Saturday, September 06, 2008

The Surfing Sir

Considering how much time my family spent on the Gulf Coast growing up, I'm terribly ashamed to say that today was Jackson's first trip to the beach. I kept having to remind myself that we were in North Texas for his first two years of life. But what a great introduction it was! The weather was absolutely beautiful. The beach was pristine and not just by Galveston standards. No seaweed, no trash, no tar, no jellyfish, no huge crowds of people. The water, which can sometimes feel like a hot tub, was a great temperature and the breeze was really nice. I even got chilly a couple of times when I got out of the water. Imagine that!

I left my camera in the car for the first part of our day, but if I hadn't I would have a great picture of us eating lunch on The Strand at the Waterwall. We let Jackson throw a few pennies in the waterwall thing and he loved it. I had a shrimp po-boy and it was yummy. Also, mark it down as the first time Jackson went on the potty in a public restroom. (No more "victories" to tell about at this time.) If I could, I would also show you a picture of us at LaKing's Confectionery getting candy and ice cream and letting Jackson ride the little mechanical horse. So fun.

After our visit to The Strand, we drove out to Galveston Pocket Beach #3 or something like that. While I was getting our stuff organized in our spot, Curtis put Jackson's life jacket on him and headed straight for the water. Deep water. It looked deep to me anyway. I had imagined that we would warm Jackson up to the water, especially the deeper water, but of course my two guys went straight for it. That is the difference between moms and dads. Once Jackson had had the most thrilling part, it took a lot of coercion to get him to settle for playing in the sand and splashing around in two inches of water. Another mom saw my frustration and maybe even a little fear and she, confined to the shore with her son, said "At least he likes the water." That's true, but I still don't think my two-and-a-half-year-old and his little pool life jacket are any match for the undertow.

Curtis put the Mister on our boogie board and helped him "surf" in the waves. It was his happiest day. He was absolutely loving it. I almost risked my camera to get a picture but Curtis talked some sense into me. We tried to recreate the scene in shallower water for the sake of the blog, but it doesn't even compare. The pictures turned out pretty cute though.

Our other favorite thing was finding little hermit crabs with our feet when we were in the water. We put them in a bucket of sand and water and watched them run around and dig. We threw them back out before we left. I nearly disowned my husband when he pulled the biggest one out of its shell to "see what would happen." Boys! The only reason I was still speaking to him on the way home was because it managed to survive and crawl back into its shell. Well, onto the pics...

Arriving!


Right before the fun began.


I'm so glad he's big enough to hide behind.


Boogie board reenactment.


This one is my favorite.


Splash!


We had the best day! Thank You, Jesus! I can't wait to go again!

52 comments:

Rita Loca said...

Hopefully there will be many more such days!

Unknown said...

I looks like you had an amazing day at the beach!

Nancy Mon said...

What a fun day! You are right the beach didn't even look like Galveston.

AnnieBlogs said...

Those surfing ones are HILARIOUS.

Patty said...

What a fun day! I missed going to the beach this year.

You all look so cute. :)

Have a great Sunday.

lori said...

Looks like fun!! I can not belive how big Jackson is now, we have watched him grow into a big boy right here in blog world.
Did you know you can turn you blog into a book on blurb.com (makes a great scrap book)

Anonymous said...

I might have been afraid of the undertow too when my son was around 4.

A movie might have been on tv one Saturday morning, and I stumbled across it a few weeks before we went to the beach.

I might have let him watch it with me.

It might have been the original 'Jaws'.... I don't remember.

I might not have had to worry about him going past his knees that year unless I was carrying him.

:)

He's over that now, and LOVES the water, thank You Jesus! (What a worried mom I was way back then!)

And no, I'm not putting my name on this oh so honest comment. :)

Holly said...

Ooooo, Amanda, it does look pretty!! I am so glad. Chris and I honey-mooned in Galveston--we stayed at The Galvez after a horrid night at The Sandpiper--another day for that story. And our honeymoon was a surprise, so guess who ended up going to Galveston, too? My parents and aunt and uncle. Talk about awkward and weird. But they did buy us supper, which was nice for us poor college students!

We love the Strand! And the Christmas store is my very favorite.

So glad you shared your day and pictures. It has made me smile really big!

Lisa @ The Preacher's Wife said...

