What I Did Over My Thanksgiving Vacation

I was so excited for a nice relaxing week off and, for the most part, I was not disappointed.  We kicked off our vacation by going to see "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" as soon as the kids got out of school on Friday.  Naturally, we dressed the part and received compliments about our commitment.  There was a potentially embarrassing moment where I rushed out to go to the restroom and accidentally walked into the men's room.  I was walking into a stall before my brain registered all of the urinals on the wall.  I would like to say that is the first time I've made that mistake...but it's not.

 Saturday morning I discovered a Harry Potter movie marathon on TV so the plan was to stay in our pajamas and watch the movies all day.  We lasted for about 3 hours before going on TV overload.

 Sam was having fit after fit so I decided to put up the Christmas tree to distract him.  He was so excited.  We went ahead and decorated it that night, but I swore I was going to leave the rest of my house decorated for Fall until after Thanksgiving.

Sunday was church as usual, but after church Ellie and I went over to Rosie's house to make candied apples.  They were delicious and fun to make.

Monday, the kids were driving me nuts by 8:30am so I texted a friend and met up at the school playground to burn off some energy.  That night we went to Ellie's end-of-year soccer party...something that I always find incredibly awkward.

Tuesday, I took the kids to see Trolls.  The movie was cute, but Sam was no so cute once the popcorn ran out.  I was reminded why I don't take him to the movies.

Tuesday was also the day that I let the Christmas spirit take over and replaced all Fall decorations with Christmas decorations.  I just couldn't help myself.

Wednesday, we were back at the playground with friends.

Thursday morning, I was up early so I could go pick up our Thanksgiving meal from Luby's.  It was surprisingly affordable and delicious.  We found out that morning that my mother-in-law didn't have any Thanksgiving plans so we invited her over for an early meal.  Dinner was at 11:00am and we were on the road to San Antonio by 12:30.

I looked back and saw Sam wearing two pairs of goggles.

We checked into the hotel and then walked down to riverwalk to explore.  Thursday afternoon was awesome.  We had the best time just walking around the riverwalk as a family.  Everyone was getting along and the weather was perfect.  You know how sometimes pictures make things look more fun than they actually were?  Well, on this day the pictures don't lie...we really did have fun.

  I was surprised to discover the Alamo was open so we took a little self-guided tour.  Ellie explained the whole Alamo back story to Jack because y'all know how I am with my Texas history.

This was right before Sam took the flag out and threw it on the ground.

We got a lot of comments on our shirts. We dress for game day!

We had to be back at the hotel by 6:00 so we could eat the free dinner (love Drury) and be back in our room in time for the A&M game.  I got a suite so Tom could watch the game uninterrupted and I could get the boys to bed.  Why do keep forgetting how TERRIBLE Sam is in hotels? He just gets too excited and cannot settle down to sleep, keeping his siblings up as well.  They fell asleep way too late and then of course Sam woke us up way too early.  I took the kids down to the free breakfast buffet so Tom could sleep in.  Once Tom woke up, we decided to walk around a little more since SeaWorld didn't open until 1.

Tom took Jack into this church and showed him how to pray Catholic-style

Let me explain why we go to SeaWorld so much.  Teachers get free season passes.  So do preschoolers.  We only had to buy passes for Jack and Ellie (we ended up spending about $170 for the two passes and parking, but still not too bad). Anyway, the free passes are probably the biggest draw because SeaWorld (especially now that the waterpark is separate) is not really that awesome. Sam loved SeaWorld, but he was pretty challenging after two days of no naps and a late night.  He had a few epic meltdowns about waiting in line and for other reasons that I still can't fathom.  He loved the little rides more than the shows.  SeaWorld only has two big rollercoasters, the rest are little kiddie rides.  Ellie got to ride each big roller coaster once, but she was pretty disappointed not to get to ride them more  (Tom and I each rode a ride with her and we each got sick. Poor Ellie has such lame parents).  Jack seemed happy about everything...the lights, the rides, the shows...everything.  I think the highlight for Sam was getting to sit on Santa's lap, something he has been begging to do since Halloween.  We left the park around 8 and drove straight home. 

Saturday we decided to take away Sam's pacifiers because we like to make life difficult.  He only uses them to sleep, but let's just say that Saturday and Sunday were nap-free and both nights he sobbed for almost two hours straight, begging for his pacifier.  The pacifier fairy did bring him a present in exchange for his pacifiers, but he still was not having it.  I am just so glad he is my last child and I never have to take away a pacifier again.