South Padre

I’m baaaack! I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging during our trip to South Padre Island and after we got back home. We’re now in the swing of things getting back to school and work, blah!

But, we had a WONDERFUL time on our vacation to South Padre. Stella absolutely loved the sand and water. I have never seen a kid take to the beach like she did. I can tell you – I did not feel the same way about the beach when I was her age. My family still laughs about how I hated the sand in between my toes and I would not sit down in the sand for fear of getting “dirty” {which, I may or may not still hate sitting in the sand!}.

We decided to leave for Padre at midnight so that Stella could sleep most of the 9-hour drive. Blake’s dad rode with us and the drive felt so fast {I’m sure Blake feels otherwise}! We stayed in a condo with Ryan and Micah {Blake’s sister and her husband} and Greg, Blake’s dad. The condo was perfect for our needs and it was beachfront, so we could just sit on the balcony and see the ocean.

We ate the best seafood – in fact, we liked one restaurant {shout out to Dirty Al’s} so much that we ate there two nights in a row! The shrimp are to die for!

All in all, we had such a special time with Blake’s family and getting to see our little sweetheart enjoy the beach! Here are some {and by “some” I mean “a lot”} of my favorite pics from that week!

{I adore this picture of Blake and Stella feeding the seagulls}

{PURE JOY}

{The view from our condo}

{Biker babe...in a diaper}

{I am so glad she does not take after me - she LOVES the sand. So much so that she was eating it!}

{Someone had a messy diaper...so Blake's aunt helped us do a diaper change with a pail of water. Then, I had to be redneck and let Stella run around in her birthday suit!}

{This girl caught on real fast with how to use a shovel and pail}

{My love}

{Dressed for dinner - in her TOMS}

{Festive with her red, white, and blue bikini}

{Melt.my.heart.}

{More playing in the sand}

{Please don't judge me for this hair...it was WINDY!}

{The little mermaid}

{The little pirate}

{Being goofy}

{She'll be a natural boogie boarder one day}

{Her favorite spot in the condo...in a cabinet in the bathroom}

{About to go night fishing}

{My beautiful sister-in-law...heading to watch our hubbies fish...BORING!}

{Blake kept catching these things, dont know their names, but apparently they'll make you REALLY sick if you touch them}

{Running around the beach}

{At Dirty Al's eating shrimp...these boys LOVED their New Orleans style boiled shrimp}

{So happy with her sand}

{my little family - can't say I was having a great hair day here, either}

{Micah, Ryan, Greg, Stella, Me, and Blake}

{More of the family!}

{I may or may not have sat here almost the whole day - I'm kind of big on the shade}

{Playing in the waves}

{Photo Op at the Souvenier Shop - I'm a rhymer ;)}

{My souvenier - a photo album!}

{The beach was PACKED on July 4th}

{Abbott gals}

{Her 4th of July outfit}

{Ka-Boom! We had the best view from the balcony}

{Luckily, she did this most of the drive home}

{We made a little stop in Gruene on our way home - I absolutely love this little town}

{My favorite wine store in Gruene - lots of great memories here while Blake and I were dating}

{Blake's cousin, Madeline, rode home with us, so we drove her around the Texas State campus to try and persuade her this was the best school! I LOVE this place!}