galveston 2011...

hello there! it's me, ben. our little family took a trip to galveston over the weekend, so we wanted to share some pictures of our fun there. we had been looking forward to this trip for a long time, and it did not disappoint. i had especially been looking forward to playing at the beach again. i remembered that last year i was in a sensory overload and wouldn't even go up to the water, but i knew i would be ready this year - and i sure was!

when we first got to the island, however, we started off with a surprise for me - we took a ferry ride! we drove our car onto a ferry boat and road it around out in the ocean (bay/gulf, to be technically correct), along with lots and lots of other cars and trucks. i was amazed. i was astounded. i wasn't exactly sure about it all at first. but i did think it was very, very cool. here's me and daddy looking out at the water from (near) the edge...

once back on land, we headed to the strand and got some super yummy taffy from the candy shop and did some walking around. luke just can't get enough of walking now that he can finally keep up. and he loves to walk up and down ramps and bumps, just like i did!! here's the boys on the strand...

after that we drove around a little more and headed to our hotel. here we are in the car...

once at the hotel, we took a swim in the pool and relaxed a bit before dinner. i really loved staying in the hotel and we actually all did a good job sleeping in the same room! i also used the hotel phone to call maggie dog about 75 or 80 times...

later that night we went to dinner at an awesome local seafood dive and then went to the rainforest cafe to look around. thankfully we didn't eat there because i was not a big fan of their thunderstorms inside. i don't like thunder in real life and i certainly don't like it inside of a restaurant, thank you very much. but i did like looking around and in the giftshop and i even rode my very first ride!! there is a little river ride inside the restaurant and we all did it together and it was so fun (and thunder-free, thankfully!).

the next morning, it was finally beach time!!! we went early before it was too hot and crowded, and i could have stayed there all day. i loved the water and the sand and the jetties and just everything!

luke had some mixed feelings but overall did like it too. at first he was his usual "no fear" self and wanted to walk right in without stopping! but he ended up getting over the whole thing pretty quickly and was just ready to go. we couldn't figure what that was about, because thankfully (and surprisingly) he didn't try to eat the sand or anything, so who knows. luckily momma got some pictures before the fussies set in...

later that day we went to moody gardens to check out the aquarium and the penguins!!!!! we stayed to watch them for a long time...

luke liked them a lot too, and a couple of the penguins (and seals, at another exhibit) were even coming right up to him at the glass and playing games! he was loving that, even though this picture shows him looking elsewhere, but he did really love those penguins...

we had a great weekend and i can't stop talking about all the fun things we saw and did. and we've also had some other fun times this month here at home, so check back again soon for an august update and otherwise we'll be playing around here, looking forward to some college football and a bit cooler weather - woohoo!! bye! :)

pink...

hi. we're back - and with the last of our pictures to round out the month of july.

so... i like to think of myself as a fairly manly dude. but sometimes you need a little pink in your life (and your hair)...


we play in the water almost every day and one time tried sidewalk chalk on a sidewalk wet from the hose. that was a lot of fun! i may have gotten a little carried away, however, and here i am pondering what exactly i had gotten myself into...


and here is luke pondering whether or not momma is really going to eat him since he looks so adorable...

speaking of luke, he really is quite the character now. we are really different kids, and that is both fun and challenging for mom and dad. luke is in a throwing, hitting, screeching phase. he's just as sweet as can be but somehow mixes that with whacking me on the head and hurling unwanted toys and food all over the place. climbing too - lots of climbing. some people make comments that he's not afraid of anything. i think it may actually be that he hasn't figured out gravity yet...

he sure is a goofy little guy too. and he still loves for momma to hold him (and will beg of her, loudly, until she does)...

he has definitely mastered the art of cabinet-dwelling, which i did too at this age...

and is super smiley but not quite as often as he used to be...

as for me... i love music - listening to all kinds of songs and watching people play instruments on tv or videos. on the 4th of july, we watched a band on tv play bluegrass music in washington d.c., and i just loved it! the banjo immediately became my favorite instrument and my latest obsession. i even got my very own banjo to play, and play it i sure did!

momma had recorded the band, and so i like to watch and re-watch and play along with them as often as she'll let me. we also frequent the bluegrass station on our xm radio so i can hear the banjo while we're driving. good times.

speaking of good times - here i am being sweet after a trip to the local childrens museum and a picnic lunch with momma and luke afterwards. ahhhh...

and - get this! a rainbow - a real life actual rainbow - showed up after a quick rain shower recently and landed right in our backyard! momma was amazed and so excited and was really hoping it would show up in pictures (can you see it? look almost right in the middle of this picture). daddy was mowing (it was a very quick and unexpected rain). luke and i were playing on the porch. yes, good times indeed...

lots of luke...

oh look!

we updated the blog - yay!! and we hope you're ready for several updates in a row because we are a little behind (again - eek!). this one is going to be lots of pictures of me - luke! although i am a little worried to show my face...


do you see this giant bruise on my forehead?

or any of the 10-12 smaller ones scattered all over my face?

yeah. this is what i look like now that i'm walking. and we went to my 15-month well check last week and the doctor definitely noticed. and asked mom several questions along the lines of "do you actually supervise your child throughout the day?" he must have daughters.

i would like to report, however, that i am still my usual happy self, despite the bumps and bruises. see!!

we forget how this sideways hat came about, but it was funny at the time and will likely never happen again lest my father disown me. :)

so... back at the end of june you may remember us going to indiana for a visit. well, we mentioned before that we didn't have a lot of pictures from that trip - boooo! but here are a few cute ones that mom actually took.

at the airport (this was just before i started walking)...

waiting to board the plane...

ben's first video on a laptop!

still one of my favorite places to sleep...

my big brother...

and a random picture of us in the car one time. i forget the story here, but you can see how ben was playing it cool. and i was playing it sleepy.

yes. i still eat blankie. no one knows when this is going to end. and clearly by this point in the trip we were not amused by momma's picture-taking. but we already mentioned that she didn't take many pictures at all. so we'll try and cut her some slack next time. :)

okay. i'm done. come back soon. !!!!!!!!!!!!! :)