I Came. I Played. I Forested.
I can't believe it's February! January disappeared so fast! It's been such a wonderful 3 weeks down here in San Antonio with Amber and her family. And it will be bittersweet as I leave Wednesday morning to strike out on my own for a month. I will miss my "Mimi" adventures with Abby and Gwen, I will miss this beautiful city with all of its parks and restaurants, and I will miss Amber the most. She is truly one of the best gifts I have ever received because not only is she a wonderful daughter, but she is one of my best friends in the whole world. She is a deep thinker, an innovative creator, a brave and strong mother figure, she is compassionate and passionate, and she is a builder-upper. She notices when I am feeling weak or self-conscious, and quickly speaks passionate words of wisdom to build me up and push me out of my comfort zone and into a better place. I love her.
(Amber holding Gwen at the top of the Tower of the Americas in San Antonio)
Monday this past week was a pretty chill day. I didn't take any other photos from the day except for the painting adventures we had while Amber made yet another amazing dinner. I couldn't resist looking back through my old photos to find this comparison of two 2-year olds enjoying their paint.
Gwen - 2 years old 2020
Amber - 2 years old 1996
Both girls made for a very colorful bath afterwards.
Tuesday we did Forest School. Yes, that's really what it's called. It's actually pretty cool. A bunch of moms down here in San Antonio post on Facebook where and when they will be meeting during the week and then everyone interested can indicate if they plan to attend. There are SO MANY parks down here - all of which have plenty of trees and walking trails to go hand in hand with the abundant playground equipment. The park we went to for Forest School this week is called Breckenridge Park, adjacent to the San Antonio Zoo. It has a lot of acreage to explore. And explore we did.
There were about a dozen children in our group, with Abby and another girl being the oldest. Most of the children were around 2 years old on average. We gathered on our own blankets to start out, with one mom taking the lead and explaining the "rules". The rules basically were that the CHILD should lead the parent since it is for their exploration benefit, but that we should try to stick together as a group. One mom was assigned to be the lead, one to bring up the rear, and one to be the photographer to post pictures on the Facebook page. Parents were encouraged to keep their cellphones tucked away during the forest adventure. And off we went. We hiked about 1/4 mile down a paved path, off into the forest, up small hills and dales, ending up in a large clearing with plenty of foresty stuff to explore from the "base camp" clearing. Moms spread out their blankets once again and pulled out extremely healthy snacks for their little ones (cut up watermelon, whole wheat crackers, cheese cubes, etc.). No fruit snacks or Capri Suns here.
Amber even brought along a Shel Silverstein book to read aloud to the girls, which they enjoyed.
It had also rained substantially during the early morning hours, so there was plenty of mud to be had.
PLENTY.
After a lengthy time to snack and explore in the vicinity, the lead mom gathered the children to her blanket and read several stories to them, interspersed with singing some cute songs.
All in all, it was fun. I was fighting the urge to be consistently clean when we were eating on the blanket with all of our muddy shoes and dirty hands, ha ha. By the time we got back to the car, we all took off our shoes and put them in a plastic bag in the trunk. And I got all of our shoes sufficiently de-mudified by the next day. Whew! All is right in the world again.
Wednesday we went downtown to the Passport Office. Amber and the girls got all squared away in sending off for their passports, and now we can just count down the days until April 11 when they get to join me in Italy for a few weeks. Hooray!!
After we finished up at the Passport Office, we decided to go out to lunch. We ended up at the Food Court at a nearby mall that's part of the Riverwalk. How delightful! After we ate, we wandered around outside in the sunshine.
Then, because we were so close and because The Alamo was on my bucket list, we walked over so that I could go inside. I had been outside The Alamo on another trip down here, but had never been INSIDE.
It was so cool to step inside those thick walls and to just stop and be still for a minute. No photography once you go in, and it only takes about 5 minutes max to walk around. If I didn't have little ones with cute but short attention spans, I could have spent another few minutes in order to read all the informative signs.
Thursday we took the girls to the DoSeum. Always a fun time! So much to Do & See.
Click here for a video of us making giant bubble rainbows:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/g65jZjJXj4eDnbqR9
Abby's all ready for take-off!
