Memorial Day and Mom

We hopped on board the Hayes train (15 passenger van) and headed down to Beaumont for Memorial Day weekend.  Poor James got left behind.  Of course the first thing we did was swim!

Friday night we went to a double wedding reception for my cousin Steve's kids - Sarah and Spencer.  They had it at Boomtown, and it was supposed to rain all weekend, but somehow they lucked out by it only being overcast.  Being so close to the lake, it's no surprise that many kids were swimming in their nice clothes.  Luckily my kids aren't too adventurous at this point, so they stayed by the coloring table and by me.  It's always so fun to see my cousins and to see 2nd cousins together!

Faith (Matt's), Hazel, and Laela (Ashna's)

Thomas (Donny's), Forrest (Michael's), Forrest (Matt's), and Grayson 

Love this idea for a wedding reception in which you expect 100s of kids...

Since a lot of family was in town for the reception and since it was a holiday, we had a Hayes family reunion the next day at the lake.  Again, it was supposed to rain and didn't, so we had a great time jet skiing, eating, and chatting away with cousins.  I have never seen such big crawfish! 

Grayson and James (Sabrina's)

Then we celebrated Mom's birthday, which was on Sunday.  I was fresh out of ideas for something to get her, so I just thought I'd give her a flashback lunch.  She's told me before about how her family moved to Texas at one point because her dad was in the army.  Along the way, her mom, Grandma Paxton, told the kids they could order whatever they wanted when they stopped to eat.  My mom always chose BLTs and lemon pie.  I just thought that was so cute, so I tried to recreate that for her on Sunday afternoon.  I love little learning little tidbits about my family and passing them down - even seemingly insignificant facts like childhood food favorites.  The new generation added an "E" to the BLTs, so we now have BELTs.

 My pretty "Pollyanna" Mama.  

Of course, her cake decorations have all sorts of symbolism, none of which I can remember, but it seemed pretty important at the time when Matt and Dad were figuring it all out.

Happy birthday, Mom!  You don't look a day over 40.

Florida Family Vacation

May seems to be a great time for us to take a family vacation.  The kids aren't in school yet, James is done with busy season at that point, and there aren't huge crowds wherever we go being that it's not summer yet.  This year we decided to do a little more low-key vacation and went out to Florida with little to no plans, aside from going to the beach.  The resort where we stayed had all sorts of activities for kids and families, so that was basically what we planned our days around.  Beach, pool, nap/read, dinner, take a walk down the beach, and bed -- that was about everyday!  James couldn't have asked for a more relaxing vacation after being so busy.  It was the perfect getaway.  Dennis and Barbara were able to join us for most of it, and I think they had a great time too!  We loved having them with us.

We got there on Mother's Day, and I couldn't have felt more blessed. 

 1st day on the beautiful beach!  We very much appreciated the cool walkway and complimentary sand toys.  Grayson was funny though.  He liked playing in the sand but wanted a bucket of water nearby to rinse his hands off every few seconds.  We buried most of the family in the sand as well but decided that was a one time deal after it took forever to get the sand out of our swimsuits.  

Hazel loved the kid room.  She collected seashells on the beach and then got to paint them.  Then she made a frame out of her favorites.

The other activity she did was make her own bubble gum!

 At dinner one night, I got a good cuddle from Grayson because "mine tummy hut". 

One morning we went to the Loggerhead Marine Center and learned about all different kinds of turtles and what this center does to help the injured turtles return to their homes.  

I didn't even know about leatherback sea turtles.  They're huge! 

One morning James got up so he could see the sunrise.  Beautiful. 

The beach was super fun, but we also had a great time at the pool!  Barbara and I even tried out water aerobics one morning.  The best was when they had pool side treats like sno cones and mango sherbet.  

We enjoyed the after dinner snacks too like fondue, popcorn, and smores.

One of our favorite activities was walking along the beach at sunset.  It was gorgeous and relaxing.  The kids loved looking for crabs along the way, so everyone was entertained.

This place had great scenery and yummy fish tacos.

 My friend Heather lives in Florida right now because her husband is doing his Residency there, and somehow we lucked out by only being an hour away!  She was so nice to come to our hotel and spend most of the day with us.  Our kids played great together, and we had a blast!

The whole crew! (Heather, James, and Mick)

We miss it already, but we'll probably go back in the near future.  What a great vacation!  

31 is Fun!

Once again my friends and family made my birthday extra special this year!  Gifts in the mail, gift cards, drawings, girls' nights, eating out -- it all made me feel pretty great about another year under my belt!  The only thing that disappointed was Blue Bell being taken off the shelves.  I had to make my own ice cream, but it worked out just fine for our cookie monsters.  Mmm.

I always feel so grateful on my bday for all of my amazing family and friends.  I just love the cake Hazel made for me!

The weekend after my bday, my parents came up and we went to Whiskey Cake to celebrate.  It was the 2nd time we've been there, and it did not disappoint!  I tried everyone's meals, and it was all delicious.  Not many things make me happier than tasty food... and it's even better with family!