Happy Belated Birthday To Myself During Spring Break!

We have been very busy this spring break. We first started last Monday with a trip to the Houston Rodeo. This is something we go to every year and really enjoy it. The kids are getting better at the carnival games and won some of their own stuffed animals instead of relying on mom to win them. We drove to San Antonio on Tuesday, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. On the way here we stopped at the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. The kids love this place and were excited about seeing the animals again.It's one of those places where you drive your car through it and look at the wild animals that run loose. There weren't as many zebras or gnus as before but the kids saw plenty and there was a lot of spring break traffic. From here we went to check into our hotel, the Marriott Riverwalk and were very hungry so we walked down the riverwalk to the Lone Star Cafe for some good Irish food! Everyone was at Pat O'Briens and Dirty Nellie's for the St. Patty green beer. The next two days we hit all the attractions around the Alamo, such as Ripley's Believe It or Not, Guinness Book of Records, Haunted House, Tomb Rider and the Wax Museum. We met Greg and Michelle after walking out of the Haunted House. Brianna enjoyed the haunting but Denise never opened her eyes through the whole thing and was shaking from being so scared. She of course calmed down when she got her hug and kisses from her Aunt! Greg, Michelle, John, Gail and Samantha were all staying at the Holiday Inn on the Riverwalk and were coming in to celebrate my birthday. We all went to Rio Rio Cantina on the riverwalk to have a nice dinner to celebrate my 50th. My Uncle Junior and Tia Julia showed up as well as my cousins, Albert and Marco with his lovely family. We had a really good time and ate some really good Mexican food.After dinner and birthday cookie my family went home and the rest of us went on a ride on the river boat. It was such a beautiful night and the riverwalk was all lit up. I didn't understand the guide on the boat but I enjoyed the sights anyhow. On Friday, we had intended to go to Fiesta Texas but changed our plans because we heard the spring break crowds were too much. Instead we went to the Tower of Americas and rode the elevator up to the top. The view is so pretty up there on a beautiful day. We then made our way to the Market by trolley. It was really busy in San Antonio so the ride was slow. Dennis walked it with the kids and was there way before we were. There were all these Mexican bands playing and booths set up selling food so the Market was more busy than usual. We made our way to Mi Tierra to get pastries and ended up getting a table and eating dinner there. I had their nachos which were the best I've ever had! I have probably gained about 5 lbs. on this trip so I will need to work out more next week to work it off. When we got back to the hotel we said goodbye to everyone. Greg and Michelle were going to Austin to spend a night at John and Gail's house. It was a lot of fun having them here to celebrate my 50th. Saturday, we got up, checked out and went to tour the Natural Bridge Caverns in New Braunfels on our way back home. The kids enjoyed the beauty of the underground caverns, but their favorite was the wall climb and the zip line. We left there and made the mistake of driving through Austin to get to Houston. I35 was full of spring break traffic. Greg and Michelle joined us later to spend a night on their way back to Baton Rouge. The whole week was so much fun and I'd like to thank everyone for coming to San Antonio to celebrate with me and thank you also for the wonderful birthday gifts. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Click here to see all the other photos.

Shaffers and Baugnons


Shaffers and Lacayos


Hemisfair Park


Natural Bridge Caverns


Zip line at Natural Bridge Caverns