Click here for a darling video of Abby improvising as the Pilot:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kXaBu4YhTSXxc5Vc7
Veterinary Care Clinic room in "Little Town"
HEB Grocery Store in "Little Town"
Gwen drove this little car all over the place for the longest time. When she went into the grocery store, she wanted to fill up her car with groceries, instead of using the shopping cart. At one point her car was so full of items that she got into a little bit of a pickle.
Click here for the video of the predicament:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DX5XZQ2cux54u9QU6
Friday we went out to an Ethiopian Restaurant for dinner together. Weston served a mission in Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda back in 2011-2013. We ate here once before when I came down to visit, and I really wanted to eat there again. It's not every day you get to eat Ethiopian cuisine. It did not disappoint. Weston made several suggestions and then ordered for us.
We got #36, a combo, and also a vegetarian platter with chickpeas and chicken. We also ordered an appetizer called Sambusas (silent "b"). They were delicious!! Sort of like a fried thin pastry triangle with either meat or vegetarian on the inside, with a green salsa-ish sauce to dip it in. So good!
Before: The little crepe-looking roll-ups are Injera bread. You tear off a little bit and then use that to grab a pinch of whatever entree you want. Then you eat it. No utensils. Just clean hands and good communal food.
After: A perfect amount for the 3 of us grown-ups.
Saturday evening, we all went out to Coldstone Creamery for some yummy ice cream. Abby announced that she was "cammerflauged" because of her pink dress next to the pink roses. :)
And I might as well include today's fun in this post, too! We went to Pearsall Park this morning (Monday), which happens to be extremely close to Lackland Air Force Base. As we played at the park, we could hear and see the jets flying overhead.
After the park, we went out to have one final Grand Lunch before I leave. We chose a place called Bakery Lorraine. We even picked out a colorful macaroon to enjoy afterwards.
(Amber holding Gwen at the top of the Tower of the Americas in San Antonio)
Monday this past week was a pretty chill day. I didn't take any other photos from the day except for the painting adventures we had while Amber made yet another amazing dinner. I couldn't resist looking back through my old photos to find this comparison of two 2-year olds enjoying their paint.
Gwen - 2 years old 2020
Amber - 2 years old 1996
Both girls made for a very colorful bath afterwards.
Tuesday we did Forest School. Yes, that's really what it's called. It's actually pretty cool. A bunch of moms down here in San Antonio post on Facebook where and when they will be meeting during the week and then everyone interested can indicate if they plan to attend. There are SO MANY parks down here - all of which have plenty of trees and walking trails to go hand in hand with the abundant playground equipment. The park we went to for Forest School this week is called Breckenridge Park, adjacent to the San Antonio Zoo. It has a lot of acreage to explore. And explore we did.
There were about a dozen children in our group, with Abby and another girl being the oldest. Most of the children were around 2 years old on average. We gathered on our own blankets to start out, with one mom taking the lead and explaining the "rules". The rules basically were that the CHILD should lead the parent since it is for their exploration benefit, but that we should try to stick together as a group. One mom was assigned to be the lead, one to bring up the rear, and one to be the photographer to post pictures on the Facebook page. Parents were encouraged to keep their cellphones tucked away during the forest adventure. And off we went. We hiked about 1/4 mile down a paved path, off into the forest, up small hills and dales, ending up in a large clearing with plenty of foresty stuff to explore from the "base camp" clearing. Moms spread out their blankets once again and pulled out extremely healthy snacks for their little ones (cut up watermelon, whole wheat crackers, cheese cubes, etc.). No fruit snacks or Capri Suns here.
Amber even brought along a Shel Silverstein book to read aloud to the girls, which they enjoyed.
It had also rained substantially during the early morning hours, so there was plenty of mud to be had.
PLENTY.
After a lengthy time to snack and explore in the vicinity, the lead mom gathered the children to her blanket and read several stories to them, interspersed with singing some cute songs.
All in all, it was fun. I was fighting the urge to be consistently clean when we were eating on the blanket with all of our muddy shoes and dirty hands, ha ha. By the time we got back to the car, we all took off our shoes and put them in a plastic bag in the trunk. And I got all of our shoes sufficiently de-mudified by the next day. Whew! All is right in the world again.
