May Visitors

Last week we had Ryan's parents in town for a few days (though it was probably more of a vacation for us than for them!) The girls swarmed their grandparents from day one and loved every minute of their company. Wednesday the twins and I got a whole day of Ryan's mom to ourselves. We spent the morning in pursuit of Great Harvest Bread, can you believe it? I thought they were only in Utah, which was such a disappointment to my cravings. A little bit of wandering got us right there, and we stocked up on all the bread I'd been missing. Syl also helped me get caught up on grocery shopping and even put together a casserole for dinner while juggling the twins, despite Maddie's seven temper tantrums!
Ryan's dad flew in Saturday and we all went downtown to Phil's Icehouse, one of the best hamburger joints around. Luckily, there is an Amy's Ice Cream next to it, and a little playground for the kids to play on. It was the hottest, most humid day ever! The twins turned lobster red, did we miss that they're allergic to the sun? We finally dumped a bottle of water on Maddie's head and it helped a little, but have a feeling it's going to be a long summer.
The best laid plans to go to Sea World Monday did not happen because Sea World was closed. We decided to go out to San Antonio anyway. It was our first time there and we loved it! We started off the day at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, which is basically an African Safari. They have animals from six of the seven continents, and even a petting zoo. Most of the animals we viewed from the safety of our mini-van, especially the ostriches, but that didn't stop the kids from having a blast feeding them out the door.
Also in San Antonio we were able to take a river boat tour and learn a lot about the history and culture behind the city and architecture. And who can forget the Alamo? It was neat to see in person and inspired us to do more research since we've been home. We topped off the day with dinner at a Mexican restaurant and of course-Wii MarioKart, a staple in any Barlow family get together. I am more of a Wii golf kind of girl, but maybe with some practice can figure out how to maneuver my way around the track. At any rate, thanks for the visit Brent and Syl. We have been missing you a lot around here.