The day the kids & I found out that Alese was moving to New Braunfels, we started planning what kind of fun we could have at her house! New Braunfels is near several great tubing rivers, home to one of the biggest water parks, Schlitterbahn, miles from an outstanding outlet mall, & just down the road to all the excitement one could find in San Antonio. Oh, the possibilities!!!
All our planning came to reality last Thursday & Friday. My Mom left work early on Thursday afternoon so we could load up and make it to New Braunfels by the time Alese got off work at 5:00. We had the car so stuffed, I don't think we could've fit another thing in!
We thought we left early enough that we would miss most of the Austin traffic, but we were wrong. I'm not sure the traffic in Austin ever really dies down. Even with the traffic, we made good time, so we stopped in San Marcos at the outlet mall. My Mom wanted to stop at a shoe store & I wanted to see what the Under Armour had to offer. I didn't find anything in the Under Armour outlet I couldn't live without, so we moved on to the shoe store. I knew the boys would have no interest in the shoe store, so we made our way to the Old Navy outlet-not that the boys enjoyed it any better. I just don't understand why boys don't like to shop?!?!? While, Maddie, Mom, & I could have shopped forever, the boys were done in about 15 minutes;however, we did manage to get Maddie some school clothes & the boys a couple of new t-shirts.About 5:00 & while my Mom was in the shoe store, Alese sent a text saying that she was going in to do a colic surgery & she would call when she got out. We had no idea how long the surgery would take and needed to find something to occupy our time. Since New Braunfels is known for their rivers, we decided to drive into Gruene & let the kids feel the river water.
Maddie & Cason were the first to test the waters, and by their reaction Jackson decided he did not want to even stick his big toe in the water. I did stick just my big toe in & the water was absolutely freezing. I knew it was going to be cold, but you forget how cold that water really is!
Slowly, Maddie & Cason made their way farther and farther out. Maddie wanted to get her swimsuit on & really swim in that frigid water. We decided wading in the water was good enough. Neither Mom nor I wanted to have to go in & rescue someone who got whisked away in the current.
Evidently playing in ice-cold river water makes you very hungry because the kids were starving afterwards. We still hadn't heard from Alese, so we decided to go visit Casey at work & get a recommendation from him for dinner. He suggested a Texas Tuscan Pizzeria called Oregano's. It was a great choice because the food was delicious, but we were very sad that Alese & Casey weren't with us:( About half-way through our meal, Alese called & said she was out of surgery. We told her we were already eating & we would bring her something home. 
Like father, like son-this picture of Cason looks just like some of the 
Here are the kids on spinning tea cup ride
The boys were not old enough/tall enough to ride the bumper cars alone, so my Mom got suckered in to riding with Jackson while Maddie rode with Cason.
Maddie & Cason were the first to test the waters, and by their reaction Jackson decided he did not want to even stick his big toe in the water. I did stick just my big toe in & the water was absolutely freezing. I knew it was going to be cold, but you forget how cold that water really is!
Slowly, Maddie & Cason made their way farther and farther out. Maddie wanted to get her swimsuit on & really swim in that frigid water. We decided wading in the water was good enough. Neither Mom nor I wanted to have to go in & rescue someone who got whisked away in the current.
Evidently playing in ice-cold river water makes you very hungry because the kids were starving afterwards. We still hadn't heard from Alese, so we decided to go visit Casey at work & get a recommendation from him for dinner. He suggested a Texas Tuscan Pizzeria called Oregano's. It was a great choice because the food was delicious, but we were very sad that Alese & Casey weren't with us:( About half-way through our meal, Alese called & said she was out of surgery. We told her we were already eating & we would bring her something home. Once we got to Alese & Casey's house, the kids batteries had been recharged & they were excited to Alese, so they were bouncing off the walls. We visited with Alese for a while & then tried to get the kids to go to bed. It was very difficult because the excitement was still in the air from the evening, but the kids were also excited about our trip to Fiesta Texas the next day.
Friday morning we woke up & got ready to head to Fiesta Texas. Alese & Casey had to work , so they did not get to join us on the trip to San Antonio. My Mom suggested we stop at McDonald's for breakfast because they have a pretty good "dollar" menu. Once we finally made it to drive-through, the kids decided that they did not like anything on the "dollar" menu. Since my Mom is a little bit of a sucker, the kids ordered whatever they wanted even though it wasn't from the cheap menu. By the time the kids had finished their not-so-cheap breakfast, we were in the parking lot of Fiesta Texas. The park did not open until 10:30 & we arrived about 10:00, so we used that time to take a few pictures. 
The kids earned free tickets to any Six Flags theme park through school, and because I'm a teacher I received a free ticket as well. One of my oh-so-generous co-workers, Raygan, donated her teacher ticket, so my Mom got a free ticket too. Thanks Raygan!!
