Wigglin' in San Antonio

Last weekend, to celebrate our 7th anniversary, we decided to get away - albeit not too far - to San Antonio.

We drove in on Saturday morning and went straight to Fiesta Texas for some family fun! The newest attraction there this year is an area for the kiddos called "Wiggles World" where all of the rides are named after The Wiggles songs. There was even a little show with characters from The Wiggles like Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog. This worked out really nicely because Anna loves The Wiggles, and she had a great time.

Derek took Anna on her first roller coaster ride (named after The Wiggles' song "Romp Bomp a Stomp"), which was kind of ironic since Derek doesn't ride roller coasters. But it was pretty mild, and I think he'd do just about anything for his Anna. We all rode the "Big Red Cars" together, and I took Anna on the "Big Red Plane" and the "Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy" ride. But I think she had the most fun playing on Captain Feathersword's ship, which had lots of slides.

We rode lots of other family-friendly rides, and Anna even played her first carnival game. She won a Scooby Doo that she was very proud of.

We pretty much closed the place down, but before we left, Anna had her first caricature made. She wanted to be a pink princess, and I think the little guy did a great job.

On Sunday, we went over to the San Antonio Riverwalk. We started off with a delicious lunch right next to the river at Boudro's, and Anna really liked watching the ducks swim by.

Next, we headed to get our tickets for a river cruise. We didn't have to wait long, and our tour guide was really funny. All was great until Anna started screaming, "I have to go poo poo! I have to go poo poo!" Really loud. And wouldn't stop. So we had to get him to pull the boat over and interrupt everyone's cruise, so we could go hunt down a restroom. Luckily, when we got off, we realized that we weren't too far from where we started, so we didn't miss much!

We did a little more exploring, then hit the road. We'll definitely do that again sometime!

Life's a Beach

Saturday afternoon, we made a trip to Stewart Beach in Galveston with Woss, Cole, Viva & sweet visiting cousin Amaris. I'm really not sure why we've never done it before, but we'll definitely do it again soon because the girls had a blast!

After having dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (where Anna was terrorized by the mascot Cha Cha the frog), we didn't have much time on the beach before the sun set, but I think it was perfect for a first visit. The only thing that suffered a bit were my photos since I don't have the equipment to handle low light. . .yet. (Yes, Derek. That comment was totally for you. Surely I have a birthday coming up or something, right?)

But I digress. . .So no, Galveston is not Florida with its blinding white sand and gorgeous blue water, but this was Anna's first beach experience and she was pretty enamored with everything about it. She loved walking in the surf, playing in the sand, and lugging sand around in her little wagon. Derek took her out to a little sand bar, and she thought she was pretty cool. . .

I was fairly unsuccessful at getting shots of her because I apparently was very uninteresting in comparison to the beach. She wouldn't even look up when I called her name and none of my usual tricks worked, but here are a couple anyway. . .

I don't know if it's the fact that she's younger, happier, or the fact that I'm not her momma, but Olivia, on the other hand, was a lot more willing to flash me some big, beautiful smiles. . .

She also ate some sand, but hey - even that was kind of cute. . .

Does this remind anyone else just a little bit of American Gothic? Haha!

And I had to include one of unbelievably sweet Amaris.
(So glad you're here!)

Can't wait to do it again!

Shamu-ve Over, Elmo!

Move over Elmo - Anna has a new friend! And although he's not as colorful, he's MUCH bigger!


We took a little road trip this weekend to San Antonio. Derek's cousin has a crawfish boil at his house there this time every year, and we figured if we were making the drive, we might as well make a weekend out of it. And that's how we wound up taking Anna on her first visit to Sea World on Sunday!

The first thing we did when we got there was go to see Shamu's "Believe" show. Maybe that wasn't the wisest choice because it was definitely the highlight, but we all enjoyed it so much. We weren't really into getting wet this time, but we'll definitely go back when Anna is a little older and sit in the splash zone.

I was trying to figure out who was more excited - Anna or Derek. I have to admit, though, that it was so amazing seeing what these animals could be trained to do. (Notice the woman flying in the air that dove off of of Shamu as he jumped in the air!)

There is another show with dolphins, synchronized swimmers and high divers called "Viva!" (no, not "Olivia"!) that Anna enjoyed a lot as well.

In addition to the shows, Anna also got to see the dolphins, sharks, penguins ("pink-juans"), parrots, flamingos and clydesdale horses. We were on our way over to the sea lions when it became obvious that Anna was DONE, so we took that as our cue to get started on our long drive home. Maybe we'll catch the sea lions next time...and there will definitely be a next time! :)

Viva La (New) Mexico!

This past weekend, we took a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, with our friends Ross & Nicole to baptize our beautiful new Goddaughter, Olivia. Olivia was a superstar during the christening. She slept for most of it, and she didn't even make a peep when the priest poured the water on her head.

Ross, Nicole & Olivia

This trip was Anna's first time on an airplane, and she did pretty well during the flight to Albuquerque. She was quite active, as most toddlers are, but we were able to keep her quiet and busy with Elmo DVD's, snacks, and sticker & coloring books. The return flight didn't go quite so smoothly; it ended in Anna throwing up on me. But why ruin a nice story with the details, right? ;) So, moving on...

We stayed with Ross' sister Marjorie and her husband Sam in Placitas, right outside of Albuquerque. This was the view of the mountains from their house - can't complain much about that!

Placitas, NM

Here's a pic of Anna after her bath our first night in Placitas. She had a lot of fun playing with all of the rocks in her jammies and crocs.

We did a lot of running around visiting with Ross & Nicole's families, and we even got to make a trip to Seboyeta, where Nicole grew up. There's not much in Seboyeta except dirt, horses, beautiful scenery, and some really great people - Anna had a blast with all of them!

Here we are with Domingo. Anna thought he was pretty cool from far away but was scared of him up close, so we couldn't get the picture we wanted of her sitting on the saddle.

Domingo, Mommy, Daddy & Anna

And here's Anna with Gabby, Ross & Nicole's niece. She's almost 3, and she and Anna are the same size, so it was funny watching them together. Anna loved holding Gabby's hand, and chased her around all weekend wanting to mimic her every move. Thanks Gabby for being such a good sport!

Anna & Gabby in Seboyeta

Notice that they're holding hands even while Anna is going for a ride!

And one last picture from Seboyeta, just because I can't help but feel the whole "Where's Waldo?" vibe when I look at it...

Can you find Derek on the mountain?

Thanks again to Ross & Nicole for giving us the honor of being Olivia's Godparents and for treating us like family while we were in Albuquerque! I know it was "interesting" traveling with two babies, but we all survived it!