Part II: Days 3 & 4

We woke up late Monday morning. Some with suntans, some with sunburns, and some with dollar signs in their eyes. It was "Shopping Day" for Grayson and his girls, and "Golf Day" for the boys.

Us girls were off to Fredricksburg to spend the money that had been burning holes in our pockets.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing If you've never been to Fredricksburg; think a street full of boutiques on both sides and little German pubs. It is a shopper's paradise full of treasures and trinkets and couture clothing. Although a little pricey,(you could probably find the exact same trinkets and treasures at Hobby Lobby) it's definitely worth the experience!
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing We had lunch at the Little German Beir Garten and shopped till we dropped!

The boys got to play some serious golf! So serious that the "Marshall" came looking for them wondering how you can tee off at 10 o'clock and not even have made the turn until 2 p.m.???
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing Hey - they were on vacation and were taking their sweet a$$ time!

We all met back up around 4p.m. and started thinking about dinner. Not much to think about when you have a chart the size of a VW bug telling you who's in charge of dinner and exactly what they were making.....It was Spaghetti Night and Amanda and I were in charge.
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After a delish dinner, the boys decided they would play a little more golf.
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Grayson thought putting with a 9 iron was SO fun!!
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The rest of the evening we just played Apples to Apples (a super fun board game)and relaxed......Tuesday morning would be here before we knew it and that's when Nana's whistle would start blowing!

So, remember sweet little Nana??

Not so sweet when she has a whistle around her neck and a clipboard in hand!

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Tuesday was the dreaded "Relay Day" for us old folks....we were awakened by a whistle (No. I'm. not. kidding.) and then forced to finish our breakfast in 5 seconds flat. A fog horn let us know that it was time to get our running shoes on and if we were late running down the steps we would be handed a demerit!

We were divided into 2 teams. Red and blue. Directions were given and we would battle it out to the death
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing.....or at least until lunch.....whichever came first!

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There's nothing like bobbin' for marshmellows in a bowl of flour on a 90 degree day, is there honey???

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Both teams were neck and neck the whole day
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but after a quick game of "Flossy Flamingo", Team Red took the lead and declared a victory!!
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How sweet it was!!
And how pathetic the losers were!!

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It was time for chili dogs and the "Losers" had to prepare AND clean up lunch!
Victory was AWESOME!!
Before dinner, we decided to go paddle-boating
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Very relaxing.
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This is priceless!
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Don't worry Bubba, PawPaw wouldn't forget you!
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I've never seen you sit so still for so long.....
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After dinner, it was time for roastin' marsh mellows and eatin' smores around the fire pit. Another "first" for Grayson
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I think he liked it, what do you think??
Here's Nana relaxing after a long day of whistle blowing!
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Mommy and Daddy sharing a smores and listening to the longest. ghost. story...EVER!
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But it was spooky PawPaw.....really.....it was. Really. No. Really.

After smores, we played Night Lines. This is SO fun!! We usually play at Christmas time. It's where you divide into 2 teams with flashlights (you only play in the dark) and you have to hunt for either the letter "V" or "Y" (depending on which team you are on) in the dark. Seriously, so FUN!! The letters are made with reflective tape and placed on little black squares of construction paper and then mounted on a tree or a fence or a scary little farmhouse....you get it, right? So, since we were staying on a golf course.....Nana and PawPaw hid the letters accordingly.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing It's kinda scary, especially after hearing ghost stories and seeing it lightning in the hills ahead of us and only having a little ol' flashlight as your only means of light. So, the point is to find all your hidden letters (plus a bonus "X") before the other team and get back to "base" before them.
Kevin, Tristan, and I won!! We had secret, strategic methods that I'm not at liberty to discuss.

There was a terrible storm later that night....just perfect for continuing our ghost story telling. Our power went out a half a dozen times, which made it even scarier!

We all slept like babies that night and the next morning was our last. We cleaned up and cleared out and were on the road by 11, heading home. We stopped around Round Rock and had a picnic and then stopped for a blizzard and then we were on our way.

Despite the bickering, mosquito bites, and not having a crib....it was seriously the BEST TRIP EVER!!! Thank you Nana and PawPaw for taking us and spoiling us rotten.

Grayson made an everlasting bond with you all and I'm so blessed that he's part "Moody"......I'm looking forward to next summer already!!

1st Annual Moody/Richards Vacation: Part I

So it's been almost a week and I finally feel rested enough to sort through the hundreds of pictures from our trip and share them with you. Sorry it took so long.

Just a warning that I may have to break this up into two posts.....we will see.....there's just SO much to share.

It all started with toes and an amazing husband who wouldn't touch mine with a 10 foot pole until I had a pedicure. I had been meaning to get one for weeks but just couldn't find the time.....so the night before we left, he said he had a surprise for me and whisked me away to Top Nails (very classy) and we both got a spa pedi. Yes, I said "both". Kevin had never had one (except from me) and decided he needed a little pamperin' too! He said we needn't scare away Shamu so this was highly necessary.

I promised I wouldn't share ANY of this with you, nor would I take pictures of said fabulous pedi date......but I lied....both times.

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We spent the night with Nana and Pawpaw and bright and early at the butt crack of dawn, we started our vacation. Five minutes till six a.m., we were on the road...all ten of us, in three separate vehicles. Unfortunately for Kevin, Starbucks is unheard of until you get on I35.....we had a ways to go!

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My nephew, Tristan, rode with us to entertain Mr. Grayson. He brought his portable TV with lots of doggie movies and lots of snacks.

We were heading to the Hill Country to stay on a golf course/ranch in a 3 bedroom cabin.

I had NO idea how absolutely breathtaking it would be!
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This would be our back yard for the next four days.

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I never wanted to leave!

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I would lay out in my swim suit, in a hammock, reading a romantic love story about vampires, while sipping on pina coladas, while Ricardo gently placed sweet grapes in my......woah!Wait a sec...wrong vacation!

This was more like....hmmm, think summer camp, with charts telling who was in charge of cooking each day and night and who was on clean up duty. We had a whistle-blowing, clipboard-holding camp counselor/Nana/Mom. We even had a day of relay races!! We were on a strict schedule from breakfast till dinner, making sure we fit all of our activities in for the day.

Meet Counselor Debbie a.k.a. my mom!
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Oh yeh....she just looks innocent! More on that later.

We spent Saturday afternoon unpacking, fishing, and lounging.

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All the kids caught a fish!!

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Including Grayson.

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Pawpaw had to explain that little fish need to grow big and strong before we can keep them.
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Kaitlyn even caught a huge catfish!!
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Her Daddy's was a little sad looking!

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We ate a yummy dinner and then went to sleep early. The next day was SEA WORLD!!!

We woke up early again so that we could make it to San Antonio by 10 a.m. It was about 1 1/2 hours away. When we got there, we lubed up with sunscreen and ran around like banshees for about an hour. We had to hit the spray park for a quick second to cool off
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printingthen it was time to meet Shamu!
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We had our popcorn and a seat in the splash zone and were ready and waiting.

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These creatures are simply amazing! I had cold chills the entire show.....how does God create something so majestic, yet so gentle?

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Grayson thought this was the most fantastic thing he had ever seen!
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing He just sat there with bewildered eyes looking ahead in awe of God's beauty.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo PrintingIt was probably my most treasured memory of the trip.....that, and him catching his own fish.
We had a quick bite to eat and then we were off to ride some rides!

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(I'm in the black shirt and my brother in red)
Here's the kiddos wishing they were just a little bit taller!!

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The water park was next. I had been anticipating this for a whole week!! I only have one picture from the very beginning and then I put my camera in the locker.

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We floated the lazy river for about an hour....it was so relaxing and Grayson loved it! Then Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Scott went off to ride the tube rides and the water chutes. I felt like a giddy 15 year old all over again....screaming the whole way down the tunnel! So FREAKIN' FUN!!
We saw a few more shows...one was a 4D pirate show.....really cute (except for the fact that my son was sitting on my lap ripping toots so loud the people in front of us kept turning around)...must have been those $11 personal pizzas from lunch? :) I was SOOOO embarrassed!!!

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We stayed till close (8 p.m.).....little man did SO good without a nap, but I could tell he was running low on energy. We stopped at Rudy's for some outdoor BBQ and he could barely keep his eyes open to eat. He was out by the time we got back on the Interstate.

And that, my friends, was only day 2!! Stay tuned!

Fun Clip Friday

Pause the music first (little pink box on the right)


Here's just a teaser to entertain you till I muster up enough energy to fully explain just how FABULOUS our trip was:

Are you ready???

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Watch closely as he desperately tries to shake the fish off in the beginning....poor little fishy!