Port A 2008

939 miles in the car with a 20 month old.

14 swim diapers.

3 empty bottles of sunscreen.

278 digital pictures (ridiculous, I know).

16 children ranging from 4 months to 4 years.

24 adults ranging from 27 to 32 years (?)

4 fetuses ranging from 15 to 22 weeks (that we know of, humm?)

7 days away from home

dozens of spilled raisins and Cheerios in the backseat

1 hurricane (that we dodged, thankfully!)

and

COUNTLESS memories made over Labor Day weekend at our annual UT (and one honorary Baylor family) beach trip to Port Aransas.

Josh and I completed our long journey just hours ago, so my brain, patience, and body is fading fast, so don't expect too much but fun pictures to enjoy! Thanks to all our friends for another great year at the beach.

We were hoping and praying Josh would like playing in the ocean this trip. But, he wouldn't even let us dip his toes in the waves without clutching us for dear life. His obsession for cars was especially accentuated this weekend. He fought off all the other like-minded toddler boys for this simple dump truck. Rather than chasing waves, he was chasing this truck and birds all over the beach.

While the dads built tall towers of sand for the older kids to jump on and destroy, the moms played it safe under the tents with all the new babies of the group. We even had a designated pack and play just for the beach so the "second (and third) borns" could take their morning nap on the beach.

Chris constructed a fun beach game for the guys to play. It involves tossing two golf balls strung together with rope at this contraption. It is aptly named " Testicle Toss."

Lovely.

Our "little" group is very much into traditions. Every Labor Day weekend, UT has their first football game of the year. We get all the kids dressed up in their UT gear and take a picture of them on the condo couch. This year, there were 10 too many kids to squash on the couch, so we decided the vast beach would do the job. This is the best picture I could get. All 16 kids are technically in the picture. Please notice the youngest of the bunch, Matthew, on the far left, being held by his big brother..... in a head-lock.

We maintained the tradition on a much smaller scale with our roomies, and my god- kiddos, Isabella and Diego.

Hook 'Em!

***Beach Vacation Agenda ***

7am- Wake up to several different cries. Try and figure out if the cry is coming from your child, or your roommate's child. Pray it is not your child.

It is- ugh. Time to get up.

7:05- Coffee. Lots of coffee.

8am- Breakfast.

9am- Sunscreen

9:30- 1130 - Beach

1130- 1200 - Pool

12:10 - Bath #1

12:11- Discover half the beach in your son's diaper

1230- Lunch

1:00 - 3:00 - Naptime. Blessed, wonderful, naptime.

Men- Basketball game until they pass out (seriously, they all almost passed out)

Women- curl up to a good chick flick- Ahhhhh.

4:00- 5:30 - Pool time and Playground time! Wee hoo!!!

5:30 - Yet another bath, and more sand.

6:00- Dinner time.

7:30 - Bedtime for the kids, hopefully.

8:00pm - 1am -

Men- Poker, Football, ESPN, Rock Band

Women- Chit Chat (Yes, for 5 hours we can talk without stopping), play games, and threaten the guys that if they wake up the kids, they have to deal with them even though the girls are being much louder with our constant giggles.

Now you understand the need for coffee in the morning.

Second Annual Toddler Races

Again, with the traditions- you'd think we were Aggies.

AHHHH- I can't believe I just typed that!

Blasphemy!

Although, we had high hopes for Josh, with his intense training and all, he choked. During our 3 months of sprint training, I failed to incorporate the element of distraction. Having 10 other toddlers screaming and running past him was just too much for Josh. He kind of just stood still and watched everyone pass by. Eventually, he took off running and I thought at least he would cross the finish line, even if it was dead last. BUT- out of nowhere, here comes Brooke from behind and she pushes him to the ground with her shoulder and passes him up. It was priceless! Brooke's (proud) dad captured the tackle on video, hopefully we can get our hands on it.

Ready - Set- Go!!!

Finally, on Sunday, our last visit to the beach, Josh set aside his truck and braved the waves. Well, at least I got one picture of him enjoying the water!

On Monday, we said Bye-Bye to the beach, the waves, the fish, the pool, the seagulls, and the ferry. But, the fun didn't end. In order to break up the long drive, we stopped halfway and stayed the night at Ava's fun house. She has a REAL set of drums- mini drums. They are great. Ava was so sweet and so excited to share her toys with Josh. He loved banging on the drums. Seemingly, he plays a good tune, because as you can see, Ava loved dancing to his music.

After the drum session, Ava concluded Josh was cool enough to dance with him in her crib. Josh was in heaven jumping up and down to the hip-hop music on the radio. In case you are wondering, Ava is doing "The Sprinkler" in this picture. I am telling you, she puts on quite a show for her guests!

Finally, we arrived home this afternoon. Josh was very excited to be back at home with his toys and his bed. The dogs are still at the kennel, so it is a bit quite. Josh keeps pointing at the backdoor saying, " doogs? " and then he runs to the front door saying, " Kay Kay?"

The boy has his priorities.

Thanks for sharing my vacation with me!

a