On Wednesday (GRANDMA'S BIRTHDAY!!!) we headed for some fun and adventure at Sea World. After our first day at DW, Sea World was a good choice...crowds are a bit less intense and there is less of a wait for the rides/shows Sea World offers!
Our first visit was to the Sting Ray exhibit where we all petted the sting rays swimming by (with two fingers along the back:)...even Grandma petted one! Some of the sting rays got a little fiesty and would splash as they swam by...this was funny! Than Daddy got some food to feed the sting rays...this was an adventure! He had to hold the fish in between his pointer and middle finger and reach that hand all the way into the bottom of the pool. A sting ray's mouth is on the bottom of it's body so that is way he had to reach his hand all the way down and let the sting rays swim over top to get the food! We were swarmed with Sting Rays wanting food...it was FUN!!!
Than we went to feed dolphins and pet them!!!! WOW...fun!!! We each had a tray of little fish to drop in for the dolphins and were able to pet their heads!
Off to the dolphin show we went and WOW...it was UNBELIEVABLE! When Bry and I were at Sea World 10 years ago the dolphin show was more education based and showed of their skills...now it's this huge show involving several human performers doing acrobatics, diving, and water tricks with the dolphins and birds flying in randomly throughout the arena...one flew right over G'ma and mine's head...we were pretty surprised!! THIS SHOW WAS FANTASTIC!!! WOW!!! I think my mouth was wide open the whole time and my head moving all over the place trying to catch everything! It was beautiful!!!! Bryan and Isabella sat down in the soak zone while V, G'ma, and I sat a little farther up! Isabella enjoyed the little splashes she got when the dolphins jumped close by her. Veronica sat transfixed by the show eating one Dorito after another:)
Than it was the big SHAMU show...BELIEVE!!! Again, a hit!!! Again, Daddy and Isabella in the soak zone(very close this time) and V, G'ma, and I up top. Daddy and Isabella got SOAKED by the many big splashes Shamu and friends made with their big tails!!! She loved it and proudly showed us how soaked she was after the show! The whole theme behind the show is to believe in your dreams and to work hard for them. There is video of young children telling their different dreams and one of them was to be a dolphin trainer. Not surprisingly this prompted Isabella to turn to Daddy and ask, "Can I be a dolphin trainer when I grow up?":) Daddy said it was one of his favorite memories because he told her of course she could be and they than had one of those father/daughter talks about following your dreams and that you might have to work hard to achieve them, but to never give up....ahhhh Daddy:)
As for Veronica, she was in love with both the dolphin and whale shows. She sat completely still on the bench, except for the movement of her hand bringing endless doritos to her mouth (side note...snacks are an essential during the DW experience...fill your backpack with many so you don't have to drop a huge chunk of change on park snacks:). Any time the whales or dolphins would disappear and the 'humans' would take over to give them a break, Veronica would strain her neck looking all around and asking in earnest, "Where Whale?", "Where Dolphin?"...she loved watching them jump and splash and do their tricks!!! It is fun wathing her so young and little on this vacation finding the things she enjoys!!!!
We of course had to stop by the Clydsdale horse (Anheiser Busch owns Sea World or something like that) to take a family picture...Bry said he needed a before and after:) Back in March of 1999 we visited Sea World on spring break together (our first vacay together:) and he took a picture in front of this horse by himself (the before:)...now it was time for the after, complete with the wife and kiddos:) CUTE...Daddy's so funny:)
Than it was finally time for Isabella to ride the rollar coaster she been waiting so patiently for...Journey to Atlantis! Bry and I rode this ride on our vacay in '99 and have a hilarious pic of him laughing on it and me gritting my teeth with all my might while we down the biggest drop. So off we went, holding hands and boarded our coaster car...Bry and Isabella up front together, I behind them. We traveled through the various tunnels with different visual effects and decors depicting the world of Atlantis and than finally made our way up up up and outside to the big splash!!! In the immediate seconds afterwards, Isabella didn't want to go on it again, she was scared - not of the coaster part, but of some of the visual effects). But once we were actually off and she saw G'ma and V, Isabella went running over telling them all about it and wanted to go on again. So off the three of us went AGAIN:) We determined what seemed to have scared her most inside the tunnel and covered her eyes during it...problem solved:) G'ma and V saw us come down the big splash and Isabella determined that she wanted to go on it...AGAIN:) I took her on it again, Daddy went to go ride the super huge Kracken rollar coaster, and G'ma and V headed for Shamu's Happy Harbor play area. What a tremendous help G'ma was in moments like this...we both got to go on the coaster with Isabella, G'ma would entertain V with snacks or a more toddler friendly attraction...thank you G'ma!!!!!
