Spring Break in San Antonio

The kids' spring break had officially started, so we headed down to the valley to get a few things done before we left for Texas. Top of the agenda list was a new do. I had been toying with chopping it all off and going really short, but that wasn't really flying with Brett. I decided to meet him half way and go back to what I know best...short a-line. I love how fast and easy it is to do and well I have come to terms that I am just a short-haired girl.

 Saturday morning, with the car filled to the brim, the kids and I headed off on our road trip to San Antonio. We decided to cut the long drive in half and stayed in El Paso the first night. We actually made really good time and got into El Paso earlier than I thought. So, what to do when you have a couple of hours to burn...go shopping at the outlets, of course.

 Later that night the kids and I decided to relax a little in our hotel's hot tub.

 After another long day of driving we finally made it to my brother's Sunday evening. The next day we decided to go to San Antonio's Sea World. Thank goodness for Jerry because he seriously spoiled my kids. They just hung all over him and he did and took them wherever they wanted to go. We ended up having a blast that day.

 So excited for the Shamu show.

 This Sea World has some pretty awesome rollercoasters and even though Bradock wasn't tall enough to go on, Uncle Justin somehow snuck him on the Steel Eel. This was Bradock's first "big" rollercoaster and when I say "big" it was seriously dang scary. I ended up going on it afterwards with Justin and I cannot believe Bradock rode that thing. It had the biggest drop that made me have a minor anxiety attack as the coaster inched it's way up higher and higher. Justin told me that Bradock had no problem going up (so no fear of heights) but when that thing dropped he got the shock of his little life. I guess when they got past that first drop he turned to Justin and said "I'm going to kill you after this!" He ended up having a blast and loving it so Justin was off the hook:)

 On Tuesday we went to the Majik Theatre for the children's play production of Rupunzel. Raylee was in absolute heaven and loved every minute of it. After the show ended she bolted out of that theatre and pushed and shoved her way to the front of the line where she could meet Rupunzel in person. I knew I had a feisty one on my hands, but man I had no idea how determined she could be. 

 Brackenridge park was a hit on Wednesday as we rode the train and played on the cool playground. The last time I was in San Antonio was when I was little and my parents took us to this same park to ride the train. Unfortunately, the train ended up wrecking, so that's all I have as a childhood memory. Thank goodness this ride made up for that and now I have nothing but fond memories of it:)

 My brother is the master at finding all the cool, free things to do. After a few hours at the park we took the kids to McNay Museum where they had free kids craft time. The kids made these funny looking puppets that were supposed to look native or something. Oh well, they had a good time. 

Thursday we drove to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch where you are given bags of animal food at the entrance and then drive your car through this little safari. It was one of the craziest things I have ever done. These wild animals just came right up to your car and ate the food out of your hands. Seriously one of the coolest things I have experienced.

 This friendly buffalo kind of freaked me out a little bit, but sure loved eating the food we had. 

 I think the ostrich was the highlight of the drive. Justin was freaking out that the bird was literally sticking it's head through his window and trying to eat the food. It was going crazy and we were all laughing so hard. 

 Finally Brett arrived to enjoy a fun day down at the River Walk, the Alamo and the Tower of the Americas. San Antonio's bike system is pretty cool. You rent for a day and every 30 minutes have to switch out your bike at a new station. The kids had a blast sitting in the "non-kid" baskets. Since moving to Payson I haven't done much bike riding, so it was fun to go cruising again. The Riverwalk is gorgeous and such a fun place to visit. We ended up having lunch right on the river and it was so peaceful and pretty.

Later that night we got a sitter and Justin, Jerry, Brett and I went boot scoot'n at a bar/dance club called  Cowboys. We had a ton of fun and stayed out way too late. 

Saturday was our last day and we headed up to Austin to see the capitol and walk down 6th street. The capitol is such a beautiful building and the city is just crazy, busy. Such a diverse, eclectic feel there. I absolutely loved it and wish I had known about it during the college years...what a place to live! We were walking down 6th street and it is just a massive crowd of people. The whole street is just lined with bars and bands were playing everywhere. It was quite the experience. In fact, a lady on one of the bike taxis was completely shirtless...seriously crazy! Thanks goodness the kids didn't see anything or know what was going on. 

 Brett and I were going to drive the whole way home on Sunday, but we weren't really feeling the 14 hour drive. So, we left late Sunday night and drove about 5.5hrs and stayed in a ghetto hotel in the middle of nowhere. It reminded me of my good ol' high school/college days during spring break. Oh well we were able to rest up and finish our drive home on Sunday. There is nothing in this world like a long car drive to konk your kiddies out:) It was one awesome first week of Spring Break and are excited to just chill at home for our second week.