The Hall Family

March 2013: Houston Vacation (Day 2 San Antonio)

Day two of our vacation had us travel four hours west to San Antonio. We made a pit stop at the notorious Buc-ees rest stop. That was an experience. Take your regular tourist stop gas station and put it on steroids and that is Buc-ees.

Next Roger and Rozanne dropped us off in down town and the kids and I first went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum. There were some amazing artifacts and pictures. This is the perfect museum for 6-12 year olds. Something for everyone and Steven was able to walk around without getting lost.

Following the museum we went to Madam Tussaud's Wax museum where we visited with celebrities and historical figures. The kids said hello to the President. We made the mistake of going to the basement to see the wax moldings of horror show characters. We literally ran through the haunted section. Steven and Sophie were clawing me hysterically and screaming.

After that Cousin Sarah joined us along with Afton and Charlie. I love Sarah. I haven't seen her in 7 years and we pick up like we saw each other yesterday. She is truly a kindred spirit to me. She took us down to the river walk where we enjoyed some authentic mexican cuisine (with four sides of chicken nuggets).

Then it was off to take a river boat ride and hear about the historical significance of the buildings we floated by. Steven thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride, until the tour guide told him not to fall in. Then he screamed the rest of the way.

Following the boat ride we finished the trip with the most important event and reason for the road trip (along with seeing Sarah) which was the ALAMO! I won't have a hard time remembering the Alamo. Ethan was crying for his Hall-Brown cousins. (Which he had been doing all day), Steven was crying because he wanted out of his stroller (which I couldn't because we were stuffed like sardines), I had montezuma's revenge from mexi food, and Lizzy was complaining because she didn't get a tray or a souvenir during the entire trip. The Alamo was amazing. Nana had given us a history lesson on the way into San Antonio which made the significance of the Alamo all the more. No wonder Texans are so proud of their heritage.

And to top off the day we stopped for ice cream. The boys couldn't help themselves and made a mess, even the 12 year old.

Then it was off to Sarah's to meet up with Nana and Grandpa who had been visiting with friends from their days of living in San Antonio. It was a wonderful day!! Thanks Sarah!

March 2013: Houston Vacation (Day 1)

We went to Houston for spring break. The flight out was remarkably uneventful despite having cranky Steven on my lap. The only part worth mentioning was the lady who sat next to me who was annoyed with Steven on my lap despite the fact that she was double my size, took half my seat and Steven was good. She was ridiculous! We arrived to loving cousins and Kathryn and Stu.

We had not had anything to eat all day. We departed to the airport at 4:30am. Boarded the plane and then once in Salt Lake we raced to the concourse to catch our connection. We arrived in Houston at 2pm and after getting our rental car and on the road it was 4pm. It seemed silly to stop for food when Kathryn was to have a lovely dinner for us at 5pm. As we pulled up Roger stated how good could it be because it wasn't going to be a roast. We walk in and there was the beautiful aroma of a roast for dinner. Hillarious!

Despite the temp a mild 60 degrees the kids were still out in the hot tub right after dinner.