As Isabella and I went to ride the Journey to Atlantis one last time, she gleefully called out to the attendant, "We're just going one more time, ok?" and we skipped on through. And I'll tell you a secret...I finally opened my eyes on the big drop the third time around:)
Isabella and I headed off to meet G'ma and V at Shamu's Happy Harbor and wow...we had thought our day would be coming to an end, but we'd just found a whole new set of adventures at this little kids amusement park (very similar to the park at the MOA). G'ma and V had already ridden the carousel, which has fish instead of horses and V's smile stretched from ear to ear! We headed to the Jammin Jellyfish ride, which is basically spinning tea cups that go up in the air. We did not realize that they went so high up in the air or that they spun around so fast...G'ma held her own very well while riding with V and I in their own car..."Don't look down" I yelled out:)
After that, Daddy joined up with us, a little quesy from his experience on the Kracken, but ready to ride a little spinning boat ride with the girls. It was in this moment that we witnessed Veronica become a full fledged ride nut like her sister. Daddy, Isabella, and Veronica loaded into their row with G'ma and I watching. There was V, smiling from ear to ear, giggling, calling out in her cute little baby voice, "G'ma...hi G'ma, hi G'ma" and waving joyfully, showing off for all of us:) Than the ride started and all you could hear was an endless stream of streaks and giggles and all you could see was this gigantic smile on a sweet little baby face.
V and I than headed to some spinning cups that stayed on the ground and didn't go quite so fast and it was evident that she was now 'beyond' those rides. So we headed off for the big test...the frog hopper!!! Oh boy. I was a little nervous, I would be right next to her, but we were strapped in flying up and down in the air and I wouldn't be able to just grab her if she got scared. But oh she giggled as we sat in the seat waiting, smiling away. The safety restraints lowered, and up we went! As we went up, V managed to catch sight of G'ma coming over to watch her..."G'ma, hi G'ma, looka me, hi G'ma"...hilarious! The more we bounced and the higher we jumped and the more she giggled and giggled and giggled!!!! Daddy and Isabella came over from the Shamu kid coaster right as she finished and decided to ride the frog hopper with Veronica again. This time I got to watch. Veronica looked SO LITTLE in those seats, so tiny. What a memory to watch our little baby, the one who's a bit timid, a bit weary of new experiences, takes time to warm up to things become a full fledged ride nut like her sister. I know she'll be on the big girl rides with her 'big sisty' as soon as her height allows!!!
Two special notes from the day...when Daddy arrived at Shamu Harbor, he had a surprise for Isabella. Daddy had gone and gotten a hilarious pic of the three of us on the Atlantis Coaster...Dad's hands are up in the air and he is smiling wildly. Isabella and I both have these very strained looks on our faces...it's hilarious!!! He'd had the pic put in a water globe for Isabella to have in her room, so she could remember our day together. This is kind of our 'thing' as a family. When we let the girls get things on adventures such as this or at the zoo for example, we tell them that we hope they will always remember our special day when they look at that thing. Throughout the rest of the day and the rest of the trip, Isabella would ask to see her water globe and would say things like, "I just love this so much" or "Why did Daddy get this for me again?" (she likes to hear the story about it capturing a special memory). She would just carry it around looking at it for the longest time.
Our second special note from the Sea World day is "SISTER BONDING"...wow!!! This was SO NEAT to watch!!! Isabella was really excited about Veronica being able to go on so many rides with her and she would always want to sit by Veronica. The older Veronica gets, the more they can do together and you can really see their bond growing through it...it is AWESOME!!! "Come sit by your big sisty, Veronica"!!!! Isabella was very proud of her little sis tackling some 'big girl' rides:)
What a day!!!! "Hi G'ma, hi G'ma"...I don't think I'll ever forget Veronica gleefully calling this out to Grandma from each ride showing off what a big girl she was!!!! FUN FUN FUN!!!
