We decided to surprise the kids and take a mini-vacation to Dallas and San Antonio for three days. It was a fast but productive and actually educational trip. Our first stop was the American Girl Store. Such an exciting visit for the girls in your life! We were able to get Mia's ears pierced (which she had been wanting to do for years) and splurge on a new Zebra print outfit! She was one happy camper!
We also visited the Lego store for my youngest and Guitar Center for my oldest but accidentally left the camera in the car for these stores :(After a full day in Dallas, we drove to San Antonio to our rented condo. If you have never done this, you might want to consider condos or rented homes. I search for availability on www.vrbo.com (Vacation Rentals by Owner). For our family, this is the only way to go. We have our own little 'apartment', I cook breakfast, each child has their own room and it's usually cheaper than hotels - you just can't beat it) After some fresh banana muffins and yogurt, Sea World was our next destination. Though we didn't go on a lot of rides (didn't really want to get wet), we highly enjoyed each of the shows.
The kids had never seen Shamu, so it was quite fascinating for them - even the 4-D Pirate Show was a hoot! I was actually quite glad that the park closed at 5 p.m. That gave us a chance to head back to the condo, shower and rest before eating at Saltgrass Steakhouse. For those of you that recommended it to me - thank you! The service was incredible and the food was amazing. Of course, our waiter was one-in-a-million, which always aids to the happiness of your visit!After sleeping in a bit and watching a rerun of Andy Griffith, our last day was approaching quickly: The Alamo and the San Antonio River Walk. This was the educational part that I referred to earlier. I really expected to be in and out of the Alamo within 30 minutes. Much to my delight, history came alive to us as we walked the grounds, read the 5' illustrated banners and listened to a live narration of the entire events that transpired on the day in March of 1836. Two hours had passed before the cameras were finally put away. If you have never studied this event in history, I challenge you to do so. If you're ever in Texas, I implore you to stop and be awed by what the books don't tell you
The San Antonio River Walk was just gorgeous.We just HAD to eat dinner at Rainforest Cafe and just HAD to get the Sparkling Volcano Dessert! I can't extract the pictures from the camcorder for this one, but let's just say that you would have watched in horror as to how fast the five of us devoured that thing! Walking the streets of San Antonio was delightful, but our short vacation was coming to a halt.
We ended our little get-a-way by blowing some money at the Tanger Outlet Malls - which is always fun no matter who you are!Even though I had just had the lithotripsy done on my right kidney, we still decided to head out to Lake Texoma for the 4th of July weekend with two other families. I really was not looking forward to this trip because of my physical condition, the horrible rain storm that was headed our way and the awful memory of last years unfortunate events! However, it turned out to be the most relaxing weekend I have had in quite a while. It did rain the first night we were there but then it quickly headed out. What made it so special? I was able to recover, my family catered to me, the weather was gorgeous and my friend cooked for every lunch and dinner we had. What was I doing? Relaxing in a lawn chair while enjoying the sight of a happy family!
I now have a refurbished body, a new mindset and the same wonderful family God blessed me with! He is SO good and faithful and His love endures forever!
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