Galveston

We had the opportunity to go to Galveston for Labor Day weekend for a Klosowsky family reunion (my mom's side). The traveling part was kind of awful, but we really enjoyed our time there!

To save money, we flew to Denver first, got in to my parents' house late Wednesday night, and then got up 5 hours later to go back to the airport (I use the term "got up" loosely, because Madelyn did sleep at all and neither did I). Luckily, my parents with with us for the next leg because Lance and I were a little out of it. Thanks for watching the kids!

 The girls did well on the plane. Give them the iPad and they are great fliers. 

Luckily, Maddie slept too.

We got in to Houston and Lance's parents met us at the airport with their car we were borrowing. We all went to lunch together and then we drove down to the beach house we were renting with my parents and siblings. It was a nice house but a tight squeeze!

A couple hours after we got there, everyone else got in, and relatives started coming over! I was so excited to see my Aunt Jana and Uncle Reid, who I hadn't seen in 8 years. They had ever met my husband or kids and I even had an 8 year old cousin I had never met. It was sooo good to see them.

All 3 of my mom's brothers were there and we took family pictures of the whole bunch, but I don't have any copies of those yet. 

I was also thrilled to meet baby Cora Dawn (Sharon's youngest, and my namesake :) ). Such a tiny angel!

Madelyn got to meet Uncle Andrew but was apparently not so happy about it.

 Girls! Things got a little crazy.

 Until Andrew tamed them with the magic trick of staring at video games.

 We were all together to celebrate my Grandma's 80th birthday. So exciting!

Lance presented her with the gift we brought her, because I was feeding Madelyn. 

My cousin Michael really bonded with the family that owned the house we rented through this picture of them he found.

It was good to see Colton, another cousin that I hadn't seen in probably 15 years, at least.

My uncle barbecued and it was delicious! We made all the kids eat outside. 

Friday and Saturday were basically Larsen family days. We rode the ferry from Galveston to the mainland and the kids loved it (except the waiting part when we got eaten alive by mosquitoes).

 We saw lots of dolphins and it was super fun!

After the ferry we came home and had lunch and then spent the rest of the day at the beach. I had heard bad things about Galveston beaches so I had low expectations but it was actually really great. The water was brown but it was warm and clean and very sandy. 

Even Madelyn was a tiny beach bum! She loved sitting in my lap and letting the waves splash her. 

Sister selfie!

The next day we went to Seawolf Park to tour a battleship and a submarine they had there. 

They were pretty cool and the kids were impressed!

It was hard to keep Madelyn out of the heat and the sun though. 

She preferred when we went to the park there after and she could sit in the shade. 

That afternoon it was back to the beach again! We spent hours there and basically had to drag ourselves away. We love the beach!!

After dinner and cleaning the kids up I walked back to the beach that evening with Sharon's family to help her find a souvenir. It was beautiful and breezy at night time!

Saturday  night, it was time for us to leave and drive up to Houston. We stayed late to watch the first part of the BYU game and Daryn crashed on the couch. 

Madelyn did too. Worn out from too much fun!

The next day was our nephew Beau's baby blessing in Lance's parents' ward! So glad we could be there for that and visit with Shay and Britta for a couple hours. 

Soon after church, we had to drive across Houston for my cousin's wedding (the other reason for the trip). So happy for Chris and Kacie!

Madelyn loves her grandma. 

And her daddy, who gets to spend lots of time holding her in situations like this.

All the Larsen grandkids, all dolled up.

The girls struggle through the wedding and the dinner, but were rewarded later in the evening with dancing! They danced their little hearts and we all had an absolute blast. 

Monday morning we swam at Lance's parents house and got all packed up for the trip home. It was another long two flights (especially the first one when Madelyn did not sleep at all, pooped through her clothes, and spit up all over me constantly). By the time we landed and had to make it to our next flight home, I was ready to scream. Luckily my parents were there and they helped me with the kids while Lance got our luggage and went back through security. The girls all crashed while we were waiting to board and slept through the entire flight until we deplaned. They were troopers until we got home around 1:30 and got them in bed. 

It was a great trip but we've sworn off of traveling for a while...