Saturday, October 20, 2007

Have you missed me?

I've certainly missed blogging, but....


We've been on vacation!! John, Vera, Emma and I went to the Hyatt Hill Country Resort near San Antonio this week. We apply the 'divide and conquer' approach to many of our get-aways: taking 2 kids at a time. This accomplishes several goals. First, we have special time with the kids away from the OTHERS. Second, we fit into a normal hotel room. As most of these getaways are linked to a conference John is attending, his business pays for them and it works out great! Third, it's just flat-out easier to keep up with two, particularly when the two are Vera and Emma. Actually, we had never taken them before and so we were anxious to see how they would like the trip.

No worries--they loved it! Better yet, they were so well-behaved and happy, even while we were stuck in traffic on SEVERAL occasions. That was nice. We really enjoyed our time with them.

They seemed to enjoy their time with us, or at least with me. The top picture shows our first meal out where they insisted on sitting with me on my side of the booth and ignoring their Daddy. Vera finally relented to having her picture made with John. Their predilection for Mommy continued for most of the trip, however, to the point that it was laughable.

The hotel is beautiful, although I'm not sure I really did it justice in my pictures. The staff was very friendly and there was a lot for the girls to do, even though it was cool our first day there.
My silly little girls; best friends to the end!
Being NEAR the pool had to suffice on our first day.
The pool is actually a large pool, joined by a lazy river that meanders under several bridges, through beautiful live oaks, and by a large sandy beach, perfect for making sandcastles.
We enjoyed our time at the playground.
Vera, true to form, discovered the volleyball court and spent a LONG time perfecting her serve. She did great!
A glimpse of the hotel...I am in love with the sagey blue-green paint they used with the Austin stone and metal roof. Like I said, the pictures don't do it justice.
Day two....the pool! I didn't mention this, but the hotel also has this little baby pool, only 1.5 feet deep and obviously quite small. The girls played there for well over an hour, variations on Emma as the damsel in distress, calling for able assistance from her Spiderma'am sister. Very cute.


As the afternoon wore on, however, their trips to the lounges were more frequent, culminating in snuggling under a towel together. How cute!!

Gotta love those Downsey twins! I don't know when I've ever had so many hugs and kisses and hand-holding. And the best part? For four days I got to pick every outfit Vera wore!! OK, so I did allow her to wear her Spiderman sandals, but otherwise she was a girl for four days!


3 comments:

amyl4 said...

Your pictures are precious! Such adorable little girls you (all of them)have! Thanks for sharing your vacation pics!
Amy

Laura Lu said...

Ah, Jill...you guys melt my heart over and over again. I am in love with your girls...they are just the most predious little damsel in distress and spidermam, I've ever read about!

That hotel sounds amazing...so glad that you got some time to get away and enjoy it!

Love you all!!!!
Laura

liesel said...

I'm glad you're back!