A Sea World Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we stayed in town again. And, if you haven't noticed, sometimes when a holiday isn't going to be "normal," like going to be with the family, I like to just make it all crazy. Part of me doesn't want to make a big holiday meal for the four of us, and part of me knows I'll just be sad if I do and we have no one to share it with. So, this year we headed to Sea World on Thanksgiving.

It was a perfect day. Lucas was such a good boy in the morning, helping as we got ready. He even cleaned up an entire bag of trail mix that Evan spilled on the floor. And once we got to Sea World, both kids were still really well behaved. We had nary a fit to deal with, and only a mere whimper at the suggestion that Lucas try a big roller coaster (which would have been a horrible idea).

The boys loved the animal shows. My favorite was the dolphin show where there are people performing - divers, acrobats and synchronized swimmers.

The boys loved the little Sesame Street land where they could climb to new heights and crawl through tunnels that freaked out the bravest of claustrophobic moms.

For dinner we didn't break Thanksgiving tradition too much. Well, sort of. The four of us, like a little lion family, dined on one turkey leg. Yes, the same turkey leg I usually scoff at. It was my first turkey leg ever, as I am usually disgusted by the sight of people, like cavemen, gnawing on a huge hunk of meat. But, it was quite an economical decision, as it did feed all four of us for $8. And it also provided for some excellent photo ops. We also ate at a perfect little spot, by the river ride under some beautiful trees.

Evan was really sad that he couldn't go on the roller coasters. He thought they were trains. The boys did go on a little train ride, though, while I was in line at a roller coaster. Then later, I told him that the little Shamu roller coaster was a train... it wasn't really. It was a lot faster than I thought it would be. Oops.

Ben and I did get to go on a ride together. I was in line and he waited at the exit for me, so we could switch when I was done. A lady next to me in line, who wasn't going to ride with her kids, volunteered to watch our kids while we went. So, she and her family stayed with ours at the exit while we road. She told us she didn't want any more kids and wouldn't steal them. But, I knew they were good people because before I ever talked to them, her husband reminded me of my very own brother. And, yes, Evan cried a little. But Ben and I had fun riding a roller coaster together and it was terrifying, so I'm glad we could scream together. That was our anniversary date!

I loved that they had all their Christmas lights up. It was so pretty. At the end of the night we walked by the Candy Cane Forest and there was a quaint little concert going on. We sat at a table and enjoyed the show, while Ben went in search of a funnel cake. He was successful in his conquest and we enjoyed funnel cake while we listened to a really good local musician.

 

As we left the park we swung by the aquarium and saw some sharks. At the car we put the boys in their jammies and they were both asleep within minutes of driving away.

We tinkered with the idea of staying the night and going back on Friday, but instead we drove home and finally stopped at Buc-ee's. Yes, it was as amazing as legend tells. Both boys slept most of the way home. Evan was starting to get sick, which began our next adventure - 5 days of croup.

I sure love my boys and I'm glad we had such a fun Thanksgiving adventure. I liked it so much I think we'll go back soon. Like maybe tomorrow!

(And yes, we had a real Thanksgiving/family anniversary dinner on Friday since we were stuck home with a poor sick baby. It was great. And Saturday was my birthday. The boys made a lovely breakfast, then Ben and Lucas went to a fun run our friends organized while Evan and I stayed home sick and sad. After that Lucas was at a friend's birthday from 11-6! It was a lazy day for us at home, which was nice.)

Tee Ball and Chocolate

The weather here has been fantastic lately. We had a beautiful weekend and tried to take advantage of the picture-perfect evenings outdoors. Ben bought Lucas a little tee ball stand, so we played a bit of that and then some badminton, of course.

After day two of enjoying the wonderful outdoors, I decided we should also enjoy something wonderful indoors - chocolate fondue with strawberries. See, we had these pesky strawberries aging in the fridge, as well as an annoying bar of dark chocolate taking up space in the pantry, then there was some whipping cream and some marshmallow cream that was bugging me. So, really, I was doing some Spring cleaning.
It.Was.Good. Evan loved it! In the first picture below you can see his frustration because I am holding his fork full of chocolaty goodness instead of him. In the second picture you can see how happy he was once I gave it to him. Lucas was also a fan. He thought it was plate-licking good!

