Dan and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary in August. One day Dan asked me, "What do you want for your 10 year anniversary?" I told him, "I want to go to Hawaii." He looked at me in shock, "You do? seriously?" I said, "Ummm, yeah. I tell you every year that I want to go to Hawaii for my 10 year anniversary." Obviously, someone doesn't turn their ears on.
So here we are 10 years later and no Hawaii. BUT, don't think for one second that our 10 years would go uncelebrated. No sir. We decided the most romantic way to ring in 10 years would be to drive 9 hours with 3 kids to Sea World San Antonio. Now that's the way to PARTY! with a 6 year old, a toddler and an infant. Shamu is jealous.
And so, the second week in October was fall break for William. We pulled the girls out of Mother's Day Out and took a family vacation to Sea World. I didn't take one picture of our Sea World adventure. Shocking, I know. But, it was pouring rain the entire day we chose to go to the park, and I was not going to mess with my camera. So I have nothing to document our adventures with Shamu other than my little write up on the blog.
I do, however, have pictures from our road trip! We started the drive on Thursday evening with the goal of driving through Dallas before stopping for the night. It worked out great. We ended up in Hillsboro, just 30 minutes shy of Waco. The kids woke up in the hotel room the next morning. Adeline and William were thrilled to be on a trip and SO excited to be in a hotel. Oh the things that thrill my little people!
We loaded up and headed for Waco on Friday morning. We went to Baylor to see the campus and let Dan visit his Alma mater. He had not been there in 20 years. It was so much fun to walk the campus and listen to the excitement in his voice. He showed us his dorm, his dorm room window, the dining hall, student center and pieces of his past. The kids ran around the campus and William thought it was really cool to finally see Baylor in person. He has heard Dan talk about his college but to be on Baylor soil was a real thrill for both of my boys. William wanted a t-shirt and Adeline was hoping to see the Baylor bear who lives on the campus grounds. We got the shirt, but the bear was off site at an event.
After soaking up Baylor and having lunch at Dan's favorite place, we loaded the car and headed for San Antonio. 3 hours later, we pulled up to the Hyatt Hill Country. This was a great hotel. It was small and friendly. The amenities were perfect for our kids. They have a lazy river, 2 pools, a beach, movies on the lawn at night, bingo, kid camp, water slides, s'mores at the fire pit, bounce house time, and a host of other fun activities. We stayed 3 nights. The weather was lovely and the kids spent most of their time in the water. Even Anna had a great time on vacation. She was a real trooper and truly LOVED her time in the swimming pools. All the activity made her super tired by bedtime and she crashed in her crib without a problem.
We took advantage of the sunny days and chose to spend them at the hotel where the kids had so much to do. We chose to go to Sea World on Sunday (instead of a sunny, hot Saturday) when the weather was cloudy. The second we pulled up Sea World, the skies turned black and it started POURING down rain. We had no umbrellas but luckily, the kids were wearing swimsuits and I had packed 4 beach towels. I had the stroller for the girls and they huddled under the canopies. William was a real trooper but by the time we left, he was ready for dry clothes and a heater.
We stayed at Sea World for 4 hours. We saw 3 shows - The Pet Talent Show, The Sea Lion show and Shamu "One Ocean." The 3 shows plus a visit to watch the dolphins pretty much took up the entire 4 hours. Since it was raining, the amusement park rides were closed, but we didn't even care about that part. , Our kids were not really interested in the rides, so we didn't miss out or feel disappointed that they were closed. Adeline and William LOVED the Shamu show. Adeline yelled, "OH MAN THIS IS AWESOME!" the entire time Shamu was leaping up out of the water. William was really amazed at the Orca's size and how how they shot out of the water. Both of them enjoyed seeing the dolphins up close and watching the sea lions do tricks. Anna was along for the ride. Bless her heart, she probably had NO idea what to make of the rain pouring down over her stroller much less the animals diving and leaping to loud music. But, she was delightful and had fun. I am so thankful she goes with the flow most of the time.
Monday morning we headed back to Tulsa. It was a long 9 hour drive but the kids were good as gold. Anna lost her mind 30 minutes before we got home and my heart hurt for her. She was SUCH a trooper in the car and well entertained. But the drive was too long to complete in one day for her. We were all glad to see our driveway Monday evening!
So that's it. I could never have predicted 10 years ago that I would be driving to Sea World with my 3 kiddos and my husband. I am so lucky. I am thankful for Dan. He is the answer to my dreams. He has given this girl every single piece of perfect over the last 10 years. My life couldn't be anymore wonderful. I am truly blessed and grateful that God led me to Dan. And 10 years ago, I couldn't begin to taste the overwhelming joy that my children bring to my life. 3. I have been given 3 little people who are the delight of my heart and the beat of my soul. These 10 years have been a blessing and I cannot wait for the next 50.
