Sea World......Round 2!

Whew! It has really been over a month since I last blogged. The Houghams have been super-busy lately! I’m officially in full planning mode for Austin’s 5^th birthday party in three weeks. We’re doing a superhero theme, and you know I go big or go home! Needless to say, lots of things to do on my list!

 

Anyways, onto the point of this whole post. J At the end of August, we planned a big trip to San Antonio for the sole purpose of going to Sea World. Well, as you can tell, that didn’t quite go as planned. Then my Mommy-guilt got the best of me, and I knew we needed to plan a make-up trip to actually deliver on my promise of dolphins, penguins, and whales!

These kids roll in style!

We took a few days off of work, loaded down the Tahoe again, and made the 5-hour trek back to San Antonio. We didn’t splurge on the big resort again, since I was pretty sure the weather was going to be too cool to utilize the vast amenities of the place, so we stuck with a basic hotel this go around.  We arrived early Thursday afternoon and got settled in. We utilized the indoor pool at the hotel for a bit and then had some dinner. Later that evening, we had another family join us (the same couple that went with us on our cruise this summer brought their kids to San Antonio the same time). The kids enjoyed themselves running up and down the halls like crazy before we wrangled them into our room to try to get a good night’s sleep. But I swear, my boys are night owls and it was after 11:30pm before they got some shut eye! Good thing Sea World didn’t open til noon on Friday so we were able to sleep in a bit.

Little rascals!

 

How sweet is that?!

We got our cooler and bag all packed and headed out! We made an excellent choice by coming on Friday, as it wasn’t crowded at all. We were able to enjoy the Shamu show, a Pets show (who knew you could train cats, pigs, birds, and even a mouse!), sharks, penguins, dolphins, etc. We pretty much hit all the major attractions on the first day. Not to mention that we cooled off in the splash park at the Bay of Play and played on all the nets, slides, and tunnels. Chase was a bit of a weenie, but Austin rode a lot of the kid rides. Since it’s close to Halloween, the park was decorated in fall décor and even had some characters dressed up where the kids could trick-or-treat for some goodies.

The best we could do with a family pic

 

Shamu!

 

Austin was super-excited to see all the characters and trick-or-treat

My sweet boy!

Exhaustion was finally upon us and we decided to call it a day and head back. The kids were asleep within a minute, while clutching their souvenirs in their hands. It was so damn cute!

We headed back again the second day, but since it was a Saturday, it was super crowded! So glad we were able to take in the more popular attractions the day before, with only a few extra things to cross off our list. We took in the sea lion show, dolphin/acrobat show, and rode some more rides. We called it a day earlier and decided to hit up the indoor pool at our hotel. Then we ordered in pizza and had a ‘picnic’ in the lounge area down by the hotel bar. Yep, 4 adults, 4 kids, 2 large pizzas, alcohol, 3 iPads, and 2 DVD players made for some relaxing time on our last night.

We had a great time at Sea World and enjoyed having another family to hang out with. And I’m pretty sure that Chase may have a crush on Ella. J Luckily, we waited so late in the 2013 season to buy our fun cards for Sea World that we ended up buying the 2014 passes with the Fall 2013 free. That means our passes are good through the end of 2014, so we’re sure to go back again!

 

The boys had a blast and I was glad that I was finally able to deliver on my promise of a trip to Sea World. As the boys are getting older, these family trips and memories get even better!

The Houghams have a busy couple months ahead with lots of blogging in store. We ventured to the State Fair yesterday, a trip to the pumpkin patch this weekend, Halloween at the end of the month, Austin’s birthday in a few weeks, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Chase’s birthday right after the New Year. When will I ever sleep?!

Welcome to the World, Connor!

I'm a little late on announcing the arrival of my new little nephew, but hey, I've been busy. :)

We had been awaiting the arrival of this sweet little boy for what seemed to be forever. But Kat & Lo just celebrated their one year anniversary at the beginning of July and we were anxiously waiting for Connor to arrive later in the month. Kat and I aren't only sisters; we're best friends. Just ask Jordan and Logan; we're attached at the hip and pretty close. (That wasn't always the case when we were younger, but we grew up!) Kat even lived with me and Jordan while she was in college for about 3 years, so she was here through the births of both Austin and Chase. She was practically a second mom to them sometimes, so I was definitely looking forward to having the same relationship with her little one.(We used to joke when we would go out with Austin about his two mommies.)  And since I had two boys, I saved all of their baby clothes and all that fun stuff to pass on to my sister. Let's just say, she got lucky with all of my hand-me-downs that are going to save her $$$!

