mini family vacay

 Since Houston finished the Bar, we wanted to do something to get away as a little family this last weekend, but we wanted something that didn't cost an arm and a leg.  Houston also hadn't met his newest nephew yet so we hopped in the car again and headed to good old San Antone.  Scott and D were gracious enough to let us stay there even though they were both exhausted with a brand new little one.  We had a fun time trying out new restaurants and making it feel as much as a vacation as possible.

We arrived Friday night and headed out to dinner at Longhorn Cafe.  It was SOOO good.  Our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs because we ordered a ton of food.  Cheeseburgers, chicken strips, mac and cheese, fried mushrooms, buffalo wings, french fries.  Oh man.  It was all amazing.  I can't wait to go back!

Nana and Coen

my beautiful blue eyed baby girl! with mac and cheese face of course!

H, me, and lil C

this is the place!
can't wait to go back to this little burger shack!

 Saturday we headed out to the San Antonio Zoo.  Holy hot!!  We had a good time checkin out the animals. Elaina was totally into it.  She was really quiet, but she would just stare at all the animals.  It was pretty cute. I, however, remembered once again that I don't really like zoos that much.  What can I say?  They just aren't my thing!  I think it's the smell.  And, it was super hot outside.  So hot that most of the coolest animals (the lion, the tiger, the cheetah, etc.) were all off in a random corner laying in the shade.  You couldn't see most of them, so that was kind of a bummer.  But, it was definitely fun doing something together, just the three of us. And, of course, being the good mom I try to be I will definitely take Elaina to the zoo again someday.  She can form her own opinion of smelly zoos :)  Maybe, it just won't be in the dead heat of the summer!

checkin out the fishies

playing with Daddy

going fishing in the kiddie play place

chillin with the monkey for a snack break

trying out the petting zoo.  haha! She was not a fan!  She loved looking at the animals from afar.  Petting them...not so much.

hey mr. zebra

the usual. trying to escape picture time with mommy.

mr. elephant throwing dirt on himself.  I figured that was a way to try and cool himself off but then again, I'm no zoologist.

trying to escape picture time with daddy!

 That night we met up with our good friend Troy!  That crazy, charitable man had just donated a kidney to a girl he doesn't know!  He's just awesome like that.  Since he was a little doped up :) we picked him up and took him out to dinner at one of our faves, Chuy's of course!

roomies reunited

our little busy body

 My parents were so generous and thoughtful that they got us a room at the Hyatt Hill Country in San Antonio to enjoy after Houston's big test!  It was amazing!  But, before checking into the hotel we drove out to Leon Springs to eat at the original Rudy's.  We love Rudy's.  Whenever we are near one we always go to order the breakfast tacos.  Houston just wanted to go to Rudy's and this was the closest one on the map to my sister's house. When we got there we realized it was actually the original, which was even cooler!

Houston made me make sure and take a picture of the gas station.  The original Rudy's started as part of a gas station and now all the franchises are always next to a gas station!

someone definitely liked it!

 We checked into the hotel and immediately made use of the lazy river.  We all enjoyed the relaxation. Elaina was content to just sit in our laps, she especially loved it when she found a toy bucket.  She would just put water in the bucket and pour it out while chillin in the tube.  She also liked it if we held on to her hands while she just hung over the edge of the tube.

tubing with dad

diaper bum on the balcony

 That night we just ate dinner at the resort and then enjoyed s'mores! I couldn't pass up s'mores!!

haha! look at that face! someone likes s'mores just like her mama!

 The hotel had a bunch of other activities going on but we just took it easy.  They had movie night on the lawn with blankets and popcorn, but after a full day Elaina was beat and ready for bed.  We went back to the room for bath time and night night.

the little diva

Let's just say the bed time thing wasn't the greatest part of the trip.  Elaina is usually an amazing sleeper.  She sleeps at home, in the pack and play at mimi's and nana's and aunt julies and aunt nana's and kelley's, and she has slept in hotels just fine.  But, there was something about that hotel room that she was not a fan of.  She screamed bloody murder for about an hour and a half before she finally fell asleep around 10 that night.  Then Houston accidentally had an alarm set from the week before that went off at five in the morning.  Elaina definitely heard the alarm and was up ready to go for the day. Woof.  We tried to get her to go back to sleep but it was a no go.  She would snuggle and lay on me but she wasn't going back to sleep whatsoever.  Around 6:45 Houston gave up and just took her downstairs for breakfast while I slept for a little bit.  Since we were up so early, we definitely made use of the lazy river again before check out.  As aforementioned, tantrums were abundant since she was so exhausted, but lucky for us she loved the lazy river and played in the water for a couple hours before it was time to pack up and go.  The second we got in the car she passed out and slept almost the entire way home!