~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
A few months ago, I texted Sukie something along the lines of, “I found the closest beach, and it's near Houston. We are all going to rent a house in Galveston together in September.” Her response was something along the lines of, “Yes, yes we are.”
And you know what? We did!
Our hardworking husbands were able to take a little leave at the same time, which just happened to be soon after everyone else went back to school (and, notably, the rental rates dropped). It was still hot, but not scorching, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.
It was wonderful.
{pretty}
I only pulled my camera out twice, since it's a lot easier to handle an iphone than a big camera when you're also trying to hold a baby on the beach and simultaneously help keep several small children from hurling themselves into the Gulf of Mexico. (And even the phone is a little tricky.)
But I did bring it along on a few evening trips to the beach, so I do have a few pretty photos to show you.
{happy}
Someone didn't get the memo about not going in the water with all your clothes on:
(But that's ok. We didn't get into bathing suits that time so we'd get out the door faster. Get your clothes wet! We're on vacation!)
This little girl caught her Aunt Sukie's eye from about 20 feet away and just lit up:
(Hashtag, lovethosechunkythighs)
And this little guy is just the happiest. There was nothing about the beach that he didn't love.
{funny}
“Quick, let's crouch down and grab the kids, and they'll totally stand still long enough for Sukie to take a nice family photo!”
“Ok, but I really want a picture of me and my sister and all the kids. Let's try a little harder this time.”
There was just too much going on. They each had about 15 seconds of standing-still-looking-at-the-camera time in them, and none of it overlapped. Oh well. We love them anyway.
Meanwhile, this face totally made my day:
So much attitude expressed in this picture that does not actually exist in reality!
{real}
On the way down, we left in the wee hours of the morning so we could get some good driving done while the kids were sleeping, and so we could stop outside of Dallas for Mass and breakfast with my brother-in-law before continuing on. This seemed like a good plan the night before, but a little less so at the aforementioned wee hour.
To anyone who may have seen us at church that morning (including/especially one sweet reader who introduced herself afterwards!), I apologize for my children's extraordinarily squirmy ways, and can only say that they'd been in the car for three hours already when we arrived. We were not on our A game, I'm afraid. The good news is that your children all looked like angels by comparison. (not that they needed it!)
Our two “bigs” are pretty good travelers, but Nora, sadly, is not a fan of the car. We did our best, she did her best, and the Chick-fil-a we stopped at on the way home did its best, too, with lunch, a playplace, and balloons for all the kids! Thank you, Chick-fil-a. That was clutch.
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Shyla says
This looks so fun, you all look beautiful! Cheers to pulling off a beach vacation and (almost) a family photo haha I can relate 😉
Emily D. says
My sister lives in Houston, and my parents have been thinking about taking our family trip to Galveston. I’ve been there once but I was thinking, vacation in Galveston? Really? But this just might convince me. Love that warm Gulf Water and the seafood!
Those chunky thighs, indeed! what a cutie!
Jessica says
I live in Galveston, and would vote- YES!!! So much fun for the whole family! I loved seeing the pictures on instagram and now here on PHFR of the Lawler family!!! Made me feel happy that the beautiful beaches of Galveston would get a good representation!!! The beach is ALWAYS a good choice!
Rosie says
I’ve never been to a beach with such warm water before! We had a great time.
Julie says
Love the winking, little dude! Absolutely lovely photos- and the sky…the sky. Oh to paint like the Heavenly Father, to express on the clouds a part of His Glory. The whole earth is filled with His Glory.
Caitlin says
Beautiful pictures! I grew up in TX and we used to go to Galveston every summer. I love the family portraits… They will be good to look back on one day!
Kristina B says
The clouds over the water are so beautiful!
Stephanie says
Oh, how sweet! I am always so impressed by all the Lawlers’ skills in planning and executing all manner of things – in this case, a well-deserved vacation! What a blessing to have this family time together, and the ocean is often so refreshing and restorative, isn’t it? Thank you for sharing a bit of it with us! While I imagine busy schedules will make it challenging, I hope for all of you that you get to enjoy some more relaxing time together in the not-too-distant future! 🙂
PS: I left a comment for Auntie Leila on her {PHFR} post from September 3rd today! It was a long-overdue response and I wasn’t sure how you all receive comments so I thought I’d drop this little additional note about it here, in case a response to an old post somehow gets “buried” due to the post’s original date. Thanks! 🙂
Rosie says
So true about the ocean. I’m not used to living so far from it! (And we see and love all the comments, even if we don’t manage to reply as well as we’d like to – thank you!!)
Ellen says
Love Molly’s tummy stickin out of her purple striped shirt! And seeing a picture of you AND Philip. Hardly ever happens! Glad you had a good time with Sukie 🙂
Annie says
Love all the efforts at a photo! And how great that all of you were able to take some time together!
Jennie Cooper says
That’s a gorgeous beach, but I really love that first picture of your daughter walking along the edge of the ocean. So lovely!
Rosie says
Thanks, that might be my favorite one from the whole trip. 🙂
Maurisa says
September vacations are the best! What a lovely way to spend a vacation. Beautiful photos and we can definitely identify with the “15 seconds of standing still time and none of it overlapped” aspect of trying to get a group photo with kids!
Rosie says
They’re such stinkers, aren’t they?
Becky says
My key job as “navigator” (fyi: a tenuous grasp of left and right and navigation don’t actually go well together) is to pull up various apps to find our meal and snack stops. I have been known to plan entire trips around the locations of Chik-fil-a, Cracker Barrels, Starbucks, and McDonald’s that have a play place (yes, you can specify that).
Rosie says
Lol. Can we specify “play place plus balloons”? Because we were a fan of that combo.
Paula says
You’ll love it when the kids are older. My oldest (23) is in DC for some festival (from IN). She called her cuz Ethan whom she hasn’t seen since 2010? & they’re having dinner together. He’s in Alexandria & used to call her Angelica of rugrats fame. (yeah =he’s older but she was the boss!)
Woman of the House says
So glad you all could meet up at the beach and enjoy yourselves! It looks like you had a fabulous time. 🙂 Smart idea to go in September too!
Amanda says
Looks like fun! I’d love to do vacations like that with my sister someday!
We always map out parks along the way for breaks during road trips and if rain is forecasted or if it’s hot then chick-fil-a is always our second choice! We eat, the kids play, and we let them wait to eat their food in the car once we pile back in, which prolongs the happy-kids-in-the-car time.