Spring Break in San Antonio

We decided to head to San Antonio for a few days during Spring Break. It's about a 5 hour drive from where we live so it wasn't too bad. I had my Nook Tablet and the kids had their DVD player, so we were okay. Be prepared for LOTS of pictures!!!!

Monday
We drive through the state capital, Austin, on our way to San Antonio. We always love to see the Capitol building.
We stopped for lunch in New Braunfels, actually it was considered to be the town of Gruene. Several friends recommended the restaurant Gristmill. It's a restaurant overlooking the Guadalupe River and was full of people. It wasn't too pricey and the portions were generous. We were very full when we left.



After arriving into town, we checked into our hotel, Drury Inn & Suites, which was right on the Riverwalk.

We were fortunate to stay on the 7th floor and had our own private balcony. This is the view of the Riverwalk just below us.

The kids enjoyed their ice cream as we strolled along the Riverwalk.

My parents, brother, and younger sister and her kids were also in San Antonio for a few days. We met up with them and had dinner at Lone Star Cafe to celebrate my nephew's birthday.

We asked the waiters to sing to him and he did not know what to do! So cute!

A caricaturist was strolling around drawing caricatures for $10. My sister said she wanted one for the birthday boy so Craig paid for it. My nephew LOVES Spiderman and that's what was drawn for him.

Tuesday

The next day, we all headed to Sea World. The kids were soooo excited. We've been several times before, but they were still looking forward to it.

Last time we visited the park, we did the Dining With Shamu experience. We loved it so much that we wanted to do it again. They serve a huge buffet lunch with desserts galore. All the tables are seated around a private pool where Shamu swims and trains.

The trainers will come out and show different techniques with Shamu (there's actually 5 'Shamus' at this location) and answer any questions we have. It's a great experience!

Right after lunch, we walked to the stadium and watched one of the Shamu shows. Such fun!

These animals were everywhere and the kids (and Craig) loved getting their picture taken with them.

We really enjoyed the seal, otter, and walrus show.

Next, we saw the dolphins.

Sea World also has rides. Kaitlyn and Preston decided to try some of the rides for the first time. We all rode the kiddie roller coaster, Shamu Express. I sat with Kaitlyn and Craig sat with Preston. Kaitlyn screamed the whole ride which made me laugh so hard. Preston gets off the ride with his eyes full of tears. He did not like it at all! Kaitlyn wanted to go on this ride that swung back and forth and rotated. Preston refused.

However, they both wanted to go on the mini ferris wheel. They wanted me to go with them. Now, I'm scared of heights. It doesn't matter what the distance is to the ground, I just don't like it. But I put on my big girl panties and went with the kids.

We were able to cool off in the penguin exhibit. It was pretty warm that day and I got a slight sunburn. We enjoyed going into a building with A/C, even for just a little bit.

Craig and my sister wanted to ride one of the big roller coasters. I don't like roller coasters either, so I watched from afar.

Finally, we saw the Rock N Roll Shamu show that included this awesome guitar player.

Wednesday
We had originally planned to spend the day at Six Flags Fiesta Texas but nixed that idea when Preston didn't like the roller coaster. We decided to do some sight seeing instead. The weather was partly cloudy and in the 70's, so it was perfect.

We stopped at the Buckhorn Saloon where we ran into (or rather ran away from) this giant statue.

I can't believe I saw this. Remember the movie Big?

Can you guess why it's called the Buckhorn Saloon?

Kaitlyn really wanted to go see the Alamo. Do you remember it? This is a giant memorial outside of the Alamo.

Remember now?

We even ran into some soldiers.

We saw an IMAX movie about the Alamo then headed to our favorite restaurant on the Riverwalk, Casa Rio.

There's always a wait to be seated and the kids patiently watched the river.

Our table was right where the river forms a 'T'. Great view!

Growing up in El Paso, we always took mariachis for granted. Our kids had never experienced it before. It was pretty cool to be serenaded.

Next, we headed to Market Square and went into the Mercado. There was a folklorico performance going on. We saw big dancers...

...and little dancers.

We stopped in Mi Tierra and got some pan dulce (sweet bread). I LOVE this bread. I used to eat it a lot when I was a kid.

Finally, we ended the day with a Riverboat Cruise. It's nice to see the Riverwalk all lit up.

This is the Tower of the Americas.

The Rivercenter Mall

Then, we headed home on Thursday. It was so nice to get away and relax for just a few days. The weather was perfect, we loved the atmosphere, and of course, we were in good company.

