Alamo Bowl: Game Day!

Our week in San Antonio was coming to an end, and after being there for 7 days, we were ready to be home! Megan got sick the night before the game, so we took it easy on Thursday (game day). We packed up as much as we could knowing that the elevators and parking would be crazy on Friday! It was getting so crowded as we got closer and closer to the game. At one point I told DJ that the team/staff should have their own hotel with no one else in it, because there were SO many people! 

The Alamo Bowl committee absolutely spoils us. We had snacks and drinks delivered to our room each day and came home with a lot of it left over! We also had gifts delivered each day. Our large bowl gift was a Yeti cooler bag. We also received a cutting board, a meat press, BBQ rubs and seasonings. The girls each received a backpack, a whale from Sea World. The Alamo Bowl always goes above and beyond! Each bowl is different, but this is one of the best we've attended. 

Of course we had a huge Hook 'Em in the team hotel. 

The team decided to walk to the stadium, and all of the fans were lined up the entire way to cheer them on. The crowd in the hotel was huge! DJ walked with the team too for the first time ever- he's always already in his office on game day when the team comes in. 

After the walk through, we rushed upstairs to get ready for the game and to be on time for the family bus. 

Our seats were about 4 rows behind Bevo. 

And y'all, that Bevo picture is about the only one I took during the game. A friend sent us this picture of Adalyn on the big screen. 

It was a late night, and honestly, when I have the girls with me, I feel like I can't focus on the game as much. I was confused half the time because I wasn't able to really watch what was happening, or I was up and cheering when the girls weren't laying on top of me because it was such a late night. 

Since we lost the game, we opted to not use our field passes. I knew the girls would run right to the balloons and felt like it wasn't our celebration to be had. 

We sang the Eyes of Texas from our seats. Waved to DJ on the field, and decided to exit before the trophy ceremony. 

We walked back to the hotel and made it there around midnight. We went straight to the hospitality suite for snacks, and Adalyn took this quick picture with Bevo. 

We had champagne and water waiting for us after the game from the bowl 

And Friday morning we got up, had breakfast and headed home, because we had a huge surprise waiting for us! 

 

Alamo Bowl: Sea World Day

I'm recapping our time at the Alamo Bowl; and today, I have a short little post recapping our afternoon at Sea World in San Antonio. 

We visited a trampoline park, the zoo, the tea gardens, the mall, and the day before game day, we visited Sea World thanks to the Alamo Bowl! 

Sea World didn't open until 1, so we had the morning to hang around the hotel and work on packing up our suitcases. 

We saw the whales

and the dolphin shows. 

Gretchen was less than thrilled. Ha. When I told her we were going to Sea World she talked about how awful it is to have the animals in captivity, and said she didn't want to go. But then she said, "well, the tickets have been bought and it's not our money" She was really wanting to ride the roller coasters, but there was over a 2 hour wait on all of them and unfortunately, we just didn't have the time, and as the afternoon went out, it got more crowded. 

Adalyn however was thrilled to see the sea turtles! 

We had lunch, walked to check out the entirely too long wait for the other rides, stopped at the play ground, and finished our day by seeing the sea lions. Since the girls didn't actually do much, I grabbed them all fish so they could at least feed the sea lions!

We ended our afternoon with a trip to see the dolphins up close and the aquarium including the sharks!

By the end of our afternoon the girls were exhausted. Megan was crying in the car and she ended up getting sick that evening. Nana stayed with her while the rest of us went to eat dinner with some friends, but we called it an early night after Nana let us know that Megan had thrown up about 4 more times after we had left. 

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.