Thanksgiving with Shamu

We just got back from an impromptu Sea World vacation. It was super spur of the moment and totally spontaneous, which is so out of the ordinary for Wade & I. Wade had taken off on Monday-Wednesday to spend some extra family time. On Friday night he remembered that he had 4 free hotel nights (that he had earned through traveling for work) that were going to expire at the end of the year. He decided that we should go somewhere and use them. So... the idea of a family vacation was born.

We decided this on Friday night, mind you, and we left on Sunday afternoon. Crazy, huh? It worked out really well, though. The boys did sooo good - so much better than I thought that they would. The ride down was a piece of cake. Our driver (aka Wade) decided that we had to stop in Austin and visit that other school. Boo! Hiss! I wasn't thrilled with the idea, but Wade & Clayton thought that it was a great way to start our mini-vacay.

I obliged to make my boys happy, but on the inside, I was cringing. I am really starting to worry about Clayton. I don't know if I'll ever get him back from the dark side...

Sunday evening we checked into our hotel and got a good nights rest before our big Sea World day on Monday.

We had so much fun!

The Shamu show was everyone's favorite. We saw it on Monday & again on Wednesday when we went back. On Wednesday, Clayton & Wade sat on the front row of the Splash zone. Crazy fools! They loved every minute of it. The show was set to Christmas music, which I loved. It made me so pumped up for Christmas. Yay! Watching those huge creatures do amazing tricks is awesome no matter how old you are. :)

Even Drew loved the shows. I was really worried about how he would do, but he was so pleasant! He really did watch the shows. He would play in the aisles and walk around while we waited for the shows to start. Then, I would put him in the Baby Bjorn during the shows. I guess it was the music/lights/movement combination that he enjoyed. Either way - I was glad that he did well. :)

Clayton LOVED feeding the dolphins. I think that was his favorite part.

Since Sea World already had all of their Christmas shows playing, they had the Polar Express (a condensed version) in 4D. The seats shook when the train was moving, they piped in the smell of hot chocolate for the cocoa scene, and at the end they had "real" snow (more like bubbles). Drew was totally mesmerized by the snow. He held his hands up and laughed so hard. It was pretty cute. ;)

Okay, so the funniest Clayton moment of the trip happened in the Coral Reef exhibit. They had a diver that fed all of the sting rays and fish. She wore a microphone in her gear and answered questions from the audience. There were tons of kids and parents all sitting on the floor in front of the ginormous tanks during the question/answer session. The announcer guy introduced the diver as "Diver Reyna" (pronounced rain-a). Well, when he asked if anyone had a question for Diver Reyna, Clayton's hand shot up. Then he announced loudly, "I have a question for Diarrhea!!!" Oh my gosh - I was mortified! It's funny now, but at the time, I just wanted to crawl under a rock. Ha!

Clayton and Diver Reyna (or Diarrhea... whichever you prefer)

At the end of the coral reef exhibit, Santa swam out in a wet suit. Who knew that Santa was into scuba diving?!?!

Drew loved the big fish tanks. He pointed and laughed and had himself a good 'ole time!

Can you see Wade's red hat on the front row? They are nuts, I tell you!

Clayton also fed the sea lions and seals. I don't know what he enjoyed more - actually feeding the animals or grossing out his Mama with the dead fish!

Hug or choke hold??? You decide.

We spent 2 days at Sea World and really enjoyed every minute. They were running a special and the season pass ("Fun Card") that is good through December of 2010 was only like $10 more than a 1 day ticket. So... we will probably go again in the spring (maybe even again next fall). We'll see...

On Tuesday we did the classic San Antonio types of things.

We went on a river boat tour.

Then Wade took Drew back to the hotel for a nap while I took Clayton to the children's museum. It was the best children's museum that we have been to. Clayton had a ball!

Then we all met up at the Alamo. Good times!

I am thankful for a little getaway with my 3 favorite guys! It was an unexpected, but super fun trip. Happy Thanksgiving to all!