"Cows!" and "Ways!"

Warning! Longest Post EVER!

RT and I decided it was time for our little family of 3 to take its first official vacation together! Sea World was where we decided to go! We wanted to take Cole somewhere that we knew he would love and because he loves animals, the outdoors and water we knew it would be a hit! He LOVED it and I am so glad we went! Here is how our long weekend went down:

Thursday: We loaded up the car and hit the road at 2:30. It was perfect timing for nap time so Cole slept for the first 2 hours. We stopped only twice, once to eat dinner, and arrived at our super nice hotel on the Riverwalk by 8:30. Cole thought the hotel was super cool and loved riding the elevator you could see out of all weekend long! He even thought going to the ice machine with daddy was cool! We were all 3 asleep by the time our heads hit the pillows which was great because we had a long day ahead of us.

Friday: Rise and shine early. Showers and out the door by 8:30 to eat breakfast at one of our favorite places ever, Taco Taco! If you are ever in San Antonio you MUST eat breakfast here! It is a hole in the wall but has the most AMAZING breakfast tacos you will ever put in your mouth!

After we stuffed ourselves it was off to see the "Cows!" and "Ways!" (whales). All week we had been talking to Cole about our vacation and telling him what we were going to do and see. When we asked him what animals we were going to see he would say, "Cows!" (his favorite animal right now) and "Ways!". I tried to explain to him that Sea World has fish and birds but no cows. Well, he called me a liar because the first animal we saw when we got there was a giant bull and a horse! I just started laughing when I saw it. Who knew!

So, after we took pictures of the cow and horse it was off to feed the dolphins. I wasn't sure how Cole was going to react but he had no fear! He fed those dolphins like he had fed them a million times! I was so proud and he was so amazed! He even got splashed by one (which he didn't particularly care for) but still wanted to watch them swim and eat!

Next we saw some really cool fish and lots and lots of sharks. They totally creep me out but Cole liked them.

Then we went through the little area with the rides to see if Cole was tall enough for them, which he wasn't, so we headed over to see the Sea Lion show. It was such a cute show and Cole thought the Seal Lions were really funny!

After the Sea Lions it was off to the Shamu stadium to see the Killer Whale show! Cole sat through the show in amazement and loved the "Ways!" They really are neat and so huge!
After the show we ate lunch and then let Cole pick out a couple of souvenirs (a stuffed Shamu and box of little marine animal figurines) before he crashed for a 2 hour nap in his stroller. RT and I just enjoyed to beautiful weather while Cole slept. We could not have picked a more perfect day/weekend to do this. We saw the penguins (which are really, really stinky), ate a churro (yummmm) and just strolled around until we woke Cole up so he could feed the Sea Lions.

I think they were our favorite part. They are so funny and cute and so dog-like. They kind of bark like a dog and have sweet little puppy faces. Again Cole had no fear while feeding them tons of fish!

We saw birds and Cole tried fudge for the first time and loved it!

We were at Sea World for a total of 7 hours and we loved every minute of it. It was crowded or too hot. It was a perfect day!

We left Sea World and went back to the hotel to shower and go eat dinner. We ate at Chris Madrids (again, if you are ever in San Antonio you must eat here) and ate their famous Tostada Burger and Nachos. Cole loved his burger and sitting outside on the patio while he ate it. We ended the night with ice cream at the hotel before crashing hard!

Saturday: We all 3 slept in and ate breakfast in our room (I packed a cooler full of milk, juice, bottled water, and of course diet coke and brought stuff for breakfast and snacks so we wouldn't spend a fortune on food while we were there) before heading to the Trinity University soccer field to watch daddy play in the alumni game. Cole thought it was awesome he got to run around and kick the soccer ball with the guys before the game started and then sat with me in the stands and watched the game and played with his cars and new figurines for the entire game. RT played well and didn't get injured (thank you Lord) and really had a good time.

The game was followed by lunch with friends (Cole has a serious man-crush on Dylan) and then a much needed nap for all of us.

Then the 3 of us headed downstairs to the Riverwalk on another perfect evening. We ate up on a balcony over the River and just enjoyed each others company so much.

Cole loved looking at the ducks and the boats. It was a little crowded and Cole didn't totally grasp the concept of not getting close to the edge because there is nothing to keep you from falling in, but all in all we had a wonderful evening. Back at our hotel RT and I sat by a fountain and watched Cole go up and down some stairs and across a little bridge about a hundred times before heading back to the room. I got everyone all packed up and ready to leave the next morning and then Cole and I crashed while daddy went to have a few beers with Dylan.

Sunday: We all slept in again, showered and headed to brunch where Cole saw the most amazing dinosaur across the street from the restaurant and stood there and looked at it for the longest time.

Then we walked around campus and took pictures of RT's old stomping ground before refueling and hitting the road. We timed it again so Cole would nap in the car and was such a trooper the whole ride home!

{The house RT lived in with 7 other guys!}

It was such an amazing weekend....one that I will never forget! I can't wait for our next family vacation!