Yes, Jax was trying to eat the sand.
Today we went to Surfside Beach just south of Houston. I can't believe I've lived in Houston for three years and haven't done the beach before. It was fantastic. Sure, it's no amazing California beach with the ginormous waves, but hey, I thought it was beautiful and the waves were plenty big for our family with little kids. (Madeline was a scared of even the littlest waves - hopefully she'll grow out of that soon. Jax loved it though - what a little beach bum!!!) And the water was like bath water! I hate being in cold water, so no complaining from me! We swam in the ocean, took walks on the beach, built sandcastles, collected sea shells, you name it.
While we were down there, we also stopped in at the Sea Center Texas, which is a free aquarium just a few miles from the beach. Madeline was flipping out at all the cool fish she saw. She just kept running from tank to tank saying "Mom! Mom! Look at this!" "Hey, Mom, look at this!" I love those moments when your kid is having the thrill of your life and it took so little to make it happen!
We ate sack lunches at the aquarium, got yummy snacks at Buc'ees (our favorite), and had fish sandwiches at the Fish Company restaurant at the Outdoor World on the way home. Highly recommended. Other than the five terrifying minutes we thought we lost our car keys at the beach and the fact that Jax cried the whole way home, it was truly one of those perfect family days.
I really needed this trip today. This summer has been so hot, and normally I would spend more of it by the pool, but I just haven't felt comfortable taking a fearless crawling baby and a wild clingy toddler swimming by myself without James. So I've been inside a lot, and going a little stir crazy (the kids as well!). Today was just what I needed. And it was so fun to spend time with my family and do something memorable, rather than the typical housework and shopping that consumes most of our Saturdays. As much as I like to keep up on the never-ending to-do list, sometimes it is worth it to just say to-heck-with-it and go to the beach!
