USS Lexington and Aquarium

Our second full day in Corpus Christi was full of activity.  We toured the USS Lexington.  It is a decommissioned naval aircraft carrier that is permanently docked at Corpus.  I had hoped the the ocean breeze would keep us cool on the ship.  However, that turned out to only be true on the flight deck.  Inside the ship, it was really hot.  It was neat, though, because you can tour the whole ship.  The whole thing is a museum with lots of planes both inside the ship and on the flight deck as well.  Quinn loves anything to do with transportation nowadays, so a place that incorporates both ships and planes was right up his alley.  Aside from it being so warm, it was interesting to visit.

After stopping at a restaurant down the block for a cheeseburger, we walked a little further to the Texas State Aquarium.  It's right on the waterfront and has some great exhibits.  There was a big splash pad in one section.  We hadn't brought the kids swimsuits, so we skipped that part. We had a wonderful time in Corpus Christi!

I'm not sure why his blonde hair looks red here.

Beach Babies Part II

Later that afternoon, we went to McGee Beach right in downtown Corpus Christi.  We figured we had to since it had our name.  That beach was much cleaner (i.e. no seaweed).  The kids got to play in the sand and water some more.  We ended up liking McGee Beach the most and would love to go back there. 

Beach Babies

Mustang Island was a nice state park.  It was windy which was nice since it was hot.  One thing we hadn't anticipated was how much seaweed would be on the beach.  We were on the side of the island that faced the open ocean, so the beach caught all of the seaweed coming in.  Mia had visions of building sand castles, but the vast amounts of seaweed meant that the kids had to play in the drier sand several feet back from the water line.  They still really enjoyed it.  Mia didn't really want to go too far out in the water, though.  The waves made her feel unsteady, so she only got in for a few minutes at a time.  Quinn didn't like the water much at all.  I think it was overwhelming for him.  He liked the beach better.  We also went beachcombing for seashells.  Mia found several that we had to bring home as her shell collection.

Q was ready to get out.

 Can you believe all of the seaweed?

 

Summer Road Trip!

The day after Mia's last day of school, Wes and I loaded the kids in the car and we headed out of town.  A few months ago, we asked Mia where she wanted to go on vacation this summer.  She said the beach because she had never been to one.  We feel like Quinn is still too young for a road trip to anywhere far away like Florida, so we began researching Texas beaches.  We consistently came across Mustang Island off of Corpus Christi as one of the best beaches in Texas, so that's where we went.  The kids are so great at traveling in the car.  They've been back and forth to Oklahoma so much that they are good at keeping themselves entertained.

They read books,

 snuggled with stuffed animals,

 watched movies,

 and slept to pass the time.

Finally, we made it!

 We relaxed in our hotel room for the evening, and got ready for the next day's beach adventure!

 

Last Day of Pre-K

Today was Mia's last day of Pre-K.  She has had such a good year.  Her class had a little end of school ceremony in their classroom.  They sang a few songs and were presented with certificates.  Having a child in school was a big adjustment this year for her and for us.  As always, she adapted to her new environment and learned so much.  She and I went out for pedicures afterward to celebrate the beginning of summer.  Any excuse to pamper ourselves!  I'm so proud of my little girl!