Exploring San Antonio with Memaw and Pepaw

While my parents were here visiting, we took them to some new places we'd been waiting to visit until their arrival.  One of the nice things about living somewhere new is acting like a tourist because, well, we are!!!  The weather was so lovely and we were able to do everything we'd planned.

One of the things we'd been waiting to go and see was right on Ft Sam Houston (and just mere blocks from our house).  It's Ft Sam's Quadrangle. Built in 1876, this place is still actively used.  

 We'd been waiting to visit this place until my mom came because one of the attractions of the Quadrangle is the wildlife that live in the park in the middle.  There are deer and lots of birds and, if you bring food, you can feed them.  We didn't tell my mom about the deer (which are her favorite animal) until we had walked into the Quadrangle's grounds and she saw them in the distant.  She was most excited.

 Elisabeth was able to feed at least 3 deer.  They seemed to really like her...and the apples I'd brought along.

 Eventually, one of the deer actually ate from my mom's hand, which totally made her day.

 There were tons of geese and peacocks roaming the grounds too.

 My dad super loved all the history.  There were plaques everywhere telling about all the things the Quadrangle had been used for and the important people who had worked or visited it.  This huge tree:

 was here before they even built the buildings, so the Quadrangle was built around the tree.  It is huge and gorgeous.  It was fun and I told the girls we'd definitely be back and maybe next time we could have a picnic.

 Across from The Alamo is Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, which Elisabeth was beyond thrilled to find. We told her that Pepaw would definitely want to visit that with her, so we spent a day there.  It ended up being much more interesting than I anticipated. I actually learned.  Here are the girls sitting in the largest tire ever made for use:

 They also had cool mind-trick attractions.  This was a tunnel that spun (with lights that my camera's flash whited out) while you crossed a bridge.  It was very funny to watch people losing their balance while crossing. My sister was convinced that the bridge moved too, not just the spinning tunnel, until I made her stand with me at the end and watch people go through.  I think the girls (and my mom) went through at least 3 or 4 times.

 Part of the Ripley's Believe It or Not tickets included going to the wax museum next door.  Ebeth was ecstatic to see the Harry Potter crew.

 And Abraham Lincoln.  (Have I told you that she is really hoping the baby is born on Lincoln's birthday on February 12th?)

Of course, since I do have a membership (!!!), we had to take my parents to visit the zoo.  It was a pretty cool afternoon when we went, so lots of animals were actually awake and active...including the BEARS!!!!

 This bear:

 is 30 years old. She has a sign by her area that says, due to her age, she is allowed to do whatever she wants, which includes spending days inside the inner pen area if that's what she so desires.  Elisabeth was most excited to actually see her since she's never been out the few times we've been before.

It was a fun visit. The girls are already thinking of new things to do with them the next time they fly down.

Memaw and Pepaw come to Texas

My parents came to visit us the day after Elisabeth's birthday and left this past Tuesday.  They were the first ones to visit us in our new home!  The girls were most excited to show off their rooms and our house. Since my sister and her husband are also stationed in San Antonio, we had an early Thanksgiving together.  We haven't had a Thanksgiving with all of us in 6 years.  My mom was on cloud nine.  Evan grilled our turkey and it was THE BEST TURKEY THAT HAD EVER BEEN EATEN!!!!  Not kidding, we are grilling our turkey every year from now on.  And! It only took 2.5 hours.  

 What I enjoy about my parents visiting (and Evan's parents as well) is that there is a lot of time hanging around the house and playing with my kids.  Yes, we go places (and I'll tell you more about that tomorrow in  another post) but there is a lot of reconnecting time--something the girls and our parents need since we aren't around each other a lot anymore.

My parents bought the girls this awesome race car track (from QVC, of course) that was a huge hit. Julia can not wait to show Ethan it when he comes in December.

 The weather was lovely the entire time they were here.  It was chilly in the mornings and warmed up nicely by the late afternoon.  It even rained, which my parents had never seen in their previous visits to my sister's house (Terra and John have been stationed here for over 2 years).

 Since they were here the day after her birthday, my parents took Elisabeth to a Build-A-Bear equivalent at the mall and let her and Julia pick out a stuffed animal to make and dress.  Elisabeth has been asking for one for a couple of years now and it was a perfect gift to come from my parents because they love that kind of thing.

