A Change of Scenery

We're back and I'm happy to say that the Burns Family Vacation 2012 was a success! The car rides were bearable, even through Austin traffic. Considering the size of our backseat and the lack of space shared between 3 energetic children, it could have been a lot worse. On the plus side, we got great gas mileage and grew closer together as a family in our little car. All of our luggage fit too, AND we could even see out the back window! I was a little concerned, but I knew we were forfeiting space for good gas mileage when we got our Equinox last summer, which is definitely something I can live with. The closeness came in handy when we were rolling down the interstate and Seth needed a snack. Which reminds me that I still need to get out there and clean the cereal bar out of his carseat...

Our first day at Sea World couldn't have been better. It was cloudy all day with a nice cool breeze blowing through the park, and it wasn't crowded at all. The sun came out as we were walking to our car and when we were driving to our hotel it started raining! In the bright sunshine! The next day was a little more crowded, and much warmer, but in the shade it still felt wonderful. I definitely wouldn't want to be there in the middle of a Texas summer. That is for sure!

We came close to losing Toby twice. Once when he bent down to fix his shoe and we went walking one way while he stood up and went with the flow of traffic in the opposite direction. Thank God I turned around in time to see him walking away with no clue that the lady next to him was not his mom. The other time was at the splash pad when he decided he was done playing in the water and decided to go do his own thing. Nick and Lorelai finally caught up with him and promptly brought him to sit with me and Seth at the toddler splash pad. Again, thankfully Nick saw him walking away.

It was for that reason two days at Sea World was enough for me. It was a lot of fun. We did/saw everything on our agenda each day. We didn't lose anyone and no one got hurt. I even got a few pictures in the process, but it was exhausting. I'm happy with the memories we made, and I definitely want to use our season passes again. Maybe in September or October when all the kids go back to school and the weather cools down a bit!

This was the first thing on our list of things to do, and probably the highlight of the whole trip. The dolphins were so sweet!  



One Ocean was our first show to see and it featured Shamu and the other killer whales. They were magnificent! At the very beginning of the show they show a video and then out of no where Shamu jumps up in the air in the middle of the tank. I was not expecting that and was completely awestruck with God's wonderful creation. In this picture they are posing for the crowd. One of them even looked like he was smiling.



Nick said when they were climbing on this they met another little girl named Lorelai. It's not everyday that happens!



They had a fenced-in playground for toddlers underneath the big playscape in the last picture.

Toby with his hands up enjoying the ride.



This was during our first day when we didn't wear swim suits but the kids couldn't wait to play in the splash pad. I figured it would be ok to let them run around in their regular clothes until I realized Lorelai's shirt was sort of see through and Toby's shorts had the tendency to sink down to his ankles when wet! Oh, and there was the little fact that it was cool and cloudy that day so they were shivering the whole time we ate our lunch. I did walk the "mile" out to our car to get them some dry clothes though.



Notice the shark in the background? They both thought that was pretty cool, even though Toby looks a little concerned.