July 4th weekend! Part 1

July 4th weekend was a busy one...but I guess that's how it's supposed to be. Saturday morning we woke up, packed our bags for the day, trying to remember EVERYTHING, picked up Uncle Marcus at his apartment and headed to Sea World for the day. I like taking Uncle Marcus places (well, any one of my brothers), b/c besides the excellent company, he's a huge help with the kids. He's quick to rescue them from danger, carry either one of them on his shoulders, hold their hands while getting through a busy crowd, doesn't seem to be annoyed by their fits and just all around comes to our rescue too. I've often joked that whenever we go places big like Sea World, we need to invite an Uncle too! :)

We spent most of the day at the water park and later met up with Brent and Candice and their family for the Shamu show. Since it's so hot and we've already seen all of the shows, we tend to camp out at the water park now when we go. Being so hot, this day was no different!

And we're off!!!

yep, that's the kiddie pool, they're not scared!

I don't know, measuring the depth?

Bay of Play...Elmo show!
Can you find the Wheeler kids?

Jon, Noah and Cade

We got a seat at the new Shamu show super early in fear that the stadium would fill up fast. By this point we were done swimming, it was past their nap time which we already planned to forfeit, and afterwards planned on heading home. We just needed to make it through the show!!

Haley bug and Uncle Corey

Their last trip to Sea World before baby Abby arrives!

It was a fabulous day!!

Swimming lessons!

This year we put both kiddos in swimming lessons. Cade was in a big boy class, alone with an instructor, whereas Mck did the parent/tot class. I only got in the water with Mck once; I enjoyed sitting alone, in the quiet, with a/c, watching both classes. Ha! Cade did great, keeping up with his classmates and learning all the new skills. It was a big change from last year and him clinging to us around our necks the whole time. What a difference a year makes!

Mck on the other hand, was more caught up in watching and wanting her brother, that she sometimes got too distracted and fussed a bit. She gradually allowed dad to put her under, but has yet to jump in or blow bubbles. Who knew that was so important? No worries though, she did great and really enjoys the water.

He's gotten so silly when we take pictures now.

Matt and Emily's wedding!!!!

Rehearsal dinner at Los Cucos in Tomball

Uncle Bubba, Grandma and mom

Mom and cheesy Cade

If only we had Cade in this picture too

Cade and his Uncle Matt

"We're going to the chapel and we're, gonna get maaaaried!"

I didn't get very many pictures from the wedding, mainly b/c I didn't have the luxury of capturing every moment like I wanted since I had the kids to tend to (hello run-on). Luckily, I have several more that I stole from my family and what they shot. Here are just a few from my camera. :)

the guys

kids playing on our phones waiting for the reception to start

mom and grandma

Michael and Katie

My funny guy and his uncle Mike

Cade clung to Emily most of the time...Emily handled it well

My flower girl

Uncle Bubba and Cade

Bye, Emily!! Congrats!

Do we really need to see my face?

Port Aransas Vacation

We took our very first family vacation in May to Port Aransas. Our good friends, the Woodruffs, suggested the hotel we stayed in. It was perfect in that it was a little apartment-like hotel, complete with 2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms, a living room, full size kitchen, washer/dryer and back patio. It was like our own little living space. Of course the hotel had a pool, four in fact, a water slide and it was right on the beach. We loved, loved it!!!

Here, we stopped at a t-shirt shop to check out the giant shark and take pictures. As you walk through the belly of the shark, you are able to enter into the store...cool, huh? These sharks were everywhere, so we just had to stop and let the kids play. Hello, we're tourists.



Sunscreen!!! This process undoubtedly takes forever, especially for Mck...she likes to wiggle and squirm the whole time. Hold still, sister!


We took so many pictures at the beach, many of which were of the same shot, but different facial expressions. I thought I'd spare you of that and just highlight the big stuff. On the second day, a tractor came through and scooped away all the seaweed. Cayden of course loved being that close to a real-life moving tractor and I was thrilled to be rid of the seaweed. After, we had beautiful, squishy, fuffy sand perfect for making sand castles.

Of course dad did all the work

the best part about building sand castles is knocking them down

Mck, that's what a fish looks like

posing

Mck is transitioning from the beach, having just rinsed off, and headed to the pool. She's rough looking, but oh so cute.

The pool was fabulous and was my favorite part. I'm not a beach girl, unless of course the beach is white and clear, so I loved the pool. Mck kept embarrassing me. You see here, she was fascinated by the water dripping from her bottoms. It looked as though she were peeing the way it dripped from her and she repeatedly kept bending over watching. Mck, stop!!! Well, one time I think she did pee, but still, I was so anxious the whole time. Good times.

Lunch!

Snuggle with daddy