Galveston, Tx - Our Vacation

Macey's birthday is Monday and all that she wanted was to go to the beach. My husband and I looked around at beaches and thought it would be nice to go to Galveston.
So we skipped the last few days of school and set off to Texas last Sunday.

Many who know me realize I am not fond of long car rides. I come from a long line of Wilson women who get car sick. I get the worst headaches and don't ask me to read a map or read anything or I will get violently ill.

I know, I am a wimp. Usually, what ends up happening is that I either have to drive or I have to sleep.

We get down there without any problems except for a speeding ticket my husband received for going 65 in a 50. The whole thing made us mad. It was one of those areas in the back roads of Louisiana where the speed limit went from 65 to 50 and then back to 65 in a 1 mile stretch. The cop gave us the ticket and gave us this speech that sounded like he had given a thousand times, very rushed and rehearsed. It was a total speed trap.

Anyhoo, it turns out that if you approach Galveston from a certain direction you have to ride a ferry to the island. We figured this out after sitting in traffic for a hour thinking there was a wreck or something. It was very exciting once you got on the ferry.

We stayed at the Country Inn which was directly across the street from the beach. The next morning we went to the beach and spent most of the day there. It was very nice. Chase collected about 100 shells and insisted I save every one of them. The waves were nice and you could see fish swimming in the waves. The wind was blowing and it wasn't too hot.

You know, when I am sitting on a beach something clicks inside of me. Like maybe I was meant to be there. I really feel like I am going to end up living by one when I get older.

At night you can walk on the beach and see little hermit crabs on the pier when the tide goes out. Chase said he loved us during this walk. Just out of the blue, gave Charles and I a hug and said "I love you". First time he has ever said it, very big step for a little autistic boy. I cried a little.

Chase with a Hermit Crab

My kids after walking on the beach at night. Before we went, I thoroughly explained that we were NOT swimming, we were just walking. In this picture, they are soaking wet and Macey lost a flip-flop out in the ocean. Chase is shirtless because he gave his shirt to Macey when she complained about being wet and cold. They follow directions so well.

We saw the movie Battleship which was very good. Chase wants to see it again.

I took the kids to Moody Gardens. They had an aquarium, a rainforest, a river boat ride, and a real human body exhibit.

 Butterfly Garden in Rainforest

 Macey loved the parrots

 The Riverboat Ride

 You can't see it very well but there was a huge jelly fish in the water. The tenticles must have been 6 feet long. Made me think the next time I went swimming at the beach. :/

 The guy in front is cleaning the walls of the shark tank. The guy with the little 2 foot long piece of PVC pipe is watching for sharks. Not enough money in the world.

In the shark cage

The human body exhibit was very interesting. They had a smoker's lung and a healthy lung. I don't think my kids will take up smoking anytime soon. Macey had lots of questions and I think she learned a lot, especially in the reproductive section. I swore when I became a mom that I was not going to be shy about anything with my kids. She asked about the male and female parts that were on display in a case and I told her all about them. I know this older women kept looking at me funny when I was explaining to Macey about penises and vaginas.

She could just get over that because I need to be the first person to explain human anatomy to my child.  

P.S. -If you go to the rainforest section of Moody Gardens bring bug spray. The whole experience is very authentic, mosquitos and all. The woman selling us the tickets warned us they were especially bad but I assured her I was from Mississippi, I could handle a few mosquitoes. She wasn't lying, there were a ton of them, I must have been bit 30 times.

On our last day we went to Schlitterbahn Waterpark. It was really nice because we were there while school was still in and there were hardly any people there. The bad part is that I quickly discovered I am totally out of shape for this. We would climb up 6 flights of steps (while carrying a 20 pound double tube) to go down these water slides and since there were no lines you immediately got on the ride and went down.

So basically it was running up steps till you thought you were going to have a cardiac arrest and then immediately going down a ride which made you nauseaus.

