Our Life, the Howards: Galveston

In the midst of all the worrying and testing for Baby Raptor, Matt and I had a very small window of opportunity where I was done teaching, he was off work, and his summer semester had not started yet. Knowing that we couldn't get the girls that far away because we only had a couple of days, we decided to take a mini vacation down to Galveston. We were glad to get out of the house and change our pace a bit, but given the opportunity again we would go somewhere with more than one room so the girls could get a decent nap and a place where we could either relax by a pool or at a decent beach. MacKenzie is the best traveler. I think she may be even better at it than Matt or I. Granted, she was rapidly dividing her cells and forming into life when Matt and I went on our big European trip so maybe it is imprinted on the very essence of her being. And she did go to New York once inside me and once when she was about 9 months old...so she has this down pat. She is flexible with resting, is willing to go and see as much as she can, and smiled and said "Hi" to as many people as she could. Keegan...is...not a good traveler. The girl spent most of the vacation crying or playing a game Matt and I have affectionately termed as "up down". It is a very easy game to understand, if she is up, she wants down, if she is down, she wants up. And we played this many, many, many hours of the trip. It was well worth it though.

We splurged on a two day pass at Moody Gardens, knowing that we aren't the Galveston beach kind of people and thoroughly enjoyed it. The rainforest pyramid was ok, but it was very similar to the butterfly pyramid here in Houston. MacKenzie and Matt got to enjoy an imax movie and we spent a few hours playing at the small water park attached to Moody Gardens. Our absolute favorite part (and one we could spend hours at) was the aquarium pyramid. We went there both days and delighted in showing the girls the huge array of animals there. The girls loved it all, but especially loved the seals. The seal tank covers several "levels" so you can see them swimming around. And thankfully they have conditioned the seals to swim by the windows as much as possible. The girls shrieked and squealed with delight to watch them swimming and dancing in the water. They were giggling and laughing so much that other visitors would stop to watch MacKenzie and Keegan for a few minutes before moving on. Matt and I probably could have taken a girl in each of our laps and entertained them for at least an hour before wanting or needing to move to the next animal. If we went back, we would just buy the admission to that pyramid and spend our whole day there!

In all fairness, Keegan did get a huge kick out of the ocean. One night before dinner we walked over to the ocean so both girls could walk around on the beach and tickle their toes in the water. MacKenzie, in true Mac fashion, hated it. She couldn't stand that her feet were dirty (despite my attempts to explain to her that sandals were meant for the sand), she was afraid of the ocean water, didn't like the seaweed everywhere, and wanted to leave as soon as possible. Keegan on the other hand, loved the ocean. That child would have dove in head first and swam away to be a mermaid if we had let her. Showing absolutely no fear, she ran as fast as her chubby legs would carry her towards the waves, plopped in, and started to splash and crawl around. We couldn't keep her out of the water without picking her up (which carrying around a muddy and ocean water baby was not what we had planned on...oops) and tearing her away from her beloved ocean. I am so glad that she got to enjoy a small part of our trip. MacKenzie is so like me...she is so hesitant, so fearful of the unknown, fearful of not doing something perfectly that she misses out on experiences, and the kicker...she regrets it after. When talking to her that night, you could tell that she wistfully recalled not getting into the ocean and wishes that she had. I hope I can encourage her to try these things more often.