 Elisabeth picked a bunny that was like her friend Mabel's.

 Julia picked a sheep and declared it a boy.  A boy sheep who played soccer.

 One of my favorite moments during their visit was when my dad and Julia were playing outside (Julia claimed Pepaw as her own personal playmate and drug him outside to play as much as possible); they were sitting on chairs facing each other.  I hurried and grabbed my camera and took some pictures through my kitchen window.

 It turns out they were telling each other stories about magic beans and Jack and the Beanstalk.  It was so sweet and cute.  Julia was belly laughing and adding things of her own to the stories.  It as a very sweet moment.

It was a nice visit.  The next time they come to visit, they will be here to meet the newest member of our family...how weird is that?!

Flowers just for you!

I realize that a lot of you are seeing snow today.  I thought you might want to see what's blooming down here in San Antonio.  Don't hate! You all had a gorgeous, fall colored autumn and I had tons of jealousy about that!

 My parents left yesterday, so today was a hanging out around the house kind of day.  My poor Julia is such a beast when her routine is messed up.  Don't get me wrong, she super loved having her Memaw and Pepaw around to comply with her every wish and whim, but she is a routine oriented child and she was melting down a bit by those last two days of their visit.  She slept for 2.5 hours today for her nap. So, even though I had a couple of errands I needed to run, we just stayed home today.  I did laundry and she watched tv and trashed the living room playing house.

 The last 3 days have been cloudy here!  Dude, it is never cloudy here.  It's even rained sporadically and today never went above the 60s in temperature.  It was awesome. Of course, this weekend it's supposed to creep back up to the 80s, so I'll take this chilly weather for as long as it will stay.  And, even though I am not a fan of the heat and humidity, it is super nice to still let the girls play outside almost every day. Yesterday they played outside from after we dropped my parents off at the airport until supper time at 6:30. Just swinging and riding bikes and jumping rope.  I guess Texas does have a few advantages.

 Friday is Veteran's Day and Evan and Elisabeth both have the day off!!!!  We're going to hang out and go see a movie in the theater (Puss in Boots, which Ebeth has been begging to see).  We don't see movies in the theaters often, which my mom finds appalling.  Growing up, we'd go see a movie almost every weekend (and my parents pretty much still do), but, honestly, I can think of better ways to spend our time and money. I'd much rather go to a museum or try out a new hiking trail at a park we haven't been to yet or go visit some bookstore I haven't had the pleasure of meeting. So, going to the theater is a big deal for my kids and I like that.  

 I just watched the movie "Never Let Me Go" based off the book of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro.  I read the book earlier this year and have had the movie dvr-ed for a while now. I have to say, the movie did a decent job in trying to create what the book was. I am by no means a Kiera Knightly fan, but she did a great job with her role as Ruth.  I also about drove myself batty trying to figure out who was playing the grown version of Tommy and had to wikipedia it--turns out it was the guy who played Eduardo in "Social Network".  If you have read the book (Rachel, I am staring at you...) then I'd definitely recommend the movie.

Well, it is time for some dinner making.  Hope you enjoyed the gorgeous flowers I stumbled upon this weekend.  :)

Settled.

My parents are coming to visit us today!  They are flying in and staying at our house until Tuesday.  The girls are beyond excited. They're our first house guests and the girls are dying to show off their rooms.  I won't lie, I'm dying to show off our house too.  I love our house.

Part of the reason that I love our house so much is that it feels like home.  We've settled into a routine and our life here in Texas and it makes such a difference in our moods. We still have to finish the nursery and the guest room is going to be rearranged now that Evan has my dad coming to help out, but otherwise, everything is where it's supposed to be.

Eating lunch with Elisabeth at school (isn't Julia's face lovely?):

 I am 25 weeks pregnant.  I told Evan that I feel like it's flying by, but also like I've been pregnant forever.  It's weird how it can feel like both things at once.  Of course, we found out I was pregnant pretty early in the pregnancy.  I wasn't even 4 weeks along.  It's really going to hit me that we're adding another person to our family after the holidays when it'll just be a little over a month before #3 makes her debut.

