Sea World Day 2

Day two at Sea World was about the same.  It was warmer but no rain, so still a good day.  We saw most of the same shows, including shame this day.  It was a much better show than last time, they had 5 whales (2 adult, 2 kids, and 1 baby).  And the whales were being so funny.  We also spent some time visiting the sea lion habitat and found out that 2 sea lions had been born in the past 24 hours.  They were so cute, but already looked so big.  We also found the aquarium at the far end of the park and got to spend time staring at the huge tanks of fish.  She still loved the dog show, but the playground and rides were now her absolute favorite thing to do.  She rode as many rides as she could and went up the rope net 100 times.  She had a blast!  We stayed as long as we could last and then left for home.  It was a great vacation!

Sea World Day 1

I am so glad we went back to Sea World this summer.  Watching her face light up when she sees the animals is priceless.  It rained all morning the first morning but had stopped by the time we got to the park.  So it was just a nice, cool, cloudy day.  We did the same routine as last time - made a circle around the park, watching the shows, and seeing the animal habitats.  She still absolutely loved the dog show - it never gets old!  She liked the penguins, but it was already their nap time (in Antarctica) so they were mostly sleeping.  At the middle of the back side are all the roller coasters and I know Cody wanted to go on one.  Then, we saw one that said, No Wait, so he rode one while we watched.  It was kinda funny, watching his roller coast go overhead.  After that, we watched the ski show, which was pretty cool.  They didn't have that this past fall.  It was about lunch time, so we headed out to the car and sat in the A/C and ate some food.  It was good to relax and just rest.  Afterwards, we headed to the kiddie playground which is a huge maze of rope nets.  She was pretty brave, more than we would have liked her to be.  Cody talked her into riding the roller coasters for kids, and she loved them!  We all rode the tea cup ferris wheel, which is pretty slow.  But then Cody had her ride the carousel and the spinning fish boat.  I was thoroughly impressed by how much she liked them.  She has never wanted to ride before!  She laughed the whole time the boat was spinning them around and even through her hands up in the air like she wasn't scared!  After she rode the rides a few times, we headed to the sea lion show.  It's pretty funny and this time they had a walrus that weighed over a ton.  It was huge!  She was exhausted at this point (she didn't sleep well the night before) so we headed back to the Lulfs for dinner.  It was a full day, but totally worth the exhaustion!

Hanging in Austin, TX

We went to Sea World last fall when Cody had a teacher conference in San Antonio.  I got a full year pass for cheap since it was off season and Harper got in free.  We decided to go back and use the pass again since I would go free, Harper would still be free, and Cody could get in free as a teacher.  It was awesome.  We drove down to Austin for the day and spent time with Eric before heading to the Lulfs who were putting us up at night.  

Harper did great in the car.  She technically rode 5 hours down, plus 3 hours each day to and from Sea World, and then 6 hours home.  She never complained, she played so well, and she didn't have any accidents.  She got to watch a few movies, play games, and listen to music, which kept her very happy.

We got to Austin just in time for lunch at our favorite place.  It stinks we only get to eat subs a few times a year, but it makes them really good when we do.  Harper acted really shy at first around Eric, but he ended up winning her over with a snow cone and the play ground.  It was ridiculously hot but people in Austin seemed to be used to being outside in hot weather, so we just went with it.

Eric recently catered for the opening of this new kids science museum called the Thinkery.  He got us in free by flashing his smile and Short Bus Subs owner card.  It was so cool - something Harper has never been to and loved every minute.  They had a building area with blocks and magnets; a air station where you could build and launch your own paper airplane; a light room and a water room.  Eric helped her go from station to station and figure out what all to do.  At one point she was climbing on something and Eric was laughing and egging her on (it wasn't dangerous and seemed like a natural place to crawl up) but the 14 year old worker had to ask us to get her down.  Eric and authority, even 14 year old authority, do not get along.  It was hilarious!  After the inside part, she got to climb around on the outdoor play area that was a tower made of ropes.  She had such a good time and I am so glad we went!

After the museum, Eric grabbed some bread and we fed the ducks.  It was cooling off because some rain was coming and it was the perfect weather outside.  We stood out there and just watched all the ducks and fish and turtles - there were a ton and they were huge!  

It was about mid afternoon and Eric was hungry for lunch so we went to Phil's Ice House and ate.  It has a playground outside so Harper got to play while we ate and watched the World Cup.  Such a smart idea!  She played for almost 2 hours, stopping for a little bit to have some Amy's Ice Cream and take some pictures on the cows with Uncle E.   After that, we headed to Dripping Springs to have dinner with the Lulfs and spend the night.

We got to spend a lot of time with the Lulfs and I am so thankful for that.  Erin was in town for summer break and it was so good to catch up.  The past few times we have been to Austin she has been away at college.  Tim had a new job and was doing sales calls up in Dallas so we didn't actually get to see him.  But it was a great visit.  We got up in the mornings and had coffee and breakfast and then headed to Sea World.  Then, we would come back after Sea World and have dinner and talk all night long.  It was such a good trip - I'm sure we could have talked for days more!  On the second night, Eric, Dane, and Mya came over for dinner.  They got to catch up too and it was so nice to all just sit around and relax and chat.  Harper loved Hudson, their new dog.  He is a golden-doodle and he comes up to my waist (on all fours).  She liked feeding him and taking him out and throwing bones to him.  She also loved Tina and Erin.  They laughed at everything she did and said.  They especially liked her booty shake, which she did for each and every person.  She even gave Hudson a booty shake goodbye.  

On Thursday evening, after our second day of Sea World, we headed home.  We had seen construction signs all along 35 and suddenly it all hit.  They were closing parts of the highway in a few different locations and people were sitting in miles of stopped traffic.  I would have been so mad if that was us!  I actually felt really bad for those people.  It happened near Austin, Waco, and Dallas. 

We also stopped at Buc-cee's for the first time.  It was ridiculous.  I'm guessing like 100 gas pumps and about the size of a grocery store.  It had an entire wall, floor to ceiling, of candy and slushy machines at the end of each aisle.  Harper picked some gummy worms, which she didn't love, and Cody got some candied jalepenos, which he loved.  Somehow I ate the entire bag of gummy worms on the way home!