SeaWorld...again!

Before our GIC that Wednesday night, back in September, we took off to SeaWorld. Why? Because the kids were out of school and I don't need another reason!

There were so many pretty fall flowers, wreaths, etc. Loved it!

 

 These guys were lots of fun, cute little pups and all!

 

 We hit up a show that we had not seen before, and the kids really enjoyed it. I was not a fan of the ferrets and mice and such...

 The kids LoVe when we hear these guys play!

 We met up with part of the Horstmeyer crew and our kids enjoyed being together!

Mrs. Katie was so sweet to ride Journey to Atlantis with Ella Grace, while I watched the boys and Kayla.

And I let the boys get wet. You're welcome.

September 17 - SeaWorld

I have lost count how many times we have been to SeaWorld this year. I must say, though, that our passes have definitely paid for themselves - we have been two more times since this trip, too!

One of our favorite things to do is visit the Dolphin Nursery. Sometimes there are pregnant mammas in there, sometimes a baby dolphin. Really, though, it is neat to be this close to them in a smaller tank and be able to see them jump and swim by.

 

 On this trip, we backtracked to go pet the stingrays. On the way we stopped at the flamingos.

 

 How cool would it be to stand on one leg like this, and sleep?! ha!

 

 Then we stopped at the other dolphin tank in the Key West area.

 

 Back to Happy Harbor where the kids had their fill of the Shamu Express roller coaster. We love when there is no one there and you can either stay on the ride or run off and immediately back on.

 

 Again, a sign that the park is empty - you can get a clear shot at one of the signs!

 

 We attended a show we had not been to before - Clyde and Seymore. Ella Grace was chosen to participate in the show - she was so excited!

 Love this face!

Would you look at this animal!?

 I love these faces!

 It was a hot day. I told them they could get a little wet to cool down.

 

They changed clothes when we got to the car - SOAKED!

Another fun day at SeaWorld!

To finish up our February activities, the kids & I went to drop our tax information off on the 18th. Ella Grace's school was hosting a carnival that day to end their spring book fair. So, we hurried back to our side of town in time for a few hours of outdoor fun. There were bouncy slides/houses, a cake walk, train ride, rock climbing wall - lots of fun things to do. First we hit the bouncy things - sock-footed in the straw and sand, love it!






The kids tried to participate in the cake walk, but we came away empty-handed. We moved on to the longest and slowest moving line - rock climbing wall. Ella Grace was determined to climb. Major wandered off a couple of times to do a few other games to win tickets or play on the playground. Ella Grace's time finally came and I thought she would just back out...but she didn't!



This girl can definitely climb!







I think her hands were getting a little too sweaty to continue up. I finally asked her to come on down to give someone else a turn.

President's Day the kids were both out of school, so we rode over to Sea World for the day. We watched the pregnant dolphins in the dolphin nursery tank,

saw friends we didn't know were going,


and played in the sand - and met some of our friends we thought might go,
rode the carousel,
even posed by Shamu on our way out!
And the last weekend of the month we made a family camping trip near Ocala. We picked Ella Grace up from school Friday afternoon and headed out. We pitched our tent, grilled supper, got some firewood and enjoyed the night. We explored the campground and walked the trails,

shoveled and used our tools best we could,
climbed some trees,

(all of us!)
and Cubbie Bear was with us!
While we spent time together, we celebrated Jeremy's birthday. A Tastykake and a candle is all we needed! Happy birthday, Jeremy!

We even went on a canoe ride. We saw an alligator on the bank, about 40 yards away. He was just sun-bathing.
(I promise he is in this picture!)

Paddled around a little more, letting the wind carry us some and about 5 feet in front of us I spotted a darn alligator staring at me. Oh. my. GOSH! I panicked and told Jeremy, but the alligator disappeared. We waited and watched for just a minute or two before he came up again. Thankfully, it was facing the other direction and we saw much, much more of him! YIKES! I just wanted to click my heels and get out of there. Too close for comfort!

And our last night with Cubbie was just last Wednesday. Thanks for staying with us, Cubbie!