Our biggest news is that we had a wonderful family vacation this month! We were away for 8 days and it was a well needed rest and good, quality family time.
We started out in San Antonio with the Hajek family. We planned to see Sea World and the Zoo. Though, I think the girls would have had fun just playing together. We stayed at a nice hotel right by Sea World and had a beautiful suite! We arrived Friday morning and were able to check in early, then we headed to Sea World. It was a bit rainy while we were there, but we were still able to get out and enjoy everything. I think it rained some each day. The girls enjoyed the sharks, fed the dolphins, and watched a few shows. They liked the Azul show- dolphins, beluga whales and a cirque de soleil feel. Very entertaining. They got slushies- Ainsley's first and she loved it. They went on lots of kid rides too- roller coaster, ferris wheel, drop thing, merry go round. Ainsley loved the rides- I was a little surprised she was so excited about them! Then they all played on a big playscape for a long time - we drive all the way there for a playscape, but they had fun! We went back to the hotel and the girls played in the little pool- it was a great pool. They had so much fun! We had planned for them just to get there feet wet ( they were in clothes) but that did not last long. They swam and were soaked but having so much fun! We had Rudy's for dinner out by the pool- nice! Then the kids were crashing ( no nap for Ainsley) so we rushed back to the room for bed
Saturday it was rainy out but not terrible. We had a yummy breakfast buffet and then Ben took a long nap which delayed our start for the day. The girls watched a movie and then we went to the zoo. Ben was not too happy- I guess he was tired of being confined- in stroller or in someones arms ( usually mine) He seemed clingy, much more so than usual. The zoo was nice- not crowded and fairly cool with the rainy weather. It sprinkled on us some but was not terrible. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant they had there sitting outside high above some of the animals. After lunch, Ben started screaming and would not stop. I thought he was tired, but he just would not go to sleep. I had him in his sling, but he was pretty miserable. I decided to take him back to the hotel. We had to rearrange carseats- put Ainsley's into Joe's SUV. Ben fell asleep briefly on our walk out, but woke up in his carseat and was happy as can be on our drive back to the hotel. When we got back, I fed him and he seemed content to stay awake- I thought for sure he would crash. Sara and Dave came over and hung out with us the afternoon and evening. Ben was pretty happy which was nice. We had a great visit!
Ainsley and Dan came back a bit later so that was nice too. We all went to dinner at Panera and had fun- Sara and Dave experienced a little of our chaos- 4 kids at dinner! Bathroom breaks, feedings, crying, making them eat, etc. After dinner, we put the kids to bed. Sara read Ainsley a story and then told her a great little bear story. Sara and Dave stayed to visit with us for a while which was nice. A great added bonus for us to see them! Sara also hand delivered birthday presents to me- lots of Ben pictures that she took of him at 6 months, an oil painting that I love in a beautiful frame, books, and little makeup stuff!
Saturday night the big storms arrived. We did not get much sleep. Ainsley woke up to the thunder and lightning and joined us in bed. It was a big storm with lots of rain- Texas really needed it, but we were sad it rained on our outdoor vacation. I mean really, it has not rained here in 2 YEARS, but we made the most of it. It rained all morning, until 1 pm. We had a buffet breakfast again, then the girls played in a ballroom at the hotel. Ben took another long nap so I guess it was ok that we were stuck inside. At 12, we got ready and went for lunch. The skies were clearing. When we got back to the hotel it was not raining anymore. We got to Sea World at 2 pm and it was 66 degrees- crazy! I didn't bring any real warm clothes for the kids as the forecast was 90s and 70s. Anyway, Julie got the girls matching pink sweatshirts so they looked super cute. Ben was snuggled with me in his sling so he was fine. Sea World was totally empty so we enjoyed that. The only bummer was that most of the drink/snack stations were closed so we had to walk a ways for drinks. Ainsley loved the sea lion show- she was enthralled with what the animals were doing. She was amazed at the walrus who made an appearance later. She said, "Whoa, he's big!"We fed Sea lions- the girls all took turns dropping fish into the water for them. Julie and I rode the big roller coaster. There was no line and so we walked right on. We even stayed on for a second ride!
Monday we packed up and headed to the beach. The drive was long and Ben did not want to be confined, but luckily they both fell asleep after we stopped for lunch. The condo at the beach was really nice- right on the ocean with a gorgeous balcony facing the ocean. There was a gorgeous moonrise the first night- full moon over the water- not much can beat that. Ben went to bed early but unfortunately woke up really unhappy at 10:15- right when we were trying to go to bed. It took hours to get him back to sleep. Then he woke up at 5 am. Not much sleep for us. He remained fussy all day Tuesday- wanting to be held, not eating, crying much more than normal. Dan did a bunch of work yesterday- was on conference calls all morning. Poor Ainsley wanted to go to the beach. First Ben was napping so we had to stay, then he was fussing. We went to the pool and played there for a while but I had to leave with Ben because he was crying. Luckily Dan came to play with Ainsley. They went briefly to the beach. I took Ben to a doctor yesterday to be sure he did not have an ear infection. He had mild cold symptoms over the weekend. He was fine of course, just teething again. Bummer to waste vacation time, but wanted to be sure. It was an experience- the building looked abandoned and the office was much less nice than I am used to. We saw a nurse practitioner who was very nice and interacted a lot with Ben.
Dan and Ainsley went to the beach in the afternoon and Ben napped. They had a nice time building stuff in the sand. Last night was much better- Ben slept well, 8:30-5:30, Ainsley slept well, but she joined us in bed at 12:30.
Wednesday we all had great beach time. I played in the water for a long time with Ainsley. Dan and Ben hung out on the beach under our umbrella. I returned to find Ben covered in Sand from head to toe- some in his mouth too. He tried to eat sand- no surprise there. He was a bit uncomfortable in the water- I think the noise and scope of it was too much for him. When Dan was holding him he was holding on really tight and looked nervous, he just got his toes a little wet. Dan took Ben back to the room for a bath and a nap and Ainsley and I stayed at the beach. We hunted for shells, played in the waves, sat in the sand, dug holes, etc. Great times!
Some of our friends from Austin were in Port A at the same time so they came over for a bit in the afternoon. We went to the pool and visited. We splurged and had dinner out at Virginia's on the Bay. We sat on the water and watched the boats and dolphins while we ate.
We were supposed to leave the beach on Friday but we decided to stay an extra day and leave Saturday. We went to the beach every day and enjoyed the family time. We saw the gorgeous full moon come up every night on the water- it was so big and full, almost looked orange a few nights. We saw the sunrise each morning too- gorgeous scenery.
1 comment:
Auntie Sara and Uncle Dave love love love the video. There are so many great pictures! I love the family one--probably the last one before leaving SA. And Ainsley on the beach pushing Ben. And all the family ones--just so many great pics, it looks like so much fun! Big hugs to Ainsley girl and Ben. We miss you and love you!
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