Fun in the Texas Sun

Last week, we had a great trip to San Antonio, Texas! The four of us went with Grandpa John, Grandma Rose, and Auntie Andi for five days, from Saturday through Wednesday. Everyone had a fantastic time! Here is a rundown of our trip with a huge overabundance of pictures. :)

SATURDAY
On Saturday, we flew from O'Hare down to San Antonio. When we got there, we headed over to our "vacation house." We rented a house just a mile or so north of downtown, and it was perfect for us. It had three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and a laundry room big enough to turn into a bedroom for the boys. There was a ton of room for the fellas to literally run in circles at night, which was great. Plus, we had a great kitchen for big breakfasts every morning!

Here is a picture of our house. If anyone is heading to San Antonio, this place was great!

Evan playing fireman with the house outside of the house.

After settling into the house, we walked a few blocks away to a really great Mexican restaurant called La Fonda on Main. The weather was beautiful, so we got to eat outside in the sunshine. I personally was in heaven! :) I ordered some lemonade to drink with dinner, which Evan and Brandon promptly fell in love with and drank, so we had to order three more. The food was fantastic, and all of us were so full that we had plenty left over. Our waiter even brought us a flan order on the house - delicious!

Grandpa John and Brandon enjoying dinner

Grandma Rose and Evan

The whole clan after dinner

Brandon was mighty excited about the flan (or was it all the sugar in that giant lemonade?)!

After dinner, Auntie Andi and Steve took Brandon and Evan to a park about a mile from our house. It had a great playground for the kids. It also had some natural springs, which the boys loved.

Brandon, Steve, and Evan in a gazebo at the park

Brandon and Evan checking out the water from the springs

SUNDAY
For the first full day in San Antonio, we went to El Mercado, a Mexican market on the west side of town. It wasn't too crazy when we got there, but by early afternoon, the place was packed! We heard a lot of Tejano music playing, which is an interesting mix of mariachi music and polka, a mark of both the Spanish and German heritage of San Antonio. We had some lunch at the market, picked up some souvenirs for the fellas, and soaked up the atmosphere.

A picture of an outdoor section of the market

Brandon trying on a sombrero in the market

For dinner that night, we tried some barbeque at a restaurant called Tom's Ribs. All of us had a great meal, from BBQ brisket to deep fried catfish. I ordered corn on the cob as a side with my catfish, and Brandon told me that it is food that rabbits eat. When we were in New Lenox in February, my dad took Brandon and Evan out to the backyard, and they all hung corn in the bushes for the rabbits, so he thought that I was eating rabbit food. :) We had a long talk about where the corn he loves comes from. :)

Evan, Papa John, and Auntie Andi at Tom's Ribs

MONDAY
Monday morning brought rain showers, so we decided to head to the Witte Museum, a museum with exhibits about Texas wildlife and the natural sciences, among other things. It was a fun museum, and the boys especially enjoyed the HEB Science Treehouse that was especially geared towards kids.

Auntie Andi working with Evan on a computer that showed the way different machines work, one of the boys' favorite parts of the museum

Steve, Evan, and Grandpa John checking out the actual treehouse outside of the museum buildings

Auntie Andi, Brandon, and Steve learning about laws of air and friction with a beach ball and a hair dryer

Grandma Rose putting on a puppet show with Brandon

Monday evening, the weather cleared up for us and we were able to head to downtown San Antonio. We walked along the Riverwalk to the Alamo, which was really interesting to see in person. The Riverwalk was beautiful, too! We were able to eat dinner at a Tex-Mex restaurant right on the river, Acenar. All of the food was incredible, from the fish tacos to a grilled meat assortment that Steve and I shared.

Life is always fun in the back of a minivan! Here is a picture of the fam while we are on our way to the Riverwalk.

The Alamo. We were all actually surprised at how small the actual mission building was; it always seems so much bigger on t.v. and in movies. It was really interesting to walk through the building and really think about Texas history and the battle that was waged there.

Evan, Brandon, and I on the Alamo grounds

Evan and Brandon are tossing pennies into a fountain at the Alamo with Papa John. They love fountains, and my dad had pennies for them to toss into quite a few different fountains throughout San Antonio.

Steve and Evan enjoying dinner at Acenar - so delicious!

After dinner, Brandon and Evan spent some quality time out on the restaurant patio along the river jumping in puddles from the rain showers earlier in the day. Like all good aunts, Auntie Andi took plenty of good pictures. :) The boys had a blast!

TUESDAY
After the rain showers on Monday, we were thrilled to have a beautiful day, and we headed off to Sea World. Our time at Sea World was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. We were so lucky to come at the beginning of the season, during the week, so there were not many other people there. We were able to walk right up to different attractions and shows and not wait for anything. Plus, the weather was phenomenal! What a great day!

When we arrived at Sea World, the boys first got a chance to see... Clydesdale horses? Yes, Anheiser-Busch is the proud owner of Sea World, so we got to check out Bud, Diamond, and another of their friends. After that, we headed over to the dolphin cove to watch the dolphins. When we got there we were amazed and delighted to find we could actually feed the dolphins! It was an incredible experience. We could lean right up against the pool and feed fish right to the dolphins. Amazing!

Brandon and Evan tossing fish in to the dolphins

A dolphin friend ready for a treat

Steve getting to pet the dolphin's nose while feeding it

After checking out the dolphins, Brandon and Evan consulted the Sea World map to see where we should go next. Believe it or not, they quickly became obsessed with the map and didn't want to leave it behind!

This is a great picture that Auntie Andi took of the fam on our way to the Shamu show.

The second really exciting part of Sea World was getting to see the Shamu show. The killer whales were incredible to see in person. The picture below can't do justice to how big yet surprisingly graceful they were! Brandon and Evan sat enthralled for the entire thirty minutes of the show.

Shamu (or one of his friends)

After heading home for naptime, we all headed out to Brackenridge Park, one of San Antonio's main parks that holds both the Witte Museum and the San Antonio Zoo. We went to the park to enjoy the miniature train that runs around its perimeter. Brandon and Evan were thrilled to take the ride!

Brandon and Auntie Andi getting ready to enjoy the train ride

Grandma Rose, Papa John, and Evan on the train

After the train ride, the boys played on a playground at the park before we all came back to the house to eat dinner and recuperate for our flight home the next morning.

Overall, I think we all had a great time on our trip to San Antonio. Not only did we get to see a lot of the sights in San Antonio, we also got to spend a lot of time together as a family. We will have lots of great memories to share in the years ahead!