Monday, July 18, 2011

Shamu, Beaver Nuggets & Bastrop…

Months ago, Matt was asked to travel to Bastrop, Texas to preach. And, with Aunt Boogie and Uncle Derin living so close, Nana and Pawpaw proposed that we all go to Sea World! … Just for fun, we kept the meeting of Shamu a secret from Quinn. We KNEW he would be SUPER excited!

So, on July 7th, we loaded up our fam and made the trip to Matt’s sister’s in Seguin. (after a quick stop to shop a bit in San Marcos, of course!)  And, on the morning of the 8th, we woke up to drive the short trip to San Antonio.

Quinn couldn't wait…and it was so fun to have ALL of us together…Nana, Pawpaw, Boogie, Derin, Michael, Baby Ava, and ThePoeFam. Sea World 011
Sea World 004Funny enough, before we even entered the park we saw Quinn’s playgroup buddy, Hudson, and his Mommy, Dena! Such a FUN surprise to run into friends!!!
Sea World 007And, after a quick visit with some of the furry friends at the park entrance, we went straight to visit the park’s star…Shamu!!!
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While we waited for the show to begin, we got to make Q “famous” for a sec. He, of course, picked the YELLOW seahorse to be his buddy…Sea World 024And, when the show began, we were all in awe. It’s amazing what they can get those gorgeously huge creatures to do. Gave me chills…Sea World 026Sea World 032

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Sea World 051Then, it was down the way to see Elmo and the Bookaneers. With Michael being Elmo’s biggest fan, it was a fun thing to watch! My boys really enjoyed every second…
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After watching Elmo, it was already time for lunch. These three were ready to grub…Sea World 074

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…and this little priss was ready to smile for her Aunt Bitt Bitt. Love…love…love…
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Because the afternoon heat was almost too much to handle, we made our way to the HUGE splash pad in the middle of the park…Buccaneer Bay! Fun was had by ALL…and, it was a great way to cool off…
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And, to our surprise, we had front row seats to a little Sesame Street show.
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After the show, we ran to meet some of the characters. First up was Bert & Ernie…then, into a “secret room” to meet Big Bird and Elmo. Annoyingly enough, you weren’t allowed to take pics of the two. So, I sneakily coughed and took a few. … Until I got caught….ooops!! Then I embarrassingly apologized and walked out! … Oh well! I didn’t get good ones anyway…and Derin ended up spending the $20 to get the pic that I failed to get! ha!Sea World 139

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After a carousel ride, we made our way to my favorite show…Azul. It was so funny…so colorful…and so entertaining. Funny enough, they had to take a quick break in the  middle because the dolphins weren’t behaving. But, after a “talkin’ to,” they were ready to strut their stuff! Impressive!
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The Chubs was a bit underwhelmed by the spectacle. Bless him…so sleepy!
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Thankfully, Nash continued to nap for a bit while Matt and Q got the fun opportunity to feed the dolphins! I told him that we’d come back one day and RIDE them! He loved that idea! :)

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After visiting a few more spots…the sharks and the penguins…it was time to grab one more big glass of water before heading home. Thank you, Nana and Pawpaw, for such a super fun and memorable day!!!

Needless to say, were were starved and TIRED! So, after a yummy Mexican food dinner, it was off to bed.

And, on the morning of the 9th, we got to go to Uncle Derin’s park…Palmetto State Park. He was able to show off his “digs” and show us what he does as the Assistant Superintendent. It was so beautiful park and was so happy that we got to take the tour.
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And, to everyone’s surprise, I had never been to a Buc-ee’s! I couldn’t understand why it was so shocking until I stepped inside! MY WORD! It was the biggest and busiest “convenient store” I had ever seen! I sort of didn’t know which way to turn. But, we left with some YUMMY beef jerky, BIG suckers, some rock candy and, of course, Beaver Nuggets! ALL SO GOOD! We’ll be back for sure!!!Sea World 236
Sea World 233And, after a fun lunch with everyone in downtown Luling (Home of the Watermelon Thump, if you were wondering), thePoeFam headed to Bastrop to get ready for Matt to speak the next morning at River Valley Christian Fellowship! Sea World 239

Matt did a wonderful job and the boys had fun making new friends in their classes. (I was so proud of all of them for going into class at a new place!) Matt and I enjoyed a kid free lunch with some of the sweet church staff while Nana and Pawpaw had too much fun with the boys! And, after lunch and loading up the car, we were headed home.

Our tour of {south?} Texas was too much fun…San Marcos, Sequin, San Antonio, Palmetto, Luling and Bastrop! My favorite part was getting to really watch “the cousins” interact. Quinn and Michael were absolutely darling and instant buddies…and getting to love on Sweet Ava was a true treat.

Thank you again, Nana and Pawpaw, for making it happen! Hopefully we’ll all get to be together again sooner than later!!!393371166212

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