Vacation, Part 1 (Photo Heavy)

So, Spring Break is over, but I can honestly say that this is the best Spring Break I've had in a very long time!  I know my kiddos needed a break from school, but for the first time in twenty-something years, so did I! 

We haven't had a family vacation in eight years, which was two kids ago.  I have friends that travel constantly, but we just never seem to have the money to travel.  This year I told Hubby it was my top priority to take the kids on vacation.  I have such fond memories of family vacations and it broke my heart that my kids didn't have those memories.  So, we decided it would be more budget friendly to go on Spring Break instead of going during the summer months, not to mention less crowded and cooler. 

Because J loves sharks, dolphins and marine life in general, we decided Sea World in San Antonio would be the ideal place to take him.  L, loves to play in the sand and loves to be in the water so we decided the second leg of our trip had to be the beach.  Because L is autistic and therefore, very unpredictable, my awesome parents volunteered to go with us just in case he freaked out or had a major meltdown. 

The kiddos in the van, all packed up and ready to go. 

We were in the car about eleven hours the first day.  We hit traffic in Waco and moved at a snail's pace for an hour and a half.  UGH!  We finally arrived in San Antonio about 7:30, five minutes behind my parents.  What a relief!

After a good night's sleep, we got up and headed for Sea World.  I hadn't been to Sea World since I was about ten years old so I was just as excited as the kids.  When we arrived it was very cloudy and there was a chance of rain.  Guess what I didn't bring on vacation?  Jackets.  So, were a little chilly.  First things first, the shows. 

Sea Lion Show

Shamu Killer Whale Show

Beluga Whale and Dolphin Show

The Beluga Whale and Dolphin Show had technical difficulties so the cancelled the show after a few minutes.  Hubby was very disappointed.  The rest of us were ready to get to the rides.  E insisted on riding the kids rides first. 

Let's take a closer look at that, shall we?

Yep, that's C, holding on for dear life......on the kiddee ride. 

J was so excited to have his picture taken. 

After a quick lunch, we were off to our favorite ride, Atlantis.  E was especially excited.  Everybody loved it, except for the boys.  They didn't want to ride so they waited at the bottom.

 

They were soaked, but absolutely loved it!  After this we had twenty minutes to take J to see the sharks.  He had been begging and pleading and bugging the crap out of us waiting patiently all day to see them. 

Cool, huh?  Unfortunately they had already closed the building and they opened it up just for us to run through, and I do mean run.  My mom and E had stopped to buy a giant lollipop so they missed the sharks completely. 

So, that was Sea World.  Later in the week I'll share my favorite part of our trip. 

Do y'all kind of feel like you've been invited over to your neighbors to look at their boring vacation pictures or slide show?  Sorry about that.  It won't hurt my feelings if you don't want to look. 

Later bloggy friends!