We had such a wonderful, relaxing weekend! Nick and I both had Friday off, so we were able to take full advantage of the beautiful weather.
Nick's company sponsored the Hideout at the rodeo this year, and Nick and I volunteered to take part in their Random Acts of Kindness campaign on Friday. (Sorry for the bad picture quality, I packed everything under the sun except for my camera, so these are all from my phone.)
Basically, we walked the livestock show and carnival armed with hand sanitizer, sunscreen, chapstick, etc. and just helped out people that needed it. I was surprised at how many times we were approached by families that forgot sunscreen, or wanted a picture taken, or just needed a helping hand juggling food, strollers, tickets, and hyper kids wanting to go on rides! It was actually a really fun day, we chatted with all types of people and Layla got plenty of attention. By the end of our two hour shift, she was exhausted.
We took a quick lunch break in the shade -
and then it was off to the petting zoo! I couldn't wait to take Layla. She has definitely inherited my love of animals, so I was really looking forward to her reaction to all there was to see at the rodeo. I wanted Nick to be the one to hold her for most of it, just in case a goat got a bit too pushy, but everything went great! She LOVED the potbelly pig - she was cracking up just watching him shuffle around.
From there, we walked the booths and visited all the other animals in the livestock show. Layla was fascinated by the baby chicks, and who can blame her? They were too precious. We sat and watched this little guy try to learn to walk, and it was just the sweetest thing.
I can't wait until next year - Layla will be old enough to do so much more and will definitely have a pair of pink cowboy boots (and possibly a pink cowboy hat) to prance around in!
Saturday was another gorgeous day that couldn't be wasted inside, so we decided to take a day trip to Galveston. We started off with lunch outside at Willie G's and watched all the boats go by while we ate. From there, we headed over to Moody Gardens. The first stop was the garden where Nick and I got married. It's crazy to think it's almost been three years! It was a bit surreal to visit that same place with our daughter - so much has happened since the last time we were there. We'll have to go back and take some family pics once the flowers start to bloom again.
After that quick trip down memory lane, we headed over to the aquarium. I'll just post a couple of pictures, since they all pretty much look like this:
Layla loved watching the sea lion and seals swim and play. I wish we could have lingered longer at each of the displays, but as you can imagine, it was pretty crowded so we had to make our way through quickly.
After the aquarium, Layla was ready for a nap so we decided it would be a good time to head home. Galveston looked great and there was a lot I wanted to do. Apparently they have a boat tour that takes you out to see the wild dolphins, so I really want to go on it. We'll have to make a weekend trip back there soon and be tourists!
Sunday was a work in the yard, run errands kind of day, then we just rested up to start the week - especially since we were really feeling the time change. I had such a great time making memories with Nick and Layla, I can't wait to do it again soon!
