Vacation Re-Cap

**This post is long and was written some on Wednesday and some on Thursday, so I apologize if it's all over the place! **

I'm sure that you've been on the edge of your seat waiting to hear about our vacation! =)

I do have some pictures, but I haven't loaded them up yet. I will try to do that later today or tomorrow. We ended up having decent weather most of the trip, nothing like what was projected. We were able to stay busy everyday of our vacation.... read more below!

We left out of Abilene after I got off of work on Thursday. Our plan was to leave as soon as I got off of work at 5:30, but anyone with kids knows that you never get to leave on time.... someone always needs a diaper changed, one more potty run, 'oh, we forgot this or that...' I think that we finally headed out of Abilene about 7:30!
We drove to New Braunfels that night. We got in a little after midnight and put the kids to bed. The next morning (Friday), we got up and headed into San Antonio. We went to the Alamo, the Riverwalk and the Mall. It was really crowded. There were a few events going on while we were there. One was the 'Baby Conference' and another was a comic book convention. What a strange combination. I should have taken pictures of the people that we saw, but I didn't. Just imagine smaller versions of the Duggar family and then a bunch teenagers in Halloween costumes all crammed into a food court!

That evening, we went out to dinner with Bonham's grandparents, George and Shirley (Great-Grandpa & Great-Grandma). It was George's birthday. We went back to their house for some cake and ice cream and then we went to bed. Barrett had taken a small nap and Jayna was almost asleep at one point in the car, but she never fell asleep....

....The next morning, Jayna was up bright and early! And Barrett finally got up around 9:30 a.m. He loves to sleep. We had breakfast, got ready and headed out again! (This is Saturday) We went to the San Antonio Zoo and boy was it hot! It was also very crowded. The zoo opened at 10:00 and I think that we got there around 11:00 and the parking lot was already full. It probably didn't help that the Ochoas were having their family reunion there too. (We don't know the Ochoas, but they may have accounted for some of the cars)

We spent a few hours at the zoo. Did I mention that it was hot? Well, it was.

There is a lot to see at the San Antonio Zoo and we didn't get to see it all, but I think we saw enough. They were doing some construction, so we had to take several detours. Some parts were really crowded and others were wide open. Now that we know a little more about the layout, we know where to go first next time. After walking around for a little while, we found out that they have a place for kids to play in a shallow water spot. It was set up like a beach with sand and places for the parents to sit. We didn't know about it before. We felt bad for the kids, because they would have loved it.

While we were at the zoo, Jayna wanted to get a zebra mask and Bonham wanted to get these wax animal figurines. And yes, I mean Bonham, not Barrett. Bonham showed me these machines that press out the wax animal right before your eyes. He said that he had always wanted one and that his mom wouldn't let him get one, so now he is a big boy and he can buy one himself! =) He cracks me up! I'll have to post a picture of the goodies....

After we left the zoo, we went to visit Bonham's other grandparents, Billie and Preston (Mimi & 'Nother Papa). Mimi has been sick recently. She was diagnosed with cancer a little over a month ago and she began chemo treatments and then had a minor stroke, so she had to wait to do more chemo. She actually started the chemo back yesterday, so we are praying for her to not get sick from the chemo and to let it work for stopping the spread of the cancer.

We were going to take them out to eat, but that Mimi is a sneaky one, she already had something ready when we got there! We normally stay at their house the majority of the time that we visit because they have toys there and their house is a little 'kid-proof' because they used to keep a little boy. Jayna remembers everything about visiting there and she can do, what she can play with, and what she can watch. She knows that they have 'her shows' recorded and certain toys that she really likes. She asked Billie, 'Hey Mimi, where is my pirate's eye patch?' We haven't been down to visit them since around Christmas time, but she remembered that there was a pirate's eye patch to play with! She has the best little memory.

When it was time to go, the kids wanted to stay. I think it was hard for them to understand why we weren't staying at Mimi's house. It was hard for us to leave too.... we wanted to stay, but we didn't want to be a burden on her and she needed to rest. As we were leaving, I remembered that I hadn't brought my camera inside and the kids were already upset and we had said our good-byes. I wasn't sure about bringing them back in to try to get pictures. We were all so tired too. I am hoping that we can get down there again soon so that we can get some pictures of everyone when we are not all sweating from being at the zoo all day! =)

We got back to George and Shirley's house and both kids were down for the night. It was still pretty early... maybe 8:00 (ish). We were hoping that they could at least get a bath before bed, but that wasn't happening. I was able to get their clothes off of them, so they weren't sleeping in dirty clothes. Jayna came in our room in the middle of the night with pajamas in hand, 'Daddy, I don't have my clothes.' LOL =) He got her dressed and sent her on her way.

