Visitors, Fiesta, Celebrations and more Birthdays!!

I'm going to go back a few weeks in time to update the blog and show off some pictures of the visitors we had during April and May.

My mom and sister visited during Fiesta, a two week celebration unique to San Antonio. Fiesta started as a way to honor the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto, now it's more a celebration of San Antonio.

Several of the parades are televised so we watched those from home, including the Texas Cavaliers parade where the floats actually float down the Riverwalk!

Our biggest night out was to Night in Old San Antonio, or NIOSA, and we all enjoyed it immensely. The kids were thirlled to ride a city bus to downtown and then had a great night at the carnival-like atmosphere at La Villita. Both kiddos got their faces painted and that was probably the highlight for them. EMN got a butterfly and MTN got spiderman.






















He was very proud of his "tattoon". He sat very still even though it tickled him a bit.


After the kids cracked cascarones on me during NIOSA.

(Casacarones are confetti filled eggs)










Happy Birthday Alison!! She turned 30 while she was here visiting and so we had her birthday dinner at the Alamo Cafe. It was a favorite restaurant of mine when I lived here before and now the kids have become fans. Not only is the food good, the tortillas are fantastic and the atmosphere is fun. The kids are always finding something new to look at (the painted sky in the entryway has a sun that rises and sets, the "river" that runs through the building, the fountain, etc.)




Nonna and the grandkids.

















In May we hosted the Nelsons (Mike's parents) and for Mother's Day weekend the Blais' were able to visit too (Mike's sister and her family). It was a full house and so much fun! The Blais' live north of Dallas and they drove down on Friday night and arrived while Mike and I were at a graduation. Mike's students were graduating that night so Gama and Bompa got to babysit EMN and MTN - it worked out perfectly.

Early the next morning EMN had a soccer game which provided lots of entertainment for all of us. After the game, the troops dispersed for various activites and I caught this moment between cousins Caleb and EMN. Caleb is very talented musically and he was so patient with her and she was very receptive to his teaching.




Later that night the whole crew packed up at tailgated at the San Antonio Missions baseball game.














A great spot in the sun, enjoying the day











The mascot from our local grocery store, HEB. She was so excited to see Buddy that she jumped up and chased him down so we could get this picture.













My boys, taking in an evening of baseball. The younger one enjoyed the game, but not the fireworks afterwards. Can't win them all!







Gama hanging spoons at Bin 555 on Mother's Day. This is a Nelson tradition that pops up every now and then and we've got photos of Gama hanging spoons with pretty much everyone we know!



This is a blurry shot because MTN was sitting on my lap but he did this completely unassisted. All of us at the table had been talking about hanging spoons and he started trying by himself and by golly, he got it without any help so I snapped the pic as quickly as I could before it dropped. I can't believe he was able to get it so easily. The spoons were heavy and oddly shaped and yet it seemed so effortless for him!








And not to be outdone, EMN proves that she has what it takes too :)










Enjoying the afternoon in our backyard, three generations of Nelson men on Mother's Day. They were waiting on the grill to be ready ...






Bompa reading a bedtime story.











Happy Birthday Gama!! We were delighted to be able to celebrate her actual birthday with her but we look forward to the celebration with the family at the Outer Banks this summer.










Happy Birthday to Me!! We were able to have an adult-only dinner with Gama and Bompa to celebrate my birthday at a new favorite restaurant, Tresca. Having a babysitter that we love and trust is a wonderful thing! We're going to miss her :(








Gama and Bompa the morning before they returned home. We had a great visit and we look forward to seeing them in DC this summer!

More Birthday

The day started out with the previous blog post. MTN woke up to a house decorated with streamers and balloons and a sister all too happy to smother him with hugs, kisses and reminders of "this is your special day!" He requested cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then we were off for a day of adventure. Mike and I decided to surprise him for his birthday with activities we knew he'd enjoy. So off to the Riverwalk we went.

The kids had never been and there was no more perfect time than a Monday morning when there are no crowds and Mike wasn't working (I love the Guard!).

The kids have seen plenty of pictures of the Riverwalk and even a parade on the Riverwalk that was televised during Fiesta but to see it in person is much more exciting.