Kat went a full week past her due date before she finally got scheduled to have an induction. This induction date just happened to be the day before mine and Jordan's 10 yr anniversary and we were staying the night at the Gaylord for a night away. Talk about being double-booked! However, after a long day of laboring, Connor William arrived via c-section a little before midnight on 7/25, weighing 8lbs. 10oz. and 20 1/2 in. long and as perfect as can be. He was nearly born on my 10 yr anniversary!! I think he looks a lot like Chase did when he was a baby. :)

How cute is he?!

 

Anyways, Connor is doing great and I get to babysit him for the first time next weekend!

 

San Antonio Staycation

I don't even know where to begin. We had been looking forward to our trip to San Antonio for a couple months now, hyping the kids up to go to Sea World to see dolphins, penguins, sharks, etc. All packed and ready to go in the new Tahoe! The drive down was actually pretty good, making it in a little under 5 hours. The boys did great, entertaining themselves with movies, snacks, etc.We arrived at the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch around 3pm on Sunday and got all checked in. I stopped by the concierge desk, bought our tickets for Sea World  and booked us a slot on the hotel shuttle there first thing in the morning. All set!

After getting settled into our room, we headed down to the lazy river at the resort. It was complete with a sandy beach that the boys LOVED!

 

 

 

 

And they had a pool bar where Mommy & Daddy could get a cool 'beverage' as well. After having some fun in the sun, we ordered dinner from the hotel restaurant and then ventured down to the fire pits to make s'mores! It was so relaxing and fun!

 

On the way back to our room from s'mores, the concierge came running out frantically, telling us that they just found out that Sea World changed their schedule and is CLOSED this week. W.T.F.?!?! I thought this was a joke. We ran back to the room and I grabbed my iPad to look it up. Depending on where you click on their website, it says they're open this week, and some say closed. This can't be happening! I have promised two little boys a trip to Sea World! I checked their website a hundred times in the past two months booking this trip, ensuring that they were open. This was the last full week they were to be open, before resulting to weekends-only. I had no idea what we were going to tell the boys.

Woke up early the next morning, went down to the concierge desk and confirmed yes, they were indeed closed until Friday. Ahhhhhhh! The whole point of this trip was to go to friggin' Sea World! I didn't know who to be mad at, the hotel, Sea World, myself?! Needless to say, I was feeling the mother's guilt of promising my boys something spectacular only to let them down. I guess it sorta didn't make me feel as bad since the hotel still thought they were open (selling tickets and booking people on the shuttle), as did other hotel guests. This was quickly turning into an expensive staycation......5 hours away from home. At this point, there was nothing we could do. We were already in San Antonio and just had to make the best of our trip.  After getting ahold of somebody in the Sea World HR department, I gave the lady a piece of my mind. I directed her to where on their website it STILL said they were open and she quickly refunded my $200 in tickets. The money wasn't the point, we wanted to see Shamu, dammit!

 

 

 

Luckily, we planned to stay at a resort with lots of activities, not just a run-of-the-mill hotel. We ventured down to the Riverwalk area and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. Austin loved it, while Chase wasn't too sure about the animals coming to life every fifteen minutes. They got to paint at the kids camp at the resort and got glitter tattoos.

 Most of the time, we just relaxed out on the beach and played around in the lazy river. It definitely wasn't what we expected from our trip, but we had to make the best of it. Jordan and I loved spending so much time with the boys and created some great memories. The boys loved building sandcastles and Austin even made some friends down in the water. One night, we even got to watch a movie outside under the stars on big screen. And we grilled out on one of the grills one evening for dinner. Austin kept saying that he loved camping. :)

 

 

The guilt ate me up and now we're planning another trip back down to San Antonio in about a month to spend a long weekend at Sea World. I hate to give them by business after they basically just screwed me over, but I have to give the boys what I promised! They asked a few times if we were going to Sea World, and I just told them they were closed and we would have to take another vacation really soon to come back. That (surprisingly) ended their inquisition and that was that.

