2015 #Summer Vacation in Texas: Schlitterbahn, BBQ, and wearing underwear! #kids #motherhood #parenting

Here we are, at the end of yet another fantastic summer vacation in Texas with the family.

On the Virgin America plane to Texas!

David had to work some 60+ hour weeks {again} this year over the summer so, for the third year in a row, it was just me and the kids flying to Austin to stay with my mom for just shy of three weeks.

We ate and swam our way through the town with our AIN'T Jenny (inside joke) in-tow. It's so awesome that she's a teacher and has summers off - talk about a treat! There's never a dull moment nor a "I'm bored" coming from my kids- Gram's house is so much fun, she turns her dining room into a play room for the kids every year!











There are so many splash pads and pools open to the public, we tried out a new one every couple of days!





Something new this year included a trip to Schlitterbahn down in New Braunsfels. Jenny (my sister) and I grew up going to the Bahn and floating the river all summer long as kids so it was so nostalgic to pull up with my kids to spend a day at the park. The park has two halves and they are both pretty big; before we even drove down for the day, we used the map to decide we would stay in the "newer" park as it had the big kid's area. Even though it was a bit "babyish", Emily and Nolan both loved it.



We managed to lug our cooler and all our bags from the car to the shuttle bus and off again out to a nice, shaded picnic table and camped out for the day. A few times, Jenny and/or I or Gram would head off with Emily to ride some of the more "big kid" coasters and every time she would report back that it was "so totally awesome!!!". Nolan really enjoyed the same small slides and shallow wading pool that he could lay down in. It was so hot though that the water was no longer cool and refreshing. Blah! :(






After about eight hours, we were D.O.N.E. and headed home. It's a shame the Bahn has become so expensive ($53 per adult and $46 per kid) or else we would've spent a few days enjoying the parks. Next year we are going to look into renting one of their new in-park cabins for a couple of days and will have David with us as he's already requested the month of July off of work. Yea!

Visiting my dad, PawPaw, is always on the list. He lives out in the country in Smithville and has tons of animals that the kids love to nuzzle. Nolan was particularly interested in driving PawPaw's big white truck!




There were also lots of trips to Target,


Two trips to The Thinkery children's museum on their FREE family nights,











Many trips to the Hop 'n Happy indoor bounce house,






And an afternoon at The Austin Aquarium, a favorite with the kids!









Inside the aquarium there's a new bird sanctuary. Emily spent all $10 of her tokens to feed these birds over the course of about two hours. I had to PULL her out of there! Nolan wasn't so sure at first. He would flinch any time a bird flew near him. Then, Emily got a bird off her cup and onto his and he was hooked.





Nolan also became completely potty trained and what I love even more: bathroom independent. Yea! He was in underwear and without a single accident for nearly half our trip!

It's always good to return home but boy, do we miss it the moment we leave. Until next year!


Comments

  1. You did so many fun things, and hooray for potty training! We just got back from a week away with my in-laws and let's just say it was not all it was cracked up to be, lol. Way too much chaos and family drama with 12 people in one house. We're looking forward to doing a vacation with just the four of us next year.

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  2. We had so much fun and what great memories you have here! Love you guys and Christmas will be here in no time. LOVE LOVE LOVE

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