The kids earned free tickets to any Six Flags theme park through school, and because I'm a teacher I received a free ticket as well. One of my oh-so-generous co-workers, Raygan, donated her teacher ticket, so my Mom got a free ticket too. Thanks Raygan!! Because we already had tickets, our line to get in wasn't too long, which was great because it was already getting pretty hot. Once we got inside, Cason & Maddie found a map of the park & started planning where they wanted to go first.
Like father, like son-this picture of Cason looks just like some of the pictures I took of Corey in Italy.
Here are the kids on spinning tea cup ride
The boys were not old enough/tall enough to ride the bumper cars alone, so my Mom got suckered in to riding with Jackson while Maddie rode with Cason.
After the bumper cars, we rode the log ride & the roaring rapids. While standing in line for the roaring rapids, Jackson saw "The Rattler," which is a very big, wooden roller coaster. After watching "The Rattler" for a while, Maddie decided that she was not going anywhere near it. Jackson couldn't wait to get on it, and being the super-mom that I am(ha ha), I decided I would ride with him. We only had to wait about 45 minutes for a 1 minute brain rattling, neck thrashing, thrill of a ride. Jackson loved every bit of it even though his head was hitting my arm so hard, I was sure I was going to have a bruise. I can't say that I wasn't counting down the seconds until "The Rattler" was done rattling. Here is a picture of Jax & I before we took off:
While Jackson & I were rattling around, Maddie & Cason were going to ride the Roadrunner Express, a small roller coaster. While they were in line for this ride, Cason decided he had a fear of heights & wouldn't ride, so Maddie had to take him back down & therefore, didn't get to ride herself. She did get to experience this breath-taking ride...can you see the excitement on her face????
She's such a good big sister!!!
Since we were only going to be at Fiesta Texas until about 5:00, we decided to grab some lunch & head over to the water park. Before we went to water park, Cason decided he wanted to try & ride the Roadrunner Express again. The kids & I got in line, and about 2 minutes later Cason decided he was afraid of heights again. After several unsuccessful attempts of getting him to ride the roller coaster, my Mom came up through the Flash Pass line to get him. Maddie, Jackson, & I stayed in line & all three of us loved every minute of the Roadrunner Express.
While Jackson & I were rattling around, Maddie & Cason were going to ride the Roadrunner Express, a small roller coaster. While they were in line for this ride, Cason decided he had a fear of heights & wouldn't ride, so Maddie had to take him back down & therefore, didn't get to ride herself. She did get to experience this breath-taking ride...can you see the excitement on her face????
She's such a good big sister!!!Since we were only going to be at Fiesta Texas until about 5:00, we decided to grab some lunch & head over to the water park. Before we went to water park, Cason decided he wanted to try & ride the Roadrunner Express again. The kids & I got in line, and about 2 minutes later Cason decided he was afraid of heights again. After several unsuccessful attempts of getting him to ride the roller coaster, my Mom came up through the Flash Pass line to get him. Maddie, Jackson, & I stayed in line & all three of us loved every minute of the Roadrunner Express.
At the water park, Maddie, Jackson, & I enjoyed an inner tube ride, while my Mom and Cason floated along in the lazy river. Then we all cooled off in the wave pool until it was time for us to leave. About 10 minutes in to our drive back to New Braunfels, this is what we found in the backseat. We had 2 tired little boys!!!
By the time we made it back to New Braunfels, Alese was off work & we were all ready for dinner. We decided to go back to Gruene to eat at the Gristmill. My Mom and Alese had been to this restaurant several times & thought the kids would like it. We had to wait for a while & like most kids, the boys do not wait very well. Luckily, there was a big, grassy area for the boys to play. Cason wanted someone else to play with, so he went & asked these 2 boys if they wanted to play tag. They declined his offer; however, there was another little boy that was interested.
As we were walking to the car, the kids spotted the perfect climbing tree & off they went like little monkeys & climbed right up without any problem.
By the time we made it back to New Braunfels, Alese was off work & we were all ready for dinner. We decided to go back to Gruene to eat at the Gristmill. My Mom and Alese had been to this restaurant several times & thought the kids would like it. We had to wait for a while & like most kids, the boys do not wait very well. Luckily, there was a big, grassy area for the boys to play. Cason wanted someone else to play with, so he went & asked these 2 boys if they wanted to play tag. They declined his offer; however, there was another little boy that was interested.
Having a playmate made the time pass by quickly & the boys played until our table was ready. Mom & Alese were right about the Gristmill, the food was great and the atmosphere was awesome!
As we were walking to the car, the kids spotted the perfect climbing tree & off they went like little monkeys & climbed right up without any problem.
We had a fantastic couple of days in good ole' New Braunfels. Thanks to Alese & Casey for letting our craziness invade your house! I'm thinking next time will be a girl's trip for shopping:)
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