 

 

On the way back home yesterday, we stopped off in New Braunfels and visited two of our favorite spots........ate lunch at the Gristmill and stopped in to Gruene Hall. Jordan and I have been here many times and it was great to bring the boys by (although, I don't think either one of them appreciated their greatness!).

 

 

Jordan said our trip reminded him of National Lampoon's Family Vacation, where Chevy Chase's family drives all the way to Wally World, only to arrive at an empty amusement park. Don't think that the thought of breaking into Sea World didn't cross our minds! :)

Summer Lovin'

Hey there! I've been kinda MIA lately. Work has been pretty busy and the boys keep me on my toes when I'm at home. I'm wayyyyy behind on blogging......

• Austin wrapped up his second season in t-ball
• Our family welcomed my new nephew Connor into the world 3 weeks ago
• We've been hanging out at the pool alot, getting the boys more comfortable with the water
• We have a family vacation in San Antonio next week, heading to Sea World for some fun!

Since I'm on PTO all next week, I'm hoping to get a chance to catch up on some blogging, so stay tuned!

 

In the meantime, this is what the boys have been up to!

 

Anniversary Post #6: If I've Learned Anything....

Wrapping up the Anniversary Week blogs with this one. :) After ten years together, we've endured so much. Alot of laughter, many tears, a few fights here and there, countless celebrations and plenty of heart-to-hearts have made us much wiser after all this time. We're not perfect, so by no means do I expect our marriage to be perfect. Here are OUR tips/must-have's (in no particular order) to survive and stay in love. Because what's the point in staying together if you aren't happy?!

 

• Make time for yourself. Even though you're married, that does not mean you need to spend all of your time together. Whether you choose to spend some time alone or with friends, it's important to get away. This is where Jordan and I differ. I would prefer to just have a few hours to myself getting a pedicure and reading a book where I can enjoy the quiet; Jordan would rather meet up with some buddies.
• Make time for yourselves; especially after you have kids. It's easy to get 'lost' and just keep going through the motions. Sometimes, you just need to reconnect with each other, and you definitely shouldn't feel guilty about getting a sitter. We're thankful our daycare does a parents' night out every month!
• I know it sounds obvious, but communication is key. Nobody is a mindreader, so if you don't let  me know what I did that pissed you off, how will I know!? But at the same time, it's all about the delivery. Jordan often tells me I need to work on my delivery. :)
• Split the responsibilities. Our rule of thumb is if I cook, Jordan cleans up. And we usually tag team on the laundry. This past year, we finally gave in and hired a house cleaner, and it has been amazing! It wasn't fair to either of us to spend our day off cleaning this big 'ol house, when we'd rather enjoy some quality time with the family.
• Pick your battles. Sometimes you just have to let things go. Simple as that.
• Make sure you enjoy plenty of 'together time' and make it a priority. I won't elaborate any further on this one. :)
• When things get bad, remember one of the things that you love about the other person and/or drew you to them in the beginning. Then build back up on that. There's a reason you're together to begin with.
• Never go to bed mad at each other. We've tried to go to bed after a fight before; it's useless. Nobody gets any sleep and those emotions just fester up even more. There have been times where we've stayed up til 4am hashing something up.

Anniversary Post #6: Happy Anniversary!!!!

It's finally here! This day, 10 years ago, I walked down the aisle to become Mrs. Hougham. We were young, in love, and ready to take on our new life together. Over the years, we've grown up, made mistakes, made up, and managed to make it through to reach the big decade mark. Crazy!

Thank you to Jordan for sticking this out with me, truly through the good, the bad, and the ugly. He's been my rock for so long, and I couldn't possibly imagine my life without him.  Here's to another 50 years!

Anniversary Post #4: The Years in Numbers....

ONE loyal beagle, Brady, who has been with us since the beginning. That dog is crazy, but we love him anyways!

TWO rambunctious boys (mini-me's of their Daddy), who made our family complete

THREE tattoos inked during our marriage (all within the past month)

FOUR different residences (two apartments, two houses)

FIVE employers over the years

SIX cruise vacations

SEVEN days of stubble on Jordan's face is my absolute favorite (I hate a clean shave!)

EIGHT months of dating before the surprise proposal on the beach

NINE different vehicles between the two of us (of which 5 were Chevrolet trucks!)

TEN years of wedded bliss! (Okay, every year wasn't as blissfull, but we made it!)