~*~ The Reynolds Family ~*~: Galveston Island Vacation

Wayne wasn't interested in taking a family vacation this summer, but that didn't stop me and the girls from taking one! Not feeling up to fighting Houston traffic after the 3 1/2 hour drive from Dallas, we stayed in The Woodlands (a northern suburb of Houston) for the first night and continued our Drive to Galveston the next morning. I couldn't believe how excited the girls were just to stay in a hotel... and eat at Red Robin. We probably could have just gone back home the next day and they would have thought our trip was fantastic!

On day 2 we made our 1 1/2 hour drive down to Galveston Island and enjoyed the rest of the day relaxing at the beach.

We discovered a new little friend... Yummy! :)

Emily's goal was to pick up every last sea shell... she spent a majority of the day doing this and collected quite a haul!

It doesn't matter where we are, Megan loves to chase birds! She made a few feathered friends by sharing her Goldfish crackers!

On Day 3 We visited Moody Gardens. It was a wonderful place to spend the day. There was a great Aquarium, Rain Forest, 3D IMAX theater, 4D theater and a Paddle Wheel Boat ride. The buildings were different colored pyramids... the one shown here is the Rain Forest Pyramid.

The girls are ready for a dive with the sharks!

"Here fishy, fishy"

My cute little amphibians!

Here we are waiting for our 3D IMAX movie to begin... we saw Wild Ocean. Megan thought the fish were right in front of her and she was trying to grab them throughout the entire movie... it was pretty funny! Later in the day we attended a 4D movie which also had a little water spraying at us and the seats would vibrate and when they showed a snake on the screen we felt a little whip on our back from the chair... at that point Megan was insistent on leaving because she had to go to the ladies room... but once we got out of the theater she no longer had to go... I think she was just embarrassed to admit that she was scared since everyone else was having so much fun. (hee hee)

This is the Paddle Wheel Boat we were about to step aboard for an hour cruise. On the boat we realized the water was swarming with jellyfish! I am grateful we didn't encounter any of them on our day at the beach!

When we got on the boat, most of the open seats were in the sun... so the girls opted to sit on the floor where it was shady.

Later that night we had dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Luckily we made reservations 2 days before... there was a 2 hour wait for a table!

We arrived early so we had time to ride the Water Adventure ride.

At first, Megan was afraid to ride it but by the end she wanted to go again!

Emily with her Mermaid Balloon...

and Megan with her Monkey Balloon

There was a DJ and some carnival games in front of the restaurant... when we got outside they were playing the Cha Cha Slide... Megan couldn't resist... she kicked her shoes off and hit the dance floor!

Then we took a nightly stroll on the beach...

to the nearest ice cream store! The perfect way to end such a fabulous day!

On day 4 we got up early and drove back to Houston to spend the day at the Houston Zoo!

Megan insisted on riding Kung Fu Panda! :)

"Look... it's Dory!"

Let me tell you... it only took one afternoon in Houston for me to appreciate summer in Dallas! It was 102 degrees and unbelievably humid! Luckily, there was plenty of shade and several of these misting fans to keep everyone as cool as possible.

Megan found a new friend to monkey around with!

The last night of our trip we stayed in The Woodlands again. My original plan was to wake up the following morning and drive home... but we (including me) were not quite ready to end our vacation so we drove around town and came across a mall with a Houston Museum of Science exhibit... it was very exciting to find an unplanned activity before hitting the road home!