San Antonio!

The family with Shamu (sorta)

A lot happened to our little family this week... After dropping off Uncle Chad Tuesday, Daddy drove to Fort Worth to pick up our new minivan! That's right folks, we are the proud owners of a Honda Odyssey. After much debate, research, feeling the need for something bigger, recent knowledge that our Edge had been wrecked twice (even though we did a Carfax report), and finally Mommy accepting she could/ would drive a minivan - we made our purchase. Mommy wouldn't settle so we got exactly what she wanted - color, interior, and it's NEW (*Never have I owned a new car!)

Our first (mini) vacation since being in the USA was a huge success (well, for the most part). The drive was Great in our new car. Mommy and Daddy were easily in and out of the back for my entertainment and we were able to take more than we needed, including a cooler of goodies :) I took a bit getting used to the hotel, not really sleeping at all the first night. This made for a tired girl at Sea World but we trekked through and by the second night I could barely keep my eyes open.

Sea World was great. It is a little bit over-done if you are not big enough to ride all the water slides (or they are not open). We wish there was a bit more animal interaction (other than the dolphins and aquarium you had to be at a show to see them), but there was no lacking in something to see and between the excitement and heat we had an exhausting day. I passed out for about an hour while there (after Shamu and the dolphins- my favorite parts) and then woke up in time for Mommy and Daddy to take me to a special part of the park they saved for the very end...

A little kids water park!
It wasn't suppose to be open till the weekend so I wasn't prepared,
but who says you need a bathing suit?!?!

That night we tried to entertain ourselves at the Rainforest Cafe. Unfortunately, I was so tired I was afraid to stop moving - not to mention ALL there was to see in that place. No one really ate that great and we were off to get a good night rest.

On the boat.
Did I want to get in??
If only Mommy would've loosened her grip...

Day 2 brought downtown and the River Walk. After finding parking we spotted the local USO. For those not familiar, it is a place for military to call home when away and they have just about everything you can imagine. We had never been in one and decided to check out what was on offer and some good advice for the River tour. It was a great stop picking up an umbrella stroller for the day and some bottled water to keep us hydrated. (We took our "Cadillac" stroller and it was a bit large for the river area). They also offer computers, separate rooms for t.v., video games, a full kitchen complete with food/drinks, a kids play room and much more! Quite the organization and happy it is available for those travelling, often so far from family!

River was lined with beautiful trees and
restaurants with brightly colored umbrellas on the tables outside.

We ended up taking a River Boat Cruise and learning a bit of local history. Then we walked, stopped for lunch along the river, and did a little shopping as they had a local art/craft show for the Memorial Day Weekend. It was a great day and way to wear me out for the drive home.

There is an outside theater on the river.
Seating on one side (above)
Stage on other (below) Also apparently in the film "Miss Congeniality with Sandra Bullock"

The weekend kept us entertained with water. Yep, that is my love! It is safely in the 90's here and gets a bit humid so I much rather hang out in the cool stuff. I also am teething - those darn canine teeth are making there way in (and this took Mommy WAY too long to figure out). They kept accusing me of too many tantrums and "here's the terrible twos" the last couple of days. However, once Mommy saw that first tooth making an appearance, she gave me a little Motrin and life was good :) I'm still acting out my independence, but apparently a bit more manageable.

On the boat with Daddy and my cool hat :)

Daddy goes in for a back procedure tomorrow for some steroid injections to assist in pain management while he deploys. Hopefully it works! I think he will have to do lots more to really get on top of his back problems once he returns home this fall, but we'll have to 'wait and see'. This is also his last week of leave before he gets ready to head out. We sure are not looking forward to all that time without him, but duty calls...

We hope you are all well and look forward to visits if interested. We have the perfect vehicle to accompany all visitors now too :) Mommy and I will be making a trip back to SD in August for a visit so we are definitely excited to see everyone then.

Until then, all our love! xoxo

Videos:
Feeding the dolphins! I got to do this twice!!!!

A cute video of me and a toy I have with animal sounds. Mommy and Daddy added for the sole purpose that it made them laugh.

Little Sea World clip. Bye-Bye Shamu!!