Wordless Wednesday: When have I *evah* done that?!

Today, I thought we would see my favorite pictures from The Alamo...the ones that sent me off into my biggest picture taking frenzy. And if you are just joining us and want to catch up on our adventures in San Antonio:
A brief explanation
Who is Cindy Sue?
Our plane adventures
What we did and didn't do; and a small misunderstanding
Remembering the Alamo with Johnny Depp
Other Texas Foliage

Just a few more notes from a Large State

Cindy and I decided that for our field trip, we would remember the Alamo. And not remember the Blue Bell ice cream tour. When I told the kids what we were doing…Madalyn asked what it was. And I told her the Alamo is a place important to Texas history. She says “do we *have* to learn something?” We surely wouldn’t want some edumacating to mess up our vacation.

We also decided that we would go to the Alamo on Wednesday. Because it was going to be the coolest day of the week. Meaning, the high was only 96 instead of 102. Down right balmy. So, on Wednesday morning, we headed downtown…and then tried to figure out where to go. There are lots of signs…but by the time you get close enough to read what they have to say, you realize you are in the wrong lane. We did our fare share of going around the block.

We finally settled on parking in the garage for the River Walk Mall…and as we exited the elevator into the mall, Madalyn realized she was in souvenir heaven. I somehow managed to convince her that we would look on our way out…and that we might find something over at the Alamo. We ambled along (cause we are in Texas) and then had to ask how to get to the Alamo. I wonder how many times the people at the information booth are asked that question every day.

As we walked towards the exit, we had to pass the IMAX movie place. They had all kinds of cool offerings – like one about Ancient Egypt, another about Lewis and Clark, The Alamo experience, The Deep Sea, Dinosaurs, and a few others. So, what did we pick? Well, all the girls just saw the words “Johnny Depp” and that apparently sealed the deal.

Let us pause for a moment…

Okay…so we bought our tickets for the 12:30 show…and then walked across the street to see the Alamo. First of all…this place is gorgeous. The gardens and manicured lawns just sent me off into a picture taking frenzy.

(And after taking the above two pictures, Cindy says to me "did you really take pictures of those birds?! " I thought they were kinda cool...in a "Where's Waldo" way. Ahhh...the crazed mind of a blogger...)

A frenzy that was not appreciated by my group. Because they were hot. And not so into ambling. So, while I took some pictures, the girls went to the loggia for some shade and a bench. Doesn’t that sound romantic? And European? Just going to sit for a while under the loggia and admire the view... But, trust me, it was neither romantic nor European with whiny, stinky girls in the African heat. Wait…maybe it could be European…

After my frenzy came to a momentary halt, I found the girls…who discovered some sort of Animal skin thing. Not sure what it was…or what it was used for. But we decided that it must be Indian. And that we were all Big Chiefs. And then the girls found a bench…that seemed to remind them of a boat…and that it must be a row boat… When they finally pulled me away from the gardens, we approached the front of the mission. There was a sign out front reminding people of the sanctity of the inside of this building…and that we were to use quite voices…and not take pictures. So, we opened the door, and tried not to squeal with delight and get ourselves admonished by the docents…for the inside of the Alamo is blessed with…air conditioning. Wondrous cool air and small oscillating fans.

We walked into the small rooms to see the items on display…and then Madalyn had to tell anyone who would listen that we are related to Davy Crockett. It’s a good thing we had that hook, or I think she would have professed boredom for the whole thing.

We left the building and walked across the courtyard to the gift shop. Another air conditioned haven. We wandered about…and got t-shirts for the girls and one to bring home for daddy. And Ashley found something she could not live without. A giant pencil. (And a few days later when her grandparents asked what we did this week – she didn’t recall the swimming, playing, field trips, Johnny Depp…- nope, none of those could compare to the joy of getting a giant pencil.)

After making our purchases, we headed back over to the mall to have lunch before our Johnny Depp encounter. Did we need another pause? Naturally they had to drag me along as I snapped some more pictures.

When we got to the Food court…Cindy immediately found her boy friend.You should have seen the look on the guy’s face that was working the Cinnabon. He just did not get why we were in hysterics. And then the girls did not get why we *had* to get a picture. Hallelujah for over their heads…

We finished our scrumptious feast from the “here you try sample” eatery and went up the escalator to the IMAX. On our tickets for the show, we actually had assigned seats. I have never been to a movie theatre that did that. We got our 3-D glasses and found our seats so that we could watch “The Deep Sea” with narrations by Johnny Depp. No visuals of him at all. And can you imagine Johnny Depp in 3-D? Yeah, I thought you needed another pause there. Cindy and I think that they should have had a small picture of him in the corner of the screen for the duration of the show. Hell, forget a small picture, that IMAX screen is huge…they could have reserved half the screen so that we could watch him read his lines. In 3-D.

More Notes from a Large State

Our plane out of Atlanta actually left before the time noted on my ticket. Maybe they knew we were all there? So, we arrived in San Antonio about half an hour before we thought we would. It worked out well because we had plenty of time to amble along the concourse to baggage claim. Isn’t that what you are supposed to do in Texas? Amble along? Oh, that reminds me of a good Dubya quote: “Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called ‘walking.’”

