First Sleepover

Ella and her friend Brileigh cooked up a plan that they just had to have a sleepover, and so we decided to give it a try a few weeks ago. I picked the girls up from camp on Friday afternoon and they were beyond excited for their big night (and it had been a week of non-stop excitement leading up to Friday). 

Swimming that afternoon

They had a great time - lots of swimming, playing, they even got to watch Littlest Pet Shop while they ate dinner. After dinner we baked and decorated cookies.

All was great until it was actually bedtime - these two had other plans in mind. I started putting them to bed at 9pm and they were finally both asleep a few minutes before 11pm - sheesh! Of course the late bedtime didn't keep them from being up early for more playing on Saturday, they got right back to their fun.

And they swam again Saturday morning before Brileigh's mom came to pick her up. 

They have so much fun together and it was a really fun night - while I can't say I'm in a hurry for the next sleepover, I am very glad that Ella had so much fun and it was such a treat for her. 

More Beach Fun

Some more beach pictures from our last few days --

Hunting for shrimp and tiny fish in the seaweed that came in with a rainstorm

Sand castle village by Steve and Ella

Amazing pool tricks :)

And a final walk on the beach on Sunday morning

It was such a fantastic trip - fun, relaxing, and great family time - I am hoping it's not too long before we are able to go back!

Jet Skiing

On Saturday morning, Steve took Ella jet skiing for the first time! 

They had so much fun, another great adventure!

4th of July

We went snorkeling on the morning of July 4th. We weren't sure if Ella was completely "ready" but she loved the idea and so we decided to give it a try!

We left from a marina on the bay side (Laguna Madre) and the boat ride was about 30 minutes to get to the snorkeling spot

Getting all suited up

And they're off

Ella got scared once she started seeing the fish swimming by us. It took about 15 minutes of her clinging to one of us before she started to get comfortable. There was also a lot of seagrass, and she hated when her feet touched down on it. There were many, many fish, all around us, and as scared as she was at first, she eventually got comfortable and even wanted to go back out again after we ate lunch, which really surprised us. I was really proud of her for sticking with it and glad that she ended up enjoying herself and a new experience. 

We went back to the beach later that afternoon and Ella was eager to get back to her boogie board

Ready for some July 4th fun!

After dinner we walked down the beach to see the fireworks

From where we sat, we were able to see 2 different fireworks displays at once, which was really neat

It was a long day and very fun, Ella was asleep about 5 minutes after we got back to our condo!

South Padre Island

We went on vacation to South Padre Island for five days during the week of July 4th. I've been wanting to visit there since we moved here, and so we decided it was the perfect time to go as our final vacation before baby #2 arrives. It was a long drive, almost 7 hours, but Ella is a great traveler (thanks to movies on her iPad!) and the long trip was well worth it. 

We stayed in a condo right on the beach and our balcony overlooked the ocean. We were on the 5th floor so we had a beautiful view and the condo was fantastic. 

Our first afternoon, ready to head down to the water

At the condo pool

The beach!

With my baby

Ella was so excited the next morning that she woke up really early - we got to watch the sunrise while we ate breakfast on the balcony, it was really neat

Coloring in her trip notebook

Down on the beach for the day

I just love this pic!

Enjoying a fruity drink at lunch

Steve took Ella to get her first boogie board and they were so excited to try it out

She's a natural!