Theme Park Weekend

What do you get when you combine hotel rewards with free tickets to SeaWorld thanks to your husband's service to our country?  A really fun mini vacation in Orlando, that's what!!

We hit the road bright and early Saturday morning to get to SeaWorld right when they opened.  Being one of the first ones there is definitely the way to go.  

We loved the penguin exhibit... 

....and the walrus was a big hit too...

Beluga whales are a lot of  fun to watch play too.  They sure loved batting that buoy around...

We got a big kick out of watch them put the flamingos away...

...they are almost like cattle.  Crazy!

Of course the aquariums and shark tunnel are a big hit with the boys...

The boys took notes and can now officially bark like seals now too...

...you better believe I'm one proud mama :-).  Speaking of mamas, this turtle's name is Big Momma...

...she is so sweet and injured but doing great thanks to their rescue and care taking of her.  

After a fun-filled day at sea world, we were more than ready for some good food followed by some snuggle time at the hotel.  Aunt Miriam even joined us for dinner at Bahama Breeze and a round of jumping on the hotel beds, don't tell the management :-).  

Sunday took us to the Space Center for our second time this year.  It was just as much fun as the first time.  

We checked out some stuff we didn't get to last time, like taking a turn sitting on the moon vehicle...

...and learning about the wildlife that's all around there on their protected lands.  We're big fans of the hogs :-)...

We also checked out the other IMAX movie...

....and tried more of the simulators...

There is so much to do there.  

I love that the boys are so interested in all of it and it's close enough that we get to experience it rather easily.  Who knows, maybe they'll be future space explorers...

There's a rocket launch coming up February 8 we're hoping to check out from our yard.  Living this close to the space center is a fabulous thing!

After our fun day at NASA, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset on the way home...

...we made it home in time to grab some delicious pizza and cozy up on the couch for a movie before calling it a weekend, and a great one at that.  

Another Weekend Already...Woohoo!

We kicked off our weekend a bit early once again last weekend by getting things started on Friday. And suddenly it's already Thursday again and I'm just sitting down to computer...signs of all the fun we've been having...

Like movies and lollipops...

...beautiful long runs in the mornings...

...open gym at YMCA Sportsworld thanks to the Family Place...

...Mason's getting his forward roll now too...

...adventures at Target (can you tell we can't wait for Christmas??) ...

...fireplace s'mores with the A?C on...

...a little home fitness with Mommy...

...building fun at Lowes...

...a birthday party where we devoured our cupcakes like puppies... 

...and wore ourselves out on the bounce house...

We also tested out some experiments with the new science kits we built...

...watched church from the comfort of our own home in our pajamas (gotta love TC3)...

....added a few things to our Christmas wish lists, such as disco balls and remote control cars...

...took a rest from shopping in some adorableb each chairs... 

...and discovered a newfound love of helping Mommy clean... 

....gonna milk this for all it's worth while I can...

...they even dust base boards for lollipops or stickers on their charts :-).  Sorry folks, they're not for hire!

We also made a visit to our favorite ducks and turtles...

...check out how gorgeous the sunset was that night...

...I'm finally not complaining about the weather any more :-).

We also made sure to celebrate Veteran's Day with a visit to the parade... 

...our favorite was the old fashioned fire truck and the lollipops we caught, of course... 

We love our Veterans, especially the one we call Dad :-).

I had some time to get a little crafty with the boys...

...and we discovered the joy that is Candy Land as well... 

...I'm thinking we're ready for some other fun ones like Cootie and Don't Break the Ice too.  

With two extremely busy boys, our days are filled with things that make me want to pull my hair out (I try to focus on the positive here) and thing that make me giggle.  This was one of my favorite giggle moments this week...

...another perk of being a twin is having enough matching shoes for your hands AND your feet.  

I've also discovered a newfound love of napping with my boys...

...in my quest to hang onto naptime as long as possible, the only way I can get them to lay down long enough to fall asleep in the afternoons is to lay down with them.  Needless to say, most days I'm pretty sure I fall asleep before them.  They always fall asleep too :-)  I forgot how much I love a good power nap.  

Time to take advantage of the rest of my sacred quiet time while it lasts.  Happy Weekend...remember, we start early around here :-).