MTN was captivated by the cruise boats and ducks all during lunch which played into our hand very well. Sure enough, his requests to take a boat ride came fast and furious.








































The view from our table at Casa Rio.


















And so after lunch we were able to be the heroes and oblige our new three-year-old on a Riverwalk cruise. Our Riverboat captain, Ron, was great and had the boat call out "Happy Birthday" to MTN several times throughout the ride. He enjoyed the special attention but I think the highlights for our little man were the construction crews working on various sites around town.













After a brief walk on the river, we drove back towards our next destination and it didn't take long to realize we were all pretty sleepy. So we all slept in the van for a bit (why didn't I get a photo of that?!?) and then we were on to 18 holes of mini-golf.











Questionable form but it got the job done.

















She didn't know we were going golfing but she sure did dress appropriately. I think those pants have conveniently disappeared during a recent laundry incident. While they're among her favorites, they're not mine. I'll add it to the list of reasons I'm not up for Mother of the Year.






















Watching the other golfers hack away. It was an awful display although Mike will have me note he did get a hole in one.




















Playing a video driving game.


























Enjoying his requested dinner of spaghetti and "meatbulbs"

























To be just like his Daddy, a new workbench to make fabulous creations.


















MTN with the cake he helped me make. All day he wanted to dump the load of "rocks" in the dump truck and that was the first thing he did after he blew out the candles. Then he asked if he could play with it and we said "Sure!" and so he started digging in with the excavator and driving the trucks through the icing until he realized eating the cake might be fun too :)









A new weed whacker and googles. He is all business when using this machine and it is clear he has studied his father quite carefully (although Mike doesn't wear goggles). He has all the techniques and mannerisms down just right. Too cute!















And just before bed, a game of "Racey Race" with the new dump trucks. I wish I could explain the rules of Racey Race but they are a bit beyond me. I'm just happy the two of them agree on the procedures and it provides endless entertainment and relatively little argument.


It was a fun day for all of us and MTN was very appreciative which was sweet. He's learning and growing so much every day. It was a pleasure to be able to take a day and focus on him!

Three!!

Busy

I've been busy doing things at places other than my computer so I haven't made a post in awhile. I'll try to get one up soon, with pictures, of all that's kept us away. Top of the list is the new playground in our back yard. The kids love it and we're so glad! I've also been sewing quite a bit and have been hosting my mom and sister for their visit to Texas. Alison celebrated her birthday while she was here and it was during San Antonio Fiesta's celebration which was fun.

I'm doing my best to limit my computer time because it's so easy to "lose time" click-click-clicking away and meanwhile there's never a lack of other things that need to be done. Such as now! So off I go to cross a few things off my to do list.

Happy April and Happy Easter!

April is going too quickly! We've been enjoying soccer but I didn't want to overload the blog with tons more soccer pictures. It's slowly sinking in that I'm a soccer mom for real :) We're all relieved EMN is so happy with her new skills and her team. And if you miss seeing soccer pictures, I have plenty of great ones, but perhaps we'll wait until the end of May for a season wrap up. Surely we'll have other interesting things to post about. Such as ...

Last night Mike and I had a date night and we played tourist down at the Riverwalk. Doesn't he look happy! Mike had never seen the Alamo and while we couldn't tour it, we did read all the plaques and historical markers. A friend and I were talking today about seeing the sites in the place where you live. As military folks I think we get pretty good at doing that wherever we are stationed and I so far we have continued to do that here. And so this is the moment where I finally start appearing in the blog again!! Yay for pictures of me :) I'm very thankful for the kindness of strangers.

Today friends of ours hosted an Easter party and it was a fantastic event. The party started off with an egg hunt which MTN quickled followed up with a courtesy lawn mowing.

He was singularly focused and since it was a chilly day he was pleased that the kids cleared out of "his" space quickly. Once his work was done, he played outside almost the entire rest of the party. The Glenn's somehow finagled a visit from the Easter Bunny which was a huge hit! Look how happy Mike is :)

Almost like they're carpool buddies or something. Later on was the pinata and cascarones. The kids loved being with their friends, we loved seeing our friends and the Easter Bunny kept us all smiling. Thanks Glenns!

Tonight we go to the last Rampage home game and of course, tomorrow is Easter Sunday so Happy Easter to you all!