For my brother, who misses it

Audrey and the girls came to see us this weekend, and so as part of the Summer of Fun 2013, cousin edition, we loaded up the van and headed to Galveston.

Where we did some of this

Little Surfer girl

Sam

Tootles, not in the water for the first hour we were there, just snacking

Two peas in a pod

Now, I am in the water

Lilly

And saw some of this

why are only baby wedgies cute?  Like this on a 39 year old is just gross, right?

We never get tired of seeing brown pelicans

And wrote some of this about a million times.

When I was working, and pregnant, I had this friend who told me that I would love having kids and most likely be a good mom but that I would find my children "tiresome and wearisome."  I found this comment peculiar.  Very peculiar.  But the guy was and is an egghead, so I discounted it and moved along because no one was going to bring me down from my new mommy high with their somewhat dour perspective on parenthood.

But 5 years and two kids into it, I get it.  They can be tiresome and wearisome.  Hell, on the way to Galveston we had to endure whining about hunger, whining about the stop to get food where we had to get one of the twins out of the third row while in the to-go line for a potty break, hear more whining about needing to hear the ice cream and cake song, fighting about the music being too loud and too quiet, fighting about cupholders, blankets and teddy, plus the fake vomit from the third row vs. fake poop from the second row fight--all of which caused H to comment "too bad this isn't a 15 hour road trip."  Oh, and did I mention that while gassing the van at the Valero on Crosstimbers (why he would choose to gas the car on crosstimbers is a mystery to me, especially when his wife, children, sister-in-law and nieces are in it) H was called a racial slur by an old man who looked like a black Santa on crack. ("hey, chink, you got two quarters?"  except chink was said in a loving way, like bro, or buddy)

So, yeah, I get it they can be tiresome and wearisome.  The point is, sometimes you get tiresome and wearisome.  And sometimes, you get this: