San Antonio was HOT!

What a fabulous vacation!!

I will say that San Antonio was HOT! Meaning it was a great place to go on vacation AND it was stinking HOT. Holy Smoly, I literally thought I was going to melt into the pavement on a few occasions. Sam keeps talking about how badly he wants to move back to the South and after this trip and the "gentle" reminder of how humid the South can be...I'm not convinced. Regardless of the heat we had a fantastic vacation....we just drank a whole lot of water!

We were a little sad that Grandma Mary wasn't able to make it to San Antonio. She called us Thursday night to say she was in the hospital with an infection. We called her everyday of our trip to check on her and make sure she was o.k. She ended up being sent up to the Mayo Clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota to have some absesses in her colon drained. Thankfully she should be headed back home this week. Grandma Mary was pretty bummed out that she couldn't come too.

We rented a house off of a website called Vacation Rentals By Owner about 2 months before we left. We really wanted a house with a pool in the backyard and boy were we grateful for that pool at the end of the day! The house was an older 3 bedroom 2 bath home in an older neighborhood of a little suburb of Texas called Converse. We were about 10-20 minutes from everything so it was a super location.

We started the vacation with a special Birthday celebration for Sam. He will say he celebrated his 28th birthday (for the 8th time ;-). I made him a homemade German Chocolate Cake which is a recipe from my good friend Allison. He always asks for this cake for his birthday. I brought all the ingredients with me so that I could bake it the night we arrived. (we drove all night Friday night to get to San Antonio by 2 pm to pick up my mom from the airport).

Our first true full day we spent at the San Antonio Zoo. This was our first exposure to the heat. After 2 hours in the zoo we were all dragging and ready to head back to the house and jump in the pool. We ate a picnic in the parking lot of the zoo underneath a big tree. After lunch the boys took a train ride around Brackenridge park. Then we went home and played in the pool for a few hours. This heat was going to take some getting used to.

On the 2nd day we headed off to the world famous waterpark, Schlitterbahn. This waterpark is humongous. I think it was over 80 acres. You had to get on a bus to move from one end of the park to the next. The lines for the tube rides were so long. All of us waited in line to ride a tube ride for over an hour and the ride was not worth the wait. After that we just played in the wave pool, and wave float river. There was also a big fun "pirate ship" that had kid sized water slides and all kinds of fun things for the boys. It took quite awhile for Ryan to get comfortable around the water. He's still a little nervous after falling off the jetski a few weeks ago. Ethan did great! He was a champ and even tried the "surfing" ride without thinking twice about it. I didn't even want to try it. We spent 7 hours at the park...we were a little tired at the end of that day. :-)

On the 3rd day we had planned to go to Six Flags. I was a little discouraged with all the hundreds of people at the waterpark and how long we had to stand in line so I decided to call Six Flags and find out if there would be a better time to come to the park when maybe the lines were not so long. I was told that by about 3:30 the lines really die down for an hour or two until the night crowd starts coming. We arrived at the park around 3:30 and spent 6 hours in the park and NEVER had to wait in line. We took turns watching the kids and going on all the big rollercoasters. They had tons of kids rides so all of us had a super great time. This was one of my favorite days. Who wouldn't be happy when they don't have to wait in line for a big super fun rollercoaster?? There was something really amazing about our trip to Six Flags...Ethan. Ethan was a superstar rollercoaster rider. He was just tall enough to ride on a few of the "big kid" rollercoasters. He was 49" tall this year! This is a picture of Ethan riding his first ever upside down rollercoaster. He's my buddy! :-)

The 4th day was a "rest" day but we still went out to do a little sightseeing. The heat made it seem like it wasn't a rest day at all. Mom and I dropped the boys off at the movie theatre while we headed out to tour the San Antonio Mission Trail. We started with the San Juan mission. It was fasinating to see how the Catholic Priests and missionaries from Spain and the Indians they were "converting" lived in the Mission. I like seeing things like this because it's fun for me to think about how people lived many, many years before us. Other then being exceptionally hot... (did I mention how hot it was??) it was neat. We had planned to see the most famous mission, The Alamo, after we picked up the boys.

We picked up the boys, who were starting to get a little grumpy, from the movies and headed to downtown San Antonio to check out the Alamo and take a cruise down the Rio San Antonio. Then we ate some yummy authentic Mexican food right on river. In the end, it really wasn't a day of "rest".