The girls could not believe how close baggage claim was. Or that we did not need to take a train to reach it. And they could not believe how long we had to wait for our bags. And wait some more. And then the bags started showing up on the conveyor belt. But not our bags. And then the belt broke. And we had to go to another part of baggage claim to find our bags. And wait some more. But I am pure genius when it comes to bags. As all our bags are pink. The pretty pink ones in that sea of black suitcases. They were easy to find…when they showed up. And we went outside to wait for Cindy to pick us up.

When we got to her house, first thing we had to do was re-introduce the kids. The last time my two girls saw Cindy’s two girls was about 4 years ago. They all hit it off famously. They spent the week making movies on the Play station 3; indoctrinating sharing the Nintendo DS; swimming; eating (I swear, I am raising a pair of teenage boys rather than tween girls); playing with kitties; and just some general mayhem (as opposed to specific mayhem).

We set the tone for the week quickly by making brownies on Saturday afternoon. The girls immediately got silly and pretended to put goldfish in the mix.

(Cindy's daughter Caroline and Katie)

I think everyone had a turn to stir.

(Cindy Sue)

And demand to lick the bowl. You say brownie, I say salmonella.

We made éclair cake one day. We made Schwan’s Monster cookies another day. (Do ya’ll order from Schwan’s? I’m feelin’ kinda strange in wanting to put together an order of cookies and ice cream!) And we even talked about driving three hours to go on the Blue Bell ice cream tour. Notice, we just talked about it. Thought about it. I think we were intoxicated by all the sugar we had been consuming. Someone said “ice cream” and we were ready to sign up. But, the sugar rush soon passed, and reason returned. So, instead, we went to Cindy’s parent’s house and ate their ice cream.

(Ashley and her mint chocolate chip)

(Ooops. Madalyn got a brain freeze)

We spent quite a few mornings at the pool. With Cindy and I trying to keep cool and the girlies playing games. Mine introduced Caroline and Ashley into all sorts of pool games. And games they play in the car that they somehow adapted for the pool. And then there is the requisite game of carry your sister on your back. One of the highlights of the week for the girls was playing with the cats. Cindy – who is allergic – and who was never a fan of cats – has found herself the proud “owner” of three kitties.And…during our visit we were house sitting for one of Cindy’s neighbors – so the girls had another set of three cats to play with. Oh…and a dog at each house. Now, we do have a cat at our house. But it’s my mom’s cat. And he is afraid of everyone. Except my mom. You’d think after living with my girls for 8 years, he’d be used to them. The novelty is that these Texas cats are friendly. And like to be petted. And played with. (See one of our cute pink bags?)

And then…to cap it all off…when we got home, my mom said that her cat is lonely. Which my selective hearing children heard from two stories away…and came bounding into the room to know when we were going to get two new kittens…and launched themselves into huge discussion on possible names depending on the coloring of said kitten. Ummm. Hello. Tap, tap. Is this thing on? Did I say we were getting a new kitten? Much less two?! I think I need some peanut m&ms.

Tune in next time for our field trip and a short adventure with Johnny Depp…

Notes from a large state

We got home from our week in San Antonio last night. And I think that this is the first time I have ever come home from a vacation and not felt like I needed a vacation to recover from my vacation. It was a wonderful, relaxing week of catching up, eating, laughing, eating some more, visiting, and a field trip thrown in so that we could say we saw Texas. And so Madalyn could buy a souvenir. Because my money was burning a hole in her pocket.

This entire trip started with an innocent question. What are you doing the week of the 15th? Originally, the girls were going to choir camp. But it just so happened that I had not paid for the camp when the question was asked. And then the stars and planets were in alignment for the airline rate we got. The only way to fly direct to San Antonio from Atlanta was on Delta. And the prices are outrageous. But then, the Wal-mart of airlines started flying to San Antonio on June 11th…so Delta’s rates dropped. And dropped dramatically. I got such a deal, that my flight was booked before Cindy even told her husband we might be coming! Then again…he seemed to think I was coming by myself until right before we showed up on their doorstep.

We left on the 14th. Michael dropped us at the airport…and we got lunch there. The kids got kid meals…and their toy was play dough. You must know that it was a huge hit with the girls. Because play dough does not cross my threshold. But really, play dough at the airport? And what do my girls create with their play dough? Why phallic thumbs, of course. I read somewhere that girls will build enclosures – like houses, or “gated” areas for their animals to play…and that boys will build towers. All very Freudian. Except for my girls. Who are all about the towers. But I digress…

The girls loved the plane ride – especially the take off – and they were mesmerized by all they could see. Katie decided to investigate all the pockets on the seats…and naturally she found the “convenience bag.” I had to explain what it was for. Especially as one side of the bag says it is for barf…and the other side says it’s a seat holder in case you decide to get off the plane if you make a stop over. Katie wanted to be assured that you would not use the bag for both purposes. She decided that one of her Pokemon stuffies was motion sick. Don’t you want to fly with us?

Wordy Wednesday: Live Oak Trees

One of my favorite things about my friend Cindy's house here in Texas is the Live Oak tree in her front yard. Live Oaks are *everywhere* here. It is not a tree that grows in Metro Atlanta. But it is one that I love. I love the curves of the branches. I love that each tree has a unique character. I love that they would make great climbing trees. And I love the "romance" of them...as I envision them lining a drive, and creating a mysterious canopy drizzled with Spanish Moss.

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." -- Greek proverb