Galveston

We live less than an hour from Galveston but haven't been there in over two years! I promised the boys a trip this summer, so when our friends Jonathan and Julie invited us down to their beach house yesterday, we jumped at the chance to make a day of it.

We started at Moody Gardens. 

That place is pricey, but fortunately I found a couple coupons online and discovered that if you have good grades, you get in free to one attraction. So, we brought Will's report card along (Henry is too young for grades!) and visited the Rainforest Pyramid, which we hadn't seen before. 

Cut-out tree frog!

We saw lots and lots of birds in the rain forest, like the crested wood partridge,

the scarlet ibis, 

parrots,

and this green fellow.  

The boys were so excited!

 We all had so much fun

exploring the Rainforest Pyramid!

We ate lunch at Moody Gardens because we were all starving by the time we finished our tour, 

and then headed outside to look at the boats on the bay.    

Our next stop was the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig Museum. 

It's an actual jack-up drilling rig that is no longer used,

so you walk across a bridge to get on board.

Pelican in the bay.  

The boys loved exploring inside

and outside

and learning all about drilling for oil and natural gas in deep waters.

They love these cut-outs!

And then we finally made it to the beach!

They were so thrilled.

We all loved playing at the beach, relaxing with old friends, and eating dinner with a view of the water.

We can't wait to go back!