End of Summer Vacation, Day 3

How worn out am I?  Whatever you are thinking, quadruple it and then multiply that times seventeen.  You're half way close to how worn out I am.  

We woke up around 9:00 and I started packing while the fam went to breakfast. It took a while to get everything packed up.  How does so much stuff accumulate in just a couple of days?   

After a few wrong turns (always listen to the wife) we went back to Sea World.  David was able to upgrade our tickets to season passes for only $13, so now we can go back as often as we can afford.  Yay!  

We caught Shamu's show and another showing of Pets Ahoy.  My butt was draggggggging.  

They left me and went to ride the Rio Loco raft ride.  I just couldn't keep up.  The ride broke down just as they were about to get on but they only had a delay of a few minutes.  

David rode the Great White roller coaster alone while the girls checked out the conservation station.  As we were looking at the Florida Kingsnake exhibit, a trainer came up behind us with another snake to add to the exhibit.  Thankfully, I didn't scream.  He let Darcy touch the snake.  I declined.  A lot.  

From there Darcy decided she wanted to do some shopping, so we worked our way counter-clockwise around the park.  She ended up buying stuffed animals (big surprise) of Shamu and a mama and baby sea turtle.  

It was quitting time for us, so we loaded up and headed back to I-10.  We stopped at Mimi's Café for a wonderful dinner.  

From here we are headed home.  I'm pretty sure that three girls will sleep while the bald man drives.  

Hey!  No bug bites today!  Whoop!  

Our End of Summer Vacation, Day 2

I love staying in hotels.  I love the cold, dark rooms.  I love that you can sleep late and no one cares.  Well, unless you have to get up and see the sights, and then people care.  

We got up at 9:00 and I sent the family down for breakfast with instructions to bring me back a bagel and cream cheese.  I wasn't specific about a drink and that scared me a little after last night's episode (I reminded them it was last call for the soda machine and popcorn; they went down and returned with sodas for everyone except me).  They did well, though, bringing me me what I requested plus a muffin and orange juice.  Go family!

We looked at the map and decided to start at Hemisfair Park.  The plan was to see the Institute of Texas Culture and then the Tower of the Americas.  

We found this little bear statue that was donated by Berlin in 1968.  David enjoyed looking at all the old buildings on our way through the park.  It's a really pretty park with lots of water features and historic buildings; Darcy saw an awesome playground.  Emma played photographer and caught some pics of Darcy.  

Truth be told, we "saw" the institute, but didn't get to tour it.  There was construction all around it and I didn't want to try to walk through it all only to find out we couldn't get through and have to walk back. That will have to wait for another trip.  

Side note:  Darcy kept asking to do things and I kept telling her no.  I was told that I suck all the joy out of life.  This would come back to haunt her at lunch.  

We bought our tickets for the Tower and whooshed our way to the top.  Emma and I enjoyed finding landmarks and identifying them.  David and I used the opportunity to get our bearings for the day. 

They had a claw machine that both girls just had to play, and they also found a defective Zoltar fortune teller.  He was out of fortunes and just took their money.  I swear, though, if I wake up in the morning and I have two thirty-year-old girls in the next bed, I'm suing Tom Hanks.  

Something new to David and me was the Skies over Texas 4D movie ride.  It's a cute little 15 minute movie that gives an aerial tour of the state; however, the seats move and there are interactive effects (let me just warn you about covering your mouth when the bull sneezes).  The girls found cute trinkets that they were able to buy courtesy of Granny and Papa, and of course you can't go to a souvenir shop and not try on hats!  

From there we hoofed it over to the Alamo.  It was so dang humid that when Darcy suggested snow cones, we agreed.  David was excited about the Alamo because of the historical aspect; Darcy was excited because of the feline aspect.  

As part of our unit on historical fiction, Darcy and I read Alamo Cat by Rita Kerr. Although it is fiction, it is based on fact.  It is the story of Ruby LeGato, a kitten found by a night patrolman at the Alamo. She was given special permission by the DRT to live on the grounds, and had the only known babies to ever be born there.  She lived at the Alamo from 1981-1986, and she is buried there near the security building.  As soon as Darcy found out that Ruby was a real cat and is really buried at the Alamo, her mission became one of finding the grave and leaving a flower for Ruby.  Fortunately, we were able to do that even though it is in an area for personnel only.  We found an employee on his lunch break near Ruby and after explaining our request, he let Darcy in (notice the tiny purple flower on the grave).  

When we were researching the real Ruby, we found out that there is a new Alamo cat whose name is CiCi.  We asked about her at the gift shop and the employee went and found her for us.  She isn't always up for visitors (she's 17, I believe) but today she was feeling good and we got to meet her.  We bought a book about her as our souvenir.  

Now we could finally tour the shrine.  I enjoyed it because I was able to point out facts to Darcy from our reading.  Our current book is Girl of the Alamo by Rita Kerr, and it is the story of Susannah Dickinson's experience at the battle.  I was able to point out names from the story and Darcy knew whom I was talking about and his part in the battle.  

Darcy was starting to get a little cranky and we decided we needed a break.  Emma had been to San Antonio a couple of summers ago with her dad and they ate at Dick's Last Resort.  She told Darcy about how rude the waiters are and so the girls decided that we had to eat there for lunch.  After another long walk, we found the restaurant and had a blast!  

Each kiddo got a balloon animal and our server was appropriately rude.  Since it was after 2:00 it wasn't crowded at all and we had a lot of one-on-one time with our server.  The girls got bibs, Darcy's drink had about a dozen straws in it, the server wouldn't let her order chicken tenders (she settled on ribs), and he gave Darcy a balloon.  Darcy made him a card that he took to the next table and loudly announced that he was going to read his letter.  This is what he read:

Front:  This letter is from your friend. Read the back.  

Back:  You stink!  :(

Well, you can imagine his feigned shock and horror!  He immediately stood up and made her a hat.  

Since Darcy got a hat, he decided Emma needed a little something, too.  He took her to the back and they stayed gone for about five minutes.  When they came back, this is what we saw: 

He said that now we knew what a real air head looked like.  Emma wore her balloon hair the entire rest of the day. The server did sneak up on her and pop one balloon when she wasn't looking, and on the way out of the restaurant another server popped another one.  Everywhere we went after that, people would comment on Emma's hair and I don't know how many asked to take a photo.  I keep telling her that we will probably see her on Pinterest soon (she even went swimming with the three remaining balloons in her hair, although the number went down to two in the pool).  

Lunch revived us all and so we grabbed a red bus to the mercado.  Everyone enjoyed shopping in the little stores.  I found a scarf, Darcy got some teeny tiny guitars for her Littlest Pet Shop world, and Emma found a really cute dress.  

It was now 5:00 and we were all worn down.  We took the red bus back to the hotel and made a brief stop at Walgreens for some Benadryl spray. My stupid bee-stung arm is a mess.  Oh!  I also got bit by a fire ant on my ankle when we were waiting at a bus stop.  I'm a doofus.  

We hit the manager's reception for drinks and snacks, then came up to the room to relax.  My cousin Beau is in town with a friend, so David got to visit with him in the lobby while the girls swam in the rooftop pool (not as cool at night, I'm told).  Unfortunately, I'm out for the day. My body can only take so much before it tells me very, very loudly that I have gone too far.  I plan on taking a hot shower and staying in bed for the rest of the night.  I may have to pretend to be a kid at Sea World tomorrow so that I can ride in a stroller if I can't walk.  I'm only half kidding!  

David has taken the girls to see the river walk at night and they want to go back to the tower if they can go by river taxi.  I hope they have fun and take photos for me to see.  

You can read a little about Ruby and CiCi here:  http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/featuring/mus11.html

Our End of Summer Vacation, Day 1

After going to bed at 1:30, the 5:30 alarm came way too early. So early, in fact, that David hit the snooze until 6:00.  Nothing like a late start to fuel the adrenaline.  

I managed to get a shower, strip all the beds, get the laundry half done, and unload the dishes before we hit the road half an hour late at 7:00.  The one thing that ticked me off was that I didn't have time to do my makeup.  It put me in a really bad mood, but by the time we were on the road I was better.  

