weekend road trip....ahhhh

our weekend road trip was just the getaway we needed. time away from our normal routine and our everyday responsibilities and ready for adventure and fresh air. we left early friday morning (forgetting the fact that i stayed out until 3am watching the new moon premiere) and drove to sea world. if we could go back tomorrow we would....it was a cloudy, cool day and the park was empty. a couple of different times we would look at each other as samantha roamed in front of us checking out the sites, thinking where is everyone else? it was awesome and so much more relaxing and easier. samantha was a true manring traveler and was up for going in and out of her stroller and holding our hand and was even patient while daddy went for a ride on the new rollarcoaster. the best was watching her run face first into the aquariums to point out more ISHYS or stare down the giant walrus in front of her and to see the amazement in her big eyes. it was such a smooth day and for that (with a toddler) we were grateful. after a full day we drove to our good friends Beth and Justin's house. their cozy home welcomed us with a yummy dinner and lots of time to catch up on old stories. we sure do wish we lived closer!

that next day we went outlet shopping in st. augustine and then to visit more friends and celebrate a sweet little friend's first birthday. her mom did it tori and dean style with hand-painted wooden signs for each part of the carnival-themed party. there were kids jumping and screaming in the bounce house, kids getting their face painted and doing crafts, popcorn popping and big, messy caramel apples for everyone. the festive lights and balloons and yummy picnic dinner was awesome and we were more than happy to be there to help them celebrate. happy 1st birthday lia...and thanks to big sis ava for letting us sleep in her bedroom. hehehee. here's to refreshing road trips and forever friends......

first arriving to sea world...still sleepy after a long car ride nap
this was the coolest...you crawl up into this and the aquarium is all around you
she ALMOST touched the sting rays but at the last second changed her mind. then decided it was too smelly and waved her hands over her scrunched up nose. ps. notice she HAD to hold favorite babydoll no matter what we were doing for the first half of the day.
saw lots of seals and sea lions, this guy popped right up on the ledge in front of us when we walked up. samantha made her howling noise right back at them...it was funny to watch
we hung out here for a long time while sammy pointed out ishy after ishy ....
this acrobat, dolphin and bird show totally kept her interest....i think the shamu icecream helped too...
watching the show and relaxing
taking a walk through the middle of sea world....lots to see
riding the sea animal merry-go-round..even though ALL these pics were blurry, i still like them
surprise of the day when sammy fell asleep on my lap during the comedy sea lion show...the loudest speaker ever was right over top of us but she all of a sudden was snoring. she slept through this and half way through the next show, the big shamu finale show.
onto the first birthday party. sammy got her face painted by sarah's cousin. two more times that night she would walk off on her own, climb into the chair by herself and say more pease. so amanda pretended with a clean paintbrush to paint on her cheeks while sammy sat so still, i just loved watching this.
eating mac and cheese and hot dogs...

sleepy time....babies all had their baths and winding down...from left to right, big sister ava, sleepy sammy, almost one conor and birthday girl lia. all that was missing was new baby mackenzie who had just left.

enjoying her favorite...a MOOTHIE as we eat lunch in the brandon mall on the way home. how thankful we are for a smooth and fun-filled trip.