Summer Fun at the Beach

Today we woke up, threw on our swimsuits, and headed South to Galveston Island. Although we were there less than a year ago, the great storm Ike really transformed the Island, so we had heard, so we decided to go take a look. Surprisingly, the majority of our favorite places look unchanged if not spiffier due to new signage and structural changes. A few landmarks are gone, maybe forever, but we were pleasantly surprised by the resiliency of the island. The beach was cleaner than ever, and we parked on the seawall to jump into the waves. The 3 of of had a blast burying each other in the sand, boogy boarding, and jumping waves. Even though we've been battling record breaking heat in Houston (104 degree temps!) the gulf breeze kept us cool, and we stayed under the umbrella or in the water. After several hours of hard beach play, we decided to venture out for a seafood bite. We moseyed over to the Sunflower Cafe and Bakery, a recommendation from a Woodvillian friend who has a home in Galveston. Maybe we were just famished, but the meal was the best we've had in a while! Mom ate crab cakes with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, Dad had shrimp etouffee, and I gobbled up a huge plate of pancakes, eggs and sausage--what a feast! We headed home after that (I dozed off right away, of course) and are now getting ready to hop the train to Minute Maid Park to see the 'Stros. Let's hope they can put up a decent fight tonight, fingers crossed! I've also included some pics of our recent trip to Dallas. We had lots of fun visiting with all our friends and staying with the Brauns. Our wonderful hosts threw a huge barbeque the first night we arrived, and it was a blast to see all our old neighbors, Moms Club and church friends. The last night we were there, Mrs. Petra busted out the playstation karaoke Abba style. It was so much fun to sing and dance to the moms' favorite songs (whenever we could pry the mic away from those women!) Apparently Mom and Mrs. Petra were practicing for their big sing-off during their girls' weekend in Houston. Thank goodness I'll be in Poplar Bluff!