OH how I love the beach. Luke and I are going again in November with no children. I know it sounds evil to be excited about it but I'm a firm believer in Mommy/Daddy getaways.

Glad you had such a fantastic day!

Michelle said...

What a great family beach day! We love going to the beach. It's my favorite place to take the family. We go every Sunday after church. I think that Texas beaches are probably different then California beaches, though. It would be fun to compare.
Too bad you didn't want to show us your belly! :-) Have a great Sunday!

Kelly @ Love Well said...

There is NOTHING like a sunny day at the beach. He's the perfect "dude."

jennyhope said...

I am so jealous. I have not been to the beach in almost 5 years. I keep repeating to myself that godliness with contentment equals great gain!! I am so going next year!!

Kelli said...

What a huge blessing that Galveston was in such great condition! I hear they are trying to turn it around!

Those boogie board pictures are SO cute... next time he needs to learn the hang 10 sign for after her rides the wave in!! :)

3girlsmom said...

Tar?
He's a brave kid. My little 2 won't go near the water. They also hate the sand. We travel 6 hours to the beach and hang out at the pool.
Maybe they'll outgrow that one day soon....

bethany said...

Sounds like you had a great day at the beach....I love the beach but the water here (northern coast of Ca.) is not nice and warm like on the gulf coast. Going to the beach here means jeans that can be rolled up to walk along the sandy beach and a light jacket to keep your arms and head warm!
I had a great day too! Got to visit all day with my 2 day old niece Kensley and her family!!!
Oh...she is so adorable! I forgot what it was like to hold 7lbs of pure joy!!!

Immeasurably More Mama said...

Jackson looks so happy...What a fun day for all of you!

Lisa Pierre said...

Ya gotta check out Mosquita Cafe or Mosquito Net or something like that...Nicole Self got me hooked on it, it's off the Strand but near it. You'll love it.

Profbaugh said...

I love the beach. Jackson and I could be beach buddies!! Unfortunately, there are real beaches in St. Louis. Glad you had some fun with your water baby!

~Cheryl

Ashton said...

Warmed my heart to see you guys have fun in the sun. Love the beach.

Ivymamma said...

oh how this tx gal misses that beach!!!! As for forgetting your camera...I don't know how many times we are on the way home from someplace with no pictures because I left the camera in the car. Or it was in the diaper bag I just forgot about it!

Kristen said...

What a fun day! Jackson is blessed have such fun and involved parents.

Sarah said...

You are blessed to live near the beach! We are a hop, skip and a jump from Yellowstone and various mountains but we rarley pack up the fam and go. What a fun day for you guys!

Tara said...

What a fun day at the beach! Thank you for sharing it with us!!!! I hope you'll get to go many more times!!!

katiegfromtennessee said...

Wow, ya'll have a beach right near you:) The pics look like ya'll had a great time:)! Thanks for thinking about us bloggers!:) I love the beach:)...Oh, that would upset me too if my Man thought it would be fun to see if a crab will survive outside it's shell-it's just an innocent little hermit crab! Good thing it survived. Somehow, that struck me as funny that it crawled back into it's shell:)

katiegfromtennessee

GratefulinGA said...

Looks like a beautiful day and wonderful time was had by all. Love the photo's...
great re-enactment!

Kim said...

What a fun time! With fall coming soon... it's fun to see pics from a sunny day at the beach! These look like great memories!!!

debra parker said...

I have come to really love a galveston weekend.

Oh yes, and the fact that I can hide behind my kids.

Ha. You are funny.

No hiding necessary.

connorcolesmom said...

Oh that looks like so much fun!
I am so glad God blessed you with such great weather and clean beaches
I love the surfing pics
And you look Adorable!!!
Blessings
Kim

Amanda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amanda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
HIS Child said...

Amanda,

I am so happy to have found your blog. My boy is approaching the young man stage (12 yrs), however a year ago he went surfing with his
Dad and Uncle Dan and captured it all with " this is the best day of my life". I can so sympathize with the Mom vs Dad issue. If it is any encouragement know that your man will be fiercly protective of your mister, and never put him in danger. God just made them so different and as I have watched my man and son grow into an ever changing relationship I rest in that love that our Father gives his children.
We live in Southern California and have been blessed to live approx. 15 minutes from the beach. If you are ever in the area give a shout out to this siesta and we would love to show you around the town. Great Mexican food, beaches, and of course Starbucks.
Thanks for sharing your life and the passion that comes from motherhood.
God bless you and yours, and I might add you looked absolutely wonderful at the siesta fiesta.
Celeste

Erin Ward said...

