Party of Five: Getaway Weekend with the Girls

We had a wonderful weekend getaway from home with the girls. It started a day earlier than we had planned due to the discovery of mice(!) in our house. Paul was so freaked out about all the places they had visited(everywhere but bathrooms, Kaitlyn's room, and the study) that he decided to book a last minute hotel room Saturday night. We got a room at a four-star hotel (Westin Oaks) for $65 thanks to Priceline....wooohoo! We didn't get there until almost 6:00 so we tried to jam in some fun in a very short amount of time! We cruised the mall, ate at the Cheesecake Factory, went to see the Wall of Water by the Galleria(about 10 seconds before they turned out the lights at 9:00, which I found ridiculous!!!), settled in for the night and fell asleep around 10:30. We got up the next morning to get breakfast at Starbucks(for some) and Dunkin' Donuts(for the rest of us) and then headed back to the Wall of Water so we could actually see it. Very beautiful up close, wish we could have seen it for more than 10 seconds with the lights on at night! And of course, Emma was running and slipped and got all wet. Luckily, they were already wearing swimsuits under their clothes, so she just wandered around in her swimsuit bottoms. Then off to the Downtown Aquarium we went, with Emma's skirt hanging out the window to dry off. We had a blast at the aquarium......rode the train, Ferris wheel, carousel, and Lighthouse Dive(except for Emma). The girls played in the fountains for a while(hence, the swimsuits), and then changed and toured the aquarium. We ate at the cool restaurant, and then played games(and won prizes), got faces painted(or an arm, in Emma's case), and rode the rides for a while. We left around 4:00 and headed for Galveston. We had the hardest time finding our hotel, but after several stops to ask directions and call the place, we finally arrived! Another great deal on Priceline, $120 for a big room with TWO KING BEDS, right across the street from the beach. After checking in, we spent about an hour on the beach, another hour at the pool(so Lauren could show Paul how she could FINALLY swim on her own), changed quickly and went to get something to eat and for a quick stop at the grocery store. After showering the girls in their goggles(I have issues with taking baths in hotel tubs and the twins have issues with getting shower spray in their eyes) and a quick movie, we were all in bed by 10:00. The next day we woke up bright and early, I organized everything at the hotel while Paul went back to the grocery store to get us lunch and munchies for the day along with ice for the cooler. After eating breakfast at the hotel, we headed to Schlitterbahn. We got there and they opened up before 10:00, and we got right to having fun. Oh my, SO much fun, but SO tiring....which didn't hit us until the ride home 10 hours later! Of course, we made the classic mistake of riding the scariest ride first, so Lauren was a little freaked out for the first hour or so. In fact, after calming her down with the kiddy pool and slides for a bit and then moving on to the Lazy River and white water "rapids", she said the funniest thing. Clutching onto me in the tube, she was crying and screamed, "I don't ever want to come to this water park EVER again!" Poor thing! And me being the awesome mommy that I am, I forced her to ride the rapids again! Halfway through, she was giggling and having a blast. We went on lots of rides (each time with Lauren asking if it was going to be scary and/or in the dark), but spent a good portion of our day on the Lazy River/White Water Rapids/Torrent River......SO much fun. All the girls wound up loving it.....I am sure we will go back again next summer. The one really hard thing? Having a family of 5. For most of the rides, Paul and I each had to have a twin, so Kaitlyn was left on her own(next to or behind/in front of us of course) quite a bit, which I felt bad about. She was great about it and never complained, and we took any opportunity we could to have one of us ride with her. Maybe next year we can go with another family so she can buddy up with someone her age......hint, hint Marla!!! :) We didn't leave there until after 6:30, so by the time we got home, we were all so tired. We fed the girls and had them sleep in the game room since they were all stinky from the day. (We did baths/showers first thing this morning!!!) So much fun......but Paul and I are REALLY looking forward to relaxing during our trip to CA that he won through his company......