Baby Shower

Our niece is preggers!!!! She's due next month and we're excited. Preston is the youngest in the family so it will be fun to have another baby around. My mother-in-law and I threw a baby shower for her and it turned out sooo nice.

The nursery is going to be done with woodland creatures so we went with an 'owl' themed shower. My niece's other grandma let us use her gorgeous house to host the shower. We just served cupcakes, cookies, and punch to keep it casual.

My friend/co-worker, Amy, made these adorable owl cupcakes. I found the picture on Pinterest and sent it to her. She duplicated it perfectly. They were vanilla or chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. Check out Amy's other edible creations.

These yummy thumbprint cookies are from Kroger. They matched perfectly!

I found these incredibly adorable favors on Pinterest. They are just felt owl faces on mason jars and filled with white-dipped pretzels.

I needed some cute centerpieces for the table. I was about to throw out some pinecones, but realized I could use them for the shower. It was perfect! I just tied brown ribbons around the bottom of the hurricane vases that I already had.

I made a diaper wreath for the front door. They are so easy to make and I like to add the baby's initial in the middle.

This punch is so easy to make. Just mix one tub of Raspberry Crystal Light and a 2 liter of orange soda. Delicious!

Here is the mommy to be!!

My niece and I!

You can see where I got the shower ideas on my Pinterest board. It was a great shower and she got soooo many great gifts. We can't wait to meet the wonderful blessing God has given the family!

Open House 2012

The kids had Open House at their school and they were so excited to show me all of their work. Unfortunately, Craig was unable to make it so I took lots of pictures for him.

Preston had lots of things hanging up in his classroom and hallway. This is his version of a flower growing.

Then, he made Dr. Seuss's Horton the Elephant. Those black lines are the elephants eyes. :)

Each classroom at their school has one wall of gigantic windows. Since Preston is learning about how flowers grow, he has sunflower seeds in a bag hanging on the window.

Then, Kaitlyn was very eager for me to come to her class. She had to write a fiction and non-fiction story of a state. Her non-fiction state was Maine and her fiction state was Mane. :)

A few weeks ago, Kaitlyn had to take recycled objects in various shapes to school. The students formed groups and built a robot out of their materials.

This is the story of her robot. Kaitlyn has been reading Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. One of the characters is nicknamed Fudge. I think that is why Kaitlyn decided to name her robot Fudge, too.

She also made the life cycle of a butterfly.

Here is her Dr. Seuss.

In between the classrooms in the hallways are gigantic white boards. The 2nd graders wrote a note to their letters for their parents. Kaitlyn's note says:
Dear Desiree and Craig Kelley,
I want you to come see my work and other peoples work. I am going to show you my math journal and SS and S (social studies and science) journal. You can see completely everyones art work and thier work. Welcome to Ridgeview!
Love,
Kaitlyn

This is her portfolio of work.

She had a snail hanging in the hallway. It says "Tiny Snail taught me...to never give up."

This artwork was also in the hallway.

The science lab contained all the landform projects the 2nd graders had made. Kaitlyn was finally able to bring her iceberg home. By the way, she got a 100 on that project.

Book Character Day

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, most schools around here had a Book Character Day. The students get to dress up as their favorite character and show the book that goes with their costume. Kaitlyn chose Fancy Nancy and Preston was Charlie Brown.

My mom had made Kaitlyn a pink tutu a few years ago, so it was very easy to pull her outfit together. This is actually Preston's 3rd year to be Charlie Brown. I made the shirt buy cutting out felt pieces and used fabric glue to attach to a yellow shirt. I figured if the shirt still fit, why not continue to use it? Plus, he didn't mind at all.

They had a little parade at school so I stayed around to watch. Kaitlyn is sitting patiently and watching the other kids walk by.

There goes Preston, making a silly face as usual.

I finally caught him being still as he was headed back to class.

I also had a Book Character Day later in the week. In the past, I was Fern from Charlotte's Web and Ramona Quimby (I used the same outfit for both). This year, I briefly mentioned to Kaitlyn's teacher that I was still needing to find a simple costume to wear. She offered to let me borrow hers! So, I went as Thing 2. The head piece is actually a feather boa cut in half and I bobby pinned it to my hair. So easy!

This past weekend, all of the 2nd graders from school were invited to watch The Lorax together. We went and loved the movie. One of our favorites!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!