Texas Trip Part II

This is installment 2 of our Texas trip. It has been a busy week, getting back into the swing of work and school and all the house and yard work we had to catch up on after being gone a week. We are currently in Spring Cleaning mode and getting rid of stuff that is cluttering up our lives :) On to the story of our Texas Weekend...

As a special treat for our weekend we went to Six Flags and Sea World. Both are about an hour away from Hank's place, so we set out, not so early in the morning (10ish) to play at Six Flags on Saturday. We actually ended up with a great day. It was overcast and super humid, but the clouds kept the heat under 90 and kept the sun from being intolerable. We would have had a unhappy 6 year old had we been doing so much walking around in the heat and sun. We started off the day finding a face painting booth and Jacqui and had to get pretty. Hank was going to get a Hulk face paining, but ultimately decided to be grown up and pass this time. As it was, it was perfect, and there weren't huge crowds as it was supposed to rain! We had fun riding ALL the kids rides with Jacqui and meeting Looney Tunes. Hank and I were able to separate for short bits and ride the big roller coasters. Jacqui was not having any of the big roller coasters "Oh no I am NOT going on that thing, it looks dangerous!". We did talk her into the log rides and the white water raft ride and she ended up loving it! We were soaked to the core every time we rode them, but Jacqui had us go back about 4 times to ride it over and over!

On Sunday, Mother's Day, we went to Sea World after Hank surprised us with a Mother's Day breakfast. The whole day was a great treat for me as you all know how much I love Sea World and it was a memorable Mother's Day! It brought back childhood memories and wishes to be an Orca Trainer (you know what I'm talking about Christa!). We saw Shamu twice, and walked all over seeing all the other animals. May was Mexican Fiesta month, so there was a concert that eve, and a Mexican Shamu even there! We rode all the little rides with Jacqui (Hank especially liked the roller coaster:)), but again talked Jacqui into some of the faster rides and the log ride and she loved it. Naturally, we got wet again... and again and again! It was a perfect day for walking around, overcast and humid, but not intolerable. Many of the exhibits were air conditioned so we just strategically planned out our experiences... Jacqui loved the penguin exhibit. I think my favorite was petting the dolphins, that just made my day, and we stayed there for like an hour. You can buy sardines to feed the dolphins and can pet them as they eat the fish from you hand... SO NEAT! It was such a fun day and a perfect weekend! Bye Sea World and Bye Shamu!

After our long day at Sea World, we decided to go by the Theatre on our way home. We had a special Mother's Day dinner at an Italian Restaurant that was beyond delicious. Then we saw Iron Man 2 on an IMAX screen. Pretty impressive, and Jacqui even liked the movie a little after I explained that Uncle Levi LOVES the Iron Man movies (that got her into it). We went home after the movie and crashed, what a long and fun weekend!

Our Texas Trip Part I

Jacqui and I had a blast in Texas. It was a wonderful week and we were able to do so many neat things! I will probably tell some of our stories over a few different posts, as it is way to much fun for just one post! The plane ride there went great. Jacqui did amazing for her first plane ride, especially since all the electronic fun stuff we brought to keep her busy ended up having dead batteries... (of course!). So we chatted, and she colored, and had a great trip. We got to San Antonio, stepped off the plane and were almost instantly soaked with sweat. It was about 4pm there and super humid and 90 degrees! We were so hot! We decided to catch a movie at the air conditioned theatre before heading home in Hank's non air-conditioned Jeep. We saw a kids movie, Furry Vengeance which Jacqui thought was great. WHen it was over it was a bit more tolerable outside and so we drove the hour home and were able to spend that first evening swimming in Hank's pool. Jacqui was thrilled! His pool is nice because it only is 4 1/2 feet deep, so Jacqui got to swim for hours, and I got to relax by the pool and read. What a special treat for both of us!

On Thursday Hank treated us to a little trip to Fredricksburg after breakfast at the Cracker Barrell. Can I just say I LOVE their breakfast?!? The breakfasts are huge and come with hasbrown casserole, grits, chicken fried steak, biscuits and gravy, and sweet tea. It was so delicious! Jacqui really liked the bicsuits and gravy and the sweet tea.

Fredricksburg is a little German town with tons of little shops along the main strip kind of like a Texas version of Leavenworth. We checked out all the cowboy gear and hats, they had some great antique shops and little ice cream/bakery type stores. We walked some of the trails by the Guadalupe River and watched some guys fishing for perch. We stopped by Walmart on the way home, and got Jacqui some swimming toys and headed back to the pool to swim for 3 hours! The pool was a great escape from the heat and humidity. Jacqui was such a trooper walking around all day and having such a great attitude about the heat and the activity... the pool was a great bargaining tool :)

Friday was my birthday and Hank suprised us that morning with balloons, presents, and lunch at Fuddruckers. They have got delicious burgers and shakes. We ate outside right on the River. What a perfect birthday morning:) Hank went to work later that afternoon, so once again, Jacqui and I spent the day by the pool, swimming and playing. We met another little girl that lives at the complex who came out to play with Jacqui. What a fun day!

I would post more pics of my Birthday and the first few days, but I don't have all the pics I took of these first few days, as somehow, ALL the pics deleted off my digital camera (BUMMER!) before I had a chance to download them to the PC. No idea how that happened, and as you can imagine I was quite upset about the whole thing, but I did run a recovery program and was able to retrieve the majority of them off the memory card from the weekend at Six Flags and Sea World, which were really the most important ones anyway. So I will post again soon with our weekend fun and some pics from Six Flags and Sea World. Love you all and thanks for your prayers while we were gone.

Mother's Day 2010:Snohomish

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Weekend with Grandad #1, #2, and Grandma Dixie

Jacqui had a super exciting weekend with Grandad #1, Grandad #2, and Grandma Dixie. She had a blast! She went on her 3rd fishing trip with Grandad #1, but it was the first time she caught a fish! AND, she caught 3!!! It was a kids weekend in the 3-Cities and they stocked the pond just for the kids. She was super excited and equally enjoyed the gutting of the fish and 'checking out' the fish brain, eye balls, and head while Grandad cooked it.


She also went flying kites and they tried fishing at the dock by Grandad's house, although they didn't catch anything that time, it was still a blast and she has loved her weekend with everyone pouring attention on her!
Besides spending lots of quality time with Grandad #1, she also has been able to spend lots of quality time with Grandad #2 and Grandma Dixie. They had their 1st sleepover and Jacqui was tickled to get to stay with them! I dropped her off in Tri-Cities on Thursday and she would not even get out of their car to say goodbye to me. And from what I hear, she has really enjoyed being down there and seeing everyone. She also apparently is quite decisive and very independent. I'm getting some teasing as she is quite like some other precocious child they knew 20 some odd years ago, and knows exactly what she wants. I have no idea what they are alluding to... but love that Jacqui is having so much fun and spoiling everyone, as much as they are spoiling her!