San Antonio 2011

We had a wonderful vacation last week in San Antonio.  We took both kids this year and I’m so glad we did because they both had a blast.  We stayed at the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch again this year and loved it.  Hunter was excited because he got his own bedroom and it had TWO beds!!!  As usual, he was up early every morning and we had to pry Jenna out of bed every morning so that we didn’t waste the day away.

We arrived Tuesday, got settled into the hotel and then headed to the Magic Time Machine for dinner.  Cinderella was our waitress but Woody, Zoro and the Pirate dude were never far away.  Jenna and Hunter LOVED watching all the characters, but mainly from a distance.  They were very hesitant to get side-by-side pictures, but we managed to get a few keepers.  :)

 

Wednesday, we woke up and headed to the zoo.  What a gorgeous day we had!  Every day was actually perfect – we were blessed with wonderful weather all week.  The pool was a little too chilly that afternoon though, so we only stayed long enough for Jenna’s teeth to start chattering.

 

Thursday was all about Sea World.  Last year, we missed the Shamu show, so we made sure to plan our day around the noon Believe show and it worked out great.  We got to feed the dolphins and both kiddos loved the aquarium.  If Hunter had his way, we would have stayed on the rides all day long!  He loved them!!!  We rode the Shamu “roller coaster” and the Abby Cadabby twirly thing (see picture).  Jenna got to ride the carousel too.  And Daddy and Hunter topped the day off with Journey to Atlantis, which is a VERY large version of Splash Mountain.  Hunter took it all in stride and loved every second.

    

I’m a real sap because the Shamu show, Believe, made me teary eyed.  The whales were amazing and even the baby whale performed (on the left in the first picture below).  Keep in mind while watching the video that I had a child in my lap as well as a bucket of popcorn that she was protecting with her life, while videoing with one hand.  Hence, very few pictures that weren’t too blurry to post here. :)

 

 

 

 

If you look really close, you can see Daddy and Hunter in the next to last row, behind the person with their arms up in the air.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

After Sea World (and a long nap), we headed back to the pool for another try.  The water heater was back up to snuff, especially in the lazy river, which Jenna and Mommy enjoyed thoroughly while Daddy and Hunter swam around the hot tub.  We joined them after a lazy float around, but Jenna had her heart set on the splash pad.  The girl is fearless, making us incredibly antsy when she would head straight for the pool!!!  Oh – Hunter SAID he wanted to try the water slide this year, but once again, we got to the top and the very fast rushing water scared him away.  Maybe next year.  The pic below shows the indoor part of the pool (and “small” water slide tower) – there is a bigger slide outside, which we didn’t even attempt.

              

Last but not least, a random video of Jenna eating breakfast (or should I call it brunch) one morning before starting our day. 

Blogging Fool

Three blogs in one day???  What is up with that???  Ironically, I did something similar last January and caught up.  Obviously, it isn’t realistic to set a new year’s resolution to blog on a regular basis because I’ll break it before I make it.

We had a fabulous evening tonight.  The weather was PERFECT and thankfully, the neighbors were around to enjoy it with us.  We had 6 kids out in the cul-de-sac and at least twice as many vehicles.  I have yet to get a picture of Hunter on his Lightning McQueen bike, but tonight was his first night to ride it independently.  I think he was showing off a bit, so he didn’t want much help, but he did take some advice and learned how to use the brakes, so we are making progress for sure.

Jenna seems to be more brave than the last time we were out on the street with friends.  She’s getting closer and closer to Bella, the dog, and she is exploring the various bikes and scooters, calling all the Princess or Barbie insignia “Emma” – not sure if that is because her friend Emma always wears characters on her clothes? Or if she has just associated Emma with pretty girls?  No clue, but it’s cute! 

This scooter is Megan’s, who is 10 months older than Jenna and wasn’t outside with us tonight, but her brother brought it out of the garage and all the kids wanted to ride it.  Jenna was the only one light enough to make it go because the battery needed recharging.  She really had a great time, and Hunter did too even though there isn’t picture evidence.  :)

So after our outing, we came inside for dinner.  Talk about starving kiddos…Jenna missed snack at school because I picked them up early to go home and enjoy the weather, so she immediately went to the table for crackers while Hunter and I scrambled some eggs for dinner.  (I could go on and on about dinner and how wonderful it was, but people are sick of me talking about food by now….I get it.)

After dinner, Hunter wanted to play his “game” on my iPad.  And Jenna wanted to watch his every move (very typical – he is her American Idol, no doubt).

Ah, the rare picture where I catch Jenna smiling AND her eyes open!!!  Of course, I took a zillion pics of her and only got a few keepers. 

Daddy was working (busy time of year for both of us right now) and Jenna was admiring him…really wanting to type on his laptop with him.  She’s giving him the stare down here…

And because I took so many shots of Jenna, Hunter finally took a break from the iPad and asked to say CHEESE.  What a handsome little man we created….gotta love him…

After a long day and wonderful evening, those babies were tired.  So tired that Hunter didn’t complain when I told him he had to turn the computer off and head upstairs.  So tired that Jenna was laying her head down on the ottoman…snuggling with the leather.  So tired that they cackled at each other in the bathtub and I SO wished I had brought my video camera upstairs with me.  I need blackmail pictures and videos before they are too old to bathe together….they have so much fun (most of the time).  It’s a joy!!! 

Some New Plates

You may remember about a year ago when I posted pictures of the bowls I made for my nieces and nephews, and the plate I made for Jenna.  Well, I did that again before Christmas but focused on the neglected Hunter, and also did a “Happy Everything” platter.

They turned out really great and I have to thank my good friend and neighbor, Kristi, for continuing to invite me to these Make-A-Plate parties hosted by Janelle Janish.  Her website is http://janellejanish.myctmh.com/.

Her blog is also wonderful - http://stampandthecity.blogspot.com/.  Check it out when you have a minute.  I can’t wait for the next one of these parties….might have to host one myself!!!

Here is a reminder of Jenna’s…we aren’t using it yet because it’s too cute on display in her bedroom.  I love how vibrant the colors were on hers…

More Christmas (a month later)

So I did really good to get our at-home pictures up the day of Christmas, but now it’s over a month later and here I am going through all the other pics from the holiday.