Day 5...This is the one the boys were really excited about...Sea World! We were blessed to be able to get into Sea World free of charge. Busch Gardens parks are offering free admission to active duty soldiers and 3 dependents. During the Shamu show they had soldiers and their families stand up while the crowd clapped and cheered. It was a little emotional for me. It really hit me just how much of our lives are effected by the Iraq conflict. This trip was a perfect example because this is our first summer together in 3 years. I realized that I shouldn't and can't take advantage of the time we have together as a family.

Sea World was a really great park. We stayed for HOURS! The highlights were...eating lunch with Shamu and the gang, we were able to be only 3-5 feet from the killer whales while we ate our lunch, feeding the dolphins, the water rides, the rollercoasters (of course), and another great day with family!!

So on Friday day #6...we REALLY rested. We (the adults) were exhausted! We spent the day laying around reading, taking naps, and playing in the pool. It was a perfect end to a really great vacation. We left for home on Saturday morning. We dropped mom at the airport Saturday morning and then drove home. It was about a 13 hour drive. We got home really early on Sunday morning. Unfortunately we slept for just an hour or two and then had to wake up to take Sam to the airport at 5:30 in the morning so that he could head to Ft. Bragg for a Military Intelligence class. He'll be home next Saturday...the boys and I should be adjusted again by then!

Off to San Antonio!

Well it's our turn! We've decided to spend our summer vacation in San Antonio, Texas this year. It all started because Sam's brother was going to be down in that area for a military school and we were all going to be in the same place. Turns out his brother's school was changed. We decided that we'd still go even though we're a little bummed out about not being able to meet up with Ben and his family. The reason we choose San Antonio is because we could drive there (cost effective for a family of four), we could rent a house (with a pool) for reasonable, both g-mas are coming, they have a Sea World, Six Flags, and a super famous water park, the zoo is pretty nice, the Alamo (remember?), and several other fun things.
I'm looking forward to a family trip. The boys are a good age to take on a vacation. Anytime before now we were still having to plan everything around naptime. :-)
When we get home then we have several camping/jet skiing trips planned! It's all about enjoying the Colorado summer! Because winters here stink!!! :-)

What Makes Sam Smile?

Anyone who knows my husband knows that he's a pretty serious guy who rarely really gets super happy. On the bright side of that he rarely ever gets super mad either. That comes in handy when you wreck the car, buy $100 shoes, or get paint on his favorite sweatshirt. I love to see him get super happy and actually smile. He's got a nice smile. This weekend he was glowing with happiness and I just had to take a picture. We bought a jetski about a month ago. He's home for the summer for the 1st time in 3 years and we wanted to make the best of it. He took the jetski into the shop to get tuned up and ready for summer a few days ago. Then on Saturday we hooked up the hose and started it up. Boy did he smile! If it's got a big engine and it goes vroooom then Sam's going to smile! I told him I absolutely had to go into the house and get the camera to capture this moment because it was so fun to see him so excited and happy about something.

Entire Month of May!

Wow time has passed so quickly this last month. It's been really crazy. I even thought about taking a picture of my dry erase calendar in my kitchen. The end of the school year crept up fast and along with it came all kinds of obligations. I like staying busy but this was a little out of control.

Come to think of it April was a little like that too!

I promised my friends that I would post a picture of Sam and I the night we went to the Army Special Forces Ball. Unfortunately as always the picture of me is yuk! I am not photogenic! Anyway, I'll post a picture....from the waist up. :-)


We had lots of soccer in the month of April and then the last games in mid May and the end of year parties. That was a little crazy. The boys played much the same as ever. They are the "bees" outside of the "beehive". I think they are afraid of getting stung. Even though Ethan said one day as we pulled up to his soccer game..."today I'm going to float like a Cadillac and sting like a Beamer!" That same day Ryan was being a stinker and I said if you don't hurry up we'll be late! His response was "that's o.k."

The next big thing in April was the Pinon Elementary Art Show. Ethan had a piece of art displayed during the show. He was so proud of himself when people would ask him to show them his art. He would walk them over to his "piece" and say "here it is...my work of art!". I must say I was impressed too! They also had an end of year art show at the school where every child had 2 works of art displayed in the hallways. I thought they'd have the same piece but no two more really good art pieces were hanging up. I've been really impressed with the Art teacher and the "Art in a Suitcase" program they have at the school.

