Spring Break

We were so lucky that GG was willing to come and hang out with us over Spring Break.  She flew in on Friday night and because she's always up for an adventure, the next morning we drove to San Antonio.  We stayed at the lovely Valencia Hotel on the Riverwalk for two nights, and basically ate, drank, and were merry the entire time we were there.

The Riverwalk is really fun, but when it is crowded becomes a stressful potential death trap.  Lots of people crowd an already relatively narrow walkway and with the amount of drunk people wandering around (lots of nice bars and restaurants), I am really shocked that more people don't end up in the water.  I thought for sure we'd either have to rescue GG or Lou at one point, but thankfully they both stayed upright.

GG bought a red sequined hat and Norah got an orange "cowboy" hat.

Lou was unimpressed with the river until he discovered it was home to Mallard ducks.  The kid is obsessed with Mallards, I suppose because he can identify them by their green heads.  He likes to scream MALLARD whenever he spots one.

Aunt Vanessa flew into San Antonio Saturday afternoon and met up with us at the hotel.  The kids were so excited to see her.  In retrospect, I shouldn't have told them she was meeting up with us but instead let it be a surprise.  Norah would have lost her mind.

That night (as well as the next night), we walked to the Alamo in the evening assuming we could get in.  Apparently my reading comprehension skills are no good because on two separate and distinct occasions I misread the operating hours sign resulting in us not getting to go in.  Twice.  It was still fun to see what was going on after dark, though.

There was a group of people taking a tour of the "haunted" locations in San Antonio.  Norah begged to do this, but took advanced planning and it was a no-go.  She consoled herself by pretending to be a zombie for the rest of the evening.

GG took us all on a horse drawn carriage ride.  It isn't something I have ever done before and was really neat.  Louis loved the fact that there was a net rigged up under the horse to catch his poop. Norah had a lot of questions for the driver about the horse (named Jacob) and how he is treated and cared for.

The next day we went to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, which were peaceful and lovely.  Well, peaceful until we showed up.

We went to a popular Mexican restaurant for a late lunch,

And Norah discovered Elotes (Mexican street corn).  We had to order her another one after she finished the first.  It is basically roasted corn on the cob spread with a mixture of cotija cheese, mayo (gross), and chili pepper and spices.  She could not get enough of it.

Later that afternoon and evening we wandered around the historic (and supposedly haunted) Menger Hotel and took a boat ride on the river.

Norah has become a bit of a carnivore as of late.  She LOVES meat, which is difficult to reconcile with her desire to be a vegetarian.

On the way back to Austin the next day we stopped at the little town of Gruene for the biggest platter of onion rings known to man.

The next day in Austin we continued the tradition of visiting the faerie gardens.  Norah dressed the part.

It was a whirlwind of a trip and we are so grateful for those willing to brave the crazy Texas weather (freezing one day, 9 million degrees the next) to come and see us.

The rest of spring break was filled with a few park dates,

And (finally) a trip up to Mt. Bonnell.

The pool water is freezing but that hasn't stopped the kids from getting in several times already.  They often perch on the top of the slide in eager anticipation.