Family Time at the Beach!

Our family just got back this week from spending some quality time together at the beach...South Padre! It was a blast and just by watching the girls, I think that they had the best time. It was Ashlyn and Ava's first experience playing in the sand and surf, which was so much fun to watch! Ava really enjoyed being buried in the sand and then burying her father. Ashlyn had fun boogie boarding and was so giddy that she kept saying "this is awesome" the whole time. The funniest part though was "crab wrangling" (well, that is what we eventually called it). Uncle Cory is now called the top Crab Wrangler because he was running all over the place trying to catch the fast little things on our night walk. He caught a couple and then chased some towards the girls, which made Ashlyn freeze up and scream. As my dad would put it, the screaming session could have easily put her in a horror movie because it was very theatrical! :) From that point on, Blake would say "Hey Ashlyn, CRAB!" and point next to her feet and she would once again scream hysterically. Poor girl, she did a lot of screaming on the trip...very entertaining though! :)

I think our last family trip was when I was still in High School, so this was a treat for all of us. My parents have finally moved closer to my sis and I, in Georgetown, so that we can spend more time together. It really has been wonderful! If only Cory and I could move closer then it would be perfect but I don't see that happening due to his job.

The trip was very memorable yet too short! I think next year we may try renting a lake house or something a little bit closer to home. I can't believe that it took us 7 hours to drive to South Padre and we live in Texas! Crazy! Here are some pics:

Okay, you are probably wondering why there is a picture of bug repellent with "Skank Off" written on it....well, this is my family thinking that they are being very funny. Actually, it is very funny and I have no problem sharing the story....My parents came to visit a few weeks ago and while they were here I was telling them about all the Skinks (a type of lizard) that we have around our house. Well, the night before or so, Cory and I were laying in bed and I was telling him about them because I had been mowing the yard that day. I said something like, "man we have a lot of skanks in our yard" and then I started laughing because it obviously sounded funny and I asked Cory if it was Skinks or Skanks and he was so tired that he just agreed with both. Unfortunately I made the mistake of telling my Dad and now its a huge family inside joke. When we were all getting ready to head to the beach, my sis brought me this bottle...I have to admit, it was pretty funny. Hey, at least I am good for something!! ;) So now my family will occasionally ask if we still have a lot of skanks hanging around our house.