You know another great thing about this weather? Evan gets to visit the hose a couple times day. A few weeks ago E-man had a couple blowouts. You know - the kind where you don't know how you're going to clean it up because the kid is such a mess you wish you could just dip him in the annoying neighbor's jacuzzi? And you know when you attempt to change the diaper you'll have to pin his arms down because he'll try to imitate a steamroller, ruining your entire house?
Well, I decided to try washing the kid off outside. Guess what? Worked like a charm. The water in the hose was nice and warm from the sun. Evan gets to play in the water dripping from the faucet, and I don't use wipes, thus saving the environment. Oh, did you catch how that suddenly changed to present tense, instead of the past tense? Yeah, well I kind of got addicted to the baby bidet and now when we have a stinky diaper, I head straight outside. Don't judge.

Tidbits

Just a few tidbits of information since last time...
First off, I made cute Mother's Day gifts. Do you love them? Check out my peeps at OBB.
Saturday we went to the Austin Zoo. Lucas loved it. It's not a big zoo, but they have lions, tigers, and a bear. Oh my!
It was hot by the time we got there in the afternoon, so most of the big cats were resting in the shade. The shade far away from us. My favorite part was the warning sign at the Lion's cage.
After the zoo we hit up a yummy Indian restaurant. Our kids were crazy. Ben was done. His breaking point was when he was repromanding Lucas for spilling rice everywhere and acting like an animal when Evan pulled a glass of water down all over himself. I thought it was kind of funny. From dinner we went to Central Market, the place with the best shopping bags ever, where the boys bought some fixins for Mother's Day breakfast.

Lucas had been excited for Mother's Day for a week or two, so he was happy when he got to wake me up Sunday morning and help me down the stairs, where I discovered a perfectly clean toy room (thanks to Lukie), kitchen, and living room (thanks to Ben), as well as a yummy breakfast all for me: waffles, strawberries, and fancy muffins. Lucas was so excited. He's so cute. We had a lovely breakfast. While we were eating Lucas said, "Mommeeeeeeey, I think you're ready for another babeeeeeyyyyyy!" I thought that was a really funny thing to say. Ben didn't.

We had a lovely morning. The boys had a huge wrestling/jump on daddy match, while I got ready for church. I didn't manage to get good pics, but you get the general idea. Lucas got up with the Primary kids at church and sang a lovely song. He did great and it made me cry a little bit. It might have made a certain 6 1/2 foot-tall man tear up, too, but you'll have to ask him if you see him.

And lastly, what's sadder than little baby feet covered in fire ant bites? Lots of things, but isn't it disgusting and sad looking? Poor baby. They were all nasty and I wanted to pop them so bad. I thought everyone had such bad reactions to ant bites, but apparently it's just me and Evan... gross. Thanks, Texas.

I liken Lucas to a Black Lab - he needs to run. Last night we decided to go out and enjoy nature's finest ducks... well, the finest ducks that Wells Branch had to offer. Most of them are pretty scary looking.
We managed to get some great shots of Lucas. Sometimes you have to go places you wouldn't normally go if you're going to get the shot. For Lucas, it's potty humor. But at last, we might have something new to add to our wall. Thank you, potty humor!

Naked by Sunset

Once there was a family who liked to go on Saturday adventures. They picked up some dinner and headed to Pflugerville Lake. After they ate, the Dad and the boy had a great time skipping rocks while the baby watched.

The baby decided that he needed to get closer to the action. He crawled with all his might. Despite his mother's concern, she let him crawl through the rubbish all the way to the water.

The mom decided to help him stand up and walk in the water a bit. Then she let him sit by the shore to feel the sand in his baby toes.

The baby thought the water was great. He was thrilled to dig through the goopy mud with his little fingers. He did not, however, seem to like the taste nor texture of the goop when he placed it in his mouth. After some convincing, the big brother came and sat next to the baby by the water.

After a few minutes, the baby was finished and decided to leave.

The big boy (who has a fondness for getting wet at inopportune times) was not finished, and scooted closer and closer to the water.

The baby continued to hightail it out of there while the big brother had the time of his life.

While the big boy played, the baby made it clear that he was heading back up the hill to the bench where he ate his dinner. He wasn't stopping for anything.

Once he made it to the bench (all by himself) the baby decided to see if the rocks there tasted any better than the rocks at the water's edge. They did not.

With a promise of getting to walk out on the pier, the big boy agreed to leave the water. His wet shirt was removed and rung out and his wet pants sagged immensely. The baby's wet clothes were also removed and he rode atop his father's shoulders in comfort.

After finding one more place to climb and a short walk back to the car, the happy family drove home.... with some nearly naked boys.

On the way home they stopped for delicious vanilla ice cream cones. Everyone was happy and thankful that they had headed out on such an adventure. How great it is to be in Austin in the Spring.