Beach Trip!

(A family picture taken in front of the scary, run-down pier near our beach house.)

The complete Starling family just returned home from a trip down to the gulf coast of Texas. We rented a beach house on the Bolivar Penninsula which is near Galveston. It was awesome. Our days consisted of hanging out with coffee in the morning and watching the waves from our deck. Then we took turns running on the beach while the other watched the Samster. After showering and getting ready we would take the ferry over to Galveston where we'd grab a bite for lunch, drive around for a bit, then head home to drink more coffee, read, and play on the beach with Sam and Ani. We didn't have cable, so I got to spend a lot of free time reading and crushing Jim in Settlers of Catan. Two games in a row! It was so nice to be away from home and all the chores and projects that stare me in the face everyday. Sam's favorite part of the trip was climbing up and down the stairs to the house and over the sand dune. She also loved the fish and animals at the Rainforest Cafe in Galveston. She probably would have loved the indoor waterpark if it had been open while we were there. I planned poorly and the waterpark didn't open until the day after we left. Well, poo on them, they won't get our business then! She didn't care much for walking on the beach, although she did stop pouting for a few minutes to search for some seashells. Ani's favorite part was playing in the ocean and chasing balls. Jim's favorite part, as well as mine, was walking on the beach with the family and enjoying the good weather.
Now we're back home staying warm inside because we've had a freezing, rainy day today. We even had some thunder and lightning which I thought was weird because usually that comes with warm weather, but whatever. Soon we'll be putting Sammie to bed and watching all our shows that we DVR'd from the past week! I already watched American Gladiators from Monday. Is anyone else as excited as I am that this show is back on? My brother and I have phone conversations discussing the gladiators and the contenders. We were pretty into the show when we were kids so of course we've got to watch it now! Too bad I didn't know about it or I would have tried out! I could whip all their behinds!