Spring Break 2011

In our two Scott houses, spring break means one thing and one thing only: Galveston or bust! Hawaii it ain't, but it is less than an hour away and light years closer to our mom, who loved that little island more than anyone really should.

The kids had a blast, and so did the moms. Suzanne lived up to her picture-taking responsibilities, and I did not. So thanks, Suz, for making this post possible.

Each of our kids takes on a specific role when the four of them get together. Sarah, of course, is the mother hen, providing comfort, refereeing arguments, and generally just being Big Sister to her younger sister and cousins.









Amanda revels in having someone older than she is to play with when the four of them are together, loving being referred to as one of the "Big Kids," while Sammy and Elizabeth are the "Little Kids."



Sammy, as always, marches to her own drummer. She has no fear, of anything, ever. The first night we arrived was very chilly, so we went over to a small stretch of beach to fly a kite and walk on the sand a little. Sammy, of course, sprinted for the water. Her cousins followed suit.


Elizabeth seems to be very aware that she is the youngest of this group, relishing her role of "baby." She demands her pacifier at all hours of the day, despite the fact that at home she knows that her pacifier is only for sleeping. (It being spring break, I let myself off the hook for caving to her pacifier demands.)




The weather was too cold to hit the beach in the mornings, so Suzanne and I decided to brave the Galveston Schlitterbahn, with only one kid who really knows how to swim. We don't have any pictures of this event. (You wouldn't have gotten any pictures either if you had taken Sammy to Schlitterbahn. Trust me, it was a team effort to keep that fearless child from grabbing a tube and sprinting alone to the biggest waterslide in the whole park.) It was a great success. My kids were content to ride on the wavy river, pictured in this shot stolen from the Schlitterbahn website:
and play in this kids' area:

while Suzanne and her kids were up in the slides:
At one point Suzanne stayed with my kids in the kiddie pool so I could go ride a waterslide with her two daredevils. Two year old Sammy held my hand and led me up the steps to the top of the slide, "It's this way Aunt Sam! You can do it!"

We did make one rookie mistake during the trip: taking an hour long paddle boat ride around Galveston Bay. At 1 pm. I must take the blame for this idea; it was mine. Two captive toddlers on a huge, slow boat smack in the middle of naptime? Not. fun. But Suzanne did get a really cute picture of Amanda. And to this day, at dinner when I ask my kids to tell me their favorite part of their day, Elizabeth answers "I rode a Big Boat!" (Her sense of "today" isn't quite right yet.) So it wasn't a total bust.



It was a great little getaway, and I'm already looking forward to next year. (Don't worry, Suz, I won't suggest that paddle wheel boat ride again.)