I clicked on your favorite to look at it close up... and then I died of laughter after seeing Jackson's face.

Mel @ Studio MCA Designs said...

How fun! Makes me wish I lived close enough to the beach for a day trip!

Unknown said...

So cute!

You, trying to hide your little self behind your little son! Silly! You're too cute to hide behind that cute child!

I'm loving all the pictures :-0)

Lindsee Lou said...

Amanda! I was in Galveston all weekend for a family retreat we had at our church. It was a beautiful weekend! Glad y'all had a blast...maybe Jackson will grow up to be a surfer one day! He look's too stinkin' cute in that water.

Lindsee

P.S. I drove past pocket beach #3 like 18 gazillion times as I was on my wat to Schlitterbahn. I was so lost! (Finally I found it!)

P.S.S. Next time y'all go, try "The Spot" on the seawall! Fabulous food...and burgers.

Missy said...

What a fun day!

judy said...

How fun! I love the Strand.
And that adorable sandbox. Too cute. My little grandchilden might have to settle on the Turtle. :( We have no "builders" in our family.

petrii said...

GET-OUT-OF-TOWN!!!! Too cute!! Okay now don't tell my Dakota (16) that your Jackson got to go to the ocean before him ~~ Ohhh we have to go and soon!!!!

LOVE the pics ~~ oh yeah and hermit crabs too!!!

So glad you had the BEST day!!! Have a GREAT week, Dawn

Steph V said...

how funny!!! JD also visited the beach (glaveston) for the first time on Saturday (and he's a year older). He has been to other beaches, but never our home beach. We are lake-people here but JD had so much fun that we are going back in a couple of weeks. How funny that both boys went on Saturday!!!

CUTE PICTURES

Speaking Thru Me Ministries said...

we "grew" our kids up at the beach too. Now God has called us to corn country. Oh how we miss the beach!!!! Sooooo much!!!!

Having a week worth of giveaways this week if you are interested.

THanks, Leigh

Anonymous said...

You guys did exactly what we did Saturday, except of course we were in Pensacola, FL. We have a cool beach we call "Mommy Beach" that is not on the gulf side, but the bay side. No under toe for mommy to fret about. TImmy puts on his life jacket and green floaty ring and out he goes. After he has enough water he comes up and builds sand castles galore. What fun. Praise God for his beautiful creation. Loved the pics.

Lauren said...

Nathan and I are flabbergasted that Galveston can look so, well, clean.

The Schmidt Family said...

gotta love LaKings! Miss you sister!

MamaCass said...

I can't believe Jackson is boogie boarding! That is so awesome! And shame on Curt for torturing those little innocent hermit crabs=)

THE SMITHS said...

Your little Jackson is so cute! Glad y'all had a good time.

Unknown said...

This isn't the place for this but I don't know how to contact you!

Have you heard of these ladies? They are in Houston and what a cute idea!

http://www.thespagirls.net/

(Almost forgot the link.)

Sunni at The Flying Mum said...

LOVE, love, love the pictures! What a fabulous day! So jealous you can get to the beach so quickly!

Anonymous said...

Those are some great pics!!
I'm used to living within 3 hours of the beach (now we live over 10!). My kids had never been to the beach so last year we took them to the beach in San Diego and they loved it! The bad part is somehow the pictures were erased off the memory stick!!!

Dana said...

Amanda! I was at the family retreat in Galveston with part of my family and Lindsee! How fun! We enjoyed pocket beach #9 and had a blast! Then on Sunday we went to Schlitterbahn. It was a great weekend...glad you enjoyed it too!

C:M:W said...

Those are such cute pictures.... Jackson is going to be a surfing pro, he looks like such a natural.

Anonymous said...

How fun! We were actually planning to take the kids this weekend, but no thanks to Ike, we're stuck at home....bummer! I'm with you on the shrimp po-boy. A MUST!

Melissa said...

This is the cutest blog! I love it! We sure do miss you guys here in Irving!