Our first visit was to the Sting Ray exhibit where we all petted the sting rays swimming by (with two fingers along the back:)...even Grandma petted one! Some of the sting rays got a little fiesty and would splash as they swam by...this was funny! Than Daddy got some food to feed the sting rays...this was an adventure! He had to hold the fish in between his pointer and middle finger and reach that hand all the way into the bottom of the pool. A sting ray's mouth is on the bottom of it's body so that is way he had to reach his hand all the way down and let the sting rays swim over top to get the food! We were swarmed with Sting Rays wanting food...it was FUN!!!
Than we went to feed dolphins and pet them!!!! WOW...fun!!! We each had a tray of little fish to drop in for the dolphins and were able to pet their heads!
Off to the dolphin show we went and WOW...it was UNBELIEVABLE! When Bry and I were at Sea World 10 years ago the dolphin show was more education based and showed of their skills...now it's this huge show involving several human performers doing acrobatics, diving, and water tricks with the dolphins and birds flying in randomly throughout the arena...one flew right over G'ma and mine's head...we were pretty surprised!! THIS SHOW WAS FANTASTIC!!! WOW!!! I think my mouth was wide open the whole time and my head moving all over the place trying to catch everything! It was beautiful!!!! Bryan and Isabella sat down in the soak zone while V, G'ma, and I sat a little farther up! Isabella enjoyed the little splashes she got when the dolphins jumped close by her. Veronica sat transfixed by the show eating one Dorito after another:)
Than it was the big SHAMU show...BELIEVE!!! Again, a hit!!! Again, Daddy and Isabella in the soak zone(very close this time) and V, G'ma, and I up top. Daddy and Isabella got SOAKED by the many big splashes Shamu and friends made with their big tails!!! She loved it and proudly showed us how soaked she was after the show! The whole theme behind the show is to believe in your dreams and to work hard for them. There is video of young children telling their different dreams and one of them was to be a dolphin trainer. Not surprisingly this prompted Isabella to turn to Daddy and ask, "Can I be a dolphin trainer when I grow up?":) Daddy said it was one of his favorite memories because he told her of course she could be and they than had one of those father/daughter talks about following your dreams and that you might have to work hard to achieve them, but to never give up....ahhhh Daddy:)
As for Veronica, she was in love with both the dolphin and whale shows. She sat completely still on the bench, except for the movement of her hand bringing endless doritos to her mouth (side note...snacks are an essential during the DW experience...fill your backpack with many so you don't have to drop a huge chunk of change on park snacks:). Any time the whales or dolphins would disappear and the 'humans' would take over to give them a break, Veronica would strain her neck looking all around and asking in earnest, "Where Whale?", "Where Dolphin?"...she loved watching them jump and splash and do their tricks!!! It is fun wathing her so young and little on this vacation finding the things she enjoys!!!!
We of course had to stop by the Clydsdale horse (Anheiser Busch owns Sea World or something like that) to take a family picture...Bry said he needed a before and after:) Back in March of 1999 we visited Sea World on spring break together (our first vacay together:) and he took a picture in front of this horse by himself (the before:)...now it was time for the after, complete with the wife and kiddos:) CUTE...Daddy's so funny:)
Than it was finally time for Isabella to ride the rollar coaster she been waiting so patiently for...Journey to Atlantis! Bry and I rode this ride on our vacay in '99 and have a hilarious pic of him laughing on it and me gritting my teeth with all my might while we down the biggest drop. So off we went, holding hands and boarded our coaster car...Bry and Isabella up front together, I behind them. We traveled through the various tunnels with different visual effects and decors depicting the world of Atlantis and than finally made our way up up up and outside to the big splash!!! In the immediate seconds afterwards, Isabella didn't want to go on it again, she was scared - not of the coaster part, but of some of the visual effects). But once we were actually off and she saw G'ma and V, Isabella went running over telling them all about it and wanted to go on again. So off the three of us went AGAIN:) We determined what seemed to have scared her most inside the tunnel and covered her eyes during it...problem solved:) G'ma and V saw us come down the big splash and Isabella determined that she wanted to go on it...AGAIN:) I took her on it again, Daddy went to go ride the super huge Kracken rollar coaster, and G'ma and V headed for Shamu's Happy Harbor play area. What a tremendous help G'ma was in moments like this...we both got to go on the coaster with Isabella, G'ma would entertain V with snacks or a more toddler friendly attraction...thank you G'ma!!!!!
As Isabella and I went to ride the Journey to Atlantis one last time, she gleefully called out to the attendant, "We're just going one more time, ok?" and we skipped on through. And I'll tell you a secret...I finally opened my eyes on the big drop the third time around:)
Isabella and I headed off to meet G'ma and V at Shamu's Happy Harbor and wow...we had thought our day would be coming to an end, but we'd just found a whole new set of adventures at this little kids amusement park (very similar to the park at the MOA). G'ma and V had already ridden the carousel, which has fish instead of horses and V's smile stretched from ear to ear! We headed to the Jammin Jellyfish ride, which is basically spinning tea cups that go up in the air. We did not realize that they went so high up in the air or that they spun around so fast...G'ma held her own very well while riding with V and I in their own car..."Don't look down" I yelled out:)
After that, Daddy joined up with us, a little quesy from his experience on the Kracken, but ready to ride a little spinning boat ride with the girls. It was in this moment that we witnessed Veronica become a full fledged ride nut like her sister. Daddy, Isabella, and Veronica loaded into their row with G'ma and I watching. There was V, smiling from ear to ear, giggling, calling out in her cute little baby voice, "G'ma...hi G'ma, hi G'ma" and waving joyfully, showing off for all of us:) Than the ride started and all you could hear was an endless stream of streaks and giggles and all you could see was this gigantic smile on a sweet little baby face.
V and I than headed to some spinning cups that stayed on the ground and didn't go quite so fast and it was evident that she was now 'beyond' those rides. So we headed off for the big test...the frog hopper!!! Oh boy. I was a little nervous, I would be right next to her, but we were strapped in flying up and down in the air and I wouldn't be able to just grab her if she got scared. But oh she giggled as we sat in the seat waiting, smiling away. The safety restraints lowered, and up we went! As we went up, V managed to catch sight of G'ma coming over to watch her..."G'ma, hi G'ma, looka me, hi G'ma"...hilarious! The more we bounced and the higher we jumped and the more she giggled and giggled and giggled!!!! Daddy and Isabella came over from the Shamu kid coaster right as she finished and decided to ride the frog hopper with Veronica again. This time I got to watch. Veronica looked SO LITTLE in those seats, so tiny. What a memory to watch our little baby, the one who's a bit timid, a bit weary of new experiences, takes time to warm up to things become a full fledged ride nut like her sister. I know she'll be on the big girl rides with her 'big sisty' as soon as her height allows!!!
Two special notes from the day...when Daddy arrived at Shamu Harbor, he had a surprise for Isabella. Daddy had gone and gotten a hilarious pic of the three of us on the Atlantis Coaster...Dad's hands are up in the air and he is smiling wildly. Isabella and I both have these very strained looks on our faces...it's hilarious!!! He'd had the pic put in a water globe for Isabella to have in her room, so she could remember our day together. This is kind of our 'thing' as a family. When we let the girls get things on adventures such as this or at the zoo for example, we tell them that we hope they will always remember our special day when they look at that thing. Throughout the rest of the day and the rest of the trip, Isabella would ask to see her water globe and would say things like, "I just love this so much" or "Why did Daddy get this for me again?" (she likes to hear the story about it capturing a special memory). She would just carry it around looking at it for the longest time.
Our second special note from the Sea World day is "SISTER BONDING"...wow!!! This was SO NEAT to watch!!! Isabella was really excited about Veronica being able to go on so many rides with her and she would always want to sit by Veronica. The older Veronica gets, the more they can do together and you can really see their bond growing through it...it is AWESOME!!! "Come sit by your big sisty, Veronica"!!!! Isabella was very proud of her little sis tackling some 'big girl' rides:)
What a day!!!! "Hi G'ma, hi G'ma"...I don't think I'll ever forget Veronica gleefully calling this out to Grandma from each ride showing off what a big girl she was!!!! FUN FUN FUN!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment