dallas • pool day

What a difference a day makes! We woke up to sunny skies and beautiful weather. We got a jump on the memorial day travelers by heading there a week early. We had the resort and pool nearly to ourselves. We had a late afternoon/evening flight which gave us most of the day to spend at the pool. The girls LOVE a good lazy river and this pool did not disappoint.

We had a few snacks and some froofy drinks by the pool. We spent every last minute we could there before heading to the airport.

We cleaned up, packed up and had to say goodbye to our Dallas adventure. Despite a little rain, we all agreed it was a pretty fabulous time and we can check off another ballpark in our baseball adventures.

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.

chicago

All the stars aligned and we were able to go to Chicago for Baby George’s first birthday party. We were not sure it was going to happen, but it all worked out in the end and we were extremely grateful to be there.

Friday we surprised Lily at school. We were the mystery readers for the class.

She was so surprised to see us!

Then we swung by to pick up George from daycare. We woke him up from his nap to take him home so he was a bit out of sorts.

Everyone got glammed up and off we went for dinner at Morton’s. This has become a bit of a family tradition for the Pazes. Don’t all babies celebrate their first birthday at Mortons??? Ha!

The meal was delicious, as usual, and I took tons of pictures of these little cousins together. They adore each other and love to spend time together. It makes my heart happy. We all live so far apart. Thankfully the distance doesn’t get in the way for these kiddos.

We opened gifts and enjoyed desserts and had a wonderful evening celebrating this little guy.

B won’t be thrilled that I posted this picture, but he was giving Gwyneth a hard time about her chocolate cake and it made me laugh.

the 4th in Chicago

After lunch we took the Amtrak from Milwaukee to Chicago. It’s a quick, easy trip and the girls thought it was pretty great.

We checked into our hotel and met up with my mom. We stayed at the Omni Hotel in Chicago which is in the best location; walking distance to trains and so many great landmarks. We were in the heart of the city and loving it.

We cruised Michigan Avenue and went to a few of our favorite stores. Everything was closing early because it was the 4th of July but we still got to do some great window shopping.

A quick stop at the American Girl Store.

Then, of course, the lego store next door.

dinner at Ditkas

Dylan’s candy bar

We walked to Lakeshore drive and fought the crowds to get a sight of the fireworks. As we were walking back to our hotel we got caught in quite the downpour. Annabelle is pretty freaked out by thunderstorms and was not liking that one bit. We cowered in a covered bus stop with several other tourists and waited for the rain to let up. We were finally able to grab a cab, but we couldn’t all fit. The storm was letting up so B took the girls in the cab and my mom and I walked back to the hotel. It was a crazy night!

When we got back to the hotel, Annabelle begged YaYa to take her home with her. She got YaYa all to herself and was able to spend the next day with her cousins. She was a pretty happy girl and G didn’t seem too disappointed to be spoiled by us.

milwaukee | day 2

My sister, Becky and her family drove up to Milwaukee to spend the day with us. I was so glad to have them join us! The girls were thrilled to have the day with their cousins. It was kid day at the ballpark so we were able to get some pretty cheap tickets for the game. We had so much fun and the day was full of baseball and laughs…and everyone fighting to hold that little baby.

Luckily we are Chicago bound after this, because Becky and her family headed home for the night and the girls did not get enough time with their cousins!

milwaukee | day 1

We were up bright and early for our flight from St. Louis to Milwaukee. It was a super quick flight – just one hour! We had one day to explore the city before my sister’s family drove up to meet us. We were all so excited for them to arrive — we all love that little family and were ready to get our hands on that little baby.

First stop: Pabst Mansion

Then off to the Lakefront Brewery for lunch

We spent the afternoon exploring Discovery World. It’s a great children’s museum right on the lake. Gorgeous views.

We finished off our evening with dinner at Mader’s Restaurant. It was a busy day with a bright and early start and we were all ready to crash into our beds that evening!

saint louis arch

We grabbed lunch at Fitz’s, which has delicious root beer, and then headed downtown to check out the arch. We parked a few blocks away and cut through the Old Court House. It’s so beautiful and up next for renovations.

This picture cracked me up. You know, summer in Saint Louis!

We got a sneak peak of the new arch museum. It looks really great and the girls had a great job exploring.

After the arch we celebrated mine and Annabelle’s birthdays with dinner at the Capital Grill.

We finished the night with a special light show at the Botanic Gardens.

swimming in st louis

We arrived in St. Louis just in time for lunch. We hit my favorite place in town — Rigazzi’s. We enjoyed St. Louis pizza, fried ravioli, provel cheese sticks, and of course, fishbowls! It was an extremely indulgent lunch and we loved every minute of it.

The sun was blazing, but my gals appeased me for a picture.

We had planned to head to the city museum, but the girls were not the least bit interested. They were hot and had their mind set on swimming. We went back to my dad’s house and he hopped in with them. We watched some golf while the girls swam the afternoon away.

My dad brought out a bunch of pool toys for the girls. It kept them entertained for hours.

DIA staycation

We met up with B’s cousin, Amanda who was visiting Colorado for a work conference. It was great to see her! She is such a sweet gal. We grabbed lunch at 5280 Burger Bar downtown. We had plenty of time to catch up and we appreciate so much that she took time out of her visit to meet up with us.

After lunch we dropped Ryan and Reagan off with B’s dad and we set off for the airport. We had an early morning flight…early, early! We treated ourselves to a stay at the airport. The price tag is hefty, but when you wake up in the morning you walk a few paces and are already at security. At 6 am that’s a wonderful benefit.

We grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant, Grill & Vine. It was ok. I think we need to give it another try during our next stay. We shared a few different small plates, but want to give the entrees a try.

After dinner we hit the pool, which may have the most wonderful views I’ve seen in quite some time. The pool is on the top floor of the hotel and you look out over the runways. We were able to watch the airplanes line up for take off and one after one take off into the sky. It was a beautiful view! So lovely and relaxing. It was a night to remember.