There's nothing quite like sipping on a black coffee to remind you how wonderful sweet coffee is. This is also similar to reflecting on a good weekend early on a grey Monday morning. We had a pleasant weekend filled with staying home (mostly) and relaxing. Homemade pizza and watching the Tour de France and swimming at the community pool. A trip to Walmart with McDonald's iced coffee in hand (we are not above such things). Watching the baby boy learn to bounce and bounce and get in the crawling position. Church and then enjoying some good ol' Texas fried catfish for lunch. The only thing remotely unpleasant was the errant child at the swimming pool who decided to introduce himself by squirting my face with water guns repeatedly... while his mother looked on. I was so not impressed.

Anyway, on a happier note --- and since we are talking about water --- I want to share our day trip to Galveston Island where we learned a few valuable lessons.
a) Galveston Island is not really a "day trip" destination from our location. Because. Houston. Traffic.
b) You can't control the weather.
c) We have fun anyway.

This was our original destination. We arrived around noon and quickly decided that it was super hot and while waiting for it to be not-quite-so-hot, we would eat our picnic lunch and then go find some dessert. I was prepared.
Very interesting flavors here! Brandon even tried one called "BBQ." It was too weird for me!

I chose the pretty-standard "Death by Chocolate" and strawberry flavors. Put 'em together and it's like a chocolate-covered strawberry! YES!
Brandon is the more adventuresome foodie type. His was a spicy chocolate (think Mexican Hot Chocolate - good for eating, but not for sharing with babies) and one called "Kulfi", an Indian/Persian dessert with subtle hints of cardamon, rose water, and pistachio. Really yummy actually.
Ice cream baby!
We walked around old Galveston and loved the interesting buildings. It reminded me a little of New Orleans.

Sometimes we ducked into an antique store or touristy store... just for the A/C.
Brandon, "You're gonna take a picture of that, aren't you?"
Naomi, "Uhhh... YEAH!" -- He can read the look in my eyes!
Because a day adventure is not complete without coffee...

In a we've-been-married-almost-four-years-and-Brandon-still-surprises-me moment, this is what Brandon got instead of coffee. Glass bottle soda made with real sugar? SO GOOD. I LOVE THAT STUFF. It reminds me of hot mission trip in Mexico that ended with cold sodas in the hotel courtyard. Good memories....
Then it was time for a little drive back out to the beach.

Where we learned that the weather is unpredictable. And that "passing thunderstorm" sometimes means CRAZY RAIN AND WIND AND THUNDER. RUN FOR COVER!

After an hour of waiting for the rain to clear, we decided that it was time to go home.

No swimming or sand-castle-building happened, but that's okay... there's always a next time at the beach.

Now we're not big baseball fans, but we discovered last summer (see this post) that we actually do like the experience of going to a baseball game. We experienced minor league ball last summer with the Arkansas Travelers, but this summer... this summer is for the majors.

As if going to a major league baseball game isn't cool enough, this one was FREEEEEEE! One of the perks of being an intern for the summer! Brandon's company organized the event, gave us (great!) tickets and a parking pass, and there was a buffet! I dig free food. Devereaux even munched on cheese and cookie crumbs. I am not above giving my child dessert. Like the sign I saw in NYC last year, "Life is short. Eat dessert first." More like, "Life is short. Share your dessert."

Ya know, I was slightly worried about our enjoyment of this baseball game... because of the recent triple-digit heat here in Houston. Our car thermometer read "105" yesterday. Though I don't know what the temperature was at 6:00 pm, when we started walking over to Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston, it was enough to be hot, sweaty and miserable during that five minute walk.

And then we got inside the ballpark. THE AIR CONDITIONED BALLPARK. I need a new bumper sticker. #IloveAC

Brandon was happy about the seats.


Devereaux was totally distracted by the jumbotron!


It was the Houston Astros vs. the Boston Red Sox (who definitely wore red socks, in case you were wondering). I didn't take pictures all game long, but I did happen to catch the first home run by the Astros!

The crowd response was almost deafening, but surprisingly Devereaux didn't cry. After awhile, he really got into the spirit of things. Waving his arms, bouncing up and down and letting out a slightly-late scream or two just after the crowd got done cheering. Better late than never, I guess!

We were surrounded by other SWN interns, and Devereaux was a little baby charmer, of course... All the ladies loved him. And I am discovering that it is super fun to watch people respond to babies! From our fellow interns to the strangers behind us to the hospitality people to the elderly host who pinched Devereaux's cheeks and told me in heavily accented English what a "gut ba-bee" he is. Babies make people smile!

Taking the baby to a ball game is an interesting experience. We loved it. Deveraux had fun.
There were no major catastrophes, unless you count the time he dropped his toy in someone's plate of nachos. #yeahthathappened #atleastweknewher #andthenachoswerefree

And I attempted to do a panoramic shot. Not very good, but it gives you a little idea of the view from our seats! (I will work on my skillz in that area!)

Devereaux (who we sometimes refer to as D-MAN or Little Guy) even *almost* fell asleep. It was nice to be able to watch from inside the concession area (windows!) where it was quieter and I could stand and sway. He stayed up pretty late for a little guy, so we were able to see the Houston skyline on our walk back to the car!

And the Astros won... so basically, it was a win-win-win day!