Family Vacation 2018

Back before we we decided to move, we set our minds on taking a family vacation. Then our summer became super busy with buying and selling our home and moving. Thankfully, Joe's new boss was just fine with us taking our vacation as planned. We started small by heading to San Antonio for a week. We rented a house from AirBnB and were happy with it. We've had good luck doing that versus paying the same price for a small hotel room. We had four bedrooms to spread out in and plenty of space to run around and relax.

We decided rather than doing something different each day and driving a bunch around San Antonio, we'd stick to SeaWorld/Aquatica. This was also due to money. Ashton gets in free to SeaWorld as they have a Preschool card for all Texas children ages 3-5. Then, kids two and under are free. So that meant we just had to pay for Joseph and I. I found a great groupon for three day passes, which was perfect.

We drove over on a Monday afternoon and our treat for the kids was that they could pick out one treat and one drink at Bucee's (a famous gas station chain in Texas) on the way there. Tanner took this very seriously and spent a good ten minutes debating his options. He chose Cool Ranch Doritos, which shocked me. I thought he'd pick something sugary and messy. We beat San Antonio traffic that afternoon. After getting unpacked, we headed out to Chick Fil A for dinner and a quick stop at the grocery store for ice cream.

Playing in the big tub at the house.

Tuesday was our first day at SeaWorld. We spent the day watching the animal shows with the kids but they didn't really care for them too much. That surprised me. We quickly learned that our kids prefer the rides and seeing the animals in their exhibits. We visited the dolphins, saw the sharks and whales, and then spent the rest of the day riding rides. Tanner loved all the rides he could go on and showed no fear about them. Ashton was tall enough to ride some of the big rides with Joseph and loved them too. We anticipated Tanner napping at the park but that didn't happen at all. He was too happy and excited.

Killing time in the splash pad while Ashton and Joe ride the big kid rides.

She was so happy to ride the big rides.

Tanner found a squirrel who would eat from his hand. Tanner loves squirrels so this was perfect for him,

Another big kid ride.

I was definitely holding tighter to Tanner. He could care less.

They had some dancing show with Sesame St. characters. Tanner now asks to watch Elmo.

Watching the dolphins under water.

The penguin exhibit. Tanner cared more about riding the moving sidewalk than the penguins so we spent a lot of time here.

The bottom of the one of the rides Ashton rode.

Watching the otter show. We didn't spend much time here as they wanted to move on to more exciting things I guess. I was bummed as the shows are really cool. I guess they don't keep the attention span of a 2 year old, though.

I felt like such a silly mom for buying her a fan but Gemma sweats so much! Most everyone else had a stroller fan too so I guess it wasn't just me. She ended up sleeping in the ring sling most of the time but every now and then, she'd sleep in the stroller.

The ferris wheel. Tanner was a huge fan and keeps asking about going back to the Ferris wheel ride.

We spent the day at Aquatica on Wednesday. Aquatica is the waterpark inside SeaWorld. Once again, the kids had a blast. They really love water and I liked that I could let them play with little worry. There were tons of lifeguards and the kid pools weren't that deep. Ashton did lose her goggles and had a great natural consequence of what happens when you leave your things behind. Tanner surprised me by waiting in line for 45 minutes to ride this one specific ride that he was tall enough for. Ashton loved going down the water slides with us. We went "swimming" with sting rays that morning as our special treat for the trip. Tanner cared more about eating his snack than being in the water. The employee was really nice to Ashton and spent some time with her individually. It was cool.

She got more adventurous as the employee helped her.

The "boat ride" that Tanner could ride on. This line was super long and took about 45 minutes.

The water slide that Ashton could ride on. She didn't fit in the tube very well but she met the height requirement.

They had several slides for kids under 48 inches, which was nice as we could let the kids go freely. Tanner loves having no limitations so this was perfect for him.

What happens when you play too hard during the day. Nap at 6:30 and he refused to wake up. I finally offered ice cream and that did the trick.

On Thursday, we went back to the park and did the best parts of each park again. We spent the morning riding rides at SeaWorld and hanging out there. Then, after lunch, we wandered back to Aquatica. I was shocked that the kids made it from open to close each day. Gemma got a pretty bad sunburn so I spent more time with her in the nursing stations or under what little shade I could find. I was so worried about her sweating that I didn't want to overdress her but I think the sweat also washed the sunscreen off faster than I anticipated. She didn't seem to mind much.

Didn't take many pictures this day as we just repeated a bunch of stuff. But Ashton was excited to ride this ride again.

Her poor blister broke open on one cheek and took a little to heal but the other side healed up just fine.

On Friday, we packed up and headed out to Morgan's Wonderland. This park was built in 2010 and was made to accommodate people of all abilities. Everything is wheelchair accessible and they also ensure no bright lights, etc for those individuals who need calmer environments. What I like about this place is 1) My kids saw people of all abilities enjoying the park and 2) Since everything is built with disabilities in mind, my kids could also do everything at the park. There were no height restrictions for the rides. We spent most of the day there and left around 4 to head home.

They had little jeeps that you could "drive" on a track for the families. The kids loved driving the car around.

Riding the bigger Ferris Wheel.

This was, by far, the most relaxing vacation we've taken with kids. I think it worked out well to have the same "base camp" every day and we weren't driving around a bunch in the city. By being able to go to SeaWorld three days in a row, we didn't feel rushed or anything. And the kids slept well. Typically, some kid decides to wake up all night long on a vacation but this time, they all did great. Tanner even slept on an air mattress instead of a crib and didn't come out at night. I also focused a lot on how I could make the little things exciting. I brought a book for me to read. We had a treat every night after dinner. I brought super easy meals for dinner and breakfast. We brought paper plates and stuff so I didn't have to do a ton of dishes. The kids watched a movie each night. We did little things to make the vacation fun as well. Now on to planning next year's trip to Gatlinburg.