San Antonio-September

John and I decided to brave a couple 3 hour plane rides with 4 little munchkins in order to get to TEXAS! And why, you may ask, would we venture down there? There is only one thing that makes the appeal of a vacation (involving major travel) override the terror and dread: FAMILY! My sister Heather lives in San Antonio, my parents got a rental place at a "dude ranch" and my sister and her husband, Chelsey and Jared, were flying down too. I think I'd honestly go anywhere and go through lots of turmoil if it meant good times with the fam. So here is the breakdown:
Plane
Everyone thought I was crazy because I was determined not to check any bags. But I did it! We had 2 rolling suitcases, 2 large duffel bags, 1 rolling backpack, 3 children's backpacks, and 1 monster purse. Oh yeah, and a double stroller. Our kids were AWESOME with all the airport craziness. Shuttles, removing shoes, bag scanning, etc. I am a firm believer that it pays off to give your kids a heads up on what to expect, and what will be expected of them. Carston, Avery, and Macy were angels on the plane. Macy was very proud of herself because even though her ears were hurting during the descent, she "cried really soft and just put her blankie on her ear." Kate struggled a bit, but nothing that was unexpected. We finally resorted to pumping her full of suckers, gushers, fruit snacks, etc. On the way home, she was so tired. She was yelling, and it was one of those times where you know if you just hold them tight, they'll cry hard for a minute and then go to sleep. I was too chicken though to have her crying, but John held out and she quickly went to sleep. I also want to say that little compliments to strangers can mean a lot. On both plane rides, strangers said nice things to me afterword about me being a good mother and it made my day. It also made me want to do the same for someone else.

SwimmingThe place we were staying at had an awesome mini-water park. There were big and little slides, a lazy river, a kids water playground, and even a wave pool. The kids were in heaven there. Avery was the first one to go down the big water slide by herself, and she was so excited that she did it. Carston eventually took the plunge and soon became what the lifeguard referred to as the "slide king." (Another little comment that made his day seeing as how he's told me about it several times :) Avery and Carston loved the wave pool (surprise for me). Avery also loved pulling people around the lazy river in tubes. It was kind of crazy with big waves and waterfalls, and she loved it all. She is definitely a little fish. Macy loved going down the slides and just playing with her cousins. Kate liked going down the slides as well and hanging out with all the lounging adults.
(I had to include this one of Macy in her new suit...It is the first one without some sort of ruffle, and it just made her look like such a big girl :)

Pump it Up-No pictures because I was too lazy to get the camera out of the car :)

We got a great deal on coupons for a place similar to Kangaroo Zoo. The kids had a blast there. Kate was the best to watch. She'd climb up these HUGE slides by herself and slide down, and then she'd race as fast as she could to climb up again. It was funny to see this little midget being more daring than her 4 year old cousin (no offense Hallie, Carston was just like you at your age :) I have to admit that I had fun there too. It was sad Jared and Chelsey had to miss it since they spent the previous night puking :) Yucky!

Horseback Riding

We got another great deal on an hour horseback ride (can you say Groupon?) Heather was very nice to watch all the kiddos (except Carston since he was old enough to go). I loved horses growing up. I loved the vacations to Montana when our cousins would take us riding. My mom even signed me up for riding lessons in junior high. But it had been over 10 years since I'd ridden. It was fun to get on one again, but I was disappointed we had to follow the guide the whole time :) I wanted to take off and see what my horse could do! When we hit an open pasture, I was seriously considering giving my horse the signal to take off, and then playing innocent afterward like I didn't know what I was doing :) Don't worry, I didn't. I was too scared Carston's horse would follow my lead :) It was fun though, and I have to say there is something about the dying breed of Cowboys. They are true gentleman to the core, and it makes me sad to know there are fewer and fewer of them every year.

Shooting Shotguns

John decided he needed a manly activity, so when we saw a sign for skeet shooting, we pulled over. Jared and John did pretty well (even with the employee that clashed with John's personality. He was trying to be helpful, but only succeeded in driving John crazy :) Carston was pretty excited to shoot his first real gun, but ended up surprised at how heavy it was to hold up and the pain from the kickback! Chelsey and I gave it a shot. I think Chelsey hit one, so Carston and I made up the group of no hitters.

Miscellaneous

We were able to go to church out there. I had to laugh at Macy twirling around as we walked in from a potty break during the special musical number. I'm frequently surprised by her ability to be so dainty and graceful one minute, and then crazy forceful the next :) I LOVED being able to see Heather's house (and Aaron's playhouse and bunk beds). It is nice being able to more clearly picture her life. The girls had so much fun playing with each other. They are off and running the minute they see each other and never stop. Carston was almost in heaven with all the electronic time this vacation afforded him. Poor Hallie got sick and threw up while she was having a sleepover. Heather found out she was having a BOY! Avery loved having so much fruit for breakfast :) I loved long nights of Ticket to Ride and Bonanza. Having Bluebell ice cream was delicious. John enjoyed some golf. The kids had a great treasure hunt sponsored by Grandma, and Kate thought she was pretty funny running away with the clues :) They also enjoyed making some fun crafts courtesy of Grandma and the dollar store. Heather made a cake and decorated to celebrate Chelsey's birthday! We visited Charming Charlie's for some insanely cheap jewelry. Chelsey got to cut everyone's hair :) Thanks Cho!

Anyway, we were very blessed to go and spend so much time with people we love. My parents are so kind and generous and I'm grateful that they provided this great experience.

And just in case you're wondering, we didn't visit the Alamo. I guess that makes us awful in some people's books (in John's defense, he says he voiced the opinion we should go, but either no one heard him or no one wanted to heed him :)