SeaWorld - I'll toast to that!

We decided to make our second annual trip to SeaWorld in April since we had such a fabulous time last year!  For the second year in a row, we have had an almost perfect trip!  The kids were excellent and the weather was heavenly.  We had such a fabulous trip that we are trying to figure out how to recreate such goodness again next year.  Same time....same place.  San Antonio, TX during Fiesta - when apparently, none of the locals are at SeaWorld due to all of the Fiesta activities downtown. 

During this trip, we even got to spend a little bit of time with our favorite (former) baby sitter (and family friend), Meghan, who drove in from Austin to see us AND babysit our kiddos one night so that we could get some time away.  The kiddos LOVE Meghan and vice versa.  We are blessed to have had her in Kingwood....and continue to have her on "special" occasions!

Below, are SEVERAL pictures of our trip.  It's hard to pick just a few...and so I tried to include them in sequence.  And...believe it or not.....this is probably 1/8 of the pictures that I took during the trip.  ("Hello, my name is Julie, and I have a problem.....  I take too many photos!")  Hopefully, my "illness," will help tell our SeaWorld 2011 story....a story in pictures.

And...we're off!  Wednesday evening, 7:30pm.  Goodbye Kingwood.  HELLO long stretch of I10!

Lily was asleep before we left the house.  Benjamin was asleep before we got to Katy.  And...Timothy was asleep by the time we hit Sealy.  So, with only one bathroom stop at Bucee's for me, we made it to San Antonio by midnight.  Of course, all 3 kids woke up with excitement once we got there....and stayed up until almost 2:00am!  Whew.  Here, the boys are all settled into their sleeper sofa for the night. 

Next day, Lily is up and ready to go.  She's one happy girl. 

 Here we are at SeaWorld! 

 First, Benjamin MUST look at and study the map to figure everything out!  He LOVES maps, and is quite good at literally understanding them.

First things first - Benjamin must ride the Journey to Atlantis!  He remembers this ride from last year when we weren't quite sure if he was old enough to handle how scary it is.  Benjamin, Harry, AND Timothy all take a ride.

I was pretty impressed that I got this shot of them - they are holding on for dear life! 

 Lily was sound asleep during all of the excitement!

 While Harry and Benjamin rode the ride again (there were NO  lines at all), Timothy and I snapped a shot of ourselves!  He's my sweet boy!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to duplicate a great shot the second time around - so we took a photo of Benjamin and Harry waving after the ride was over. 

 Hmmm...."Where to go next?"

 The carousel....  not such a great shot but both boys ride with their daddy.  I can hardly even look at the thing to take a picture - the movement makes me nauseous.

The play structure was loads of fun.  This kept them busy for a while, but it also drove Harry and I crazy because there are several exits.  One mom was about to have a heart-attack keeping up with her 4 (yes, 4) kids!!!!

 The boys get ready to ride this ride......and during the ride, Timothy looks over at the lady next to him, laughs, and jokingly screams, "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!!"  She cracked up!

 Next ride.....and having fun!

 Next ride...this one was actually pretty "crazy"....it went up/down/around - all over the place.  They loved it and ended up riding it several times.  Poor Harry.....I think this one made him a little sick.

 OK, Timothy.....enough of this one - let's move on! 

 Hmmm...."Where should we go next?"

 Proof that Lily was at SeaWorld!  And even more proof that she was happy about it! 

 Shamu! 

 The boys like Shamu, but it's actually one of their least favorite things while at SeaWorld.  They aren't big on the shows  - they like the activities more.  Which is fine by me.  But...both boys really got into make the hand motion for Shamu to splash them!  We were sitting on the edge of the splash zone - so we were saved from getting wet - much to Benjamin's disappointment.

 They really are amazing to watch.

OK....enough for day one.  At 3:00pm, we head back to the hotel and have rest time.  The boys were out in no time!

We head to eat dinner, and when we go to get Lily out of the car, this is what we find.  She's still sound asleep. 

We met my cousin, Tony, and Nancy for dinner.  He lives in San Antonio, and we don't get to see him near as much as we would like.  Here, the kiddos pose with Tony. 

Tony's formal name is Offord Anthony, and Timothy (full name - Timothy Offord Aasmyr) was named after Tony and his brother, Tim.  Well, we were explaining to Timothy that we were going to have dinner with his cousin, Tony, and how he is named after Tony, and Timothy said, "We have the S-A-M-E name!  He is my B-E-S-T friend!"  So cute!

 This is the first time Tony met Lily...I love this picture.  So sweet!

 Nancy was sweet enough to hold Lily from the time she woke up until we left so that we could eat in peace.  Well, as much peace as you can have with 2 toddler boys in tow! 

We arrived back at the hotel around 8:15pm, and the boys are ready to head down to the pool!  This is their favorite part of the entire vacation! 

 It's past her bedtime, but since we're on vacation, Lily is hanging out with her daddy by the pool.

 Oh, Timothy....such a ham!

 Benjamin....a little more serious, but just as cute in his own way!

 I think we've got two tired boys on our hands! 

Next day at SeaWorld...a lot of the same as the first day (which I didn't include pictures of).....  but some new stuff - the alligators! 

 Benjamin relaxes by the play area.

 Such a sweet picture of Lily....in her sun hat.....

 A rare shot (because they are so hard to get)...of Benjamin riding his absolute favorite ride - The Shamu Express!!!!!!!  He is such a big boy - he insists on riding it without his daddy, and the last couple of times he rode it, he was holding his hands in the air - just like the big kids!  So cute and grown up!

 The boys feeding the dolphins.

 A photo opportunity that I couldn't pass up.....  This, just to show, how there was NO ONE AT SEAWORLD!  NO ONE...well, but us.  :-)

Back at the hotel....and you guessed it......the kiddie pool again!

 The boys back at the room....and having a snack and movie before night time.

 Harry and his sweet girl....

 They are almost out for the night....almost! 

 The next morning, I found Lily still sound asleep, but sometime in the night she had fallen out of her car seat!  (We had her sleeping in her car seat because she had a bad cough.)  It didn't seem to traumatize her at all, but I was shaken up a bit when I found her!

Dress children in bright colored clothing. 
Check.  Check.  Check.

"Benjamin.  (a/k/a Rand McNally).  Where should we go next?" 

 "I'm too sexy for these shades......"

At the splash pad....so much fun!

 Mommy and Lily hang out.

Yes, Timothy, you are darn cute!

 Benjamin runs under the water....but I just miss the picture!

 Timothy runs under...and I got the shot this time!

 Lily sleeps.....unaffected by the flower that seems to have slipped off her head.  AGAIN.

 Benjamin was so fascinated with the Steel Eel ride....  He is not big enough to ride it yet, and I'm not even sure that he wanted to.  But...we had to get as close as possible so that he could watch it over and over and over.  We ended up getting some popcorn, sitting down for a break, and watching this roller coaster for almost an hour! 

 The penguins.......cute, but anti-climactic.

 This is the ONLY day that we got Timothy a stroller, and sure enough, he passed out!  I guess it's time to leave this joint for good.  He even stayed asleep when we moved him to his car seat.  Lily slept too.

 

 

 One night at dinner, Timothy tried fried artichokes!  What was the verdict?  He liked them!!!!

 

 If you just stick the phone in front of Lily (to take a picture), she smiles.  I think she is a natural.

4 nights in San Antonio spending leisurely days at SeaWorld, visiting with family, and having fun, quality family time together.  It might just be the best trip ever.

Now, I'll toast to that.