COUSINS

I started a tradition last year of having all 5 grandkids with us for one week (Monday-Friday) and going somewhere and doing some special things with them.  They really love each other and enjoy each other's company.  But, they don't get to spend much time together. So, I thought I would side-step the busy schedules of each family and get "the cousins" together.  I really wish I would have started this much, much sooner.  Mr. W thought I had lost my mind when I told him that I wanted to do this last year! After it was over, he agreed that it needed to become a yearly trip.

So, the dates for our fun "cousin time" was June 11-June 15.  However, Daughter remarried on June 7th and went on a honeymoon, so we had her 2 starting June 7th.  Of course, they were very anxious for their cousins to be with us and finally, the day before we were to leave, the cousins showed up.

We checked into Jamaica Beach RV Resort in Galveston, TX on June 11th.  Jamaica Beach RV is a great place to be.  They have 2 swimming pools, a splash pad, 2 hot tubs and have recently completed a Lazy River.  The Lazy River is awesome.  It is long enough to make you feel like you have made a good trek around and it is just deep enough that while in a tube, your feet don't drag the bottom. They have a miniature golf course.  It is literally across the street from a good stretch of beach.  They have 3 laundry rooms, plenty of free DVDs to check out, and an on-site pizza place.  The staff there is very eager to please also. I would highly recommend this park.

We arrived Monday afternoon and the kids, along with me, hit the Lazy River.  The weather has been crazy hot.  The water was very refreshing.  Tuesday morning, we headed to the Pleasure Pier.  This is a pier out over the Gulf with rides and arcade games. None of the kids had been there.  We got there when it opened and until about 2:00, there were very few people there.  We could ride a ride and just stay on it and ride again and again if we wanted.  By about 2:00, there were enough people that we had to get off the rides and get back in line.  We would either get back on because the line was almost non-existent, or we might have to wait through one ride.  It was awesome.

We used the log ride to keep cool!

Wednesday, we headed to Schlitterbahn.  My friend, Terri, and her 2 DILs and 8 grandchildren met us there.  We had a ton of fun.  The kids had a lot of freedom through the park which they totally loved. One nice thing about Schlitterbahn is they let you bring in ice chests, food, drinks, etc.  I didn't get any pics because I couldn't keep up with the kids.  When you get freedom to not be with an adult all day, you make sure you move quick enough to stay away from the adults!  Mr. W and I did run into 2 of the kids and they wanted us to ride a ride with them and of course we did. Everyone was really tired by about 3:00, so we left. 

Thursday was beach day.  Mr. W was in his element.  He brought his surfboard hoping that at least one of his grandchildren would spark an interest in surfing.  Well, we can mark Boy-child off the list, but ALL of his granddaughters wanted to learn how to stand up on the board and ride the wave.

Friday was check-out day.  Daughter's two girls were going to their Dad's for the weekend. So, Son's 3 kids were with us until the following Wednesday.  We decided to take them to "the lake", get the boat out and do a little tubing!

The weather turned ugly, which is not good when you are wanting to tube and ski.  We ended up going to the movies and seeing The Incredibles 2.  Good movie!  By Wednesday, they were ready to go home and I was t-i-r-e-d!

The oldest 2 grandchildren are twins and they turned 13 this year.  Boy-child really didn't want to come with us this year, but he did.  This may have been my last year to have them come with us because they won't want to.  That is why I wish I would have started this earlier.  Maybe I'll get at least one more year.  We will see.  But, I can tell you this, the kids had a GREAT time.  There is nothing better than cousin time.