#TheKerrieShow in #Houston Day 17: Back to the Beach and a Jellyfish Sting

Tuesday we did some schoolwork then said, "You know what? Let's just go back to Galveston Island State Park. Who wants to brave the traffic into and out of downtown going to the children's museum?" The kids did not want to sit in the car forever and didn't care too much about going to the museum so we headed back to the beach!

Michael is always making something!

I loved the view of my kids being happy at the beach.

Don't be crabby.

Sam loves taking care of little creatures.

A "dead" jellyfish Callie found.

Eva and Sam playing in the sand. Then Callie messed with the "dead" jellyfish too much and it stung her a tiny bit and she was screaming and crying and I was Googling what to do and she was fine pretty quickly but by then we had freaked out and packed up the van and were getting ready to leave!

Does Your Little Kid Strip to Go to the Bathroom?

Okay, so I took this picture on a whim in the bathroom of Gaido's on Galveston Island, Texas. Sam will probably kill me someday for taking this but it's SO CUTE! He does this EVERY TIME he goes to the bathroom. And he always needs company. So I take a book or something in with me every time and this time I took the phone since I have books loaded on it. When I saw this I had to take the shot. And I wondered on Facebook if anyone else's kid did this because all 5 of mine have done this and grew out of it around maybe age 7. The response was incredible ... so many people had this experience with their kid! So does/did your kid strip to go to the bathroom?

#TheKerrieShow in #Houston Day 16: Galveston Island State Park

Monday morning we were recovering from a busy weekend so we messed around in the room all morning, did some homeschooling and finally I was able to rouse everyone to hit Galveston Island State Park. We got down there late but were still able to enjoy a few hours of fun! It was absolutely amazing and something I will never forget!

So first we drove to the part of the park where we could explore bayous. Joel freaked us all out about how there was a dead fish on the shore and thought there might be an alligator nearby. There were also  holes in the ground that we thought were snake holes but then we saw some sand crabs poking out!

What a view! I could do this every day!

The kids found these awesome tiny little shells with some sort of life in them that would burrow in the sandy water they had in their little bin. They loved watching them.

#LuciBag Review ... Direct Sales Ladies Must Have One!!!

I was recently invited on an online Luci Bag party and fell immediately in love! I had to have one! Yes, they are expensive, BUT ... I got one and it's a write-off on my taxes that I split into two since I have two direct sales businesses (Younique and Jamberry). I had been carrying around a backpack and it was not easy to get into quickly when I wanted to hand out samples and catalogs on the go!

I have to say I load my Luci Bag up. I make it super heavy since I carry my life and my businesses in it. I have had problems with other purses breaking at the strap. I've had the Luci Bag for over 2 months now and the straps are perfect. This is a bag that will hold up and paying more for something that will hold up is important to me. Also, helping out other direct sales ladies is important to me.

I bought my last bag at Target and you know who got my commission and hostess rewards? NOBODY. When I bought the Luci Bag I was supporting a fellow businesswoman and helping my friend get free product credit. It's a 3-way win! Oh, and the Target bag BROKE and I returned it. So forget that and get a Luci Bag!

My bag changes over time. The Jamberry catalog is different now and I change out the wraps I put in. I also keep Younique product on hand in my bag to sell on the go

This is the other side of the bag so I can switch things up and switch how I carry it. Five compartments on the back side to show a lot of fun things off, carry biz cards, samples, product. I'm also going to print off some neat color info sheets to fit exactly into these pockets for advertising on the go.

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#TheKerrieShow in #Houston Day 15: Meeting My Second Cousin and Monument Inn

Ah, Palm Sunday and a lovely time at the church just up the road from the hotel. Then back to the hotel to grab some lunch and it was time to head up to Katy, Texas to meet family I am not sure I ever met (maybe when he was a tiny baby and I was like 5 years old?). As is my way in Texas, we took a wrong turn and added half an hour onto our trip of an hour! But we were determined to make it and so we did!

Original family name Solberg, then got changed when my great grandpa came to this country to Solsberg. Then my grandpa's brother changed his to Solsberry. This is Richard Solsberry, my second cousin.

My man holds Casey and Richard's youngest and puts her straight to sleep with talk of the petroleum industry (just kidding!)

Callie stole my phone and took some fun shots.

THIRD cousins and they got along famously. Amazing kidlets!

My second cousin's wife, Casey, who is also a blogger and an amazing mom. She was showing me the "beauty" setting on her phone, which took like 10 years off both of us! DANG!

It's hard to explain what this day meant to me. I had been Facebook friends with Casey for a while and thought she was a really neat person. I was curious about my second cousin and it was very emotional for me to get to meet him. The majority of his side of the family has passed on, so it was important for me to show him that he still has family and that we aren't THAT far away. We had a great time there and I was truly sad to leave and wish we could get together more often. Casey and I are thinking: Family Reunion!

And across town for dinner

San Jacinto dealy-job where Sam Houston kicked serious butt, apparently. I don't know my Texas history so I hope this butt-whooping was necessary. This was right up the road from where we had dinner.

Super cool battleship on the way to the restaurant.

Our dinner view at Monument Inn. Merrie was our server and totally rockin'

My dinner. I think I might be a little bit spoiled.

The best family in the world at dinner. Man, they are so easy to take out to eat these days! They are all old enough to sit through a meal and not run around and it's really enjoyable! Aron had eaten at this place before and wanted to take us.

A neat wall art thing made of class with a shell for an eye. Callie had to take this picture!

Eva stared at this random girl all through dinner and wanted to make sure she knew she is pretty. At the end I asked if I could take their picture together and she was sweet enough to say yes.

Aaaand, rounding out this day we find Daddy trying to ride a chair down the stairs. He unfortunately did not have the key to make it go or you would be watching it on video right now! We do like to have fun!

And this concludes another day in the paradise that is Houston with my Family!

#TheKerrieShow in #Houston Day 14: Galveston Island

Saturday Aron had to work for part of the day and then we took off to Galveston Island. The kids and I were already a little crispy before heading south to the beach but we are always up for more sun, surf and sand. Here is our day in pictures. Another heavenly one and highly recommended as a family destination!

It's a hard life I lead.

I breathe a sigh of happy when we arrive at the south side of the island and I can see the water.

There are a bunch of these houses along Seawall where the paint is peeling and the windows are broken out. Why doesn't someone sell the land for a zillion bucks and let someone else develop it?

Yeah, I am the Queen of the Selfie since I now have a phone where I can see the picture while I am taking it.

My family on the beach. Yessss.

My ghetto iPhone 6 case. Can't get sand in that puppy.

Me and Eva.

Sammy building a sand something.

Pizza joint on Seawall where we had shrimp pizza and Hawaiian pizza.

Living my personal dream: at the beach with my amazing husband, 5 healthy kids while proofreading my book.

Yumalicioius.

Eva stared at the dough guy until he did some more flipping for her!

#TheKerrieShow in #Houston Day 13: Lunch with Daddy, Dinner by the Pool and the Lego Store

Friday was another lovely day in Webster, Texas! We drove up to Texas City to pick up Daddy for lunch and we headed to Grand Prize BBQ, which was super yum!

The owner is super awesome and great under pressure. They have quite a lunch rush and handle it quickly!

A lovely day for a hot tub hangout.

Aron came home from work early!

Dinner by the pool

Took Michael to the mall for his one cool present from us from Houston and we all know I hate the mall!

Me want.

Michael's choice from Baybrook Mall right up the road from our hotel! Score!