3rd Floor Hang-Over

Monday morning was not good for me. Let's just leave it at momma had way too much fun, and maybe didn't make the best choices. 

Gretchen went to practice with DJ on Monday morning and ran cards for him. She was a great helper. 

I rallied around 11 and got in the shower. After DJ was finished with meetings, we met for lunch at Margarittaville near the hotel. 

Two happy parents spending some time together while our kids had some fun. 

There was a big ropes course at the mall and the girls were begging to go. It was perfect because DJ was able to watch them for a while and I didn't have to do much. 

The ropes course was two stories tall. The girls braved the lower level for a while, and eventually made their way over to the zip line. After the zip line, they got brave. 

There were two over hangs that were about 3 stories down. Megan had been pumped to do this, and as soon as she got up there she was terrified! She shook her head no and went the other direction. After she zip lined and watched Gretchen pull her way through the over hang, Megan was brave enough to give it a try. 

I was feeling much better after the girls finished their hour at the ropes course, and we definitely needed some sunshine. We headed out to the riverwalk for the first time that week and enjoyed the fresh air, people watching, and river boats. 

We snapped a picture in front of Selena's bridge. Y'all, DJ has never seen that movie, and I'm thinking he needs some Texas history and we will have to watch that movie one weekend. 

The river walk was gorgeous and so are these girls. 

We stopped over to the grounds of the Alamo and the girls re-enacted some scenes from the movie they watched Christmas day. 

Later that night, the girls were hanging with the other kids in the kids room. 

and DJ and I got dressed up for a dinner out with the Texas staff, the Washington staff, and the bowl committee. 

The next day, we were up and ready to go to the San Antonio zoo. We were able to get in free with our Get Out Pass (use the code itselainewelte to save on yours!)

We saw lots of animals, but the best part was when the girls could feed the giraffe. 

We spent a few hours at the zoo and enjoying a much warmer day. 

We stopped by the aquarium so Adalyn could see some turtles. She loves turtles! 

On our way out we saw the zoo rhino and snapped a picture. 

Then we made our way over to the tea garden and walked through. It was gorgeous but I think the spring would be the perfect time to go! 

The girls and I went to Dirt Cheap afterwards, grabbed a late lunch at CFA, and then met DJ and his mom at the hotel to head to the river rally. 

We found our seats and settled in to listen to the cheerleaders from both schools. 

And then the band came on their float, followed by the team on 3 boats. 

After the river rally, we headed to a BBQ dinner and watched the players form both teams play games. 

We ended our evening with a hot cocoa river boat ride 

The river walk at night is gorgeous, but on a boat with hot cocoa, a blanket, and family, is the best! 

 

Merry Christmas from the Alamo Bowl

Christmas in a hotel room at a bowl game is always interesting. Since we opted to celebrate early, our Christmas didn't look much like Christmas. I was planning on laying in bed all day and watching Chrsitmas movies, but the girls had other plans. 

The girls got dressed, and I pulled on this cozy hoodie. We went to the hospitality suite for breakfast. 

Then stopped in the kids suite for a game of jenga. 

The girls asked to see a movie, but the only thing playing was scary rated R or Puss in Boots. I was interested in neither option, but they had a film about the Alamo that was 45 minutes long so it was perfect. We grabbed our hoodie blankets, popcorn, and settled in for some more Texas history. 

You know I'm not a Texan because I 100% believed that we had won the battle at the Alamo. Spoiler alert- everyone was killed and Mexico won. Texas later won at the Battle of San Jacinto, and that's how Texas became it's own country/state- whatever. 

After our movie, it was time for more games in the kids room. 

Some fun on the elevator. 

Then we bundled up to head outside for some sunshine and fresh air. 

Of course we had to stop at the Alamo. 

After our walk it was back to the kids suite. 

Megan convinced me to workout, so I got in an elliptical workout while she climbed 30 flights on the stair climber. 

DJ eventually came back from pracitce and had picked up Nana from the airport. 

We got ready for Christmas dinner with the team and families, and saw Santa as soon as we stepped off the elevator! 

We had dinner, listened to payer Christmas karaoke, and had a family picture with Santa. 

Then a big video picture with Santa. 

We ended the night in the hospitality suite. I stayed up entirely too late playing Cards Against Humanity and drinking way too much wine, which led to a late start on Monday.

Our Christmas day was definitely unconventional, but we made some fun Christmas memories. 

Remember the Alamo

We headed to San Antonio on December 23rd for our 3rd trip to the Alamo Bowl. DJ had to go down a day early (the team went on the 24th) to set up meeting rooms, and the girls and I figured we would go down early too. We got up, picked up the house, finished packing, and headed out around noon. 

The girls and I have a Get Out Pass and a lot of the activities we can do are in San Antonio. We used one of our passes for an hour jump at a trampoline park and headed straight there after we left the house. 

The girls had a blast jumping, climbing, and playing.

The Get Out Pass is avaialable in several states and we have loved using it over the last year! You can use the code itselainewelte to save on passes for your family! 

It was so cold our first day. I wore my favorite leggings, my new boots, and a cozy pullover. 

We left the trampoline park and headed for the hotel. First stop after unloading our suitcases- a photo op with mega megaphones. 

The Riverwalk mall was beside our hotel, so we walked around for a bit and the girls opted to spend a dollar to ride the bus. 

We stopped for cookies and ice cream after the girls bus ride. 

We use to eat at Cold Stone Creamery all of the time when we lived in Oklahoma, and these girls barely remembered it! 

DJ was still setting up meeting rooms; we were finished walking around the hotel, so the girls had some fun at little Christmas photo areas set up in the hotel. 

And then they played on the escalators. 

They were having the best time. 

Eventually DJ got finished and we were able to go grab some dinner before calling it a day. 

On Christmas Eve day, we visited two of the missions in San Antonio. I figured the girls have seen the Alamo before so we wanted to visit some of the other historic places in San Antonio. 

The two missions we visted are still used as churches today. 

After our stops at the missions, we headed to Mi Tierra for lunch. 

Their chicken verde enchiladas were delicous! 

We walked through the market, and were so thankful for the sunshine even though it was still chilly. 

We made it back to the hotel to see the team arrive. 

We had snacks and cookies in our hotel room that afternoon. 

Then we made it the our first bowl event. DJ and I were gifted Oakley sunglasses from the bowl. The girls received Alamo Bowl sunglasses, and we braved the chilly night to take the most picturesque photo in front of the Alamo all lit up at night. 

So pretty! 

Our first few days in San Antoonio were busy, but we were just getting started!