Sea World Trip, Part 1

Warning: This is going to be a LONG post. And yet, I am still splitting it into two parts. :) Prepare for lots of pictures.

Eric and I decided, back in February, to save up for a fun day trip to Sea World. He had this one weekend in between classes and work and it was our last opportunity to take the girls for free. After they turn 3 next week, they will be paying customers. So even though it was Memorial Day weekend, we went. It was SO much fun! And we were surprised at how the crowds seemed normal. I have been to Six Flags on a regular summer weekday with way more people than this weekend.

The girls were so excited that after waking up at 5:30 am to get in the car, they didn't go back to sleep at all.

As we approached the front entrance, Lilly got all kinds of happy!

Lexi was more contemplative. For some reason, she was fixating on the fact that somewhere in there were sharks...

So we actually got there an hour early because we bought tickets to have breakfast with Sesame Street characters before the park opened. That was so amazing and cute that it deserves its own blog post. We will skip that part for now and go straight to all the animal fun...

After breakfast, we first went to see the dolphins. We didn't want to spend the $40 to feed the dolphins, so we just watched them. It was really cool and the girls giggled uncontrollably.

Lilly's reaction to seeing dolphins for the first time...

So cute...
They liked posing with various statues but would NOT turn around for a picture. They were so excited to pet the statues. This was the best Shamu one I could get.
They were not too scared of the sharks after meeting this character. There was something fun and sweet about him dancing around and blowing kisses. It put the girls right at ease.
On our way to see the Sea Lion show, we stopped in to meet the sea lions first. They were super talkative and quite the beggars.
The Sea Lion Show was funny, mostly because none of the animals did what they were supposed to and the actors did a great job of making light of it. It was like watching me wrangle little ones some days. :)

So after discovering that the heat index was 115℉, we decided to grab some lunch and go to the Sesame Street Bay of Play. This place opened just this spring and it is sooooooo necessary. It is basically a big Sesame Street themed splash park.

The air-conditioned restaurant and some hot dogs perked these two right up...
Lexi above, and Lilly below...
Then as we were making a bee-line to the splash park, the girls saw the carousel. This was their first carousel ride. They loved it! It made me nauseous. :)
Lexi and Daddy...
Lilly...who asked me politely not to hold onto her horse, since she is such a big girl and all!
Splash time!! I was so hot and jealous and was dying to jump in, but someone had to watch the back-pack and cameras.

Now that is a good Daddy...see the girls' sunglasses in his shirt?! He is the best!
A wonderful part of Sea World now...
Now that they were all cooled off, it was time for a little shopping and snacking. The girls picked a store close by and were overwhelmed with all the choices. At first they wanted Abby Cadabby lunch boxes, and then goofy little Elmo hats. We were in there for a while. In the end, Lilly fell in love with a large Big Bird stuffed animal and Lexi bought a baby Shamu stuffed toy in a little pink purse.

As we checked out, we got them a bottle of water and an ice cream. Then we headed out into the heat again. Those were some satisfied faces as I handed them the ice cream sandwiches. See, by this time it was 1 pm, and they had been up a LONG time. They definitely needed the sugar rush. :)

The last show we HAD to see was the Shamu show, Believe. It was pretty cool and, as always, the whales are amazing! There was no more "trainer in the water with the whales" stuff like there was when I was a kid. However, the baby whale made up for it. He was so stinkin' cute!
Lilly and Big Bird were ready and waiting...

AND 15 minutes later....I think the long day finally caught up with her. I recorded the majority of the show on my iPhone so she wouldn't completely miss it.

A nice hour long snooze and those two were ready to go a little longer...

Unfortunately, that's when this sweet girl crashed...
So we headed over to the penguins (which is in the air-conditioning), then Lexi woke up and we all enjoyed the sharks and the aquarium together. All in all, it was a wonderful day for the family to spend time together. We got home around 7:30 pm, and after the best showers ever, went to bed. It was worth the trip...at least once every year or so.