more cele-bray-shee-ons

my birthday was the week of mother's day.

first, we went to a "ho-towel" for a one-night stay for mother's day; thanks to priceline.com making it super cheap.  then my boys gave me my birthday/mother's day present.

they surprised me with a trip to san antonio.  and my little sister!  she came for the whole week.  and it was so much fun to hang out with her.  I am convincing her to move to Texas with every visit she makes out here.  and it's totally working.

  

we had fun during the week while we got ready for driving to san antonio with going to the beach, shopping, watching movies, playing with hair and make-up, and of course just gabbing away about all sorts of stuff.

the road trip was actually very successful.  not only did we make it there, but we made it there with everyone in tact! it was a maiden voyage for our new minivan. (we had to buy one earlier this year because I totaled our little '97 camry) 

when I traveled with my oldest sister and her family in february this year, she had a bright idea of giving a "surprise" to the kids for them to open up every hour of the trip. I copied said bright idea for this trip (thanks, sis). some of the surprises really kept him occupied for a long time. and it was something very exciting for the boy to pass away the hours. the built-in dvd player was also a big bonus. we watched the movie tangled for the last bit of the journey.  

first stop when we got to good ole' san antone was lulu's bakery home of the giant texas cinnamon roll.  that's right. 
a texas size cinnamon roll. and it was, of course, like you would imagine, HUGE. it's 3 lbs! no joke. the picture is for real. I think it's bigger than my head. crazy, huh? we actually saved it for breakfast in the morning.  seriously, huge.  if you have seen a bigger one, let me know.   
 








when we got to our "towel" (as the boy calls it) we got all settled in and then finished the night off with birthday cake! this one was red velvet as well, and very good.  daddy went and got candles from a convenience store because we forgot to bring them with us. :)

 

it was all so exciting and I couldn't wait for the next day to come.  an adventure at the alamo and riverwalk.

I love history! and texas is full of it.  I think that it's fun to learn about where we come from and what happened in people's lives. and how people are the way they are.  we did a whole lot of walking around and took a boat trip along the river.  we finished the night with swimming and pizza at the ho-towel. 

the next day we spent at six flags. it was an adventure going with the little ones.  the little boy actually was tall enough to go on big rides with us. not bad for a 2-and-a-half-year old.  he was probably the youngest person on those rides.  he even did the log ride with the big drop twice. he was so excited about everything.  I'm not sure what his favorite ride was. I think it was a lot of fun to see him get so excited about everything. that's what we have kids for; the entertainment. right? just kidding. but it is an awesome bonus.

our last day in san antonio we drove to visit the temple.  the grounds were closed, though. so we took pictures just outside the gates.  it is beautiful.  I recently learned that it is the temple with the most stained glass of all of them.  it has beautiful window pictures. highly recommend going to see it.  

then we sadly had to drop off little sis to the airport. (thanks so much for coming! next time come to stay for good. k?)
and we continued on our journey home.  what an awesome birthday week! it was so full of fun.  I really can't wait for more birthdays to come.