Spring Break Part II

I am a planner. I enjoy planning all of our activities and meals each day at work, home, and over weekends and holidays. This weekend most of my plans seemed destined to fail, but of course, I always have a contingency plan. Friday morning as we headed down to San Antonio for the Alamo 13.1 Half Marathon, I was recovering from a fever and sore throat and wasn't sure if I could run. When we got to SA our plan was to head directly to the zoo before checking in to the hotel, but the zoo was so crowded that all the parking lots were full! After weighing our options, we turned around and headed to Kiddie Park, a place we'd heard about but had never been, and it was clear from the moment we arrived that we'd made the right choice. It wasn't crowded at all so we bought the kids unlimited ride wristbands and they just ran from ride to ride together! Chuck said they probably enjoyed it more than Disneyland because they didn't have to wait in lines and the rides were all made for them.

We grabbed a quick lunch then headed to our hotel. I realize this is probably way too many photos for a normal blog post, but how cute are my little travelers?

As soon as we were in our room, Aurora started exploring every corner and must have told us at least a dozen times how much she loved it. At one point she mumbled under her breath "I'm going to do very well here." Ha! The kids turned on the TV and we relaxed and settled in before heading out to enjoy the hot tub. They both slept great.

The next morning we considered trying the zoo again, but it was cold and I still wasn't feeling great, so we decided to take a driving tour of the San Antonio Missions. It's something I've always wanted to do but has never made it on to our itinerary.

Aurora pretended that she'd built the Missions in Minecraft using the Greek Mythology texture pack. At one point Chuck warned her to watch out for a slippery mud puddle, and without hesitation she said "I know, I put it there." Clark mostly just shouted "NO! NO MORE MISSIONS!"

Later we headed out to the Riverwalk. We were planning on taking the boat tour, but honestly - in all our years of visiting SA I have NEVER seen the Riverwalk as crowded as it was this weekend. The lines for the boat tour were ridiculous and just walking was nearly impossible. We headed up to street level and went out of our way to find a less crowded path to the Rainforest Cafe. They said it would be an hour and a half wait, but they called us after 30 minutes and we had a great time. The last time we ate at the Rainforest Cafe, Aurora was about Clark's age and the tiger scared the living daylights out her. Chuck tried to recreate the scene with Clark, but the kid just sat back and enjoyed the show.

I was exhausted and my throat was still hurting when I went to bed that night. I didn't sleep well at all, so it was some sort of miracle when I woke up feeling fine! I brewed some coffee, hugged the kids and headed out into the cold dark morning to join a few thousand runners at the Alamo. Honestly, the weather was perfect and the miles just ticked away almost effortlessly. The flu was no match for my training! I finished in 2:07, just a couple minutes shy of my PR from the 3M.

All in all, I'd say the weekend went better than I could've planned!

Spring Break Part I

Spring Break with the kiddos has been a lot of fun so far. First we went to Sweet Berry Farms to pick strawberries. They had a tractor train and we got to feed goats!

We spent the afternoon in Marble Falls where we had lunch, window shopped, and checked out their local library. Clark found another strawberry in the puzzle section... 

Of course, we've spent some quality time at our library this week, too! They're having a Neverland-themed Spring Break and we met Tinker Bell & Periwinkle, made fairy lights, and the kids got to sew their own Peter Pan hats!

Tick-tock! Aurora also participated in a map-making storytime for bigger kids only. They were all SO attentive. It's the closest thing to school they've had all week and it was a hit.

Today we headed to the Austin Rodeo. It was the coolest day of the week by far, and I'm guessing the least crowded day to enjoy the petting zoo (more goats!), ride ponies, and spend some time at the fairgrounds. We rode the ferris wheel, ate funnel cake, and watched pig races.

We also saw monkeys riding dogs, and met a little monkey up close. Clark wanted to take the monkey and pigs home. It was the only thing that made him cry all morning.

Now we have some much needed downtime before Spring Break Part II starts tomorrow.

Party People

After 7 years of birthday parties and library activities, I figured we'd gone, done, and seen just about everything. This weekend, that theory was proven wrong! Today's discerning 4-year olds aren't all opting for bounce house birthdays. Yesterday we went to Little Yoga House for an absolutely adorable kids yoga class. I really wanted to join in!

