Our Very First.......

This post is dedicated to some of our "firsts" in the great state of Texas.

We had our first visit from a gecko the other day as we pulled down the attic access stairs. The kids thought it was great!

Funny picture with his mouth open wide. Brett said he was trying to give us an insurance quote.

The kids played with him for over an hour!

We also had our very first visitor!!! The lovely Joleen came down from Lubbock to see us! This was a total surprise for the kids. Jo had planned with me, but no one else knew. After school one day, there was a knock at the door. The kids ALL ran to answer the door and no one was there. They searched outside to find the culprit, but to no avail. They closed the door and came back inside to find Jo sitting in our living room! They couldn't believe it!!!

The night Jo arrived, we hit the ground running. Since we'd only been in TX for about 2 weeks, she knew much more about San Antonio than we did, even though she lives about 6 hours away. We went to a really neat food truck park in San Antonio and tasted all sorts of fun and new foods: New Orleans style food, Afghan food, and authentic Spain food.

The next day the kids went to school. This left the day for Jo and I to have a little girl time and do a little shopping. Jo found us a really great mall to shop at. Its about 20 minutes from my house and it is HUGE!!! I got my first pair of Skinny Jeans (gulp) and TOMS. I'm still getting used to the jeans, but I totally LOVE the TOMS. Who knew they were that comfortable? Thanks for keeping me up to date in the fashion world, Jo.

That evening, Jo had a fun night planned out for the kids. She had found a coupon to the Mirror Maze and Lazer Quest right across the street from the Alamo. These two attractions are part of the Ripley's Believe it-or-not Museum and are ridiculously over-priced. It's a good thing Jo found a coupon, because it's the only way my kids would ever get to go!

This is before entering the Mirror Maze. The kids had a blast and we went through about 20 times!

At the end of the maze, they have tons and tons of candy bins. Being the fun aunt that she is, Jo bought all the kids their own treat bag. 

Everyone has alien eyes in this picture, but its a great shot of a cool building in the city

The next day we went exploring before Jo had to leave. We went to a really neat place called the Japanese Tea Gardens. This is an old limestone rock quarry and cement factory from the 1840's that was left and abandoned for a new and improved quarry. The state of TX commissioned a Japanese Artist to create a beautiful space out of what was called an eye-sore.

Mick couldn't get enough of all the Koi. 

It was a beautiful day with beautiful scenery

This park is right across the way from the Tea Gardens. It's also right next to the zoo. We have been getting so much water, that this little river had overflowed and completely covered the bridge. The kids thought it was pretty cool!

Look at this duck's hair-do! He's got a Mr. T mohawk!

These ducks were so tame, they ate right out of Mickey's hand!

Beautiful spring flowers in Texas this time of year! 

After our visit to the Tea Gardens, it was time to say goodbye to Jo. The kids were very sad to see her go. She spoiled the kids! Heck, she spoiled us all rotten! She cooked us all a wonderful breakfast one morning while Brett and I slept in! We love Jo so much and are so glad to only be 6 hours away from her! She is a wonderful, lovely person to be around and gives so much of herself! Come back anytime!