San Antonio Vacation 2011

Last week we took our second annual Fall San Antonio trip.  It was our first vacation as a family of four.  We did as much as we could in four days and I think it was the perfect time to be away.  We drove in late Saturday night and stayed in our pajamas all day on Sunday trying to recover!  It was so much fun and we were so proud of our little guy.  He was so great especially when we were out and about.  The drive home was the toughest part.  He was not having his car seat for 6 hours so we had to stop a few times.  But driving down there we only stopped once at Sonic for a quick snack and a potty break.  I guess everyone is always in a better mood driving to a vacation than on the drive back home.

Keegan took a car seat break to hang out with Daddy up front.

We took a chance on Priceline Tuesday night and searched for a hotel in the Downtown Riverwalk area for Wednesday night.  We weren't going to leave until Thursday but we were all so ready to go Tuesday night!  Pricleline selected the Emily Morgan Hotel downtown for less than half of its normal rate.  It was a great hotel next to the Alamo and we were so glad that we headed down a day early.  We took our time and arrived right at sundown.  This is a view from our room. There were rows of horses for carriage rides on the other side of the street.  Ava loved it!  She loves the city like her Mommy :-)

We took off after checking in and walked around downtown for a quick Alamo visit and ice cream.

Thursday Morning....Ready for a day on the town!

 Lunch on the river at Casa Rio

Ava loves this place because she can feed the ducks the whole time

The Children's Museum was great!  There were so many things to explore.  This is a photo from the post office/bank area.

Inside an airplane.....

And Ava's favorite part.....the grocery store!  We spent most of our time in this area as she shopped, checked out and cooked her 'food' for us in the cafe next door.

Keegan woke up for a little fun before we left :-)

I didn't pack his infant bath so Keegan took his first 'big boy bath' in San Antonio.  He's been sitting up for over a month now so it was time anyway.  He splashed around like I thought he would.  This is just one of about 20 pictures I took.  I think baby bath tub photos are adorable!

Friday Morning.....Ready for Sea World!  Ava picked up a brochure in the hotel lobby and studied it well before we left :-)

Sea World San Antonio 2011 (Our 5 year Wedding Anniversary)

The weather was absolutely perfect!  We headed for the new Sesame Street Bay of Play first.  It was a great new addition and Ava loved everything about it except the giant sesame street characters.  We tried her picture with Burt, Ernie and Big Bird and she ran every time.  I guess we only like them inside the television?

Dolphin Cove

At the Sea Lion Show

This was Ava's first time seeing Shamu because last year's show was at night.  Even Keegan sat still and watched the whole time.  It was an awesome show!

Ava, Keegan and her new penguin

On Saturday morning we headed for Bandera about 30 miles outside of San Antonio to meet our new baby cousin Kaylee Grace.  She is beautiful!  And so tiny.  She made Keegan seem like a toddler!

My cousin Lauren and our girls 

Lauren's dad (my Uncle Paul) said he could remember us playing dolls together like it was yesterday and now we are really mommies!  It makes me sad that we live so far away.  We grew up seeing each other several times a week and now only a couple of times a year.  But it was such a great time getting to see family and meet her precious new addition.

This is a view from their back deck overlooking the hill country.  It was a great visit and a great few days of vacation.  We are already excited about next year.  On the way home we talked about how Keegan will be running around Sea World with his big sister.  And it will be here way too soon!