San Antonio

We took our annual trip to San Antonio this week! We just got back today and I decided to post pictures before I got lazy or forgot :) Our first day (Monday), we arrived in SA at about 2 pm. Since we couldn't check in til 3, we went to Johnny Rockets on the Riverwalk for a late lunch. It was a beautiful day out on Monday and so we ate outside.

Here is Avery as she looks over the menu. She went all healthy and chose a PB&J sandwich with carrots and celery. That is SO not like her!

Andrew on the other hand went for a hot dog and fries - just as I would suspect!

At 3 we were able to check into the hotel - The Westin on the Riverwalk. It is a beautiful hotel and here is a shot of the room before the kids messed it all up! We were on the 9th floor and were lucky enough to have a riverview room!

This was the view from our balcony - that's the pool and the river down below.

Every year we go to the wax museum. Every year Avery takes her picture there with the giant T-Rex out front. Every year Andrew freaks out and runs away. The T-Rex moves around and roars. When I tried to take him in, he ran outside screaming. People on the street felt bad for him and some laughed at the scared little guy :(

One of our first stops was the Alamo! We took the kids to see the short IMAX movie about the Alamo so they could better understand why we go to see it. Avery is particularly intrigued (like her daddy!) and has learned a lot about Texas history this trip .

Here is a shot of me and the kids in front of the Alamo.

Our first evening HAD to include dinner at the Rainforest Cafe on the Riverwalk! As we waited for our table (almost 1-1/2 hours!!), I took this cute pic of Andy and Wade. If you put a goatee on Andy, wouldn't he look just like his daddy? I really see the resemblance in this picture.

Yes, Andrew is still scared of the many sounds of the Rainforest Cafe. It took a lot of coaxing to get him to take his hands off of his ears!

Avery is not scared at all! She loves every bit of the place.

We lied a bit and told the waiter we were celebrating Andrew's birthday. So it isn't til next week, who cares? They brought him an ice cream sundae and sang to him. Here he is blowing out the candle.

Just a cute picture of Wade and the kids as we were leaving the Rainforest Cafe.

And, for good measure, a picture of me with the kids! I think this is the first vacation in a while that I have actually been in a few shots :)

Tuesday was a rainy and gloomy day. We started off ok, but the weather got worse from there. Here is Avery and Wade at Schilo's Deli as we waited for our breakfast.

And not to be left out, here is Andy and me!

After breakfast we headed to the Alamo. Some nice lady offered to take a family picture for us and it turned out pretty good!

On the grounds of the Alamo Avery and Andrew took a picture next to a cannon.

On all of our trips to San Antonio, we have never gone to the missions. There are 5 missions in San Antonio that are still there, the Alamo being one of them. They were all built in the early 1700's and all (with the exception of the Alamo) are still used as churches! We only made it to one on Tuesday as the weather was too bad to continue. The one pictured above is Mission Concepcion.

This is just a neat picture I took at Mission Concepcion outside of the church itself.

Wade and Avery went to the Wax museum this year. Proclaiming it a rip-off and a waste of good money, Andy and I opted not to go. Here is Avery on the "set" of Oprah chatting it up!

Tuesday evening found Andrew quite tired. He was adorably asleep in mere minutes!

Wednesday's weather was faring better than the day before. Here is Wade and the kids in front of the historical and haunted Menger Hotel.

Here is a shot of the outside of the Westin Hotel where we stayed.

And another......

On Wednesday we continued on to the remaining Missions. Here are the kids outside of Mission San Jose. This is the most preserved of the missions and was really interesting to visit!

Again, at Mission San Jose. Wade and the kids posing at a well.

And the kids and me!

This is the church at Mission San Jose. It is beautiful!

The detail is amazing. Considering it was built in the early 1700's, it is hard to believe that it is so well preserved.

This is the inside of the church at Mission San Jose The painting on the arches is original and was restored a long time ago (the 60's I think). They removed decades of dirt and grime to uncover the paintings that you see here.

This is Mission Espada. It is a much smaller mission than the others!

And finally, this is Mission San Juan. Again, it is a smaller mission, but still beautiful.

On our last night we took the kids to the Hard Rock Cafe. Here is a cute picture of them as we waited for our food!

I asked them to make a funny face and here is Avery!

Not to be outdone, here is Andrew!

And finally, WADE!

The pool at the hotel was heated, so Wade took the kids swimming late Wednesday evening. The pool was quite full of people, but the kids had a blast.

We left for home this morning and it is good to be back! Vacations always fly by, but I am happy to be home. Wade is off the remainder of the week, so that will be nice too!