Little San Antonio Getaway

 We are taking a big family vacation in the fall, but it has been killing us (okay maybe just me!) to not go somewhere this summer. Seeing all the beach and fun family pictures of my friends made me jealous.... so, we booked a night at my favorite San Antonio resort, Westin La Cantera. 

We left at noon on Friday and drove downtown to eat at Home Slice pizza on South Congress. At 1 PM, we had a little wait, so we stood in the shade and took goofy pictures. 

This restaurant does the neatest thing.... they bring out dough for kids to play with while you wait on your food. Abby had THE BEST TIME with that dough! She added Italian seasoning and S&P to it, rolled it all around and it kept her busy the entire time. Such a great idea!

After lunch, we drove another hour to the hotel and hit the slide immediately! Abby would complain she didn't want to do it and laugh the whole way down with Marcus.

More than anything, she just likes to float around on her inner tube.

After swimming for 2.5 hours, we left and had BBQ nearby and then came back in time for smores and to watch Monsters Inc on the lawn. I went upstairs and enjoyed a little quiet time while they watched the movie. They had blankets for everyone and I brought them some snacks from the gift shop.

In Discovery Junction (tennis courts made into kids activities) they had all kinds of fun going on! Marcus and Abby tried to get to the gummy bears hidden beneath cool whip without using their hands.

Abby will tell you her favorite thing about the resort is the kids club. They have games, crafts, and toys for the kids. We let her go there for 1 hour on Friday and 1 hour on Saturday. The staff there remembered her from last summer and commented, "she loves the dollhouse and wants to play with it for hours". Yep, that is her! We love it too, because while she is there, we are here....

Peace and quiet to read a good book at the adult pool.

And, drink a nice cold beverage! :)

Abby played at the dollhouse this time, but also played a game called Headbandz, which looked quite fun and she made this kitty cat from melted beads. Well worth the $9/hour we paid.

Saturday we checked out at noon and then enjoyed lunch poolside before swimming a little more and then heading home about 1:45. It was just what I needed to hold me over until our real trip in 2 more months!

The Serious Side

Here are the remainder of our pictures without all that goofy nonsense! :)

By the way, there were all taken at Picture People in the mall. They are quick and easy and not nearly as expensive as going on location. I save the on location shoots for every other year. I just can't afford it! We took these, looked at them, ordered the CD, went to dinner in the food court and then picked it all up!

Plus, the membership at Picture People has gotten even better! You spend $40 on an annual membership, but you get that back in coupons and free sheets and now you get more stuff like free CD! Check them out if you are like me and like taking pictures often and are cool with a clean white background!

The Silly Side

We had family photos done at Picture People tonight. I had to buy the CD because there were so many cute photos that I loved, but didn't really want to frame on the mantel. Marcus and Abby drank silly juice before our session and it shows in our pictures!

This one belongs on a book cover about parenting... or honor thy father :)

We had to take this one before this big girl and "old" man couldn't do it anymore! Marcus calls this the broom and he does it with Abby often.

She wanted to be Superman!

4th of July Fun

We have had lots of fun over the 4 day weekend and I wasn't the best picture taker!

On Thursday, we had two families over for lunch. We grilled burgers, let the kids play and then all went to our neighborhood pool. It was quick and fun! I am so used to entertaining big parties that I forget it is okay to just have a couple of two over for a meal.

After resting Thursday afternoon, we went to our friends home with the best fireworks location in Cedar Park. Their backyard butts up to the park where the city fireworks show is held. It is perfect! After dinner, we had cupcakes for dessert and Ms. Liesl was so nice to help Abby celebrate her stuffed animals birthday with a candle and song.

No joke she has told me for months that 4th of July is his birthday and she wanted a party for him. I gave Liesl the heads up and she obliged. Abby and her dog, Poppers, were happy!

As the sun set, we went outside for sparklers, poppers (the fireworks, not dog) and waited for the show to start. Note to self, keep Abby in a bow for many more years. She looks so grown up without it!

Friday morning, we joined our friends from dance class two years ago for a pool party at one of the Dance Moms (our own given group name) homes. They five girls had fun swimming, watching a Barbie movie, and chatting with each other. We ordered pizza and ate yummy desserts in the shade.

Saturday, Marcus and Abby visited his Mom and came home in time to rest and then have dinner with our friends The Billingsley family. We ate at Dahlia's which we all love and the girls played so long they were covered in a fine layer of dust. Brown bath water it was!

Today, we have enjoyed church, fried chicken for lunch, naps, swimming and playing in the backyard. Abby was given a new backyard toy that is a BIG HIT! I'll share photos soon!

Fun Few Days...

I don't know how many different ways to say "and today, we went swimming" ha! It is a daily gig! Abby wanted to snuggle with Daddy at the pool on Saturday afternoon. She loves when we are early to places and she can crawl in my lap and wait. I love it, too!

Saturday night Marcus saw the new Superman movie with our friend Brian, so Brian's family and Abby and I met up at Chick-fil-A for dinner. These girls are becoming fast friends and I am so thankful!

Sunday morning we wore our little patriotic dress to church. I love buying one red/white/blue dress for Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day. This one is from a Mom at our church's preschool that I found through friends. She is super reasonable and you can pick it up and avoid shipping since she is local. Her facebook page is here. 

Sunday was a super special day at church where we watched the kids that had been at theater camp all week perform. We pulled Abby out of kids care to join us and she LOVED it! She was singing and mimicking their hand motions. I can't wait for her to be older and do things like this. 

On Monday morning, we had a play date with my friend Kathy and her kids Harper and Hudson. Though twice her size and age, Abby and Harper do really well together. We played in their playroom and then outside with the little pool, water table, slides and doll house. 

Baby Hudson just quietly hung out the whole time!

On Tuesday morning, we joined our Sunday school friends for a swimming party with the ladies and kids. Four families in our class have swimming pools so we have been making the rounds! This is Abby with.... Abby!

These are all the kids who swam Tuesday morning! They played so well together!

Since our pool party was in Southwest Austin, Abby and I did a little shopping before coming home. We got to visit some stores we don't go in often like Home Goods and World Market. At World Market, I found Bacon syrup. Really... does this go in coffee? Marcus declined my offer to buy him some.

I needed a little beverage for the drive and tried the new Spiced Root Beer at Starbucks. It is good- very spicy! And, I was so excited it is corn syrup free. I haven't had a corn syrup drink in 8 months and it has really curbed my headaches. This one has sugar, honey and molasses to sweeten it.

Finally I stopped at Target to see the new FEED line. Get there quickly before it is all gone! These products are super cute and with each purchase you know exactly how many American families you are feeding. I love the style, the concept, and the price! They were very reasonable to include such a giving mission. I bought the two platters below and fed 36 people. 

We had a fun day at home today, cleaning, baking and decorating for a little party tomorrow. We have friends coming over for lunch and swimming and then we are joining other friends for fireworks!

Happy 4th of July!

Sprinklers!

It is just part of summer in Texas to run through the sprinklers! Last night, Abby did just that! She has never worn a bikini and didn't like it much, so the fun didn't last long! Marcus is anti-bikinis and I agree. She wears these bottoms with a rashguard I bought on sale elsewhere. Since it was after 7 PM, I just put the top on her. You'll likely not see that white belly again for many years :)

She was much happier just a swingin'

Marcus pushes her on the swing so often, he has a little set-up with a chair in the perfect place to occasionally give her a push while playing a little video game.

I sure do love this little girl and her teeny bikini!