Fourth of July on the Beach!

Like always...click the pic to see tons more!!!

Once again living in Texas has advantages...like the beach three short hours away!!! We decided to spend the long weekend on the beach in Corpus Christi and Hurricane Alex made it even better as it scared everyone away (although it did cause a giant seaweed mess but no one really seemed to mind)!!! Corpus Christi has multiple beaches to visit...Corpus Christi beaches, Port Aransas beaches, Mustang Island beaches and North Padre Island Beaches (all within a 20 mile radius of each other). We got down there on Saturday afternoon and spent the early evening beach hopping to see where we wanted to spend our time at the beach:) The kids loved it as every beach we stopped at they got to hop out and "test it out for fun" before we made our decision.

We decided we liked the beaches on North Padre the best (you get to park your car right on the beach next to you eliminating the whole schlepping everything to the beach) so the morning of the Fourth, that's where we headed. Luke has no recall of our week long trip to South Padre last year and had an absolute blast rolling in the sand, playing in the waves and collecting shells. The bigger boys (Daddy included) enjoyed boogie boarding, playing catch and outrunning the waves:) After a six hour day in the sun and sand, we headed to the hotel for showers, dinner and fireworks!!! We literally sat right on the steps of the beach seawall and watched the fireworks shot right off of the back of the U.S.S. Lexington, a retired aircraft carrier in the harbor.

Our last day we gave the kids a choice...go back to the beach or go on the U.S.S. Lexington and explore it. Being active boys, it was no surprise to us that they chose the giant ship! We spent four hours climbing all levels, seeing where all of the important things on the ship are...Dentist, Doctor, Post Office, beds, potties and mess hall:)