Instead of giving Christmas gifts to our kids this year (don't worry we told Santa he can still come) we decided to surprise them with a SUPER FUN trip to Sea World and make some Cox Family Memories!! It was SOOOOO hard for us not to tell our kids ALL week. We were so excited to share the good news but we managed to wait until Saturday morning... go us!
(Side note: After Friday's tragedy in CT, this day became one that we treasured even more so. I have no words and honestly can't let my head hang out there too long without wanting to pack my bags and move to Montana to hide out with my family. So now you'll know where I'll be hiding if I suddenly go MIA... I am heartbroken for our world, but hopeful for the next one! Prayers to those sweet families who experienced great loss!)
When the kids woke up Saturday morning we sat them down on the couch... or Caden did and Kaki circled... and we handed Caden a ticket... he immediately noticed the logo and said, "Is this for Sea World? Are we going to Sea World?" YES!!!! "When?" TODAY!!!!
WHAT???!!!!
"Awesome-sauce" was ringing through the hallways...
We also made a WHALE of a breakfast to get us started off on the right fin... ha! :)
Then it was hurry, hurry, get dressed, bags packed and out the door with our Shamus in hand. Kaki has mine from when I was little and wanted more than anything to be a Marine Biologist... didn't everyone go through that stage? Too funny!
And Caden had his from a previous trip he had taken with KK and Albi...
We stopped at one of our favorite spots from when KK and Albi lived in SA for lunch... it was yummo!
Then we were off to the park in the search for this guy...
Or maybe that one was a girl... who knows... there were 6 there on Saturday and as always the show made me CRY... bless my heart... I know!
Kaki was taking it all in but needed a little encouragement from her treat bag to keep her occupied... the girl likes to go! And to be fair to her... she is only 17 months old, Caden was almost 2 when we took him for the first time... :)
Before each show it was our goal to RUN AROUND with Kaki to see if we could tire her out enough to sit through a show...
And this boy, who was working on the beginnings of another cold was content to sit and watch... he loves him some Sea World!
Caden and I ran ahead to grab seats for the Shamu show when we spotted our blubbery friend and Caden insisted on a pic!
One of our other favorites were the dolphins... and the divers and other entertainers that take part in the show... SUCH fun!
On our way into the park we got to check out the new Sesame Street-themed kiddie park and let Caden ride his first COASTER!! SO BRAVE!
You can see him in the green shirt below... with his HANDS UP the entire time!! Hilarious!!
We attempted a few photo ops when we were traveling through the park...
Neither of our kids wanted anything to do with any of the characters roaming the park... naturally.
I was excited to get to ride a ride with Caden too... it was super fun!!
Hands up... the dad across from me was white as a sheet and gripping the bar for dear life... classic!
We're ready... hadn't even started yet and Caden's hands were already up!! TOO FUNNY! Maybe he thought you had to keep them up?! Who knows!
Justin documented our ride well... from standing in line ...
Then we had to let Kaki get a turn and ride the carousel... such fun!
And we admired Abby from afar...
Justin and Caden tried their hand at some hoops...
And the last show we went to was SESAME STREET! We just knew this would be THE show for Kaki to LOVE and sit still through... we got about 5 minutes and then she and I headed out to check out the flamingos and the ducks... of course she LOVED them and stood there yelling BIRDEE for the next 10 minutes... crazy girl! :)
Caden and Justin enjoyed the show!
We had high hopes of attending the Sea Lion show but we had an hour to burn and a little girl who was getting super tired! So we tried some pics by the pretty trees...
Which she was obviously THRILLED about... that girl!!! AND that FACE!! What am I going to do about her??!!
And we watched Daddy ride a THRILL ride... go Daddy go! I love roller coasters too but haven't ridden one post-mom which also means post-SUPER-phobic behavior, so as bad as I wanted to ride the ride, I wasn't so sure I was ready to do it alone... maybe next time! :-) Everything changes after you become a mom, doesn't it? Other people to consider... :)
But Daddy had fun and was a little wobbly for the next few minutes... pretty funny!
We visited the penguins next and enjoyed seeing them waddle along... then we were walking into the Sea Lion Show when meltdown mania began... we decided we needed to head home which sent Caden into a meltdown of his own. We had lots of talks including the "we do things as a family which means we makes sacrifices for each other..."
If you ask him about his day at Sea World he'll say, "Well, it was really sad that we didn't get to see the Sea Lion show, but it was fun... it was a really fun day!" God bless him... and the sea lions!
Despite not getting to attend the last and final show we did have a GREAT day at Sea World and enjoyed making memories as a family! We loved getting to experience things like this through our kids' eyes...
And speaking of eyes... not two seconds after pulling out of our parking spot were these two ASLEEP...
With their souvenirs in hand...
What a fun family day!! Grateful!
2 comments:
It sounds like you had a wonderful day.
How fun! I know they loved it! Can't wait to see y'all next week!
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