The next morning (Sunday).... I think Barrett would have slept the whole day if we would have let him, but we didn't! We had breakfast and headed out again! On this day, we went to San Marcos to the outlet malls! We were trying to do some Christmas shopping, but we weren't as successful as we have been in previous years. We got a few people completely taken care of, some partially taken care of and some people.... we couldn't find them anything! Good thing we still have a few months before Christmas! =)

We spent a good portion of the day out there. That place is huge and the kids did so much better than we thought they would with going in and out of different stores. We (I should say, 'I') only took the umbrella stroller. For being the planner that I am, I was very disappointed that I didn't take the double stroller. I thought about the umbrella stroller and how much easier it would be to maneuver in all of the places that we were going and I considered borrowing another one from my mother-in-law, so that we would have 2, but I forgot to. =( But it worked out alright. At the zoo we were able to rent a double stroller and the kids liked that. At the Alamo, they both walked a lot, and in San Marcos Jayna walked the majority of the time and occasionally rode on top of Barrett. They got a big kick out of that!

We headed back to New Braunfels in time for dinner and some swimming. Both kids napped in the car, so they were rested up for swimming!

The next day (Monday) was our last day of vacation. I had been dreading this day since Thursday! All I kept thinking was, 'I don't want to go back to work tomorrow!'. I think that the last little stretch is the hardest. I am ready to be in our new house, unpacked and home with the kids! I'm making it through though... =)

We ate breakfast, packed up our stuff and said our good-byes to George and Shirley. We headed to Morgan's Wonderland to meet with Bonham's Aunt Kathy and cousin Scott. We originally were going to do that on Friday, but because of the weather, we moved it to Monday. Big Mistake!!! Jayna was so upset when we had to leave, but we had to get lunch and get on the road to come home. She wanted to stay and play. It was the neatest place. We were told that they are already experiencing financial difficulties and they've only been up and running for 6 months. It’s so sad, because it’s such a great place. Bonham and I were saying how we wished that every playground was handicap accessible. You will see what I mean when I post the pictures.

They had a carousel, a train, large play grounds, an indoor activities room, remote controlled boats, fishing, HUGE Water cannons, a water play area, a sand area, giant xylophones, and a 4x4 jeep ride. It wasn't very crowded and it was only $5 a person to get in when you are accompanying someone with a disability. You have to register ahead of time and they have your name and bracelet for you when you arrive. You pay online when you register for a visit to the park. We tried to pay for our tickets, but Kathy wouldn't let us. I should have known! =) Thanks for taking us, Kathy & Scott! We definitely want to go back and do it again.

(I know this a long post, but I am almost done.... I think)

We left Morgan's Wonderland and grabbed some lunch and headed towards Abilene! When we arrived in Fredericksburg, I saw a sign for Enchanted Rock State Park. We thought it would be a good place to stretch our legs, so we detoured a few miles and went to the big pink mountain! The kids really liked the 'nature walk' and Jayna wanted to climb to the top of the rock. We told her that you had to be at least five years old to do that, so we would have to come back. That's probably good because as we headed back towards the car, she informed me that she was out of energy. (I don't know how to begin to type the way that she says 'energy', but it’s really cute. Trust me!) =)

We got back in the car, passed out drinks and snacks and followed the path back home. Pretty soon we were in Llano, which was not on the original path home, but because of our detour to enchanted rock, it was now. If you've ever heard (or read) about us going to Bonham's grandparent's lake house, you might remember that it is in Kingsland, near Marble Falls, which is less than 20 minutes from Llano. Mimi and 'Nother Papa have owned this lake house for quite awhile. Mimi's sister, Mary Nell and her husband, Clarence live next door to the lake house, so we thought we would detour (again) and stop by to see them. We called and they didn't answer.... I called Mimi and she said that they probably didn't hear the phone, but they would be thrilled to see us. So we headed on.... When we arrived, a neighbor walked up and asked us, 'How's Mary doing?' After talking with the neighbor and then finally getting more information from family on Tuesday, we found out that Mary Nell has pneumonia and congestive heart failure. They rushed her to the hospital on Sunday because she thought she was having a heart attack. We haven't received any more updates yet. So we are praying that both sisters get a good bill of health soon.

We didn't bring our key to the lake house, and the kids were knocking on the door. We were trying to tell them that Mimi and 'Nother Papa weren't there. We walked down by the lake and picked up rocks and looked at bugs.... and sweated some more! We did a lot of that this vacation. Bonham and I joked that if we would have eaten better on this vacation, we might have lost some weight! It's hard to eat good at home, but it's really hard to eat good (healthy) on vacation. And I think that the extra activity made us all a little more hungry. I've never seen Jayna eat so well so consistently. =)

After walking around for a little while, we got in the car and headed home (again). We stopped in Llano for some pizza and then we drove to Abilene. We got in around 11:00 pm. - Only 4 1/2 hours later than we originally planned when we left Morgan's Wonderland. Oh well, we had a great time and we are looking forward to being able to do it again soon!

Are you exhausted?