cream!"

HOUSTON ARBORETUM

Who knew there was a forest right in the middle of Houston! We loved exploring it!

The little boys couldn't stay away from the water, but fortunately they only got their shoes wet.

Josh did a great job making it from one side of this suspended rope to the other.

Ben liked standing on the rope then holding on and hanging from it.

Sammy wanted to walk along it, but it was a bit tricky for him. I don't think it was designed for 1-year-olds.

The three little bears safely crossed over the wobbly troll bridge with the help of their dad.

 Yay! Yay! Yay!

DEEEEE.... (That's how the little boys say "CHEESE.")

This is Sammy's "Deeeee" smile. It doesn't even look like him!

And here's Ben's "Deeeee" smile. Cute, but kind of scary too.

Joshua's had more time to practice his "Deeeee" smile, so he looks pretty cute, although still not very natural. I need to think of a better smiling word to say.

And here are all my boys saying, "Deeeee!"

EATING FOOD... OR CRAYONS

Here's Sammy chewing on a crayon instead of coloring with it.

And here's Ben chewing on a crayon just like his brother. I don't know why we bothered ordering them food.

Sam, the ketchup head! I can't give him ketchup at all anymore since he has painted himself with it one too many times.

This is a picture of Sammy, not eating, but at the zoo. I just had to include it since he looks so cute in his hat and boots! He chose to wear the boots & put them on by himself.

AT THE LAZY EYE RANCH

Sammy absolutely loved riding the pony!

Ben wasn't so sure about being on a pony and Sam wasn't so sure about having Ben on the pony with him, but they warmed up to those ideas & had a fun ride!

The boys loved being with Dr. Boniuk, riding the pony, swimming in the pool, and admiring the stuffed lemur, which they were sure was a "quirl" (squirrel).

AT THE LIBRARY

Pearland, where we live, just opened up a new library! We went to the Grand Opening and then found ourselves (in this picture) on the Pearland Journal's webpage.

And someone else found us in this picture on a Pearland Library webpage. The boys are famous... not really, but it's cool anyway!

HANGING OUT AT HOME

Sammy & Ben hanging out on the counter snacking and admiring our fish tank on the opposite counter.

We all LOVE our new fish tank, which we inherited from one of Ryan's co-residents. The boys love watching the fish swim around! As Ben pointed at the tank tonight, he even said, "shish"... close enough.

The boys LOVE their Jeep! The littler boys are just starting to be able to reach the pedal and make it go. It's so funny to watch them driving around the backyard like little men in their off-road Jeep.

Here's Sammy the Astronaut!

Here's Iron Man using the repulsor lasers in his hand!

Here's Iron Man again with his sidekick, Iron Man!

And here's Ben as the less well known super hero, Towel Man! He locks his super powers up in a top secret plastic egg when the world isn't in need of saving.

The boys love "nola" (granola) bars like their dad gets in his lunch. Unfortunately, now that they've discovered "nola" bars, where to find them and how to open them, Dad is getting fewer and fewer in his lunches.

Happy Ben... on the counter again. At least he's not in the sink, which is where I find him quite frequently... with the water running.

Cute, little Sammy holding his Sleep Sheep and drinking his milk. He's a comfortable kid! He's just missing a blanket.

Our backyard turns into a bit of a pond when it rains here and the boys love to go splashing through the grass.

Here's Ben running through our marshy grass.

Who doesn't love sitting in a puddle? Josh sure does!

"ALLIGATOR LAKE" (SO NAMED BY JOSHUA WHO SAYS HE DOESN'T LIKE ALLIGATORS)

Here are the first 2 alligators we happened upon during our walk around "Alligator Lake."

And here's the next alligator we saw. We saw quite a few more, probably a dozen or so, but I stopped taking pictures when they started getting bigger.

Ben & Sam traveled in style around the alligator lakes.

Happy Joshy & Happy Daddy! (And Happy Mommy since Joshy was out of the bite zone on Daddy's shoulders.)

Joshy & Daddy tried fishing in one of the big alligator lakes. They didn't catch anything, just lost a bobber. When Daddy found another bobber to replace the one that got blown away, Joshy was gushing with praise for his heroic dad. It was a great day for Dad!