Our Vacation

This past week we took our vacation.  I left to take the kids to Austin on Saturday night after Caroline got back from Peter Pan at the Dallas Summer Musicals.  On Sunday, I dropped the kids off at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort for their annual Macation with Aunt Kirsten.  Every summer they go on Macation with just Aunt Kirsten and Aunt Sara, but due to an accident Sara had it was only Aunt Kirsten.  So, we both threatened the kids to death that if they didn't behave and have a good time Macation would end forever.  Kirsten said they did a really good job and Macation is safe.  I think they'll go back to the Lost Pines next year because there were a lot of activities for them to do.  My theory about the Hyatt Hill Country is that Sea World and Fiesta Texas are so close by, they don't have to have many family activities at the actual resort.  The Lost Pines had a lot more options for the kids: Zip Lining, Rock climbing, Horse back riding, River rides, Golf, etc.  I think the change in venue was also helpful since Jason had not been to the Lost Pines so there were no memories to make them sad and remind them of what they don't have.

I stayed at Kevin's place and was near by in case Kirsten needed anything to help out with the kids.  But for the most part I laid low. Towards the end of the week we all went to Fredericksburg, Texas. I love that place!  Jack was really excited as well because he was going to see the Nimitz Museum and everything associated with it.  We stopped off at the Wildflower Center, and the kids were both really intrigued by the place.  We got some really great ideas for the backyard there, and even bought some wildflower seeds to plant in the front flowerbed.  Then it was off to Fredericksburg.  We did everything!  We started off at the Nimitz and went through the museum part that introduced the kids to Admiral Nimitz, and then we went outside and looked at the remembrance wall (which was amazing) and the Japanese Peace Garden.  After that we went to the building that housed the Pacific War Museum.  That was really a wonderful place. 

The first part of the museum exhibit spent time explaining the background events that led up to Pearl Harbor.  It helped Jack really understand that it wasn't just a spur of the moment, "Hey let's bomb Pearl Harbor just cause" thing.  Then the museum walked the individual through the march from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa and the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  We made it halfway through the museum before it closed, because we were all taking our time reading information and looking at the exhibits.  We decided to go back the next day and finish up the museum and "The Combat Zone".  We all went through several shops and stopped off at the Bakery for an ice cream and pastries for breakfast.

We made it to The Combat Zone for the first tour of the morning and got to see a lot of really interesting planes, boats, and guns from the war in the Pacific.  We finished up the museum tour and had a really interesting discussion about what we learned.  I really think the kids learned alot about the war in the Pacific, and realized that the horrors of that theater were often times worse than the ones in Europe.  Jack also learned about the history behind the nuclear bombs and was very intrigued by it.  I think Jason would have had a wonderful time in that building, but he never had the chance to go through it.  But I think he would have been excited to experience it with the kids.  In a way, he probably did.  Kevin had a really great time and listened carefully to the discussion and interacted with the kids during the whole experience (just like Jason would have).

It was one of our best vacations.  It's right up there with our trip to Alabama I think.