Vacation!

We kicked off summer the right way, with a vacation only 3 days after Chance finished school! Have I mentioned how thankful I am for jobs that give us time off during the summer? Our vacation was in San Antonio, and on the way we drove through the Natural Bridge Caverns Wildlife Ranch. This place has grown quite a bit since Chance and I went through back in 2005! It was so fun to see the kids react to the animals... Cade liked everything except the zebra that nearly climbed in the car and nibbled on his shorts, and Annie called everything a puppy (once she was awake). For once in our lives, we were not in a hurry, so it took quite a while to drive through and look at all the animals, especially since one goat was totally unfazed by our car and stood in front of us for several minutes. At the end of the drive thru, there is an area to walk around and see giraffes, a fantastic monkey, and a petting zoo with goats.




Then we drove to our hotel in San Antonio, and it didn't take us long to head to the pool!



Cade is keeping a summer journal where he writes down and/or draws his favorite things that we do each day. It is a great way to remember all of our fun and gets him some writing practice. It was lovely sitting out on our balcony for his writing for two nights!



We spent the next day at Sea World. We were amazed that even though the kids woke up at 6:30, we still barely made it there by opening time at 10:00 am. Traveling with kids! Annie even had a morning nap as we got there, so she slept the first half hour we were there. Apparently, her first theme park experience was very exciting.



While his little sister snoozed, Cade rode his first roller coaster! He rode it twice, once with each of us. I am pretty sure that his mama screamed more than he did!



Once Annie woke up, we saw the Shamu show, fed the sea lions (with real fish!), saw the penguins, and went to an aquarium.



Before we left, Cade and Chance had one more adventure... the Rio Loco! It was his first water ride and he loved it! They didn't get as wet as Chance hoped (it was hot!), but we were so proud of Cade for trying 2 new things at Sea World.



This was a fabulous first "big" outing for our family of four!



We relaxed at the lazy river at our hotel that night. Both kids loved floating!



The next morning we met my mom at the San Marcos outlet for some quick shopping while she entertained the kids. Then Annie took a glorious nap and when she woke up, we went to Schlitterbahn! This was "technically" still part of our vacation, which is the only reason I didn't have a complete panic attack at the admission prices. Things have changed quite a bit since I worked there and an adult admission was $23.76! (And I can still tell you exactly how much change you should receive if you pay with $25 or $40). The park has grown so much, and it was really special to me to take the kids there. Our first stop, Tubenbach, didn't even exist when I was a lowly cashier at the Bahn. While we probably didn't get our money's worth, since neither kid was overly thrilled with anything except the Kristal River, it was still fun and I'm glad we went. And I am super glad that my mom was there to watch our stuff, take pictures, and help keep Annie contained!



While we were in New Braunfels, Chance and I celebrated our 12th anniversary by going out for appetizers and desserts together one night. We were also watching the Spurs game and checking the score of the College Station High School Cougars' state finals baseball game. It's a good thing we know we love each other! But it was so special to spend some time just the two of us and we are both so thankful for the past dozen years. I love him!


And the Spurs and the Cougars won! A great night :)