Nobody loves you like Shamu
Our family just bucked tradition in true cowboy style and celebrated a non-conformist Thanksgiving at Sea World. Soccer son had a weekend tournament in San Antonio, and we headed out of town a few days early to make the most of the holiday.
First Stop: Meeting up with the Halbert Family. We hadn’t seen them in six years, when we all lived in Illinois. Their military tour had taken them from O’Fallon to Utah to Boston and now they’ve landed just north of Austin and are enjoying retirement. Amazing how quickly we were able to catch up. I’m grateful for friendships that stand the test of time and distance.
Second Stop: San Marcos to visit my husband’s alma mater. The campus was deserted because of the holiday, but he was able to share some memories with the children including lunch at one of his favorite haunts that served a strange—but delicious—combination of juicy burgers and sinful cinnamon rolls.
Last Stop: San Antonio for a long weekend. On Thanksgiving morning we awoke to a 40 degree temperature drop, bundled up in layers and headed to see Shamu. It was cold and gloomy but not a bit crowded. We seemed to share the park with many non-Americans who didn’t mind missing out on a holiday tradition they probably don’t celebrate.
After seven hours of rides and shows, feeding marine mammals and downing cups of hot chocolate, we called it a day and feasted on hot pizza delivered to our hotel room. (If we closed our eyes, we could almost taste turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie.)
The final games of the soccer tournament were rained out, so we headed home a little early, thankful for the time we were able to spend with friends and family.
My daughter and I returned home with souvenir chest colds, so I took her to the pediatrician yesterday. After she coached the nurse on how to take her temperature (“If you put it in too far, you’ll make me gag just a little.”), and scolded the doctor for buttoning her hair in her dress (“Next time, if you let me know you’re about to button my dress, I can raise my hair out of the way and then you won’t pull it.”), the diagnosis: A harmless cough but a severe case of bossiness. I’d already made half of that analysis.
First Stop: Meeting up with the Halbert Family. We hadn’t seen them in six years, when we all lived in Illinois. Their military tour had taken them from O’Fallon to Utah to Boston and now they’ve landed just north of Austin and are enjoying retirement. Amazing how quickly we were able to catch up. I’m grateful for friendships that stand the test of time and distance.
Second Stop: San Marcos to visit my husband’s alma mater. The campus was deserted because of the holiday, but he was able to share some memories with the children including lunch at one of his favorite haunts that served a strange—but delicious—combination of juicy burgers and sinful cinnamon rolls.
Last Stop: San Antonio for a long weekend. On Thanksgiving morning we awoke to a 40 degree temperature drop, bundled up in layers and headed to see Shamu. It was cold and gloomy but not a bit crowded. We seemed to share the park with many non-Americans who didn’t mind missing out on a holiday tradition they probably don’t celebrate.
After seven hours of rides and shows, feeding marine mammals and downing cups of hot chocolate, we called it a day and feasted on hot pizza delivered to our hotel room. (If we closed our eyes, we could almost taste turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie.)
The final games of the soccer tournament were rained out, so we headed home a little early, thankful for the time we were able to spend with friends and family.
My daughter and I returned home with souvenir chest colds, so I took her to the pediatrician yesterday. After she coached the nurse on how to take her temperature (“If you put it in too far, you’ll make me gag just a little.”), and scolded the doctor for buttoning her hair in her dress (“Next time, if you let me know you’re about to button my dress, I can raise my hair out of the way and then you won’t pull it.”), the diagnosis: A harmless cough but a severe case of bossiness. I’d already made half of that analysis.
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Glad you're back!
I think Mia and Reese would get along great...I just told Reese a couple days ago to quit being so bossy to her brother! :)