We had so much fun last September in San Antonio that we knew we needed to do it one more time before we left Texas. It was a great trip, with a few things that definately made it memorable. We went down with 2 other families full of great friends, the Schaacks and the Hirschis. We're so grateful for good friends and fun memories with them. For our first 3 nights we rented a house for all 3 families to share. The kids had a great time playing together, and it was nice to be able to spend time in the evenings with the adults after kids went to bed. As far as the house itself..... I think it was a great idea, but if we ever did it again we'd probably be willing to fork out a little more money! :) It was in a neighborhood with bars on the windows, had a bathtub that I was scared to bathe my kids in, carpet that none of us were brave enough to walk on barefoot, etc. At least we got to share the experience with friends, and we'll definately never forget it! And, it made our $45 hotel room we stayed in the last night feel like a luxurious resort.
The first night we got there we had dinner on the riverfront with all of our friends as well as one of Dan's friends from when he was young and his family. The next day we went to Seaworld. The one thing we learned from our last trip was that one day wasn't enough. On Friday we did mostly rides and shows. We fed the dolphins, and that was a huge hit again. Jacey's biggest request was that we sit in the "splash zone" at the Shamu show. Last year when Shamu splashed, we didn't get wet. So this year we made sure we sat closer. Jacey was getting more and more worried as the show went on because we hadn't got wet yet. Finally, the announcer asked if there were any kids that wanted to get wet. He had them all come down and stand at the very bottom, right by the wall of the pool. Unfortunately, when Shamu splashed it went right over Jacey.....missing her entirely and getting Dan and I wet. So sad. She looked very dejected. Her spirits were lifted when Dan took her on Journey to Atlantis. It's a roller coaster that goes into the water, so you're guaranteed to get wet. We also watched the beluga show, which was incredible. The sea lion show was hilarious, and much to Jacey's delight and Broden's surprise, we got soaked. We didn't come prepared with swimsuits since we weren't planning on doing the water park the first day. We forgot about the splashground, but the kids didn't mind going in regular clothes one bit. Broden wasn't a fan of the splashground, so he hung out with the dads and the strollers (where he spent much of the trip). Jacey had a late night playing with cute little Lily (Dan's friend's little girl) and was exhausted the next morning. It took most of the house to wake her up.
Friday we went to Fort Sam Houston for a little bit, where our friend Brent used to spend time when his dad was stationed there. They had a fun grassy area where they had peacocks, chickens, etc. just wandering around. Then we went back down to the riverwalk and did the boat ride down the river again. It was SO HOT! We decided to skip the Alamo since we did it last year and it was so hot out, and hung out in the air conditioned mall instead.
Saturday we went back to Seaworld to do the water park. We started out with some rides again and the extreme waterski show. Dan decided that was his dream job. He almost dropped out of chiropractic school and applied for a job right then and there. We hit the water park after lunch. Jacey loved the wave pool again. Broden started out liking it, but right when he got brave enough to start walking around the waves turned on and knocked him over. My friend Eliza and I decided to take the little ones to the toddler area while the guys took the bigger kids on slides. I missed seeing Jacey have SO much fun on the slides and floating in the lazy river, but I had a lot of fun with Broden. I wish I could've taken my camera to get pictures of him, but I knew with my luck I probably would have dropped it in the pool. It was my first time seeing him really LOVE swimming. Last summer he wasn't old enough to do anything except sit in his floatie, but he had so much fun! He loved the little whale slides and splashing around. I was suprised (and a little nervous) to see how brave he was, and how little falling into the water (more than once) phased him. Don't worry, I was right there to pick him back up. I'll definately have my hands full at the pool this summer.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip! Thank you to our friends who went with us to make it even more fun! I've decided there's nothing better than seeing my kids happy. They were SO excited, and had SO much fun. I don't think Jacey stopped smiling for 4 days straight. Broden was such a good sport sitting in the stroller so much. It was fun to see him excited about the little things that he was too young to notice last year.