Then came May! The month started off great hearing from my best friend Allison who now lives in England. She had baby #3, another little girl. She was a little unexpected but still welcome. Although she says her other girls are more interested in playing in the orchard then holding the baby. Should be a lifetime of her chasing her sisters.

Ethan learned how to ride a bike this month! We took him to Broadmoor Valley Park and put him out on the grass and away he went. He did amazing for his first time. We still need to work on actually turning the bike but we were super impressed with our "little" guy.

Then I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I woke up in the morning to flowers which Ryan informed me were brought by Santa Claus. The boys were super nice to me. Ethan tried to brush my hair for me because he said he loved me and wanted to help make me look pretty. Ryan wore my church shoes around the house because he said he wanted to be like mommy and Sam freaked out (of course) "boy get those shoes off, those are for girls!"

In the middle of May I played in my first ever "real" golf tournament. My partner and I finished in fourth place for our flight and she got closest to the pin on the 8th hole. I actually didn't play that great and was really upset with myself on a few holes but still had fun. I decided years ago that golf was something that I was going to have fun doing or I wasn't going to do at all. I tend to get a little to competitive even with myself and ruin the fun of things. This is a picture of my partner Diane and our other friend Nancy who came along just to ride in the cart. These are the two women I play golf with just about every Tuesday. They know more about me then most people because we spend 4+ hours a week together on the golf course! I did recieve a huge complement that made up for my average golf game. One of the women from the other twosome that was playing with us asked me how old I was. I told her I was turning 36 soon. She said she absolutely did not believe that and thought for certain I was younger then her daughter who just turned 29! YES! Then Nancy and Diane both said they also thought I was in my 20's!!! I've been feeling exceptionally old these days, even shopping for anti-aging lotions and potions. That made my day. The weather was horrible that day in fact on one hole I literally had sleet and hail hitting me in the face when I tee'd off. Oh well, at least I look young. :-)

And last but most certainly not least!! Kindergarten Graduation! I can't believe it. I literally feel like just a month or so ago I was taking pictures of Ethan on his first day of Kindergarten. Man the year flew by fast. Ethan has really changed and matured this last 9-10 months. He's my little helper and super great kid that says funny things ALL the time. I should post some "Ethanisms" just for kicks and giggles. Then all of you could giggle like Sam and I do.

I will post this one Ethanism that just happened a few days ago....we were talking about last names and how we all have the same last name. I told him that when I was a little girl then my last name was Wood because I belonged to the Wood family. He thought about that for a second and then he said...."yeah, then you married a handsome young man named Samuel and I'm sure glad you did because he's a great guy! Someday I'm going to marry a lovely lady like you and she'll be a Walker too!" Have I ever mentioned that Ethan talks about being a teenager or getting married quite often? He's a little man in a little boy's body.

Sam has skills....

We went to a friends house for a BBQ and I volunteered to bring a salad. I told Sam that we were bringing a green salad and he says "Oh I can make a mean salad!" I'm thinking to myself "really, hmm". So he gives me a few things to buy at the grocery store. I helped him chop up some lettuce but then I got busy helping the kids. When I came back to the kitchen this is what I saw!! It was a piece of art! And very good to boot. I had to compliment him on his "unknown" talents.

Wii love it!

This is our families newest entertainment. Quite unplanned really. The story goes like this....Sam kept telling me that if I was out shopping and saw a Wii that I needed to make sure and buy it because they are hard to come by and the guys he works with are always talking about playing Wii games and there are a few guys at work that really want one and can't find one. Of course, I've never looked for a Wii. :-) Today Sam was at Target and got the last one they had. He called me and said I needed to look on e-bay and see how much we could sell it for. However, once he got home we decided to pull it out of the box and see what all the excitement is about. Our entire family (including the boys) spent 3 hours playing Wii games and designing our Mii characters. The boys (and me ;-) had a blast playing golf, baseball, and bowling. I'm absolutely amazed by the technology that is involved in this game system. Insane!!

The boys can hardly wait to wake up tomorrow morning and play the game some more and literally at this very moment Sam is out buying more accessories for the game!! Who'd a thunk it???

Hogle Zoo!

Spring Break in Utah. We had tons of fun visiting the zoo. We're just a bunch of animals!!

Trip to California Slide Show