Port Aransas

Last weekend we spent four blissful days in Port Aransas. We went with the Petersons and the Hollands, so it was guaranteed fun from day one.
Friday: We left in the afternoon and went the whole way without stopping. Lucas was stuck in his car seat from 12:45 to about 6:00 and did a great job. He got out for a few minutes on the ferry from Aransas Pass to the island, which he thought was pretty cool. It's weird sitting in your car on a ferry, by the way.

Friday night we were the first to get to the beach house, so we unpacked and went for a little walk on the beach. When Clay and Andrea got in we went to a little mexican restaurant for dinner. Lucas really enjoyed eating the spicy salsa. He would make faces when he ate it, but then would dig in again. It was quite funny.
Saturday: After breakfast we spent a few hours at the beach. Lucas was screaming for the first hour while everyone else had fun. He just wanted to play on the golf carts, so he threw a fit when he couldn't. After a walk to the pier and back he was ok and played in the sand with Ocean and Eden. I played on the boogie board a bit and Andrea and I saw a couple dolphins, which was fun. Clay and I got royally sunburned because we are both white and pasty. I don't know who was worse... my bet is on Clay. That night after dinner we went to the DQ. I think this was Lucas's favorite part of the trip.
Sunday: It rained all day. That night we headed to the jetty to take some pictures. Lucas was done before everyone else so I hung out on the beach with him and watched the people fishing. That night after the kids went to bed, the grownups had a blast. We were exhausted but stayed up playing games in a state of delirium. It was great!

Monday: Ben took Lucas on the patio to look at the neighbor's dogs. Instead Lucas punched Ben in the eye and his contact fell below into the grass. But, he managed to get a $5 replacement from a doc in Aransas Pass. Monday was also beach day again. This time we went higher up on the beach and I was very pleased because there was no seaweed! Lucas was crabby in the beginning, but managed to last until 2:30 when it started to blow and rain. I had fun boogie boarding with Jamie and Andrea and the boys played their weird games on shore. The kids ate sand and built sand castles.
While Ben, Clay and Andrea packed our car, I headed to the showers with Lucas. Just as Ben drove up I was getting ready to take Lucas's diaper off when Ben informed me from the car that Lucas's diaper was fully loaded - I was close to getting poo all over me! I managed to take his diaper off w/o making a mess and rinse his little bum in the shower, then get a new diaper for the ride home - all at the beach shower.
Monday night we went to dinner at a local seafood joint. It was ok, but no fireworks.
Tuesday: We spent all morning packing and cleaning before our 11:00 c/o time. The Hollands had to leave early, but the Pete's and Harmanators stayed until 11:10 to get our money's worth.
Ben drove on the way home. Just as we were pulling into Austin we got pulled over and poor Ben got a ticket for going 80 in a 65. I say Ben needs to flirt a little more with the cops!
THEN that night on the way to basketball, Ben was sitting at the stop sign on our street and some girl turned the corner right into him! The bumper fell off the Honda, but it isn't too damaged. Hopefully the girl's insurance will get back with us this week so we can get it fixed. Silly girl... don't talk on your cell if you can't multi-task! Ben got a couple witnesses saying it was the girl's fault, so that was good. Turns out she does the witness' nails, though.
All in all our vacation in Port A was a success. I recommend it for a close beach escape. The only thing is that there isn't really anything to do besides the beach, so if you don't like the beach it wouldn't be fun. I'm always a little grossed out by the beach for the first hour or so, but once I get used to the sand and sticky salt water, I'm ok.

Here's our attempt at a family photo. You can see the rest of our pictures here. We forgot our camera every time we went to the beach, so I'll have to post some from the Pete's and Holland's when they get them up.

Other funny notes:
Friday night Adam and Jamie got pulled over in Aransas Pass and didn't get a ticket - Adam knows how to flirt with the cops, I guess. Then they got stuck in the sand while driving on the beach. Adam had to dig his way out of the sand. He also mentioned that the sand was different than any sand he's even encountered - very powdery. I guess we just didn't notice because we weren't digging our cars out of it.
Lucas calls Eden "baby" instead of using an actual name... maybe he learned that from his parents. He cheated on Addie and gave her a smackeroo. Sorry, Addie.
Clay got a gold medal for chasing a cardboard box and volleyball all the way down the beach when the wind picked up. He ran for a long time.
Jamie got the gold medal for making the rest of us feel like lazy glutenous pigs. She went running twice to prepare for her marathon.
Ocean: "How are they gonna turn our car into a fairy?" before arriving to the ferry.
Lucas kept screaming, "shark" (sounds like schar)over and over... and over. There are a lot of sharks built in to the beach shops in Port A. Pretty much every beach shop has a shark, squid, or dolphin in the architecture some how. On the way home he would yell "shark" or "boat" because of the ferry.
Andrea succeeded in her goal of wearing flip flops for four days straight.
Lucas learned how to crawl in and out of his pack'n'play. He also started getting out of his crib this week - bad news! Here's a little video: