Fall Break

What a great long weekend I had. I have decided that little compares to spending a fun weekend away with my family. In a last minute decision we decided with our friends the Orgills to take off to San Antonio, Texas (7 hours away) and hit Sea World for two days. We left around 6 am when the girls were exhausted so at least some of the time we would have a bit of peace and quiet which worked for all of about an hour before "are we there yet?" hit my ears. But the ride down was actually enjoyable. We sang, we talked, the girls watched a new children's television show (which we all liked so much that I called the creator on sunday night and told him that I wanted our production company to distribute his show!) In fact we ended up reciting certain lines for the rest of the trip.

As we drove into Dallas Gale and the girls dropped on me that they had one "short" stop that they had to make. (Little did I know that this was all planned out) That short stop ended up being about an hour and a half and 5 ladies bought: 2 purses, 4 necklaces, 3 sets of earrings and some miscellaneous other items. And to think I was worried about how much food was going to cost at Sea World!~ What the girls didn't realize is that I found a favorite long lost drink. When I was visiting my brother in Utah a few months back he took me to an Asian lunch place that had tapioca drinks. They were great. Well, as I was waiting for the girls I explored and found a little place that made tapioca drinks! I immediately ordered a mango peach and I was a happy camper. The black round balls at the bottom are tapioca---.

So we arrived in San Antonio with no other major stops (don't ask me how I managed to avoid the outlet mall in Austin, but I did.) After swimming at the hotel pool and lounging in the sun we were starving so we went to search out some dinner. Of course what do the girls see first? LUBY'S. Now I hate buffet, food--can't stand buffet food, in fact I almost caused an in-law family melt down when Gale and I ran the St. George Marathon and I wouldn't (okay-absolutely refused) to eat at a buffet restaurant the night before. But I lost out and to Luby's we went. The Bray family and everyone in San Antonio over the age of 60. We had to take a picture for remembrance.

A couple of tips if you decide to eat at Luby's. #1-Know what you are going to order before you get in line. The mature patrons do not like to wait while you sightsee all the choices. #2-Get their rolls, they are great. #3-If you go on Saturday then you get one free children's entree for every adult meal, but it only includes one side not two. #4-You had better know CPR and the heimlich manuever if you work at Luby's because I guess things can happen---and have happened.

We had a really good meal. But people kept on staring at us, like we didn't belong. Youth haters. We tried not to flaunt our youth, but every once in a while you have to do a cartwheel or a backhand spring and run your fingers through your full head of hear and eat corn on the cob and not worry about your teeth coming out of your mouth. LOL!

So we spent the next two days at Sea World and had an absolutely great time. I love watching my children discover new things and have new experiences. Ava and Elle were just spellbound the whole time. Pure joy was coming at each different show. What brought Chloe and Olivia pure joy was the opportunity to leave the parents and go off with friends "on their own" to ride rides. (Fully equipped with a cell phone (so they could be tracked at all times) and no money (so they would have to return for drinks and food). Chloe and Olivia loved their free time. I think that Olivia especially appreciates it because she is getting it earlier due to Chloe being two years older. We all just enjoyed each other and laughed the whole time. There was no drama either. (or I have already blocked it out of my mind).

We liked it so much we got season passes. So I am sure we will be going back at least twice in the next year and a half to make it worth while. We will go back for sure in the summer time to enjoy their water park.
So a few things to remember from Sea World:

#1 - Fish, sea lions and other marine life smell. Especially when you touch them. (Except dolphins)

#2 - Frozen lemonade is manna and is actually what Moses and the children of Israel were fed while in the wilderness, especially during hot days.

#3 - Go when school is in session so you never have to wait in line. It made the trip so nice. Rachel Orgill put it best when after getting off a ride on Saturday when it was much busier said, "The rides aren't as much fun when you have to wait in line so long!"

#4 - Make sure you have enough hand sanitizer. Scary people make for scary germs to infiltrate your body. So let me submit the perfect picture of just one of our many sanitizing parties.

#5 - If you are in the first few rows of any show (shamu, dolphins, sea lions, etc) you are going to get wet. And no, to the three or four people sitting in front of us in each show the animals can't tell when your camera is out and when it isn't. Yes, grown men do get upset and cry when their camera's are ruined. Or at least feign a particle of dust in the eye.

The girls had a great time sitting front and center with their friends. Gale and I hung back to keep all the stuffed animals and camera gear dry.

#6 - Don't ride to many spinning rides. It can make you sick. Just ask Karen after a few rides--oh wait just one ride. (picture coming soon!)

So one of the highlights of my trip happened with Olivia. She wasn't tall enough to ride the great white so her and I hung back to wait for the others. We decided to play one of those games that no one ever wins and to my suprise I won a gigantic 6 foot bear. Olivia could have passed out she was so excited. I was so happy to win it for her because she was a bit down about not being able to ride the great white with everyone else. I told Gale on the way home. "No man will ever compare now!" She can't stop thanking me for winning her the bear! It was such a great moment for her--and for me.

The weekend went by to fast and it was time to get home. We decided to leave Saturday evening so we could go to church on Sunday and also the girls would knock out in the back and make the drive home a bit easier. On the way out we decided to eat dinner with Richard's cousin at the coolest steak house in Texas. It is complete with menu on the walls, great steak and some sights I will never forget. It was a fantastic dinner. The only drawback was the gentlemen at the table right in front of me. But the steak and beef rib was so good I didn't care. Pictures speak so much louder than words. You don't even want to know how we got this picture.

It was a great spot to eat dinner and it was nice to eat dinner with Richard's Uncle. We headed back to Oklahoma as soon as dinner was over and within minutes everyone was out. So I put on the Ipod and listened to general conference again. I almost made it through the whole conference again. We made it home around 2:30 a.m. It was so fun. I know we made some great memories and really enjoyed spending time with the Orgills. We will do it again!