Sea World Spring Break

Vacations for our family seem to look so much better a few days after we have unpacked and unloaded the RV, finished all of the loads of laundry, restocked the refridgerator, and had a good night's sleep in the comfort of our own beds.  

 

Invariably during our vacation, Chris and I nearly always end-up reconsidering any and all future vacations, because honestly they seem so exhausting, especially with the two rambunctious, energetic and very dependent (and independent) little boys.

 

But give it a fews days, a lot of great pictures, and it becomes like child-birth - we forget about the "pain" and are so grateful and appreciative for the experience, the time away from our hectic work schedules, and the ability to unplug, reconnect and focus on our little family.  

 

Our latest adventure took us down to San Diego where we spent four glorious days on Mission Bay. Notice "glorious" because we are post-vacation now by about two days and we've recovered from whatever drama was unfolding at the time!

 

We visited the boys' favorite place - Sea World.

When we arrived, Luke became our designated tour guide, with both boys outlining what we were going to see first (Sharks), second (Orca Whales), third (Manta Rays), and so on.





Luke is still about three inches too short to go on most of the rides, but Owen was quite excited to ride alone with Daddy.

 I love me some flamingos!

The boys loved sticking their arms and hands into the ice cold water to feel the slick Manta Rays glide past their fingers. Again, Luke's arms are still a bit too short to reach anything so Chris had to grab the back of his t-shirt so that he didn't go flying into the tank.

 

This picture was taken just before we entered one of Owen's favorite aquariums because it has an octopus. This was not the face he had when he exited the aquarium -- in fact he had a big ole' meltdown because there wasn't a single octopus in the entire aquarium or Sea World for that matter. I'm going to have to do some research and inquire what happened to Mr. Octopus, cuz' this kid is so disappointed when he doesn't get to have a glimpse of his eight-armed friend.

 

 Starfish hunter.
 

The walrus was quite active while we were in the arctic zone...the boys loved watching him swim back and forth. Look at all those whiskers!

Beluga whales always look like they are smiling, even when they are snoozing!

A trip to Sea World would not be complete if we didn't have ice cream in the shape of Shamu!

I mentioned to Chris that I take the best pictures of my kids' backs. Seriously, now that I look at all of my photo albums, nearly 80 percent of the pictures are of the back of their heads. Oh well.

Profiles...don't they look like their daddy!

And the trip ended with smiles from everyone...