South of the Border... (well, almost)

What do you get when you add up: (1) Carl going on a work trip within Texas and (2) a long weekend?  Answer:  A mini family vacation!

The work trip is taking Carl down to the Rio Grande Valley for a few weeks, so we tagged along and turned Carl's work trip into a mini family vacation and had tons of fun doing it!  It was great getting the opportunity to see a part of Texas we've never seen before.  If nothing else, it was an opportunity to continue our never-ending endeavor of explaining to Todd about how big of a state Texas is (he still has trouble realizing Dallas, Houston, and now McAllen are all in the same state since they are all so vastly different).

Friday was just a weird day for me.  Our fun started with the 380 mile drive down to McAllen, Texas.  Carl was the lucky one since no one could ride with him in his truck, so I had both kids in the car with me (thanks, Uncle Sam, for your rules about government vehicles... ever think Mommy would like a break?!).  Of course, no sooner did we pull out of the driveway and got 2 miles away did we remember we forgot something.  I mean, after all, it wouldn't be a road trip without forgetting something, right?  And while there really isn't much in the way of terrain between Houston and McAllen, I want to take this opportunity to refuse to comment on any professional contacts I may or may not have had with the fine folks from the Texas Department of Public Safety (c'mon Trooper... 3MPH over the speed limit, really?).

We got to the hotel, checked in, and got all settled into Carl's room.  It's really nice he's a member of the hotel's rewards program - he always gets nice rooms whenever he travels.  This time, he got a top floor, 2 room suite.... LUCKY!  Saturday, we traveled down to Brownsville to visit the Children's Museum.  The Children's Museum was a ton of fun!  Going to Children's Museums is like becoming a kid again yourself.  There's so much to do and explore.  It wasn't really too crowded, so that was nice as well.  The Children's Museum of Brownsville has a bunch of exhibits for the kids, including a kiddie medical center where the kids learn about the human body, a small scale H-E-B grocery store where the kids learn about foods and the different food groups, a small fishing boat where the kids learn about marine life, and a construction zone where the kids learn about buildings and architecture.

Learning about magnets

Loves to drive fast!

Building a house

Chef Katelynn loves to cook!

Gone Fishin'

Learning about the food groups... by shopping

At story time... letting us know she's having fun

After the Children's Museum, Carl did his best to fulfill one of Todd's requests.  Todd wanted to go to Mexico since he's never left the country before.  However, given the current dangers in Mexico, Carl showed us a park he visited last time he was down here and got us as close to Mexico as he could.  While at the fence, we each found a small rock and got a chance to throw a rock into Mexico.  That seemed to satisfy Todd for the time being.

Sitting together at the fence

Looking off into another world

No... they aren't trying to climb over!!

We finished up the day visiting the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets... I was really looking forward to their Presidents' Day Sale.  Luckily, the kids (and Carl) hung in there, despite it getting unseasonably cold and had a good time.  The next day was our trip to South Padre Island.  Everyone has said SPI has the best beaches in Texas.  Coming from Florida Panhandle, where we have the best beaches IN THE WORLD, I was quite skeptical, but still wanted to see for myself.  It was still a little chilly, despite the temperatures being in the 70s thanks to a strong wind that never seemed to subside our whole time down there.  So we drove out to the beach and had a look.  While I can't say SPI beaches are as nice as Florida's, it was definitely a pretty sight!

South Padre Island

The beach... still a little too chilly to get in the water

Loving the beach

Having fun looking for shells 

Look at her hair... see how windy it was?

We got tickets to the indoor water park because we knew Katelynn and Todd would have a blast!  Of course, given the fact there was water everywhere, we don't have any pictures (didn't want to ruin the camera or phone).  But take our word for it... between the lazy river and the kids play area, a good time was had by all 4 of us!  So much fun, in fact, this was the result just 3 minutes after getting into the car.

Out Cold!

Sadly, we had to leave Carl in McAllen when we left today to come back to Houston.  Luckily, we got to see him before we left.  Even though it's a 3-day weekend and a federal holiday, he's on call (that's why he's down there)... and sure enough, he got called at 3AM.  He was able to slip out without waking the kids up, which was good.  I was only half asleep when he left, so I don't remember much about why he had to leave... something about saving the world from danger and making it safe for diplomacy.  All in a days work for my guy!!!!!!!