Last night, we went to my parents’ house to have a late b-day dinner for Michael. My mom cooked Brazilian food, and it was AMAZING! We also got to try out their new pool! My Meme, Pawpaw, and Aunt Becky (Pawpaw’s sister) were there too. It was so good to spend time with family!
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And speaking of family time…there was lots of it on Day 4 of our vacation!
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On Sunday, we got up pretty early so we could drive down to Port Aransas to hang out at the beach with Michael’s dad’s family. His family has been going to Port A for around 10 years (I think) for the 4th of July, and I was excited to get to join in on the tradition.
After a quick stop at the donut shop, we were on our way. I fell asleep for a while and when I woke up, we were almost there! Since Port A is an island, we had to catch a ferry to take us across. Michael and I got out to stretch our legs and take some pictures.
Welcome to Port Aransas!
When we got to Michael’s aunt’s condo, it was hugs all around. I’m so glad that we’re both from hugging families! We hung around the condo for a while and his cousin, B, started playing beauty shop with my hair. She was concentrating SO hard. It was really cute.
When we were tired of relaxing (hm…you don’t hear that much!), we got our suits on and headed for the beach! The hurricane had washed TONS of seaweed up onto the shore, but we were still happy to just be at the beach! I hadn’t been to the beach since I was in high school.
Even though there was tons of seaweed in the water, we still had a ton of fun! (By the way, these next pictures were taken with a water camera…My family used to always get them when we went to the beach when I was growing up.)
After about an hour, we were ready to go back to the condo and swim at the pool instead. There wasn’t any seaweed there…
When I was younger, we used to take really fun underwater pictures. I remember taking one where my mom, brother and I were having an underwater tea party and toasting with our “teacups”. So Michael and I decided to give it a shot.
and Mine:
What in the world is that look?! I wanted to keep my eyes shut so that my contacts didn’t fall out, but I have no clue what I was doing with the rest of my face…
After being in the pool for a while, I decided to get out and get some sun! Since I’d been cooped up in an office all summer, I think I’d forgotten what the sun felt like! Michael’s uncle had music playing, and a lot of the fam decided to play water volleyball. It was so fun to watch them–everyone was having a great time!
We went in to relax some more before dinner and fireworks. Michael and his mom had to do “paper-rock-scissors” for something, and they picked the same thing about 10 times in a row!
It’s been such a busy spring and summer. All of this relaxing was MUCH needed!
We went out to the pier as the sun was beginning to set. It was gorgeous! Here’s a view of the condos from the pier.
His uncles were finishing the grilling, and one of their family friends brought around cigars to celebrate her new grandbaby. Mine was bubble gum : )
After a great dinner of typical 4th of July food, we went to Michael’s aunts’ friend’s penthouse upstairs to watch the fireworks from the big balcony. We had a great view of the pier, other condos, and the marina. It was a beautiful night!
Around 9:00, some people started shooting off some fireworks on the other side of the water. Even though they were pretty far away, they were still nice.
A little later, Port A started shooting off their fireworks. They were really good–and they lasted over 30 minutes! Michael’s uncle played patriotic music, and we just had a great time. His family is a lot of fun!
When the fireworks were over, we just sat around and talked for a long time. Then we had birthday cake for Michael, one of the ladies who was staying in the penthouse, and America–oh, and for his cousin, B, because she thought the cake was for her. It was a really good day!
I was so happy to be able to be there and be a part of the family traditions. One of my favorite things about marriage so far has been getting to experience parts of the other’s world and then make shared memories and experiences there.
It was another great vacation day!
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–Staci
Our Family E 