a last minute vacation

Last week we packed up all three littles and drove to central Texas. Yes, in August. I was dreaming of some summer fun before the start of school and needing a break from the everyday stuff, and we all wanted to meet our sweet new niece Emma and see family. As is usually the case, when you have littles it's important to be flexible....especially in ridiculous heat! Overall, I'm glad we went. We came back exhausted and a little sick, and Little Miss is out of sorts and in need of a routine again. But--the boys spent so much time together, and we all had to work to make it work in a tight space for so many hours (we are dreaming of a minivan.....how times have changed ;) The iPad saved the day on many occasions; wedged between the two front seats, with Curious George playing over and over (and don't you know the boys watched it again the morning after we got back....guess they don't have it memorized quite yet). Indoor play-places helped too, and lots of rallying the troops by Mommy and Papa. I would just like to say that Ricky is awesome. I couldn't ask for a better parenting partner. When he rallies, I can rally, and vice versa. That is a powerful thing.

Moments from the trip:

watching these guys together

staying in downtown San Antonio, walking to the Alamo (Ricky the Texan had never been), finding the best climbing tree ever (off limits, too bad) 

(this is Ricky's rally face)

both of us wearing sundresses (yes, I'm letting myself enjoy having a girl :)

the Riverwalk. We enjoyed walking here, and planned what we thought would be a fun lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Total disaster. I had to walk Silas around most of the time, and Little Miss was fussy, and Nicky said later "it was kind of creepy." $63 for the lunch from hell, folks. We even have two souvenir glasses to remember it by. Lesson: slightly creepy blinking jungle animals, simulated thunder, and a forty minute wait do not help kids who are already exhausted by humidity. Got it :)

It was nice to be just a few blocks away, though. We recharged with naps and swimming, and did some more walking around in the evening. 

 I tried taking Little Miss in the pool and she wasn't having it. So we hung out by the side of the pool and watched the boys and she gave me the best smile ever. Wish I could show it here. I can honestly say that in that moment, I was filled with hope and gratitude. I want to be her biggest cheerleader.

We went to Sea World. It was very hot. There was a splash pad. Thank you Jesus.

I loved watching Nicky's face during the shows, and feeding sea lions, and Silas watching the otters. Nicky said he wanted to see the show where the dolphins team up and kill the hammerhead shark. Thank you, Netflix and the movie Flipper for that one. We had a pretty nice Panera Bread picnic outside on a shady, grassy spot. We've pretty much decided picnics are the way to go with this bunch.

We drove our sweaty selves to Austin at the end of the day, and let the A/C work its magic. Ricky's sister and brother-in-law were so kind to let us descend on their house with our sweaty, exhausted crew. They fed us some amazing burgers too, and even retrieved barbecue from Salt Lick (an Austin must).

We got to know sweet Emma too. Good thing Silas has had lots of practice being gentle lately. I'm so excited for the boys to have a new little cousin.

We had a fun afternoon in downtown Austin doing indoor things--the Austin Children's Museum and frozen yogurt. Absolutely all we had energy for--it was perfect.

We had to ditch our plans to go up to Dallas and see friends; it became increasingly apparent that it was just too much. So we made the sad but wise decision to go home a day early. We drove to Fredericksburg, swam some more,  had a "hotel picnic", complete with Olympics and some Food Network of course, and got some sleep.

Who knew a German Texas town could make the best Margherita pizza ever? Paired with German wine, not bad at all :) We had a stolen moment after the kiddos were asleep. Did I mention I love this guy?

It is good to be home. We're feeling inspired to start up new routines and do some things more intentionally. School starts in a few days...