Family Vacation!

We took a trip to San Antonio once Luke had wrapped up responsibilities at LeTourneau.  Other than the drive taking 2 hours longer than expected both ways (8+ hours instead of 6), it was a fantastic little getaway.  Day 1 was spent in the pools, lazy rivers, and slides.  May is a great time to travel since the weather is warm, but kids are not out of school yet.  We had the place to ourselves!!!  There were 2 lazy rivers - the coolest lazy rivers we have ever seen.  They each had a sandy beach, too, which Lucy especially loved.  Great slides, too!  There were a couple that Lucy was too small for, but she could go down the big green one.  We had a blast!

Day 2 was SeaWorld!!  We were so excited to return to SeaWorld.  I was pregnant with Lucy last time we went.  I have to say that San Antonio SeaWorld leaves a bit to be desired compared to San Diego, but it was still a great day.  

We told the kids a few weeks ago that we were going.  Noelle repeatedly exclaimed that she had never been so excited for anything in her life.

Made it to our first show - the Sea Lion show after we fed sea lions!

This SeaWorld has a handful of roller coasters that Isaiah was pretty pumped about.  The girls got to take turns hanging out with the non-riding parent -  

The conquered the Steel Eel!  And Isaiah rode every coaster at least once.  There was hardly anyone riding rides since practically the only people there were small kids on field trips.  This is the way to ride amusement park rides!  There were a handful of times were Isaiah and mom/dad were the ONLY people on the coasters!! 

The dolphin/baluga shows were a highlight for all of us!  Lucy had never seen a real dolphin.  She was pretty pumped about finally seeing them!

The only ride Lucy got on was the merry-go-round.  We had the same ride experience with her that we've had many times.  

- Excitement to ride

- Readiness to buckle in

- Happy smiles

- Ride starts moving

- Instant tears

- 2-3 minutes of screaming, crying, hugging until the ride stops

- end of ride

Luke did this water ride with the big kids after I got totally soaked on the raft ride.  It was really hot, though, so getting soaked was not a hug sacrifice.  The kids had a blast. 

The girls waited ALL day for their much-desired souvenirs.  Noelle named her seal Snowball.  Then Lucy named her whale Snowy.  This made Noelle crazy, so she changed the name of her seal to Cutie.  Isaiah hit a maturity milestone, walking through the gift shop with his handful of spending money.  He didn't find anything he really wanted.  So he didn't spent it!  He bought a little shark key chain, but didn't buy something just to buy something.  Proud of him!   

The finale was the Shamu show.  Such amazing creatures.  Part of the reason we wanted to go this year was that the Shamu show will be wrapping up before long.  We were all amazed by the size (and splash-range) of the whales.  Lucy kept asking, "Is this real??"  We were in the splash zone, but I ended up getting Lucy out of there before the whale shot a wave up at our section.  Noelle immediately screamed and broke down in sobs ("Cutie" got a bit wet), but she eventually recovered and we made our way to the car with tired legs, wet clothes, and happy memories.

Day 3 was another day in the pools.  It was a little busier, but still pretty quiet.  We swam, loaded up, and made our way home.