Mommy Moments: Galveston Family Fun over the Fourth

Cash and Lila McQueen enjoying the ice cream at LaKings Confectionary. 

Over the fourth of July holiday, my husband Tyler and I packed up the dogs and kids and headed to Galveston. Real original, right? We rented a beach house in the quaint area on the West End called Sea Isle.

One big question we had (with the current warnings about swimming in the water) and the fact that our twins Cash and Lila are only two and not huge fans of the beach quite yet, was what to do to cool off while we were there.

Annie McQueen floating in the lazy river at Schlitterbahn with son Cash. 

Unfortunately, a lot of the time was spent in the house. Just to leave the house for lunch took an hour. We had to pack their bag, change them, slather on the sunscreen and more. This part of traveling with kids is the hardest (for me). I am one of those spontaneous types who loves to walk out the door when an idea comes to mind. You cannot do that with little children (or at least, my husband and I have not mastered it yet). They needed sunscreen, fresh diapers, the dogs needed a potty break . . . all of the things that must be checked off the list to head out and enjoy the day.

Some of our activities were spur of the moment. We got sno cones in Jamaica Beach on the side of the road and drove to the East End to look at the old fort. We went to dinner at Mama Teresa’s Flying Pizza on the Strand and walked to the famous LaKing’s Confectionary afterwards for ice cream. It was a standard Galveston getaway for a Houstonian. 

Call me a tourist, but my personal favorite activity was taking them to Schlitterbahn Galveston. My husband kicked and screamed about this. I begged him and he finally said, fine. He didn’t want to deal with long lines or lots of people. It was an easy way to cool off since we chose not to swim in the ocean.

Annie McQueen with twins Lila and Cash at Schlitterbahn. 

I did a little research beforehand on their website and found that were some toddler swim areas in each part. Sure enough, the toddler sections were perfect. They had a pirate ship with toddler-friendly slides and shallow baby pools. There were no lines (we did go on Friday morning which helped) and we were able to have lunch there too. I floated around in the lazy river with them on my lap. My husband even went down a scary ride (that slide that literally drops straight down, no thanks). All in all, he had fun and I was glad we went.

What did you do with your family for the fourth?

Planning a trip to Galveston? See our recent story on being on the water in Galveston plus our summer event guide to Island happenings.

Editor’s Note: In this column, Annie Blaylock McQueen, who has twin babies, writes on timely parenting topics and share parenting stories. For more baby stories and topic, check out Annie’s monthly Buzz Baby column. If you have baby stories to share, comment under this article or email us at [email protected]. Read more Mommy Moments posts.