4th of July - TX

On the 3rd of July, we had an easy flight and got into San Antonio airport around 5pm and headed straight downtown (the flight felt safer than the limo service to the airport in Atlanta, the guy drove like it was rush hour in New York City, haha) Joe was craving some hometown Mexican so we met his friend T Harvey at Rosario's. I have to say I could have drank the cheese dip and as Joe would say "only you" Hey, it was the best thing I could enjoy while everyone else was sipping on their Prickly Pear margaritas. The ones Sandy said "kind of taste like lipstick" at first. lol. They are a pinkish color despite the word pear as I assumed green but learned the prickly plant is a purple one. Then after a nice full meal, we headed to say hello to the Alamo since I hadn't seen it the first time I was in SA. We just did a quick drive by. It was crowded on the outside with lots of people hanging out nearby. Located in the heart of the district and one of those landmarks you say you've been to by just seeing it from afar. So one bucket list item crossed off now, thanks! For the 4th we headed to a neighbors pool house for the day, enjoyed a feast of snacks, dips, desserts and good ole American cookout while swimming,drinking,diving and soaking up the sun before an unusual terrential downpour came in sideways with thunder and lightning. However it didn't rain on our picnic, we continued the evening with backyard fireworks at Josh & Alex's house that Joe and Sean picked up on the way in. Due to the fact the guys had enjoyed the holiday with plenty of cold adult beverages, the firing off of the cannons and black cats seemed a little uneasy that someone might get hurt. Maybe I only had that feeling once or twice when they felt like they popped out instead of up and some shrapnal hit my elbow. I documented some of the fun with a couple video clips of the action. Luckily everyone went to bed with all their fingers and toes and rested well before another full day. Up and early we enjoyed some biscuits and gravy that Alex was sweet to make for everyone including her sister and boyfriend who stopped by, Sean & Kaleigh stayed the night so they were there with Joe and I as well as Josh ....we spent the morning laughing about the evening antics and old stories they shared. It wasn't too long after finishing that meal we had to pack up our bags and head to Joe's dad's house to meet him and Grandma Kitty to head into San Antonio again for some lunch. This was my first occasion meeting him so I put my best foot forward. haha. We ate at his favorite meal spot which is Longhorns and enjoyed a couple hours catching up before heading back to get to the hotel that he reserved for us that evening. It felt like prom because he also insisted we take his new yellow Corvette convertible for the evening since we were heading to Coy & Sandi's wedding that night in Blanco. I almost made Joe stop at the store to get me a corsage. It was a very nice gesture and made us feel like kids again, lol. So this was the very first time I wore boots to a wedding and not 3 inch heels in true Texas tradition, I wore my black ones that Joe got me for Christmas and a matching black dress for the occasion. The only problem was my poor feet from being on the go so much around this time of pregnancy plus the humidity made them so swollen. It took both of us and few up and down jumps to get my feet in before we left for the wedding. Hey, who said fashion isn't pain? I also brought a back up pair of short sandal heels in my purse which I did utilize later in the evening to let the ole dogs breath at the second dance hall. So I jumped ahead there, first around 5:30pm we attended the gazebo nuptials of Coy and Sandi, then all headed across the street to the reception at the first dance hall, Old 300 Back 40 for BBQ dinner, two stepping (I am no good at this) and listening to Gary Allen Hurst and guitar :)Met lots of new and nice people that Joe has grown up with, it was a pleasure to be introduced (especially as his new wife!)Then wrapped up the evening going to his old stomping grounds at Twin Sisters dance hall which has much history in his family as well. Quite cool! He remembers the place since he was a little boy as Sandi and her parents were co-owners of the establishment in years past. He of course had to name drop which I think is awesome to the ticket ladies as they treated him like a local celebrity. (insert giggles here) They are in the process of raising money for a grant for historical preservation so in effort asked him to try to obtain old documents from the family to show the roots and past. We minutely supported the cause by purchasing a Twin Sisters t-shirt and a couple coozies. We were on a souvenier collection kick! I utilized the Mike and the Moonpies trucker hat on the way home to hold my hair while we had the top down, listening to booty shaking rap music in the yellow Corvette formentioned, we were a styling and profiling couple right there! lol Another good nights rest to a another full day before leaving the next day. Since we had a few hours to burn before our 4:30 flight on Sunday we took full advantage. Headed to another Mexican restaurant "The Mo" for short...haha I can see Kelli and Alex cringe as I say that. The Alamo Cafe is the proper name then over to The Main Event for bowling, skeeball and other little games to get a few spares and strikes, a few tickets enough to get me a sweet n sour lollipop and Bowen all the tiny dinosaurs to fill a carseat with :)In fact, I even saw Bowen get a strike, not sure if it was his first one but I documented it, good job nephew!! Then off to the airport to say our goodbyes or should I say "see you again soons" before we headed back to Atlanta for a full work week ahead of us after a nice family holiday vacation! It was great visiting with everyone, double thanks again for all the hospitality and efforts made by all to make our trip wonderful!!