A Little Family Time

We decided that after so much "serious" time our kids needed a brake to be kids.  They handled all of the services and everything so well and we felt it was time to make sure that they remembered "Mike's Trip" as a positive one.

We grabbed some of their cousins (Tauna and Bryce) and my sister-in-law, Laura, and headed to Sea World for the day.  They were so excited when we told them where we were going.  They were so excited to see all the sea animals.

Sam of course took charge of the map and I must say his navigation skills have greatly improved with his ability to read now.

We started at the seals.  They were HILARIOUS!  We got some fish to feed them and there were these two crazies who were barking and waving and clapping trying to earn our fish.

 It was so fun to feed them.  I seriously had a bird attack me and steal a fish right out of the container (that's the scream you hear).  Psycho bird!

Then it was off to Sam's favorite part.  The Shark Encounter.  We love that you can see the sharks from up above....

...and then from down below.  You can't really see it in the picture, but that's my crew in the shark tunnel below.

Next we visited Manta Ray Bay.  This was under construction when we were here last, so it was fun to see what they were working on.  Sam and Chloe had NO intention of petting them, but James was all over it. 

They have a great tunnel you can walk under as well.  It was fun to see the underside of the rays as well.

The roller coaster they built is awesome.  There was no line so you could just get right back on.  It was a great way to see the flamingos as the flashes of pink streamed by as you went flying on the coaster.

Our favorite show by far is always the Clyde and Seamore show.  It is the Seal/Sea Lion/Otter show.  It is always so funny.  I love that Sam and James get the humor now and giggle at the jokes and tricks.

As much as Sam and James smiled and enjoyed it, Chloe scowled and frowned.  The poor girl was so tired and tried her best to stay wake!

Next it was off to the Dolphin and Piolt Whale show where Seth introduced us to the best funnel cakes ever.

The dolphins were amazing.  They were jumping all over the place.

I love piolt whales.  I just love how dark and sleek they look.

I surprised myself with some of the great shots I was able to get with my little phone camera.  Not bad if I do say so myself.

The finally was amazing.  There were a total of 12 dolphins jumping, fliping and spinning all over the place.  This is them waving good-bye.

After the show we all needed a breather to overcome the huge sugar rush we all got from the many funnel cakes we were trying to down.

Sam then read the map again and got us to Turtle Reef.  This is one of my favorites.  There is just something so calming about turtles swimming in the water.

Sam bonded with one that was chilin' on the ground.

He was then super excited to find so many "Dory's" in the tank with them.

Next off to the Penguins, which is one of James' favorites.

 Chloe and Laura we quite the buddies throughout the whole day.  It was cute to watch them together.

 Next we headed to the arctic to visit the Polar Bears, Walruses and Beluga Whales.

 Chloe and Sam were facinated with the ice wall.

 Sam was a little too facinated and we had to stop him from trying to continually lick it.

 Chloe got a little show fromt he walrus as he was looking around for some yummy treats.

 They had fun in the polar bear caves until the sound kicked in.  Chloe freaked as the roars and moans of polar bears played on the speakers.  I've never seen her move so fast to get out of somewhere!

 We ended the day in playland.  This is always the best way to end a great day at Sea World.

 We were impressed with Chloe as she managed to climb all the way up the rope ladder to be able to play on the bridges above.  I can't believe how big she is getting!

 Elmo and Cookie Monster were there for pictures, and since the line wasn't long, and James LOVES to meet characters, we went and said our "hellos".

 Chloe was a little more shy.  She definitely loved them from afar and then got very shy when it was up close and personal.

We are so grateful that we were able stay another day in California and let our kids have a great, fun day.  They mean the world to us and that is just what we want to give them...the world!