Beach Life

 Devlin • Short • Beach Trip 2021 • Let's GOO

Our beach trip was finally here and we were all so excited! The boys just ended school, so this was the perfect getaway. We booked a private house with a private pool and a private path to the beach down in South Padre. Private everything? Too good to be true? Nope. I triple checked. It was all ours.

It was very spacious - way bigger than I originally anticipated. It had 2 bedrooms and bathrooms on each wing of the house, so each family had their own space. A perfect layout. The pool was MASSIVE and had a swim up bar, waterfalls, gazebos. Very resort-like and made us wonder if this house used to be something else. There was an upstairs that was closed off to us so maybe a condo? We knew from the photos the house was a little dated, but when we booked it, that was the least of our concerns. A little wear and tear won't bother us. 

WELL.... we were wrong. This house had some major maintenance issues. This could be super long winded, so I'll give you the highlights:

- The AC on one wing of the house wasn't working when we got there. Thankfully, a tech came out at 9pm that night and got it working. 

- The next day, we find that the fridge wasn't working and ALL of our food spoiled. We had to throw away everything. Mike and Stephen were dealing with the owner and the rental company pretty much the whole day trying to figure out the fridge issue.

- That same day, the pool guy came and said he needed to shock the pool. Why it wasn't done before? No idea. Bad planning if you ask me. SO, we had to take the kids out of the pool for this guy to clean it. Inconvenience.

- The hot water was in and out. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. The boys and I had to take some "refreshing" showers after the beach (because, you know, the pool wasn't ready for us)

- A broken dishwasher and washing machine sums up the list

Needless to say, it was annoying for the guys to have to deal with this on what was supposed to be our vacation. We're dealing with the rental company for refunds and hope to have all of that sorted out soon.

With a little updating, this house would be absolutely amazing. So, I hope (for the owner's sake), our stay opened his eyes a bit to what needs to be done.

Rant over. Back to the vaca...

Loaded up and ready to go!

Stephen found out his Dad was moving to Mexico for his retirement, so before they left we wanted to plan a time to get him together with the boys. On our way down to the beach, we stopped in to say hello. It was a nice visit. A good chance to re-connect! They had cats, so the boys were totally entertained lol.

The Devlins beat us to the house so the minute we got there, we unloaded and got the kids ready for the pool. Miles jumped right in and didn't leave anything back. Carson had only been in the pool once this season, so he was more hesitant. But, it didn't take long for him to start cruising.

The kids played played played in the pool until it was almost time for dinner. As we waited for the guys to get back with the groceries (which would soon spoil), we went down to the beach to check things out.

The boys had never been to the beach. Carson stayed with the group very interested in the sand. Miles? Well... Miles B-lined it for the water. No surprise there.

The next day, it was breakfast, cartoons and then out to the pool for more.

Introducing....Squageelie Man. The pool monster

Loving this!

Natalie was snapping pics of the kids and got HUGE smiles when she let them dump buckets of water on her and spray her with the blasters. Hm - I wonder why... haha

Miles Could.Not.Take.It

I just have to point out Lizzie in the back, with her head stuck in a float. hahaa! (Don't worry, we got her free)

Annnd... Stephen. For the win. Nice sunscreen form dude

After the kids went down for nap, us adults hung out by the pool and got things ready for afternoon beach time. The trail down to the beach was pretty overgrown so our plan for a full beach day with canopy, cooler, chairs, the whole deal - that was out the window. Take what you can carry people - including children.

Natalie in her full get-up. This should be the cover of a travel magazine IMO :P

Miles after getting clobbered in the face with a wave lol

Carson liked the water and had fun in the waves. But, the sand was where it was at. This was his jam.

It was SUPER windy the first day. Just look at Carson's hair!

Miles caught a fish!! A teeny tiny fish is in his bucket of water

We headed back, got showered up and ready for dinner/bed. Us adults had a nice relaxing night playing games and chatting. The next day? Rinse and repeat!

Carson wanting to go outside so bad. "Mama - poooo!"

It started raining on our last full day which was a total bummer. Thankfully, it was during nap, so the kids didn't miss out on much. But us adults were bummed we didn't get our pool time in. 

After nap, we planned to get ready and go to the beach for family photos. We all know no one LIKES this part. But everyone loves the photos after the fact. So, we powered through the whining and headed out in hopes of getting a few keepers.

