Seaworld

Two weeks ago we took a weekend trip to Seaworld in San Antonio. It was a fantastic trip. They were having some really good deals, so we got season tickets which allowed us to spend two days at the park this trip, and then we'll go back again in the spring (our season passes will extend through next year as well).

On Thursday we checked Ty out of school, packed our bags and headed out of town. One bag in particular (or should I say Rubbermaid box) took a little more time and extra planning. This is all of the diabetes stuff I had to pack for a weekend trip. This is why we've had to hold off on air travel for a while until I can figure out how to pack all of this plus more into a carry-on. Checking this bag would be way too risky.

We got to the hotel Thursday night and got settled in. (I seriously could do this every night- listen to my two boys giggle, wrestle, and cuddle in the bed next to me. They were soooo cute!)

Then on Friday morning we did a little sightseeing before heading to the park. Seaworld doesn't open until noon in the fall, so we took the opportunity to check out the Alamo and then got the boys down for a quick nap so that they would be ready for a busy day.

I was bummed that we didn't have time to head over to the River walk, but I was glad we got a feel for downtown San Antonio- very cool city.

Once we arrived at Sea world, we enjoyed a few shows and a few rides. Since it was off-season and a Friday, the park was empty! It was so nice not to have to fight the crowds or wait in line for anything. Most of the kid play area and rides are under construction (which is why they are having some really good deals), but it was kind of nice because it took the pressure off of us to try to see and do it all. We hit all of the major shows, rode a few of the rides and then we'll come back in the spring and do all of the stuff we missed.

Tyler's favorite part was the Shamu show. He wanted to see it both Friday and Saturday and both days we sat in the very last row of the "splash zone," which was fun because we got to laugh at all the people in the rows below us who had no idea how soaked they were going to get. Ty thought it was hilarious.

My favorite part was feeding the dolphins. Watching the boys' faces light up when the dolphins would pop out of the water was priceless! Robby was so cute and would yell "come back!" any time the dolphins would swim away. Tyler thought it was cool, but sometimes got scared when the dolphins would unexpectedly come up out of the water just as he was leaning on the cement wall with his face right above the water. He'd see those mouths full of teeth coming right at him and think they were going to eat him!
Robby seemed to love the Shamu show and the dolphins, but his face was particularly cute as we got to watch the dolphins warming up for one of the shows. Since it wasn't crowded, we got to stand right next to the glass and watch as they would flip out of the water and dive back down.

This video I had to add for Steph and her kids. They lived in San Antonio a few years ago and had season tickets. Because they lived only a few miles from the park, they went all the time. I can still picture Brock dancing to this music and Peter purposely getting drenched in the splash zone. So funny. I still think it's amazing what they train these beautiful animals to do. The shows were fantastic!

And well, since any vacation for us wouldn't be complete without a little of this, I had to add a picture. I must say, I felt like things went WAY more smoothly than I anticipated. I didn't know what to expect as far as Robby's BG...would he go high from all of the excitement and heavy carb foods (not to mention a breakfast buffet at the hotel complete with waffles, bagels, muffins and fruit) or would spend the day low from all of the playing and running around? We were pretty much prepared for the worst- an unexpected pod change with a run-away high, a dysfunctional CGM with no data, a crashing low blood sugar- and you know what, it never happened. Whew!

No More Training Wheels

In case you can't tell, riding bikes is kind of a big deal around this house. It's something John and I have a passion for. Cycling is something we hope our entire family will enjoy together. We have big dreams of someday riding the Oregon coast or riding across country when our kids are older. So you know how some dads are big into football and are so excited to buy their kid their first football and take them to their first football game. It's kind of that way with John and bikes. Ever since Ty was little, we've always bought him a decent bike-at least one that is the correct size for his age. Last year when Tyler turned five, we bought him a nice bike, one that could grow with him for the next three years or so. John was very excited to teach Ty to ride without training wheels, but as everyone always told us, kids tend to learn to do so at their own pace- when they feel ready for the challenge.

