{san antonio}

We spent our Memorial-Day weekend in San Antonio and celebrated Dean's birthday (May 26th) by attending Sea World both Friday and Saturday. He is having an actual birthday party this weekend. However, I am willing to bet that he will not think it as thrilling as all the whales and dolphins he gets to see at Sea World. He LOVES dolphins! Everything is a dolphin now - it's so cute. Oh, and he kept naming all the dolphins "Nemo". Well, he will get his fill of dolphins, whales, water slides and amusement rides this summer because Grandpa and Grandy were sweet enough to buy us all season passes to both Sea World and Six Flags. I actually cannot wait to go during November and December because it will only be in the 70s then. 100-degree weather is a little torturous by late afternoon in a theme park - but still a small price to pay for all the fun to be had.

Oh, and while I'm on the subject of theme parks, we had the most terrifying moment ever on Saturday (not a dramatization)!! I was strolling Dean and Eli into the beluga-whale show with the intention of sitting in a back row and I slowed nearly to a stop to take some seats but kept moving because Devin saw some better ones across the arena. When we finally chose our seats, Devin and his parents went to get us all frozen lemonades while I settled the boys. Well, when I went to take Dean out of the stroller, he was already gone. At first thought, I assumed Dev's Dad had him but when I looked over to where they were standing, Dean was not with them. Then I remembered that he was not buckled into the stroller after playing in the splash pad. I shouted to Devin that Dean was gone and after he realized that I was not kidding, he and his dad started running to everywhere we had been before. My heart was pounding and my thoughts were traveling a mile-a-minute with all the terrible "what if" kidnapping scenarios and whatever other horrible things a mother can possible think of in such a dreadful moment. Just as I was frantically pushing the stroller with Eli still inside over to Charlyn with the full intent of bursting into tears and running, screaming through the arena in a search for Dean, Mark (Dev's dad) and Devin came around the corner holding him. It all happened pretty quickly and Devin said that Dean wasn't even concerned at our absence. He was just drinking his sippy of water with bare feet and nothing but a diaper on waiting for the show to begin. Apparently he jumped out of the stroller when I nearly stopped at our first seats, but we are so lucky that he was okay and he spent the rest of the day in our arms or BUCKLED in the stroller. It is amazing how quickly you're reminded how terribly wrong things can really go in this world. I don't know what I would have done if we hadn't found him. The little stinker could've at least pretended to miss us as much as we missed him.

I think we'll go again in a couple weeks. :o)