This was how I felt about Ben's face with a beard at first. It's grown on me now, not literally though! The kids all still say "Ow!" when he kisses them.
Ben's cousin, Phillip, was married in Houston and we made a little family trip out of the trip down for the wedding. Here we go!
First stop, Bluebell ice cream factory. We were so glad that this was right on the way to Houston. After the tour you get to pick out a scoop of ice cream. I got a berry cobbler, Henry got peaches and cream, Ben got a butterfinger type mixture, E got chocolate chip cookie dough, Hannah got crazy cookie dough, William got rainbow sherbet. All were delicious!
After we made it to the hotel, we had a few moments of rest and then made a stop at a nearby Half Price Books. We sure love books! It was hard to leave, but we had to eat!
We found a Mexican place with good reviews and enjoyed a horse statue ride while we waited.
Although we live down the street from a large and beautiful community pool which we go to often, there is just something magical about a hotel pool! We had a fun time getting our energy out.
This trip helped us realize that our kids are getting to big to fit 3 in one bed! Bummer! They were troopers and snuggled up close.
William said a few times that he never wanted to leave this place. While I was grateful for a nice place to stay, I was also feeling grateful that all 6 of us don't live in one little room all the time!
Hannah enjoyed the view.
Here we are at the Houston Temple for the wedding!
The girls were so hot and ended up dipping their heads in the fountain when everyone's backs were turned.
These two are so sweet!
So are these four!
Ben's sweet cousin, Autumn, braved watching all of our kids while we were in the temple.
There's nothing like a Great Grandmother! We loved the moments we got to spend with Ben's Grandma Wyeth.
We miss living by family. Each of the kids really enjoyed their special time with Grandma.
As if you couldn't tell, Hannah really looks up to Autumn! I think seeing Autumn was the part of the trip Hannah was most excited about!
This is Ben's sweet Aunt Toni and mother of the groom
This is one of my favorite pics taken by Ben.
The bride and groom! She snuck up and gave him a kiss.
We just about melted to smithereens during photos so we went to a nearby mall and cooled off.
We met the family at Cracker Barrel and had a nice lunch. We love family!
While everyone else drove home, we headed an hour southeast to Texas City. We went to the Kemah pier. We were RIGHT next to NASA space center, but we just didn't plan for it time or money wise, so next time I hope we'll get to go there.
There are a few catfood dispensers where you can buy cat food and throw it to the cat fish. Henry expressed our sentiments when he leaned over, saw the fish and said, "eeeeew."
I know biased, but I think my girls are so pretty! I love Evelyn's hair!
Daddy's girl
This picture makes me laugh!
On Friday we drove to Galveston and spent 5 hours on the beach, not doing much more than what the pictures show. It was so nice to not worry about time and just play on the sand and shore. Ben and Evelyn spent their time gathering hermit crabs. We got quite a load but didn't get any pictures. It was fun to let them go and watch them bury themselves up.
Hannah and William have learned to swim this summer (Hannah learned last summer) but I make them wear floaties in the ocean anyways!
Oh Henry!
Wheeeeeeeeeeee!
Henry was sidestepping and watching his shadow be a robot.
Will and the beach
Hooray for family and vacations! It's so fun to explore Texas a bit while we are here and we were so happy to see some family and especially a beautiful wedding.
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