 Julia has finally decided to show an interest in clothing and unclothing herself.  I swear, that girl has her own time clock about when she should meet milestones.  She has shown zero interest in figuring out how to be independent in the clothing area, but in the last couple of weeks, she has started stripping and reclothing herself willy-nilly.  She also has been shoeing herself.  I told Evan that I don't know why we try to push her to do things before she's ready--she's never, ever complied.  She crawled when she wanted to, walked when she wanted to, weaned herself when she wanted to, talked when she wanted to.  Why are we surprised that she took her time potty training herself and has yet to want to poop in the toilet?  It's aggravating to no end, but it totally goes with her personality.  Her stubborn, ornery, sweet, unique personality.

 One thing that she has super excelled at is her gross motor skills.  That girl can ride a bike!  She was getting too big for her tricycle, so we found Ebeth's old training wheel bike.  It took Elisabeth weeks to get the hang of riding a bike; it took Julia 4 times going up and down the sidewalk before she told Evan she could do it by herself.

Just look at her go!

Nine.

My Elisabeth is nine today.  I know this because she ran into our room this morning at 6:30 and jumped on our bed and declared it while we sleepily wished her a happy birthday.

It is both hard to believe that is was 9 years ago that I delivered a beautiful baby girl that the hospital staff kept telling me I'd get to take home with me.  I'd bounce back and forth between awe and terror that this tiny, tiny baby was now my responsibility.  I kept petting her pitch black hair as she laid snuggled against my side and practiced feeling like a mommy.

                                     

Now that little baby who was 7lbs and 18.5 inches long  is 9 years old and 4'8".  She earns reading awards in 3rd grade and loves to read Harry Potter together at night before bed.  That little baby, who was so ready to be in her own crib at 3 months is now in a full sized bed that she just got yesterday and said feels like she's in her own hotel room.  My sweet little baby who cried like a lamb now tells me often how she just can't wait to be a grown up.

She's still that same little baby, but I can also see parts of that grown-up that she is longing to be.

 
 Happy birthday, my sweet Ebethers.  You are so very loved.

All Hallows Eve

Ah, Halloween.  My favorite holiday.

This year, I had an awesome house to decorate.  I had 2 kids with cool outfits.  I had a neighborhood that was all about being out on their front porches and participating in the trick-or-treating.  It was a great day.

This year, Julia dressed as her Pink Baby doll (dress made by her Nina, complete with matching hair bows) and Elisabeth was Hermione from Harry Potter.

 Hermione with her Crookshanks.

 Evan holding his Pink Baby holding her Pink Baby.

 Julia was all kinds of excited to go trick-or-treating.  I didn't even have to walk up to the door with her.  She ran to every front door and was the first one to ring the doorbell.

In our neighborhood, we have these beautiful, white historic houses that the higher ranking officers live in across the street from our house.  They have these gorgeous wrap-around porches and most all of the people living in the houses were sitting on their front porches waiting for the kids to come.  It was so nice.  A few of them even were dressed up.

One house in particular, the girls went to walk to the porch and noticed the front door was wide open.  It was pitch black inside.  Elisabeth decided that they should just knock on the open door.  As the girls started to walk up the sidewalk, the Imperial March from Star Wars started playing.  A double bladed, red light saber was seen coming closer from the depths of the dark hallway inside.  All of a sudden, Darth Maul appeared at the door with a bucket of candy.  Both girls stared at him in complete and utter awe.  When he took one finger and crooked it at the girls to come to the porch, Julia turned tail and booked it back for me as fast as her stubby little three year old legs could take her.  Elisabeth, however, walked right up to Darth Maul and said, "Trick or Treat."  Julia, holding my hand, also finally made her way to Darth Maul.  He gave her candy and she said in the smallest voice, "Thank you."  She was visibly shaking.  As the girls got to the street, they turned to watch Darth Maul slowly back up into the dark hallway of the house.  Then, in a small whisper, Julia said, "That was so cool."

   

 It was a good night.  We were out for maybe an hour and the girls got to see their neighborhood friends all dressed up.  And, oh my goodness, the haul of candy they brought home is the most ever.

The girls have already started talking about what they will be for Halloween next year (because they are my children and love to plan their costumes early). I love it!