Vacay 2013

 We really wanted to go on a fun vacation this year, but didn't want to spend a fortune.  We thought about Disney, but it was going to be way out of the budget.  So, we decided on going to San Antonio and staying at the Hyatt Hill Country.  It was such a fun vacay.  The first two days were perfect and warm which meant we could enjoy the pool and lazy river.  The 3rd and 4th day were chilly, so we visited the Alamo and then headed to Hyatt's sister property to play in the indoor/outdoor heated pool.  I loved watching both our kids and the Krikstone kids playing together from sunup to sundown.

Our first day at Sea World.  Both girls LOVED watching Shamu. Caroline loved Shamu so much that she stood on my lap the entire time. 

After Shamu, we went to see Elmo Live.  The show was a hit and both girls loved watching elmo and his rocking friends. 

Sea World has an area dedicated to only kids call Sesame Street Bay of Play. All the kids had fun climbing and going through tunnels.

Gavin and Aubrey got to ride the roller coaster by themselves.  Caroline was even able to ride the other rides there.  I was stoked that she could ride them and experience all the fun of an amusement park.  Sea World also has a really nice indoor aquarium.  When we first arrived on the second day, we found the dolphin petting area.  It was amazing to have the dolphins come right up to you for you to pet them.

On this day, we went to see the Alamo.  To be honest, I really thought it would be in the middle of the dessert and not in the middle of downtown San Antonio.  Ha!  It was so windy and pretty chilly, so it wasn't really super enjoyable to be outside, but we made do. After we were done with the Alamo, we headed to the River Walk and did the boat tour.  It was fun to see the river, but I think it will be more fun when kids are older and your not afraid they are going to fall into the river.

Telly was standing right next to me, so I had to get a picture. 

Apparently I was totally freaked by some of the characters at Disney when I was Aubrey's age.  Although Aubrey looks weirded out, she really enjoyed posing with the characters.  I was impressed the no tears flowed from either of my girls eyes.  I really wanted to pose with Elmo, but you had to pay $25.00 and that was not worth it for me.  I think pictures with Elmo should be free!

We got Caroline and Aubrey a pair of Puddle Jumpers for the water.  Oh. My. Word. They turned my children into swimmers.  Caroline would paddle from me to Rodney and then even paddle to a ball she wanted. After watching Gavin, Aubrey realized that she could "swim" without going under. I loved watching both girls learn something new and totally out of their comfort zones.  Rodney and I were both so impressed by their determination to do something new. 

Here is Caroline in her Puddle Jumper.  She may look upset, but that is just because she didn't want to take a picture and wanted to get in the pool. Ha!