A total win! We realized after our amazing switch to swimsuit strategy that we forgot to get a formal pic of all the kids together. But, we got that amazing pool shot with the dads the day before - not sure we could beat that one anyway. 

Such an awesome trip! The kids had a BLAST and all of them keep asking when we can go back. Despite the house issues, I would book this place again. It's got so much going for it. But maybe we wait for a little updating yea?

Cheers beach!

Meet our Animal Friends

Carson, unlike Miles, has really taken to his stuffed animals. He's given each of them a name, will know if one of them is not in bed with him and loves to take them everywhere. I decided it's time we introduce them.

From left to right.

• Lion & "Boo" the Elephant - while these aren't Carson's 'go-to' animals, they are an integral part of the crew. MOSTLY because they were "adopted" - ie. stolen - from Miles' room. Anytime Miles notices, Carson throws a huge fit.

• "Duck" the Flamingo - Duck used to live at the Gates. She fluttered over here one day, went on a series of back and forths between Miles' room and Carson's room. She flies around the house checking out what everyone's up to. Every once in awhile, she wonders if her real owner (Lia) will ever realize she's missing....

• Mr. Bear - He's the animal I gave Miles for his first Christmas (Miles was called "Baby bear" in my belly) . I am more attached to this little guy than Miles is (or maybe ever will be). For a couple months, I'd remove Mr. Bear from Carson's crib and return it to Miles' room. To my surprise, Mr. Bear always made his way back to Carson. Maybe he has the need for a good snuggle, and for that, I can't deny that Carson is the perfect companion. Mr. Bear will eventually go back to Miles, but for now, I think he's where he should be.

• "Pup" the puppy - Our newest addition to the crew, this little guy is the softest thing you'll ever touch. It's hard not to give him a good squeeze or lay your head on him. He's still a little shy and trying to figure things out, but he's just the sweetest.

• "Meow" the Cat & "Baba" the Lamb - Partners in crime. If you find one, 99% of the time, you'll find the other. Whether they're hiding together in a hamper or hanging with Carson on the couch, these guys are besties. These two are Carson's most prized animals and the night they went missing on their big hamper adventure, Stephen and I were worried we were in for a rough night. But! To our delight, the others picked up the slack and comforted Carson enough to catch some good Zzzs.

• "Ha-Ha" the Hedgehog - Ha Ha is in his own little world. He cruises around the crib, sometimes to ventures out to the couch. But most of the time, he's the one that can be found inside Carson's sleep sack. Because of his size, he can crawl into the smallest holes and cozy up nice and tight. 

• The Monkey Family - These guys are the keepers of the crib. Never do they leave - apart from maybe for the baby Monkey who goes on some high flying escapades in the nighttime hours (ie: Carson throws him out). They are rarely the ones Carson chooses to bring to the couch in the mornings or snuggle at night. But - if they're gone, Carson will be the first to tell you.

We have visitors from time to time. A lizard here, a frog there and maybe a hamster. But the visitors are always escorted out in the morning. A nice throw to the wall is sure to do it....

 

Warehouse Update

It's been about 5 months since we closed on the new warehouse. And I'm not going to lie, this process has been stressful. Communication issues throughout and it's just frustrating beyond belief. One up side - the trades are doing a really quality job. We've been very impressed with the work so far. It's just pulling teeth to get things done the way we want and in a timely manner. We are close. Close to being done, but at the same time... so so far.

As a reminder of what the space looked like before, check out "All the Things"

Here's an update from the start!

Demo

Framing out the new windows

BEFORE new skylights...

AFTER new skylights were installed. Same area, same time of day, no overhead lights on. So bright! 

Insulation has been a LONG process. Mostly because after the major winter storm, we noticed snow and ice inside the building. We told our GC to make sure everything was sealed BEFORE insulation was installed.... 

Needless to say.... that didn't happen. We are STILL experiencing leaking issues that we're having to fix on the fly.

First floor framing

Second floor framing

Framing just about complete

One side drywall

Stairs! Becky was excited about that. Apparently she's not a fan of my scissor lift skills. haha

View from the upstairs into the warehouse

Pano of the second floor

Most recent happenings? New garage doors and warehouse AC