Imagine the girls excitement to see so much sand (they love the sandbox at the park) and water rolling in and out in waves. We had some time to kill before the fireworks show and so we were able to introduce the ocean to our girls. They were mesmerized by it and really could've watched the water, the fishermen, and the many other beach-goers playing in the waves for hours if we would've let them.
What better way to celebrate the birthday of our country than to recognize some great veterans and tour a decommissioned naval ship?! We felt so patriotic and thoroughly enjoyed learning about, climbing on, touring, etc. the USS Lexington. Below are some fun photo collages from our visit as well as a description from wikipedia regarding the ship.
USS Lexington (CV/CVA/CVS/CVT/AVT-16), known as "The Blue Ghost", is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship, the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name, is named in honor of the Revolutionary War Battle of Lexington. She was originally to have been named Cabot, but she was renamed while under construction to commemorate USS Lexington (CV-2), lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942.[1]
Lexington was commissioned in February 1943, and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, receiving the Presidential Unit Citation and 11 battle stars for World War II service. Like many of her sister ships, Lexington was decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, but was modernized and reactivated in the early 1950s, being reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA), and then an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career, she operated both in the Atlantic/Mediterranean and the Pacific, but spent most of her time, nearly 30 years, on the east coast as a training carrier (CVT).
She was decommissioned in 1991, remaining active longer than any other Essex-class ship, and was donated for use as a museum ship in Corpus Christi, Texas. Lexington was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2003. Though her surviving sisterships Yorktown, Intrepid, and Hornet carry lower hull numbers, Lexington was laid down and commissioned earlier, making Lexington the oldest remaining aircraft carrier in the world.
Michael and I have lived in this great state for more than a decade and haven't really explored as much as we would like. So for the Independence weekend we decided to make a family trip to Corpus Christi. We really enjoyed our little vacation and it was so fun to see some of the sights and to introduce the ocean to our girls. We will definitely be going back sometime.
One of the other parents referred to our Kindertots class as "wrangling kittens" and that is a very accurate description. Most two-year-olds are too young to really appreciate following instructions but Savannah tends to do well and she loves to dance and play. So we figured that this class would be a good venue to try out. I must say that she did do a pretty amazing job listening to her teacher and if the class would've continued I'm sure that she could've gotten more out of the experience. But all good things must come to an end and because her friends couldn't continue in the class, we decided we were done in June and that she can start up in a toddler dance/movement class in the fall. Any recommendations are welcome...
We sure enjoyed spoiling Michael for Father's Day. We try to make him feel special everyday but for the holiday we made sure that he felt like the prince that he is to us. The girls wore matching outfits (we love dressing them alike) that read "Mommy and I agree, Daddy's handsome." And not only is he handsome, he has a lot of other qualities that we appreciate. Michael is such a great father. He is patient and kind. He is sweet and strong. He is our Prince Charming and we love him. I hope that he felt that today and feels our love and appreciation for him every day.
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When the girls are inside, their favorite things to do right now are playing dress up and then pushing their baby doll strollers around. Stroller races anyone?!
Lucky for us there are lots of parks close to where we live. Each of them have various play structures to explore. Of course each playground is intended for certain age groups, so it's up to me to pick our "favorites" based on what I think is the most appropriate for the girls and the level of shade from the Texas sun, etc.
Of course an easy favorite for us is the Howa backyard. There's no beating the fun company as well as the environment. Not much sweeter than this!
I think it started with a trip to the mailbox. I conceded to Savannah bringing her dolly stroller outside on a walk to the mailbox and soon after Lexi insisted on bringing her own stroller/walker outside. The result is a priceless experience for us all.
