Getting Away (Part One)

Update: I realized I have a lot more photos of our Tampa shenanigans, to include the kids meeting their handsome cousin Connor for the first time, as well as more candid photos of our trip to Tampa. So I'll be back later with those.

We had big plans to go to Disney this summer. It would’ve been a first for me and the kids, but dates changed so plans had to change - we weren’t going to have time to spend the three days that we wanted to spend at the park. And even using the cheaper Florida resident rate, ticket prices were so steep that we didn’t want to spend all that money just to spend one day there. So we decided to put Disney on hold, yet again, and go on a different adventure, enter Busch Gardens. First ya’ll, it was free, which makes me happy because I think tickets are like $80 or so per person. But since both Seth and I are military we used the Hero Salute program and got ourselves and our triad-of-children in for zero dollars and zero cents. Holla!

I’ve never been to Busch Gardens so I was very impressed when I saw that this park really does have something for everyone in the family. Just to name a few things they have animals, water rides, splash parks, roller coasters, shows, and Safari of Fun which is essentially a little amusement park within the park that has toddler and young child friendly rides. 

Yes, Ariana begged to wear her cowboy boots claiming they were comfortable; and wouldn't you know that she didn't complain once about her feet. In fact, Ethan and Seth were the only ones with tennis shoes on (the rest of us had sandals, boat shoes, and boots) and Seth was the only one to complain about blisters at the end of the day. Go figure.

Owen went on his first roller coaster.

Proud moment. The look on his face when we went down the hill was priceless. I love that kid.

Ariana rode every ride she was tall enough for, which was almost everything. E was a little more hesitant but he did enjoy more roller coasters than I thought he would. He’s my careful child. Air’s the risk-taker. Owen’s the go-with-the-flow kid. We’ve got a little of everything with those three.

Me, my sister-in-law, and the older two went on a roller coaster while Seth was the designated Owen entertainer for the particular ride. Apparently the two of them went to scope out the animals while we waiting in line for our ride. When we were done Owen said, “Follow me, I want to show you something cute!” Then he led us down windy paths and eventually we made it to…

…yep, the meerkats. Those little stinkers were cute. Owen was enamored. We went ahead and checked out the rest of the animals while we were in that area. I loved that it wasn’t like a zoo, instead, the giraffes and elephants had huge areas to roam in. So big that I needed my telephoto lens to get a good shot of them, but I brought only one lens with me because I was attempting to pack light for the day. I should’ve brought it. Lesson learned. The first photo you can see just how much land there was and the second photo is a bit closer.

Seth was the show-nazi. Seriously. He was the self-appointed time hack throughout the day and would say, “Okay, time to head over to see *insert show name*.” Jer and I teased him about it but in all fairness the shows were really good. They have talented folks performing there. The last show we planned to watch for the day was at, let’s say 5:30 because I don’t remember. Seth and Owen headed over without us because the rest of us needed to run by a souvenir shop to grab something Ariana had her eye on earlier in the day. We planned to go to the souvenir shop and then meet them at the show. The park is so huge though that we ended up running all the way from the souvenir shop to the theatre. Oh, and the sky had become super dark and gray it looked like it was gonna pour rain at any moment. So making the show on time coupled with the possibility of getting drenched motivated us to haul ass. When we showed up to the theatre it was 5:32. They wouldn’t let us in. Two. Minutes. late. So all of our running was in vein. We all collapsed on a nearby bench, winded, and defeated, and devoured the remainder of our cotton candy - the perfect way to sulk. When Seth and Owen emerged from the show after it was over Owen described it to us with the biggest smile on his face, apparently it was a 4D show with water squirting at you and the illusion of bugs crawling on your legs (in the form of air blowing). Call me jealous.

All in all we had a great day. Owen was even so worn out that as Ethan, Air, the Boyfriend, and the Sister-in-law went on one last roller coaster as I sat with Owen on a bench he was out like a light within five minutes of us sitting down.

PS I swear he didn't pee his pants as it may look in the photo. Ha. He was still slightly wet from playing in the splash park.


And what’s the perfect way to wrap up 10 hours at an amusement park? A trip to Ikea of course! Haha. The sister-in-law and I begged my booski to take us, he hesitantly agreed. I think it was our fastest Ikea trip to date. We were in and out in record time. And I spent under $100. How is that possible – right?! Self control ya’ll, surprisingly I was able to utilize self-control. I’ll have to show you what I got in another post - a less fun post…a post about the kids’ bathroom…which in all honesty is fun stuff to me but I’m certain to the majority of ya’ll it won’t be. Ha. I’ll be back with those deets later. Until then, enjoy your evening.


Xo,


Lor