South Padre Mini Vacation

Man we needed this vacation so bad. I was looking forward to it for so long and it lived up to everything I thought it would be. The greatest thing about going to South Padre is that we had no agenda and got to just enjoy the beach and relax the whole time. It was so much fun having Mom and Dad with us and they helped with the kids SO MUCH. We all had a wonderful time and I can't wait to go back again! Since it's only 5 hours away, we might have to make this a yearly tradition.

April holding on tight to Grampi in the waves.

 Jamie and Ben building a sandcastle for "Beautiful Pink" the duck. I tell Ben he looks like a Sea World trainer in his rash guard. I love it! It keeps him from getting horribly sunburned and it looks great on him. I made sure to get all the kids rash guards before we left for the beach. 

 Me holding Ryan. His favorite place to be is in my arms. ALL THE TIME. That boy is super attached. He wasn't sure what to make of the crashing waves at first.

 Once he was able to start playing with sand, he was all about the beach. The girls loved playing in the sand.

 Ryan tried eating sand and then realized it was pretty gross. He loved those little play shovels though. The first day we were at the beach there were tons of jellyfish, so we didn't get in the water a whole lot. Ben was the only one who got stung, but he said it didn't hurt any worse than an ant bite.

 Mom with Ryan and April. The Air BnB we stayed at had beach chairs and this awesome beach umbrella that we were free to use. It was amazing!

 April enjoying her apple.

 Everyone relaxing in the Air BnB house. Jamie is showing Grami how well she can read.

 Ryan doing his favorite thing again.

 The place we stayed at was super roomy, and only a 3 minute walk to the beach. Perfect location and we loved that it had 2 beds and 2 bathrooms.

 The second day we explored Port Isabel a little bit, which is about 20 mins from SPI. We went to this cool sea life place where you could look at the fish and animals.

 The tortoise Domino walks freely around the Sea Life center, and kept trying to walk underneath our stroller.

 April said, "That sign says, "April's Dolphin!" It actually said, "Out of Order", but why not?

 The Sea Life Center had this super cute photo area where you could dress up in mermaid outfits. The girls loved it! What little girl doesn't want to wear a fin?

 Ryan chilling with Daddy.

 He was not a huge fan of the dolphin.

 Grampi and Ryan.

 Right outside the center is this place called, "Pirate's Island" where you can go to eat and also do some fishing along the dock. Jamie was all about taking pics with these scallywags!

 Mom got in on the action too.

 Dad and Mom enjoying the refreshing sea breeze.

 Ryan eating again.

 Me and April hanging out. She is becoming more affectionate than she used to be.

 The view from where we were.

 This one probably won't make the wall, but it was worth a shot!

 Mom was so awesome the second day and watched Ryan for us so that me and Ben could focus on the girls at the beach. The next day we didn't see any jellyfish, and the water was perfect for swimming.

 See how I managed to sneak in a pic of both swimsuits I own? Yeah, I did!

 Mom and Dad watched the kids for us on our last evening there so that we could go out on a date. We went to this place called, "The Painted Marlin" where we enjoyed shrimp and fish tacos and got to watch the sunset. It was truly gorgeous and the pictures don't do it justice. We had such a nice relaxing time and were so grateful to Mom and Dad for taking care of the kids for a little while.

Adios, South Padre! Until we meet again!