Of course, as soon as you got to the bottom the kids wanted to do the horrible cycle all over again. I would have killed to stand in a line.This would be a great summer weight loss program, running up stairs and being to nauseaus to eat anything.  In the end, it was worth it though because the kids had a blast. We lied and said the park was closing at 3 so we could go back to the hotel and take a nap, even though it really closed at 5.

Of course our vacations also center around eating. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe, Joe's Crab Shack (twice), Mario's Italian Restaraunt, and Saltgrass Steak House.

 So nice, we went twice!!

So overall it was a good vacation. I wouldn't mind going again.

The Tooth Fairy makes me Uncomfortable

Communication and honesty is the cornerstone of every relationship. We have read this in all the self-help books. Telling the person you love your feelings and what is on your mind with honesty is vital. Honesty is important to me with my kids. Macey and I have had very candid discussions about everything from babies to money.
That being said, when the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and Santa come around I feel squeamish.

I feel guilty when these holidays roll around because it doesn't sit right with me. Don't get me wrong, I understand the excitement of thinking the Easter Bunny is coming. I wouldn't take that away from them but it feels wrong when I talk about Tooth Fairy leaving money under their pillow. Am I the only one? Do you remember when you finally learned that none of it was true? I remember and I guess I was a little hurt.
So now that you know how I feel about being honest with my kids I have a sad story to tell. We have been keeping our parakeet cage on the back porch. I started doing this because these birds throw their food about two feet in all directions from their cage. It makes for a messy floor. I thought since the weather was warm and there were lots of wild birds in the backyard that we would start keeping them back there. Macey didn't like it, she wanted them inside. I assured her they would be fine. Afterall, it is a fenced in backyard, they are on a high table against a brick wall in a covered area. The wild birds would hang around their cage eating stray seeds. It seemed perfect. I was so sure.
Last week I woke up to find the cage strewn across the back porch. Something had pulled it off the table and the birds were gone. My heart broke for Macey. We loved those things. She drew pictures and talked about them all the time.

I was unsure of what to do. For a minute, I was thinking about how I could get matching birds quickly and replace them. That felt wrong though. I decided I would tell her but not until after school that day. I had this wild hope that they would fly back if some stupid cat hadn't eaten them. Their wings are clipped but they could still fly a small distance. I searched the woods behind our house but didn't see them. Truthfully, our woods are full of birds and I wouldn't blame them if they didn't come back. Our woods are like that scene in Rio where all the birds are flying around the jungle singing and dancing.

When I told Macey, she was so sad. She walked outside in the rain looking for herself. Macey cried and claimed that she is going to keep looking for them. It hurt my heart. I told her if they weren't back by next week we would get her some more and make sure they stay inside. Maybe I should have lied and got her replacement birds before she noticed the first ones were gone, to save her from all this heartache. I have never felt this bad for Macey before. I guess that is life and part of being a parent. This desperate feeling inside to make it all better is overwhelming. I want to buy the girl 20 parakeets and just make her room a giant bird cage. That could get messy though....maybe that is not such a great idea.
I think I am going to get her two parakeets and surprise her with them at her class birthday party on Thursday. Moving on.

Missing Mrs.Missy

Teacher Appreciation Week is next week and our family appreciates all the hard work the teachers at Beechwood have done for our kids. Especially Chase's autism teacher, Mrs. Missy Broome. This woman is excellent. Every time I walk into my son's class she is active, excited and involved. He has advanced leaps and bounds under her care the past couple of years. I drop Chase off at school and thank God everyday he is in good hands. It takes a special person to do what Missy does. A special education teacher must have dedication and perseverance and she has it.

The other day Missy told me she is going to the high school next year to work with the special education kids. When she told me I lost it a little and I cried right there in front of her and every kid in the car rider area. I think I even at one point asked her if Chase could just go with her next year to the high school. That of course was not an option, because well, Chase is only 9.

So, I do not know who Chase is getting next year but Missy will be missed. But if I stop and think about it, Chase will see her again. In a few years he will be back with her at the high school and that is comforting. Thank you Missy for all your hard work and I hope you know our family is eternally grateful.