san antonio • river walk

Our plan for the trip was mostly just relaxing at the pool but we did decide to leave the resort and check out a few local attractions. 
You can’t to San Antonio and not visit the Alamo. 
Annabelle did her research on the car ride over and filled Gwyneth in on the significance of the Alamo. She was so cute about taking pictures and sharing them with her school friends. 
We walked along the Riverwalk which is just beautiful and brought back lots of fun memories of a trip B and I took with friends many, many years ago. 
Again, our timing for spring break was perfect (not that we can take credit for it, but we are sure are grateful). The Riverwalk was busy but not overflowing. We were able to find seats on a patio and enjoy some fajitas and sunshine. 
No one ended up in the river but there sure was a lot of talk about pushing people in…you know, because that’s what our family does. 
After lunch the girls decided they had enough sight seeing and were ready to get back in that pool. We high-tailed it back to the resort, got back in swim suits and spent the rest of the day enjoying the water and sunshine. 

san antonio • pool day

We received an email that our flight time was changed for our trip to San Antonio. The flight was originally scheduled at 3 pm and was moved to 5:30 AM. Oh boy! That was early!! We all tried our best to get to bed early the night before, but Annabelle and I are night owls. We did get a little sleep though and were all up and and ready for the adventure at 3 am! 
We arrived in San Antonio by 8:45 am! We grabbed some Starbucks and bagels and waited for the pool to open. 
We stayed at the JW Marriott Resort and were all so pleased when we arrived. The hotel is beautiful with several restaurants and the most amazing pool. There were also activities planned through out the day for kids and families including slime making. The girls were all over that one. 
We grabbed a quick lunch at the hotel restaurant, Cibolo Moon. The food was amazing and it became our go to food stop for the rest of our trip. 
The skies were a bit overcast, but the temperature was perfect. High 70’s with heated pools. The girls’ spring break proved to fall at a perfect time. Everyone was else was still in school! They had the pool to themselves for most of the morning. A few other families (maybe 5 total!) joined us in the afternoon/evening. The girls took full advantage and explored all the pools, lazy rivers, and slides. 
The pool side bartenders told us the hotel was booked with 900 additional guests the following week. Wow! We sure got lucky with our timing. 
This just makes my heart incredibly happy. 
After our early morning start we opted for an early dinner at the hotel sports bar, High Velocity. It was great for watching the Avalanche game, but not so great for food. Typical bar and grill choices, not bad but not our favorite. 
We spent a quiet night enjoying the beautiful weather, watching some games and relaxing. It was a pretty perfect start to the trip. 

movie • How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Our days have been quiet this spring break. I haven’t planned much because we still have the normal evening activities. The girls are still going to dance and math as normal. No one else is on spring break. 
We snuck out to the movies today to see How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. It was the 3rd and final movie in the series. I honestly don’t remember seeing the 2nd one, but this last one was really cute and a nice ending to the series. I stayed awake and that is saying a whole lot for me and kids movies! 

davinci and girl scout photography night

Monday morning of Spring Break arrived cold and snowy. I talked the girls into exploring the DaVinci exhibit at the Science Museum  with me even though I know they would have preferred to stay in their pajamas. 
I really enjoy a good trip through a museum. I couldn’t spend an entire day exploring but I appreciate my families eagerness to check it out…and then get the heck out. Gwyneth is probably the exception to that rule. She can typically waste a day away exploring too. 
The DaVinci exhibit just opened and it’s pretty amazing. 
We learned so many thins about The Mona Lisa. I think the girls were actually pretty engrossed by that portion of the exhibit. 
We made it home in time for Gwyneth’s Girl Scout meeting. The girls played with digital photography. They had a great time using their phones, ipads and a few even had digital cameras. They had a blast taking pictures of each other!

arcade

The previous night was super snowy, but in true-Denver fashion the roads were clear the next day. It was still pretty darn cold though! We checked out the hotel’s lounges on both the 27th and 35th floors and were not disappointed with the views. 
Just a typical 11 year old expression…
We spent some time at the pool in the morning. I am a go, go, go momma and the rest of my family likes to move a little slower. I am doing my best to slow down. 
The Tyler’s were awesome and braved the cold to come meet us for dinner and games. We introduced the kids to Chicago style pizza at Giordanos. It was delicious and just as good as I remember from Chicago. Giordanos was never my go-to pizza, but having a little taste of the Windy City here might just make it my new favorite. 
After dinner we hit the arcade at the Pavilions. The kids all played games and the parents got to enjoy some beers and catching up. We’ve known those Tylers for so long and love that friendship. We always love an opportunity to hang out. 

harlem globetrotters

Annabelle loves basketball and was really excited that the Globetrotters were coming to town. We got tickets to the afternoon game and grabbed lunch at Brooklyn’s before tip off. 
We decided to stay downtown for the night to kick off a fun weekend of spring break. It was snowing really hard that afternoon so we couldn’t really walk around much. We did grab dinner at our favorite restaurant….yep, Morton’s. They sure do take care of us there. It was restaurant week so we initially had trouble getting reservations. They had over 160 cancellations due to the weather. Yikes! We made a night of it and enjoyed a long, delicious meal. 

mall night

Spring Break is here! 
It still feels an awful lot like winter around here. It’s cold and snowy so Spring Break feels a bit off. It’s really early for us this year. We are not complaining. We always love a little break. 
We kicked off the break with a trip to Gwyneth’s surgeon’s office. This girl is doing far better than they had even anticipated. She has a limp that will be worked out in physical therapy. She has ditched the crutches and is getting around wonderfully. We will follow up with more scans in a few months. 

 The girls requested a mall evening since B was working. How sad that Payless is closing all their stores in the US. These girls burn through shoes so it was always our go to place. We did manage to pass on these gems though…

 Annabelle purchased these today which makes me ’90s heart oh so happy. I lived in Birkenstocks all through high school. I made sure to keep that tid bit to myself as not to change her mind.

 We grabbed dinner and dessert and enjoyed a lovely girls evening together. It was a pretty great kick off to the break.

annabelle’s room

After Gwyneth and I cleaned her room, Annabelle decided she wanted to clean hers too. I love getting rid of old junk. I especially like when the girls can actually use their desks instead of just stacking junk on there. 
I found a cute sloth blanket that is super, super soft. I’m hoping that blanket is comfy enough to distract Ananbelle from the fact that I tossed so much of her junk. 
She worked hard with me and has done a great job maintaining that clean room. 

gwyenth’s room

I guess I’m not a very sentimental lady because I don’t keep much. I’m quick to toss things out and I don’t like clutter. I think my penchant to toss has created little hoarders. The girls love all their trinkets and don’t want to part with anything. 
When the floors are no longer visible and the closets are bursting, we tend to reach an agreement that it’s time to get out the garbage bags and do a little purge. I love the feeling of a clean house and I love when everything has a place. The girls definitely don’t love the process, but they love their organized rooms. 

three margaritas

Gwyneth is on the move again! Her first request was a night out at Three Margaritas. We were happy to oblige and loved getting these sisters out again together. They have been amazing! They have been so sweet and Annabelle has gone above and beyond to care for her little sister. It’s great to see them so connected.