The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17
Since we returned from Texas on the day before Easter, we didn't have any big Easter plans, but we did set up a family photo before going to church.
Austin having fun before the photo.
Best one I could get of the kids together. Colleen wore the same Easter dress as Amelia's 1st Easter.
After lunch and rest time, we set out to plant our silly grass pots and start our seedling for our vegetable garden.
Easter was followed by some warm spring days; we got outside multiple times a day and enjoyed the sunshine.
Jordan is also the 3rd child, and he is fascinated with Colleen now that she is mobile.
Somehow they always end up making a train.
One afternoon, Austin asked if he could use his telescope to look for birds' nests. It was too cute.
This girl makes us all giggle all the time. Anytime she's quiet, I can find her hiding behind the shower curtain. I'm not sure what fascinates her about this place. But she just sits here happily, occasionally batting at the curtain.
We traveled to Texas during Amelia's spring break to visit with Grammie, Pappy & Great Grammie. Flying across the country as a family of 5 is sometimes a comedy routine, but I am consistently surprised at how flexible travelers our kids are. We might provide entertainment for those around us, but the kids do a great job tackling their backpack activities or burning energy as directed. Grammie & Pappy packed in a year's worth of grandparenting treats into 1 week, so there are a ton of photos in this post so I can remember them all.
Selfies before heading out
Early morning shuttle bus
Chocolate milk treat after standing in line for an hour through the airline check-in.
After arriving in San Antonio, the kids were thrilled with the warm weather. So we ate outside at Taco Cabana. What a perfect start to the week!
When we arrived to the house, the kids took turns driving the power wheel. Amelia was asking if an adult could ride in it with her, so Mommy tried it out.
Our first full day, Sunday, was spent at Sea World. The kids loved the shows, the kid rides, and the water park.
Pappy was game to ride the roller coaster with the kids.
Carousel!
Selfie before the sea lion & otter show
No one else would ride the ferris wheel with them...
We even put Colleen in the rented stroller. What a big girl!
Watching the beluga whale/dolphin show - Colleen actually started signing "more" after one of the big jumps. It was fun to see!
We learned about penguins while this zookeeper walked around with them in the penguin habitat.
Colleen fell asleep with the penguins and stayed asleep through the pet-trick show.
Then we had fun at the water/splash park.
The kids convinced me to get wet with them.
Ice cream treat after we all dried off.
One last carousel ride
On Monday, we headed up to Austin to meet with various friends. We were so busy catching up that we didn't take photos of our lunch with the Bivens' or late afternoon with the Harris's. But I did grab some photos of our early afternon with Emily & Christof. Austin immediately focused on this awesome climbing structure in their yard.
Zoe & Amelia played for a bit outside.
Amelia read to Austin & Zoe.
We met more friends at Rudy's for BBQ and conversation.
Kids playing Uno after dinner.
Attempt at a kid photo
On Tuesday after a relaxing morning, we headed to a swimming pool at a local hotel.
Amelia showing off her backstroke.
Pizza for dinner, you say?
Sounds great!
So my Mom & Dad surprised us with a hotel room and a free night/next day.
We decided to go play a game of laser tag and billiards.
And then as we were driving back to the hotel, we stopped at the "Hot Doughnuts" sign.
On our free day, we went shopping and ate at Chuy's. Lots of conversation and planning and dreaming - just about the perfect day.
I could probably live on this alone.
While we were out having fun, Pappy & Grammie planned a day full of at-home activities for the kids. They started with waffle-making for breakfast.
And moved on to making dessert for dinner later that night.
Making soaps with fun toys embedded in them.
They went out for lunch at Sonic.
Out for an afternoon drive
This video was taken later with Patrick around, but it shows how Amelia did a pretty good job driving on the sidewalks.
They prepped dinner, and Amelia got to practice using a sharp knife.
Colleen had fun playing with the few eggs set out for her.
Walking around with Great Grammie.
When we arrived home, the kids had fun showing us their art projects and dinner made. We sent the kids outside to play while Daddy & Pappy hid their Easter eggs around the house. Once they collected all of them, they pulled the puzzle pieces out from the eggs and constructed the puzzle that told them where their Easter baskets were hidden.
On Thursday, we were surprised by a carriage ride around old San Antonio with a beautiful Belgian, Jedidiah. Our tour guide asked Amelia if she wanted to sit up front with her.
I promise he had a good time.
Walking down the Riverwalk for lunch.
After lunch we walked to this AWESOME park.
And next to it was a splash pad. So we let the kids loose.
He's not faking. So tired from a fun day.
On Friday, we headed to this Kiddie Park that has been in San Antonio forever. It was full of theme-park rides that were age appropriate. We had gorgeous weather, and the park was shaded so we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.
To end our fun-filled week, we went out for frozen yogurt to celebrate Great Grammie's 88th birthday. It wasn't until the 21st, but she was delighted to celebrate it early with her great grandkids.
Helping Pappy take down the trampoline before we left.
A few quick family photos before we headed out to the airport.
We flew/shuttled/drove home on Saturday with a fantastic drama-free travel day. We were so blessed to enjoy such a fun-packed week in the gorgeous Texas spring.
