2.20.2010

Valentine's and President's Day Weekend

Casey knows me well enough now that he doesn't bother with roses for Valentine's Day but always brings home a lovely bouquet of tulips instead. This year he brought me enough to fill 3 vases! Good thing we have a house now to scatter the beauty about.

Having Lucy in school made Valentine's Day much more fun for her and me. I loved putting together Valentine's for all her classmates. Brought me back to grade school (more info on the Heart Breakers HERE).
Since I was teaching Young Women's on Sunday (my new calling! I was called as the Achievement Days Leader and RS Teacher when we moved here and then they switched me a month later) well, I decided to make some for the girls too:
On Monday, President's Day, we went for an outing and drove 1 1/2 hours south to San Antonio.
For the holiday, Owen wore his President's Day Shirt:
And the kids were amazing the entire drive. We couldn't believe it. They just sat there and looked out the window. No shows, no toys.

Casey and I visited S.A. once 4 years ago when we first came to Austin. The Temple is new since then, so we checked that out first:
The stained glass that fills most of the windows is just beautiful.
And the Moroni sits low enough that you can really get a good view.
In case you were wondering, I was there:
and I had lost my voice. That seriously happens to me once a year. Kind of a drag. But moving on.....

Since it was impossible to get both kids looking at me at the same time, here's a smashed-together photo. Lucy's real funny when she crosses her legs like that. I find her sometimes in her carseat, with legs crossed, gazing out the window. So grown up (and freaky eyes):
After the temple, we stopped at the church book store and Great Harvest Bread! YUM. But since we were about to get lunch, I didn't do any sampling. Bummer. Then we started on our quest for pizza. I say quest because it took about an hour to find our destination. We had heard rave reviews about Big Lou's Pizza (they have a pizza that's 42 inches wide!) So we drove way over to the East side and well, Big Lou likes to take the day off on Mondays. It was closed! LAME.

So we looked on Casey's phone and found "Main Street" pizza. I looked at the address, went into google maps and typed in "1409 Main STREET". It was 25 miles away. What??? Okay, we can drive fast.

So we got on the highway, kept driving, started to doubt our whereabouts and finally realized.....Main STREET pizza is on Main AVENUE. Um, really? DUMB. So we drove back the other way and eventually found Main Street Pizza on Main Avenue. Thankfully, it did not disappoint:
While waiting for yummy cheesy goo, Casey taught Lucy to play Rock, Paper, Scissors:
And then we ate. Lucy had a cheese pizza all to herself:
and we enjoyed this heavenly sight:
With full tummies, we drove by the Alamo (a drive-by is plenty fine. It's much smaller than you think and we've done the tour before. And no, there's no basement):
And then we hung out at the River Walk for the rest of the night. You walk "underground" from the city streets of San Antonio and there's an entire river with canals and restaurants.
Casey was wise enough to bring the stroller. I can just imagine Owen diving off that edge:
And that's San Antonio!
3-day Weekends are perfect for exploring our state. Maybe Dallas is next?

14 comments:

Unknown said...

That river walk looks so cool! What fun.

Jean said...

That is awesome! What a fun, exploratory weekend. I love the river walk!! And that pizza looks deeeelish. It's been verified that San Antonio can do a mean pizza. :-)

Lettie B. said...

I always love your reviews of trips - big or small. Nate and I were just talking about places to visit the other day and I mentioned Austin and San Antonio. I have heard that the Riverwalk is beautiful. When his bro lived in Dallas we visted him there and we had a lot of fun. (Whether that was because of Dallas or if his bro and family made Dallas more fun, I don't know.) I bet your kiddos would love watching the longhorn herd to the stockyard in Ft. Worth.

Becky said...

sounds like a fun trip. I totally know what you mean about getting a picture with the two kids both looking -- it's near impossible these days!

Kate said...

rad!! how fun, you inspire me all the time to take more photos. I'm a stinkin photographer for crying out loud.

Amanda said...

That looks like a fun trip! You should check out Dallas! Definitely check out the Fort Worth Stockyards and don't forget to check out the Dallas Farmer's Market, Downtown Historical District, Las Colinas Mustangs, and the Dallas Arts Districts!! (We live in the area and there is always lots of fun stuff to check out! and they have lots of free family days too!)

Nicole said...

FUN! When we come visit, we MUST go to the River walk, it looks so fun. Can't wait to see your other TX adventures! Fun pictures!

dietcokegrrl said...

Looks like a fun little trip! Beautiful temple pics and I love the "smashed-together" pic of the kids. So cute.

Bummer about the pizza place, but glad you found an alternative.

And you know I can't end my comment without saying "but there IS no basement in the Alamo!" :)

the bates motel said...

looks like a fun time! love the temple! and cute valentines. how's lucy liking school? and what yw are you with? i can write an email i guess to get more dets........

sb said...

Thanks for the inspiration! We've lived in Tyler for over a year now but haven't been anywhere in Texas. We talk about going to SA, but since hubby's a pilot, we fly for free and thus *can't* drive anywhere anymore. (But since we'd have to rent a car to get around town anyway, it's a little ridiculous to fly...:). The temple is gorgeous, too - I didn't realize there was one in SA.

Kam Belly Soup said...

deep in the heart of texas! everyone i know has a big butt. looks like san antonio is cool. happy v day

Ryan & Holly Willard said...

I love your valentines, they are so cute and creative. I was also disappointed by the size of the Alamo, Pee Wee Herman made it seem way more impressive. I love the river walk though.

Forever You said...

DAna!! I love tulips too ! No roses for me please :) Glad you had fun celebration! LOVE pizza too! The trip seamed fun! HOW nice!

Laurel said...

Oh, I grew up in San Antonio and this post makes me miss it! :) I just love that city and the Riverwalk is to die for during Christmas with all the twinkle lights up too!