What a week. We spent some time down in Galveston, TX on the beach for four days, soaking up the sun and relaxing in the warm Gulf Breeze. We went with some friends Brad and Amy and their kids. We had a lot of fun while we were there, we had been to Galveston a few times before, but they were all short day trips to the beach. This time we rented a condo that was right on the beach! (Well across the street from the beach) Still, we had a very nice view out our second story balcony. 
We all had a lot of fun, we went to Moody Gardens, and went through the rain forest pyramid, the kids thought that was neat. We saw all sorts of exotic animals and plant life, and the nice thing about it, it had Air Conditioning! We ate dinner one night at the Rainforest Cafe, If you have one nearby, I would highly suggest going, it's a lot of fun, and the food is very good. It's decorated inside to be like a rain forest, and it even rains every so often, (You don't get wet, but there are sounds of thunder and lightning and rainfall that make if feel like it rains) They have life size robotic animals, like elephants and gorillas that react when it rains. They also have a little river raft adventure that the whole family can go on, you float on rafts through the jungle, the boys enjoyed that one. And did I mention the food was good? The Coconut Shrimp was delicious. We spent our last day at the Beach, and Jared got a little sun burnt, well let's just say he looked like a tomato by the time we left. I warned him about the sunscreen. One of the funnest activities that we did while we were there was rent a bike car, and ride it up and down the sea wall. The kids had a blast, they all said that was the thing that they liked the most. Jared and I agreed it was pretty fun too, we rode almost 6 miles on that thing. I loved looking at the kids faces as we rode along the sidewalks.
We all had a lot of fun, we went to Moody Gardens, and went through the rain forest pyramid, the kids thought that was neat. We saw all sorts of exotic animals and plant life, and the nice thing about it, it had Air Conditioning! We ate dinner one night at the Rainforest Cafe, If you have one nearby, I would highly suggest going, it's a lot of fun, and the food is very good. It's decorated inside to be like a rain forest, and it even rains every so often, (You don't get wet, but there are sounds of thunder and lightning and rainfall that make if feel like it rains) They have life size robotic animals, like elephants and gorillas that react when it rains. They also have a little river raft adventure that the whole family can go on, you float on rafts through the jungle, the boys enjoyed that one. And did I mention the food was good? The Coconut Shrimp was delicious. We spent our last day at the Beach, and Jared got a little sun burnt, well let's just say he looked like a tomato by the time we left. I warned him about the sunscreen. One of the funnest activities that we did while we were there was rent a bike car, and ride it up and down the sea wall. The kids had a blast, they all said that was the thing that they liked the most. Jared and I agreed it was pretty fun too, we rode almost 6 miles on that thing. I loved looking at the kids faces as we rode along the sidewalks.
Riding up and down Seawall Blvd 
Christian and Parker at the rain forest Pyramid
Parker, Jared and Jen outside the Rainforest Cafe
The outside of the Rainforest Cafe has a large Volcano that erupts every so often, you can sure feel the heat. 
This was also Parker's first trip to the beach, he loves the water, but was a little hesitant when he stepped out into the water and once he got that salty taste from the water he didnt like it. But by the time we left he was like a little fish and loved the waves splashing on him and playing in the surf. All in all we had a great time, the boys enjoyed it and Jared and I had a really good time. This will be our last vacation for the year until we leave for Disney World on November 9th.
The Birthday Boy, Olivia and Garrett
Our Birthday Boy
The birthday Bash, Christian and all his friends at the roller rink
Opening the presents from Grandma 
Here's Christian going on "The Toilet" (I'm not sure what the real name of it is, but that's what all the kids call it.) It shoots you out in to this big bowl that you swirl around until you drop out the middle, 8 FT into the pool below. I tried it, and all I can say is, I'm getting too old for this stuff.
L-R Tyson, Christian, Brandt and McKenna.
