This past week Kevin attended the ACOFP conference in San Antonio and the kids and I got to tag along! We were planning on staying on base, but apparently so was everyone else so we found a cute little apartment on vrbo.com. It worked out great since the family that owns the apartment has a 4 year old little boy and a swing set in the back yard! It was also only a mile from where Kevin's conference was held.
We left early Thursday morning and the drive went smoothly. The kids and I slept and Kevin drove! When we arrived we got unpacked, Kevin got ready and we headed down to the boardwalk to look around and grab lunch. To say it was busy might be a bit of an understatement considering it was spring break, but Damian was great about sticking close and loved the river walk, boats, ducks, etc. After lunch Kevin headed to the conference and the kids and I headed back to the house to nap. They had a pack and play set up when we arrived, I'm sure assuming Clare would sleep there, but since she sleeps with me Dami asked if he could sleep in it. It made me laugh that our 3 year old slept in a crib for the first time!
That evening we headed back downtown and went to a residency fair for a bit. Then we went looking for Mi Tierra for dinner. The wait was like 1 1/2 hours and it was already late, so we opted for to go tamales and pan dulce. Then we walked along the river walk some more before heading home.
Friday Kevin got up early to head to the conference and the kids and I got up to get ready for Sea World! When Kevin got back we hit the road for a fun day! The line to get into the park was long and the line to park was even longer. But we eventually made it with most of the complaining coming from Kevin! We threw the kids in the slings and headed to stand in more lines to get our tickets. Man Spring Break was not a great time for a conference... Oh well, we made it in (with our free military tickets) and headed straight for the rides. Dami was big enough for one of the roller coasters so Kevin waited in line with Clare while Damian and I ran to get on the carousel. Damian chose to sit on the bench the first time around and loved waving to all the people. Then was the big roller coaster ride! He loved it and Kevin did a great job preparing him and taking about how it would feel and look like before hand so he wasn't scared at all! I got a couple pictures, but it was hard to see his little head over the car!
We got to see a couple shows and were surprised how into them Clare got. She would dance to the music, clap and get excited when the whales jumped and splashed! Damian also loved them and it was a great time to sit down and relax for a bit. After a few more rides, we called it a day. Packed up the car and headed back to the apartment. While the kids and I played Kevin headed to the grocery store to buy stuff to make shrimp tacos. One of our favorites and quick and easy for this tired bunch!
Saturday was a full day for Kevin at the conference. He was elected as the Vice President of student something or another and we are excited for him! It is a great position to add to his resume! The kids and I headed to the Alamo to take a look around and then went to the board walk to go on the boat ride. Both were really fun and I'm so glad I didn't chicken out of taking the kids by myself!
photo credit to Damian P Sisk
When we packed for the trip we hadn't planned on going to the Presidents dinner on Saturday night, but since Kevin was elected he was kind of required too and they wanted the kids and I to go too. The kids had their clothes for Mass and while I brought a skirt, it wasn't quite what I needed for a fancy dinner. Thankfully I had been shopping with Melanie the week before and found a pretty dress that I was holding off on buying until it went on sale. Well it hadn't gone on sale, but since I had about 30 minutes to go shopping it was great to know exactly where to go to get a dress I would like! We rushed back home and got all dressed up and with the promise of chicken nuggets Dami went along for the ride pretty smoothly! The kids were perfect and Clare even fell asleep for most of the dinner and presentation. They had a raffle I entered to win a iPad but obviously didn't win, oh well! We headed back to get some rest afterward and then Kevin headed back to go to the networking after party event back at the hotel.
We also managed not to get a family picture, so here are some that Dami took:
The next morning we woke up to get all packed up and get ready for Mass. We had planned to go to Mass downtown at the Cathedral, but when the car was all loaded up realized we only had 10 minutes to get there and park. That wasn't going to happen, so we checked online for different times. The Basilica of the Little Flower had the next time not too far away and it was great to see the only National Shrine to St. Therese The Little Flower! It was a huge and beautiful Basilica!
After Mass we headed for a second attempt at Mi Tierra with a back up plan. One of the other people at the conference had said they went to order at the to go counter and realized there was seating there. They asked if they could sit down and the waiter said sure. So that is what we did too and bi-passed the 1 1/2 hour wait for some very yummy Mexican food!
This was the end of our fun vacation and next came the LONG drive home! We somehow didn't put two and two together to realize that the end of Spring Break would mean a really backed up I-35. The 4 hour drive that went so smoothly at the way there turned into 7 1/2 hours and a very tired family!
