Our FIRST Camping Trip!

Jellystone, here we come...
look at that handsome boy doing some fishing!

Mommy even allowed an ice cream sandwich...crazy, I know!

view from our cabin with NO neighbors...it was empty!!

the highlight of the cabin...the loft! Totally cool :)

look at those barefoot brothers! HILARIOUS!!!

My gosh, I should have captured this on video...Daddy loved this huge slide and did it over and over again! He was smiling so big on his way down! Then Mommy decided to try it and I screamed the entire way down...so fast and I flew off the slide!

building a fire...

Since Daddy took vacation for Justin's birthday party, this week we really didn't have big plans and decided to plan a last minute camping trip to Jellystone Park in Waller, Texas!
Our first family camping trip was a SUCCESS! The boys had a blast! We brought NO toys from home, so instead...they played with sticks, rocks and pine cones so NO FIGHTING :) Yay! We walked, swam, did water slides for hours, watched movies on logs at the outdoor theatre, built a fire, roasted s'mores, went fishing, and even played mini golf! This place was SO much fun and we're already preparing to book another trip this summer! We were shocked that it was SO empty, but school isn't out yet so it was the perfect time-totally NOT crowded! Yay! We met some pretty cool families too! We loved watching these boys explore the outdoors. We should have known they'd love it since they pretty much stay outside 24/7 in our backyard, but it was MORE than we ever imagined! The smiles never left their faces, their feet were barefoot and filthy the whole time and they LOVED every second of it! Justin tried to eat pine cones and dirt, and screamed with excitement when he saw Yogi and Boo Boo! SO MUCH FUN!

We love taking the boys to new and exciting places, but with most trips, we are always so tired from going SO fast with resorts, amusement parks, eating, driving that we feel like the time goes by too quickly but with this trip, we were able to do ALL of the things these boys love and things we love too! We were NEVER stressed, pressed for time, rushing around, or even slightly exhausted because it was all so relaxing! The boys played outside from morning until night, and at dark we'd take a walk to the outdoor theatre to watch a movie of the night..SO NEAT and then roast marshmallows, of course! The boys would bathe the dirt off of them, well most of it anyway! And they'd crash...we'd drink adult beverages and then in the morning, I'd drink my coffee on the porch in total silence, only listening to nature...it sounds SO cheesy, but it was totally perfect! I can see why people invest in RV's and trailers! Our kids would LOVE that :)

*Just wanna thank you all for your sweet comments regarding Justin's choo-choo birthday, he sure loved it and we did too! Hopefully he is able to look back when he's older and he'll appreciate us making his birthday memorable and special :)

Choo Choo...Justin is TWO!

I don't even know where to begin...his birthday party was SO much fun! We decided that with his LOVE for trains, the Galveston Railroad Museum would be a great venue! The museum was destroyed by Hurricane Ike and has just now re-opened and with the help of thousands of volunteers, a lot of the trains have been restored :) We started the party off with a peak at a steam engine...very cool! Then, once all of the guests arrived, they enjoyed pizza and then it was time to ride the train! The mini-train is SO super cute and the kiddos loved it! The entire ride through The Strand, Justin was yelling..."Mommy, I hear the choo choo going wooo woooo!!" He was SO excited! After TONS of people up and down The Strand yelled, Happy Birthday to Justin, it was time to head inside the dining car for cake and singing! SO FUN! It was getting a little toasty in the dining car, so after some of our guests had to leave early for nap time :( We headed off to tour the museum! SO COOL! Tons of trains, historial information, whistles, telephone booths, ticket booths, postal and dining railcar's from the 1920's! It was all very cool and this was the kids favorite part...they were running up and down, climbing on every train possible and after THREE hours of Railroad Museum fun, we decided to load up and say our goodbye's! It was a memorable party, our little man will NEVER forget and we were so happy that all of his little friends came along for some fun too! Jacob was SO mad that "his" friends weren't there, but he said Justin's party was still pretty cool and he now has a crush on Justin's friends' sister! Ha!! We ended the day by opening all of the gifts at home-he got some pretty cool stuff! and then we TRIED giving him a nap but he was SO excited from his happy day, that we listened on the monitor as he said, "Happy Birthday dear choo choo"...OVER AND OVER AGAIN...I guess he had fun??! So, no nap that day but that's ok!! Birthday's only happen once a year!!!