We knew that this weekend was going to be tough. It is our first mother's day weekend without mom, and everywhere we looked we found reminders of mom. Kyle, the boys, and I drove down to Seabrook Friday night, and I must say that packing for a trip to my mom's house for mother's day weekend when I knew she wasn't going to be there was one of the hardest things I've had to do in a long time.
Fortunately, I have an awesome sister and brother-in-law who planned a great trip to the beach for us. All we had to do was wake up Saturday morning (I ran five miles first--go me!), throw the boys in the car, and head down to Galveston. Matt and Linsey had shopped and were setting up our beach camp for the day on The Seawall across from a bar called The Spot. Our spot across from The Spot was a great one: both the people and the seaweed were less crowded than further west. Linsey and Matt thought of everything. We had a giant umbrella; we had kites; we had sand toys and boogie boards; we had (lots of) beer; we had cheese and salami and crackers. Kyle and I brought the two best parts of the day, though: two super cute boys!
Braden loved playing on the boogie board. He wouldn't go far out, though.
Garrett, meanwhile, was perfectly content to play in the sand and shallow water with the toys. 
Tom and Linsey had taken the boys to the seawall a few weeks ago, and the highlight was feeding the seagulls. That proved to be a big draw this time, too. These birds weren't nearly as brave as the birds last time who ate a cracker off of Garrett's head. 
My sister and Kyle's brother. Yes, they are dating. No, it isn't weird at all. It is a lot of fun!
Tom and Kyle spent most of the day (when they weren't driving around "looking at storm damage") firmly camped out under the umbrella. Kyle didn't even bring a bathing suit!
Notice his plate of crackers on the edge of the tub. Yep, I'm a good mom alright!