This morning we went to a sweet "Dragons Love Tacos" themed party at Book People. They read stories, lead crafts, and of course - we all had tacos (and cake).

We've been to Book People before but had never been to a party there. The goodie bags included $5 gift cards, so we let our party people pick out $5 books before heading home.

We don't buy a ton of books these days as we really do spend a lot of time at our local library. This weekend we didn't check out books - we checked out FENCING! Aurora enjoyed it so much, she asked if she could join the Fencing Club and take weekly lessons. I'm not sure our lives can accommodate extracurricular activities like this, but I'd consider a short stint over the summer.

What a fun start to Spring Break. I'm taking this week off with the kids and hoping we can find a few more activities we've never done before.

White Chocolate Golf Balls

Looks who's back in Austin! Yup, it's Finley, and he brought his owners back just in time to celebrate dad's 70th birthday.

Today the whole family went out to the Hill Country Golf & Guitar for some mini-golf and beer. Dad got a hole-in-one, Clark and I played as a team, and mom kept score.

Afterwards we had pizza and a cake (made by yours truly), complete with awesome homemade white chocolate golf balls and 7 candles for the birthday boy. Dad took a moment to make his wish, and I for one hope it comes true.

We go to a LOT of birthday parties, but celebrating with family is just a little more special than a bounce house party (which we also happen to have on the calendar for tomorrow). Wishing cousin Lillie a very happy 13th birthday today, too. Too bad we can't celebrate 70 and 13 with the rest of the Slane family. Maybe we can plan another party next month when they come to visit. Any excuse to bake a cake!

Walrus Tusks

This weekend started with a going away party for a dear friend. It was Friday night and I went out by myself, leaving Chuck to pick up the kids. This doesn't happen very often!

I got home in time to give the kids hugs and kisses before bed and asked Clark "Did daddy pick you up and give you dinner?" He started crying and said "No, daddy did not gib us dinner! I had no dinner wifout you, mommy!" Then Chuck texted me these pictures. 

The next day Aurora and I left him with Chuck once again to meet up with her Girl Scout troop for Girl Day at the UT School of Engineering. Aurora and her friends got to work a remote control robot, they learned about shapes, liquids and solids, division and subtraction, electricity, and aeronautics! They made rockets and used a flight simulator.

After a couple of exhausting days, it was nice to spend today doing laundry, cooking, and well... running 8 miles and playing with more friends. The fun truly never stops around here! Aurora loves her friends, Clark always wants his mommy and insists on sitting on one of our laps at all times, and Chuck doesn't get quite as much time to himself as he'd like, but he did get some quality time playing video games this weekend. And, eventually Clark told me about the french fry walrus tusks.

Reading, Writing, and Rora.

This week I had my first parent/teacher conference for Clark. In a way, I think it's kind of silly to do this when they're so little - but it was great to hear how well he's doing at school. He loves to dance and play, read and do puzzles. He pays attention and sets a good example for the other children. They've been having the kids keep journals and I got to see some of his daily drawings. 

Of course that's a guy with a yucky banana! The whole journal is just scribbles with Ms. B's notations next to the drawings, which is hilarious and adorable. She's also been taking photos of him demonstrating the competencies that 3-4 year olds should be able to demonstrate. Here he is interacting socially (dancing with the girls) and caring for classroom materials appropriately.

Clark is growing into an exceptionally silly and energetic little boy, and what he loves more than anything is his exceptionally silly and energetic big sister. I thought he'd really enjoy having some mommy/son time this weekend while Aurora was away, but he kept looking at me as though I'd betrayed him by letting her leave. "We have to go get Rora." No Clarkie, she's at Presley's house. "BUT I NEED MY RORA!" Even when she hurts him - he'll cry and cry until I tell her to calm down and leave him alone, then he laughs maniacally and holds on to her for dear life. So, while I think he enjoyed a quiet dinner out with just his parents, he REALLY came to life when Aurora came home! She made a hop scotch court in the driveway and our little neighbor Ruby joined in the fun. 

I did ask Clark's teacher if she notices him lagging behind in any area, considering he's the smallest and youngest in his class. She looked at me with genuine surprise and said that she has never thought of him as younger or smaller than anybody else. He holds his own, makes his opinions known, and has a big personality!