Van De Walle's Go to the Fair

My kids had Monday-Wednesday off this week from school because of a teachers conference so we enjoyed a 5 day weekend. We were originally supposed to go to Mardi Gras to visit my friends in Slidell, LA for our annual tradition of parade watching and bead catching. Unfortunatly my car broke down and was in the shop for several expensive days. We had to cancel the Mardi Gras trip which is very sad for us. We have been going for years and we have so many fun memories from each trip! I had my daughters car available, so we decided to attend the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo. This year my husbands family was being honored and had a special display in the Hall of Fame exhibit hall. I wanted to take my kids to show them some of their heritage. The exhibit will be moved into the Institute Of Texan Cultures after the rodeo closes which is very cool. I took a few pictures to show you the displays. Van De Walle Farms was a major influence in San Antonio's farming community and then they became famous for the picante sauce in 1985 up until last year when they sold the company. They were the original Belgium imigrants at the end of the 1800's that migrated into Texas by way of Galveston. They settled in the South San Antonio area and the rest is history.

My husbands grandpa is responsible for the building of the San Antonio Market downtown now known as El Mercado. It was his vision to have a fresh fruit and vegitable market area for all the local growers to sell their produce. Its very cool to know my kids have such a great heritage.

The kids also rode a few rides, ate some junk, pet some animals, and watched the rodeo and we got to see a Brooks and Dunn concert....We had a lot of fun!