John was always so good and never got frustrated with Tyler's fears and inhibitions when it came to riding without the training wheels. He's been very patient and has given it a try and backed off more than a few times. Well, now that the weather is cooler and our evenings are so pleasant, we decided it was time to try again. This go around Tyler seemed more determined and excited when we talked about it. Sure enough, with only a few attempts and a few nervous falls, it finally clicked. Tyler was THRILLED...and so was his proud daddy.

I'll never forget watching him ride down the street yelling excitedly, "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" It was fun to see him so pleased with himself.

And now he asks to ride his bike after school every day. He loves the freedom and I love watching that expression of pure childhood joy on his face. It's super sweet. The other night I was heading out for a run, but at the last minute, we decided to make it a family event. Dad and Ty road their bikes and I pushed Robby in the stroller. It was great to have Ty be able to ride for several miles and keep up (his training wheels frequently slowed him down), and I loved watching John teach Tyler about bike safety and how to ride safely on the streets with cars.

Since the start of school, we have seen Tyler grow so much. He is experiencing so many new things and has found lots of success along the way. He's learning to read, doing well in soccer, and now this. It has been neat to watch him try new things and feel successful at them. As much as I hate that he's growing up so fast, I'm still a proud mama, and I'm so happy that he feels so positively about the things he has accomplished.

(I don't know who looks happier in this video, Tyler or John)

Waco Wild West

One of John's favorite rides is the Waco Wild West. He's done it four years in a row. He loves it because the weather is cooler, it's a good ride, and it's sponsored by Mars candy company so they hand out free candy, but most of all he loves it because they always have great t-shirts.

when Jen and I were deciding what ride to do for our big event this season, we decided the Waco Wild West would be the perfect ride for us- a girl's weekend getaway with a bike ride- perfect! When I approached John with the idea, he agreed on one condition: that I get the t-shirt in his size instead of mine so that he could have it. Done.

Jen has a good friend who lives in Waco who agreed to let us sleep at her house the night before so that we wouldn't have to drive down the day of the event- so sweet! So Friday evening we loaded up the bikes and headed off. But first we had to take a few pics, and we decided it would only be fitting that we pose the same way our husbands had a several weeks prior when they went to the Hotter'n Hell. Neither of them wanted us taking their picture that day so in most of the shots they're either pulling faces or looking grumpy. As we drove away we wondered if the boys would get together and have a sleep-over just like we did...probably NOT.

Our photo:

theirs:

It was a fun get-away. During the hour and a half drive down we talked and laughed and laughed, and laughed. We stopped and had a quiet dinner with no children and no carb counting for me. Heaven. Then we did a little shopping at the outlet mall.

After we arrived at Jen's friend's house we chatted for a bit and then headed off to bed. A sleep-over with two grown women= more laughing.

Saturday morning. Race day. Bright and early we headed off. We got to the park, walked over and registered for the race and then set to work getting our gear together. As Jen was inflating her tires, the unthinkable happened- her tire blew. Now let me preface this with a little information. Having ridden for several years, John has shown me on countless occasions how to change a flat tire. During our "married without kids" days, it was a regular topic for family home evening. He figured I did enough riding alone to know how to change my own flat. Well....I've never actually had to do it. Every time Jen and I left for a ride, our husbands would ask us if we had tools, a pump, and extra tubes. We would always reply, "Ummmm...I'll just take the cell phone instead." We just always figured that by the time either of us got it figured out, we could have had our roadside assistance (that's our husbands) out and back and the tire fixed.

So before we left for our race, we joked that the one time we were riding far away from home would be the one time we got a flat.

Sure enough, there we were. The race hadn't even started yet and our worst fear was coming to fruition. HOWEVER, on the bright side, this flat happened at the best possible time. Most races are sponsored by a local bike shop and they usually have a support tent set up to help take care of basic maintenance and minor problems before a race. I could tell that Jen was on the verge of panic, so I assured her we wouldn't have to fix the tire ourselves and we hot-footed it over to the Specialized tent and got the tire fixed, only to have that one pop as the dude was seating the new tube! Glad it wasn't us trying to fix the tire and that is exactly why I hate changing my own tire...what happens when you pop your spare tube and you're not at the Specialized tent with skilled professionals??? Second tube went in, bike was working, and we lined up just in time for the National Anthem and the start of the race. Whew!

(here we are posing for a quick picture with the dead tire)

The event was great. We started out with a good pace and enjoyed the chance to ride and talk some more and do some quality people watching, of course. When we got to mile 25 it was decision time. This was where the various routes split. Up until this point we hadn't decided which mileage we were going to ride- it was either 50 miles or the metric century (62.5 miles). We had heard from other riders that this ride was advertised as metric century, but was actually closer to 65...So it came down to 50miles or 65. I think we both knew going in that we wanted to accomplish more than the 50 miler, but we both recognized that it would mean an extra hour on the bike, and after 50 miles that can be....well, painful. Plus, this was Jen's first big ride and I didn't want her to hate me for it. We actually didn't even really discuss it. When we got to the split off all we had to do was say, "You good? I'm good. Okay. Let's go for it" And so we did.

And I'm glad we did. It felt good to do something hard. We hit the 50 mile rest area still feeling pretty good. The rest stop is located at the Mars plant. Candy...lots of candy. Just what we needed to get us through what we thought we be the last 15 miles.

We jumped back on our bikes, glad that we would soon be heading back into town for the finish. By the time my computer said 62 miles, we both began to wonder why we weren't closer to town. Our legs were sore and our bums were even worse off. The wind was beginning to seriously start to pick up. It was time to be done! We were concerned as to why we weren't closer to the finish. By the time we got to mile 65 we were riding through the city with other tired and confused riders...where was the finish line...were we lost...and why were we still riding?!? Finally we saw the cop cars blocking every intersection through the middle of town leading to the finish, so we knew we were on the right path- whew! We rolled into the finish with 67.95 miles on the clock. As we asked around, we overheard one of the race organizer explain that the extra three miles were added to avoid some major road construction. All I could think of is how demoralizing those last three miles were...to have to keep going when you thought you should be done already was rough- woulda been nice to know ahead of time! I felt even worse for the riders who thought they were doing 100 miles and ended up doing 103 miles that day.

Once off the bikes, it was time to begin our recovery. First item of business: swinging by the Mars tent for a helmet full of candy! Sweet! (wish I had a picture of that)

Two more stops and then we could head home:

one stop was for beef and salt...a couple burgers and some fries

and one stop for something sweet (as if the load of candy wasn't enough)...kolaches from the Checz bakery

Perfect!

Next time, I'm totally riding with a camera. Here is a list of the things I wish I had a picture of:

*the look on Jen's face when her tire blew...sheer panic...hilarious

*the Maroon Five guy in his man-pris who changed the blown tire

*the sign in the dude's yard who lived out in the middle of nowhere. Sign said Leave my dogs alone. Ride your bikes in your own neighborhood. I have a feeling that if his dogs are getting run over by cyclists, the problem is not the cyclists.

*the dead armadillo in the middle of the road with all four legs straight up in the air- complete rigor mortis. It was as if he got to the middle of the road and gave up.

*the huge herds of longhorn cattle (after passing both the cattle and armadillo in the same mile, Jen breaks into the Texas state song...sung like a true Texan- loud and off key.)

*the look on some poor guy's face as we pass him and Jen says, "You better start riding faster. You're about to get passed by two chicks."

*the itty bitty little girl who couldn't have been more than three or four years old on the back of the tandem with her mom. She was adorable rock'n her spandex shorts, bright jersey, clipless shoes and totally clipped into the pedal extensions. Jen and I couldn't resist chatting with this adorable little cutie. She and her mom were riding the 25 mile course that day.

It was an awesome ride. I can't begin to express how grateful I am for a dear friend like Jen. I can't believe that I am lucky enough to have found a friend who shares so many common interests. And on top of that, we have a GREAT time together. I'm still amazed that we never run out of things to talk about. The Lord is good to me. I'm also grateful for a supportive husband who encourages me to pursue my goals and interests and then provides a way for me to do so by watching the boys any time he can...and not to mention for being willing to be on call for roadside assistance. It's a good thing I was able to thank him with a new shirt.