Our first stop was at Walmart in Brady.  Yup, we know how to vacation!  David needed headphones and Emma needed a visor and sunglasses.   I'm so glad she is with us for this trip.  We have missed her so stinking much!  

Darcy found a headband she just had to have.  Me, I bought clothespins to keep all the bags of snack food closed (plus the curtains in hotel rooms always seem to have a gap and it's great to be able to pin them closed).  

Well, the late start combined with the unexpected trip to Walmart and a missed exit made us get to Sea World later than expected.  We had wanted to feed the dolphins at 11:30 but missed that and bought tickets for the 1:30 feeding.  

Two things we didn't realize:

1.  Sea World closes at 6:00 and there are limited shows, and

2.  Our tickets are for two days!!!  

The NEW plan is to come back on Thursday and spend a second day here before heading home.  We can catch anything we missed and do fun things again.  

Darcy has already decided she wants to come back for one of their Halloween events.  Guess I will be having more 31 parties!  

First stop, after buying tickets to feed the dolphins, was the new Pets Ahoy show.  It was fun seeing trained pigs, ducks, and cats.  I mean, I know you can train dogs and rats, but cats?!?!

Next up was the shark tank followed by the dolphin touch.  

The girls LOVED the dolphin touch.  Darcy said the dolphin felt like a boiled egg.  The trainer said she had never heard that one before.  I'll have much better photos to post when we get home.  We were able to buy the photos that Sea World took but they are on a disc.  

We boogied over to the sea lion show, which has always been my favorite.  I will always call it Uncle Shmedly's Spooky Kooky Castle, regardless of what its current name is.  I miss Shmedly.  He was cooler than Max.  

Everyone really wanted to ride the Steel Eel.  Everyone except Darcy.  I was really bummed because it was a super short wait, but she refused.  I even tried to tell her that I drive faster than the coaster goes, but she wasn't having it.  David and Emma rode it while I played babysitter to the chicken.  

Next up was the penguin and puffer exhibit.  It wasn't as stinky as usual, which was good.  I must say we picked an excellent day to come.  The weather wasn't too hot and the wait times for rides were only five minutes.  

Of course, Sea World has to have the arcade and of course they have to have pillow pets the size of a SUV, so of course we had to play one round of ring toss.  No one won the giant pillow pet (they were out of the turtles anyway) but Darcy did get this little elephant.  

Immediately after I took this picture, a cute little bee decided to land on me and stung the fire out of my underarm.  David and Emma had just gotten off the log ride (another refusal of Darcy) so everyone got to hear me say a naughty word and Darcy tattled on me to my parents just as soon as she could (nothing too horrible, but still).  

 

I meandered over to first aid (I'm not allergic but I wanted a Benadryl just to be on the safe side, plus that thing hurt like a bad mammajamma) while David and the kids got snacks and found a seat for Azul, the beluga whale show.  I got back just as the show started - perfect timing.  

Our last show of the day was the main event, Shamu!  Even though we sat in the splash zone, we were lucky enough not to get splashed. 

The park closed at 6:00 and leaving was really easy.  We truly picked the perfect day to come!  After figuring out which hotel we were staying at and battling over using the GPS versus the iPhone, we made our way to our hotel on the river walk.  I highly recommend Drury Plaza.  It will be the only hotel we stay at on the river walk from now on.  Seriously, if you are headed to San Antonio, stay here and you won't regret it. 

It is now 8:30 and David is about to take the girls swimming at the rooftop pool on the 22nd floor.  I am staying in the room and recharging my batteries for tomorrow.  Little sleep, walking all over Sea World twice, a bee sting, and a sunburn have taken their toll on this old lady.  I'm not moving until morning!  

I hate *math* hates me!

Lately, this has been what our day looks like:  get up, battle over lessons all day, pray we don't have a repeat the next day. 

