Since Miguel and I were married, before we even had kids, we have always talked about taking our kids to Sea World.  We wanted to take them to see Shamu, play in the water park, and feed the dolphins.  This weekend our dream came true….but I think the parents were the only ones excited!!  As we drag out kids out of the house, they just want to watch TV.  They have no desire to “see the fish.”  I think, despite our best efforts to explain Sea World, they thought it was going to be a giant aquarium.  Once we got to the hotel, they were so excited to be there that they want to get into their pajamas and jump on the beds.  But it was only 1:00pm and we were ready to start our Sea World adventures.  With swimsuits and sunscreen on, we headed for Sea World.  First stop was the water park….it was sooooo hot!!!!!!  The spent the rest of the day playing the water, sliding down the slides, riding the waves in the wave pool, and running under the sprinklers.  It was a fantastic afternoon of family fun.  The next day we planned to spend the majority of the day at Sea World with a little surprise trip for dinner.  The first trip for the day was to see Shamu.  The boys wanted Shamu to splash them soooo bad.  We made it to the front of the stands into the “Splash Zone.”  However, after an AMAZINGLY cool show, my kids walked away very sad that they were dry!!  They loved the show.  They loved that the whales were like giant dogs that swim and do tricks.  But, still they walked away with dry clothes and wet eyes!!  At this point, it’s hot, my kids are crying, and I’m DONE!!  After a quick lunch (and still wet eyes), we head to a different section of water park.  Thankfully, after a bit of lunch and some cool water, everyone’s mood changed and were were set to see another show.  We then headed to the Azul show.  Let’s put it this way….DON”T leave Sea World without seeing this show!!!  It was amazing!!!  There were acrobats, synchronized swimmers, whales, dolphins, humor…AMAZING!!!!  They boys LOVED it!!  After Azul, and some riding the waves in the wave pool, we headed to feed the dolphins.  It was sooooo cool!!  The boys loved it some much.  After a very quick clothes changes at the hotel we headed to the Riverwalk for dinner on the river and a river boat ride.  The boys had a great time feeding the pigeons with the chips from dinner and loved the boat ride.  The next day, we headed back to Sea World for a shorter day.  From the meltdown from the day before, we realized that they kids needed to get cool in the water BEFORE was walked around.  So first things first, we headed to the sprinkler park and then a repeat performance at the Shamu show because the boys NEEDED Shamu to get them wet.  Oh course, the best laid plans go array, and the boys HATED getting wet by Shamu because the water was soooo cold!!  Next stop was the penguin aquarium.  They really liked the penguins, but next stop was the seals.  They boys got to feed the seals and they found that very funny.  Seals are very impatient and will squawk and hit the water with their flippers to get your attention!!  They boys loved that they seemed to be talking to them!!  The last stop of our Sea World adventure was to the souvenir shop.  The boys have waited very patiently for this moment.  By the end of the of our Sea World adventure, we left with a stuffed Shamu doll for Van, dolphin slippers for Max, two exhausted kids, two happy (but extremely exhausted) parents, and memories galore!!

Lila (Miguel’s mom) works at Dart Container in Waxahachie.  They had a family day and open house on Monday.  She invited us to go and the kids LOVED it!!  They ate pizza, rode the mini train, jumped in the bounce houses, and toured the plant.  It was REALLY interesting to see how the cups, plates, and bowls that we eat out of every day are made!!  We stopped at Sonic on Tuesday, and Van said, “Look, Mommy!!  Lila makes these cups at her work!!”  We had a great time and Lila was very excited to show us her job.  It was nice to meet her work friends, too!!

Our Fourth of July celebration started on the 3rd of July.  We started the celebration with the City of Arlington’s parade.  My kids loved the parade…..for the first 30 minutes.  After that, they still had another 30 minutes to watch!!!  It was the LONGEST parade I have ever seen!!  I’m used to the little Waxahachie, TX parades that are over in 30 minutes!!  Now, don’t get me wrong the parade was long…but it was good!!  Six Flags even had a float in the parade!!  After the parade, we went to the empty parking lot of the elementary school so Van could learn to ride his bike without training wheels.  It was soooo cool!!  After a couple of passes through the parking lot, he took off and needed very little help.  He even got brave enough to try some turns!!  That night we went to Waxahachie to watch the fireworks.  While we waited for the fireworks, the boys had a great time playing soccer, tennis, and riding their bikes and skateboards.  It was an of fun and memories.  On the fourth of July, Papi had to work.  After church we went to Aunt Atley’s to eat dinner and pop fireworks.  Van had a great time and loved lighting the fireworks.  He favorite part was blowing up the tanks with the black cats….yup….he’s just like his Papi!!  Max didn’t like it at all.  He didn’t mind the noise, but he HATED the fire!!  It was a great weekend of fun!!

Papi went to a week long training at Ft. Hood with the SWAT team.  They work long, hard days, but had a great time!!

Papi is one of the hardest working men I know.  He is always willing to help a friend so that they can better themselves.  He is also striving to always learn himself.  Friday, he won Firefighter of the Year at the annual awards banquet.  When the chief started talking about the award, Miguel started talking to me.  As I am listening to the chief, I realize that he is talking about Miguel who has no idea the chief is talking about him because he is talking to me.  So I start motioning to Miguel that the chief is talking about him.  As I am doing this, he thinks that I am trying to tell him to shut-up and pay attention and starts to get a little irritated by me motioning.  Finally, he realizes that everyone is looking at him and goes up to get his award!!  I am so proud of him.  I have this picture of the award, and I was going to get a picture of him with the chief and the award, but at the very end of the banquet he was called to a SWAT call and the opportunity was lost.  Congrats, Papi!!  We are sooooo proud of you!!!!

Tomorrow (Monday the 8th) is Papi’s big 3-0 birthday.  He is officially old….well, older!!  To celebrate his birthday, he wanted to go to the Dallas Stars game with the family.  We did this last year and the boys liked it but weren’t really all that interested in anything but the people everywhere.  This year, Van was all about the game.  He was glued to every second of the game.  Papi was so excited to share his birthday present with Van.  Max, on the other hand, was more interested in the food!!  He would cheer for a minute, but then wanted to play a game on Mommy’s phone or eat.  Maybe next year he will be more interested.  Tomorrow, we will take Papi out for dinner and dessert.  The boys are so excited that it is his birthday!!

Every Friday is show and tell in Van’s class.  They are to bring something to has to do with what they are studying. Sometimes is has to do with a theme and sometimes is has to do with a letter.  Tomorrow is letter Pp.  Mommy suggested popcorn to share with his friends, his stuffed pig, a picture, a picture of Papi.  Everything is rejected except for the picture of Papi.  Fabulous!!!!  I can totally take care of that!!!….then Papi adds his idea.  Now, my son is taking a picture of Papi picking his nose because “picture,” and “Papi,” and “picking” all start with Pp.  I have TOOOOOOO much testosterone in this house!!!