Our mini vacation

So Thursday we loaded up the kids and luggage and headed to San Antonio. We just love it over there, especially the hill country. We ended up getting out of town right before rush hour, and were able to make great time. We didn't time it so well last year when we went, and it took us over an hour to get through the Houston traffic.

We spent Friday at Sea World. It was wonderful because the crowds were so low compared to last year. I am sure being a Friday helped a lot with kids in school. All of the lines were short, and we had our pick of seats for all of the shows. Believe was pretty full, but we still ended up getting pretty good seats. That is the name of the Shamu show. Clark loved all of the shows. The kids were also able to feed the dolphins this year. We got to the dolphin pool too late last year and they had closed the window where you purchase the fish. Needless to say, they were excited to be able to do that this time around. Clark is still "vertically challenged" so he wasn't tall enough to ride much. He did ride the Shamu coaster (a cute little kiddie coaster) and the log ride. He is the brave one...so once he IS tall enough, I think he will be T.C.'s roller coaster buddy! However, T.C. was determined to get his dear daughter on a coaster this time around. (she is like her mom and doesn't really like huge coasters...I am more of a Disney World roller coaster rider...ya know, the smaller ones!) He actually BRIBED her to ride a big coaster...yep, $40!!! I couldn't believe it. His price just kept going up...$20,$25,$30....He finally got her at $40. She loves money, so she finally caved in. I was shocked that she actually took him up on his offer. She was quite adamant at first about absolutely positively NOT going on a roller coaster. But she put on her semi brave face and walked off into the sunset with her dad, ready to get on the coaster...ok, really she was just ready to get her 40 bucks! However, she did it...pretty much hated it...and said she was never ever riding something like that again. Ha!! Clark, on the other hand, was quite upset that he couldn't ride with them. He was a little perturbed when they walked off without him!

Saturday was a more laid back day. We decided to check out another town right outside of San Antonio called New Braunfels. It is a small town, but home to one of the largest water parks in the country Schlitterbahn. Of course the park is closed right now, but we got to drive by and see part of it. It is supposedly among the 10 top best water parks. We ended up at Landa Park, a great city park with a little train ride going through it. They also have a great aquatic area during the summer. They have an Olympic sized pool and a HUGE spring fed pool. They blocked off part of the river and it feeds the pool. It looked like a lot of fun, and we will have to go when that section is open. The kids did feed some precious ducks and we rode the train. We also ventured into their small downtown and visited a little train museum that is in an old train station. They had a steam engine and a caboose in the back that we could climb around on. It is a little German town, so T.C. just had to eat in a German restaurant and get his schnitzel fix! After we left New Braunfels, we drove up the Guadalupe River and made our way to Canyon Lake. We had no idea that the hill country was so pretty. It was beautiful. The river is gorgeous with hills right there. It actually reminded us of driving through back roads in New Mexico or Colorado. We look forward to going in the spring/early summer so the kids can play in the river. The big thing to do around there is tubing. You just float with the current. Canyon Lake was pretty as well, and we enjoyed walked on top of the dam. We had planned on strolling around another little area called Gruene, but a huge market/craft bazaar was going on and people were everywhere with nowhere to park. So, we drove through and look forward to checking it out the next time we are there. It just a small sleepy town with neat shops. Can't wait to browse through them! With a great day behind us, we then set out to see some old friends. We have some friends from our Albuquerque days that are now stationed in San Antonio. Ali and their youngest are the same age. It was fun to see how the kids had changed in the over 6 years since we had seen them. Bryan was a single dad for some time and is now remarried. We enjoyed meeting his wife Karen. They now have 2 Great Danes! You will see in the pictures just how massive these dogs are. They are gentle giants though...which is something I didn't know. I had never been around Great Danes before. One weighs 155 lbs. and the other is 145 lbs. HUGE!! They are so sweet, as you can tell by the pictures. It was a great evening spent with old and new friends.

Sunday we parked near the Alamo, and spent quite a few hours in that area. Ali wanted to go a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. T.C. took her across the street to that while I walked around the Alamo grounds with Clark. I was able to get him to sleep while I sat near a fountain. I browsed the Alamo store and walked around while he took a snooze! Once T.C. and Ali rejoined us, we walked along the Riverwalk and had lunch outside near the river. The weather was gorgeous. After lunch, we walked 1/2 a mile or so down to the Market Square and checked out the Mexican market. Clark got to watch some children doing Spanish dancing, and he really enjoyed that.

That is about the extent of our long weekend. We enjoyed it very much. Now I must finish wading through the laundry...I always dread that part of a trip!

Our crazy new pooch has a name at last....Mandy. Ali named her, and we think it is quite fitting. As I type this, she is running around like a mad woman. Full of energy doesn't begin to describe her. CRAZY girl!! She is sweet, but we have to watch out what she chews on...like everything in her path. Ha! Ok, she was just chasing her tail...oh wow! (and we thought she might be through the puppy stage...ummm, NO)

We want to ask you to pray for a couple of things. Our little miracle of a nephew, Kai, is fighting an infection. He is on antibiotics, but I didn't get an update yesterday...so I don't know much. My mom said he seemed to be more comfortable as of Saturday. We just hope God heals the infection, and he will continue to progress very well. Another is a decision we are having to make regarding T.C.'s job. He was approached a couple of weeks ago by NASA to interview for a government job. He did, and was called yesterday with a job offer. We are praying about it, and trying to make the best decision. The civil service job offers more job security...but as a contractor you make more money in the long run...but you can also loose the contract. So, we are leaning more toward job security, especially in today's uncertain economy. We are truly so thankful for his job.

Here are so photos from our trip.