Math is oh-so-slowly killing our day.  For example, today she got her ONE math paper out and then proceeded to spend 12 minutes getting a pencil, loving on the dogs, checking her calendar, and complaining that she never has time to play with her friends.  When I pointed out that she is the one who is wasting her time, she had a meltdown.  As I type this, she has completed approximately 1/4 of her worksheet and it has been half an hour since she had her meltdown; 30 minutes to complete ten addition problems. 

It isn't that she can't do the math, it is that she doesn't like doing the work.  We have tried apps on the iPad, math tutoring online, math games online, and back-to-basics worksheets.  In her mind, math is boring and
she hates it.  When it comes toLife of Fred math, she loves it and can't get enough, but the rote stuff is boring - thus begins our daily battle.  The truly sad part is that we are still on addition and subtraction; I cannot imagine what will happen when we move on to multiplication and division. 

Our other subjects aren't big battles; she enjoys (or at least tolerates) things such as reading, science, grammar, history, etc.  She has apparently inherited her dad's distaste for math.  Greeeat!  Perhaps I should get him to teach her the math and they can be miserable together. 

Fatshion (apparently that's a word!)

I'm ready for cooler weather.  Even though it makes me feel much worse physically, I'm ready for sweaters and hoodies and scarves.  I've been on Pinterest and there are so many cute looks for fall.  This makes me realize that my closet needs a major overhaul.  It's all jeans and t-shirts.   I literally own two pairs of jeans and three pairs of denim shorts.  No other pants or skirts or anything.  That's it.  Trust me, it's not a cute look.  I honestly used to have an entire closet of cute clothes, and now I have half a closet of crap (the other half is filled with my 31 totes and purses that you'll take over my dead body).

Look!  A real person!!!  I'm in love with Melissa's
blog at http://www.sugercoatit.com/

Problem 1:  I am short and I am fat.  I'm not complaining about either fact (can't do anything about the first one and I love potatoes too much to care about the second one), but I have trouble finding things that aren't miles too long.  If I do find something I like, I have to have it hemmed and many times that alters the look.  Also, there are very few places to shop locally and it's approximately 200 miles to the nearest city.   I am hoping when we go to San Antonio in a couple of weeks that I can find a few stapes to start my new wardrobe.  Of all the looks I've been pinning, it's a lot of black leggings or jeans with over-sized tops, cute boots, and great accessories.  Of course, I'll have to wait for cool weather to wear it, but for now I can find a pair of jeans that fit well and a couple of shirts that will transition into fall.

Problem B:  the age old problem of financing a new wardrobe.   Buying a new wardrobe takes money and we have to watch our pennies.  It will be a slow transition, but seeing as how I don't really leave the house that often, it isn't as if I need a lot. 

I did find a fantastic blog by a real person wearing real clothes (i.e. someone who eats real food) so I have some great inspiration for looks.  From her photos, it appears as if we are about the same size/body shape, however she is 10" taller than I am (again with the short problem).  Anyway, her name is Melissa Walker Horn and she has a blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.  Hello to my new best friend!  I've even talked to her through FB messaging.  Gotta love real people! 

She posted this on her blog recently, and I LOVE her attitude about fatshion:

"I received an email today. It mention a comment on one of my instagram photos. The commenter said, I’d love to wear [floral] pants like that. And I responded with, it’s pretty easy, you just buy them and pull them on. A little bit cheeky, of course, you wouldn’t expect anything less. But true too. If you desperately want to wear floral pants, you should wear them.  Want to wear patterned pants?  Want to wear horizontal stripes?  Hot pink or lime green?   A mini, maxi or midi skirt?   Short shorts? All you need to do is buy them and put them on {buying them is important, we certainly don’t encourage shoplifting around here.}. All you really need to do is decide to wear something then wear it. I don’t know about you but I spent way too many years being dictated to by magazines, fashion rules and even the opinions of others. Now more than ever if I like it I wear it. No argument and without any concern for what other people think."

I need to quit caring about how boobtastic I am or how my thighs are thunderous or how I'm so beyond a muffin top that I don't even think there's a term for it and just wear what I like.  If I love the outfit, then I will feel good, and if I feel good, I will look good.  If I look good, I will feel good.  See the circle there?  Pretty good advice.