Wednesday we went downtown to the Passport Office. Amber and the girls got all squared away in sending off for their passports, and now we can just count down the days until April 11 when they get to join me in Italy for a few weeks. Hooray!!
After we finished up at the Passport Office, we decided to go out to lunch. We ended up at the Food Court at a nearby mall that's part of the Riverwalk. How delightful! After we ate, we wandered around outside in the sunshine.
Then, because we were so close and because The Alamo was on my bucket list, we walked over so that I could go inside. I had been outside The Alamo on another trip down here, but had never been INSIDE.
It was so cool to step inside those thick walls and to just stop and be still for a minute. No photography once you go in, and it only takes about 5 minutes max to walk around. If I didn't have little ones with cute but short attention spans, I could have spent another few minutes in order to read all the informative signs.
Thursday we took the girls to the DoSeum. Always a fun time! So much to Do & See.
Click here for a video of us making giant bubble rainbows:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/g65jZjJXj4eDnbqR9
Abby's all ready for take-off!
Click here for a darling video of Abby improvising as the Pilot:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kXaBu4YhTSXxc5Vc7
HEB Grocery Store in "Little Town"
Gwen drove this little car all over the place for the longest time. When she went into the grocery store, she wanted to fill up her car with groceries, instead of using the shopping cart. At one point her car was so full of items that she got into a little bit of a pickle.
Click here for the video of the predicament:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DX5XZQ2cux54u9QU6
Friday we went out to an Ethiopian Restaurant for dinner together. Weston served a mission in Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda back in 2011-2013. We ate here once before when I came down to visit, and I really wanted to eat there again. It's not every day you get to eat Ethiopian cuisine. It did not disappoint. Weston made several suggestions and then ordered for us.
We got #36, a combo, and also a vegetarian platter with chickpeas and chicken. We also ordered an appetizer called Sambusas (silent "b"). They were delicious!! Sort of like a fried thin pastry triangle with either meat or vegetarian on the inside, with a green salsa-ish sauce to dip it in. So good!
Before: The little crepe-looking roll-ups are Injera bread. You tear off a little bit and then use that to grab a pinch of whatever entree you want. Then you eat it. No utensils. Just clean hands and good communal food.
After: A perfect amount for the 3 of us grown-ups.
Saturday morning, Amber and I got up early to attend a temple session together. We got there just as the sun was about to rise. I'm so glad we were able to go to the temple again before I leave.
Saturday evening, we all went out to Coldstone Creamery for some yummy ice cream. Abby announced that she was "cammerflauged" because of her pink dress next to the pink roses. :)
Best. Playground. Ever. (Even for grownups) (And I didn't know Amber was taking pictures of me until later, ha ha)
And there were some impressive hills all around the park with a walking trail. So we put Gwen in the stroller and headed up to see the incredible views.
After the park, we went out to have one final Grand Lunch before I leave. We chose a place called Bakery Lorraine. We even picked out a colorful macaroon to enjoy afterwards.
Scott is still doing well. He is so sweet. Sometimes he texts me in the middle of the day with something as simple as, "You are my precious." Today he texted me this: "How I love thee. Let me count the ways . . . 27." Then he starts telling me all the things he loves about me.
Here are some of my favorite screenshots from the week.
And today he showed me his DIY project, ha ha. The couch in their bedroom was pathetic. Lumpy and like quicksand. So he used an unused mattress by cutting it up (!) to form a new couch cushion. Then he covered it with a blanket to "house" the cushion. He says the couch is much better now, one that is actually comfortable to sit on. :)
My 3 1/2 weeks down here have come to a close. I have enjoyed being down here very much!!
I've especially enjoyed sleeping in Amber's art studio. Such a nice ambiance every evening.
The weather has also been so lovely for the month of January, and we have had a lot of fun. Now, I am excited though to move on to the next chapter of this deployment.
Wednesday I will depart for a month or so of Family History Adventures.
My itinerary for the next few days are:
Wednesday: stay in Lafayette, LA
Thursday: stay in Biloxi, MS so I can see a sunset over the Gulf of Mexico and reminisce about when Scott and I stayed here prior to his Iraq tour of duty in 2010
Friday: stay in Ball Ground, GA with my niece Kristi and her husband Greg
Saturday: arrive in Midway, GA for a few days of family history
Looking forward to new places and new faces.
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