Grandmas and the Sea World Adventure!

Caleb was so excited to go to Sea World!  He brought his killer whale to sleep with and was anxious for the day to begin.  Isn't he so cute!

We made it!  

First we hit the dolphin viewing area to watch people feed the dolphins.  The line was long and so we passed on feeding them ourselves.  They are beautiful animals and so fun to watch.

Then we walked through the aquarium to check out the exhibits.

On our way through the park, we saw this amazing sand castle!

Since we get into Sea World for free, we gave Caleb a choice for his birthday this year.  Mom and Dad could give him normal presents or we could do a special behind the scenes experience at Sea World.  Caleb is definitely an animal lover and so choose the behind scene.  We were really excited for the experience!  We got a reservation to see the Sea Lions.  It included special seating for the "Cannery Row Caper", a photo with a Sea Lion, time to feed the Sea Lions, and a special chat with the trainers and our own personal tour guide.  It was a wonderful experience.

Waiting for the show to begin was a bit miserable.  Our special seating was directly in the sun and out of the splash range, so we kind of fried!  But they did bring us cups of ice water, which was very kind.

It is a cute comedy and the animals are amazing but hey it is Sea World!

Getting ready for our group shot with the Sea Lion and Trainers.

Isn't it cute how they get him to smile and our guide was nice and offered to take pictures for us.

We were able to touch the Sea Lion.  Just a neat experience.

Getting to feed the Sea Lions and learning about the river otters and seals.  The sea lions are funny!  Caleb wasn't convinced he should touch fish to feed them though.

Yeah!!!  Fun Group Pictures!

Caleb loved playing in the splash park when we had a break or the adults just needed to sit down.

The Grandmas enjoying a minute of down time.

Caleb really wanted to ride the Rio Loco, and so we decided to make it a whole family affair.  It is a pretty tame ride and until right at the end, everyone stayed dry.

Then we came to the waterfall!  Here it comes....

And it got them!  Brydon and I escaped without getting too wet but ...

It took the Grandmas and Caleb out pretty well.  At least everyone was smiling and it did help cool us down!

The shows at Sea World really are the highlight and I love watching Caleb's face during them.  Azul is an amazing show with divers, synchronized swimming, beluga whales, dolphins, and acrobats.  Next year I really want to do the behind the scenes for this show!  Beluga whales are such unique and stunning animals.

We even got to hang out and get some great pictures with the cast.

While we were waiting for the Shamu show to begin, we played some of the games on the overhead screen.  You can actually see Caleb's name on the board.

This show pretty much makes me cry.  (I know I am crazy!)  But it is that stunning.  These animals are amazing and they do a great job of teaching people to respect the earth.  I find it awfully touching.  We had great seats that I pretty much had to kill a couple of people to get but Caleb was a bit disappointed that we didn't get more wet.  

This trainer was kind enough to chat with Caleb.  Caleb would love to be an animal trainer and so loved the time with the trainers.  They told him to "Study what you love (in college) and take a few psychology courses if you want to."  That works for Caleb.....future veterinarian, animal trainer, and over all animal advocate!

Cool Vibrations was a classic show with ski tricks and a fun plot.  You got to love playing in the water and the super cute guys who really know how to ski!

This year Caleb was tall enough to ride the Steel Eel, one of the roller coasters.  He was really excited and decided to try it out.  So mom and dad grabbed him and went to take him on his first roller coaster ride.  Unfortunately when it was almost our time to get on the ride, the ride broke!  And was broken for the rest of the day.  So we settled for another adventure on the Journey to Atlantis, which we did last year.  When we got off the ride, Caleb was crying a little bit and was really scared, however, a few minutes later he looked at us and declared that he was crying because he was so happy and brave!  So there you have it!  He is brave.  I love his face in this picture.  Grandma was kind enough to buy him this picture for his birthday. 

Check out this hilarious walrus from the special night show with the Sea Lions.

For the final show of the night, we had to see Shamu Rocks!  Caleb loved rockin' out and was really excited about our seats.  This time we made sure Caleb would get wet enough and sat in a prime splash zone.  I don't think our moms really knew what they were in for!

Just waiting for the show to begin and hangin out!

Did you know these guys can get you pretty wet?

Well we got hit pretty good the first time.  The Grandmas took a pretty good hit but they just weren't wet enough!

Then the big whale was sent our way and we got hit with this sucker!

(Have I mentioned how much I love our water camera!)

Check out that happy face1

Mission Accomplished!  Grandmas thoroughly soaked!

They were good sports!

Caleb was thrilled and had a great day!

We ended the day checking out the Penguin Encounter, which was the final exhibit.  And Brydon and I even got to ride the Great White (twice).  I forgot how awesome those rides are and it was fun to go on a mini date with the hubby.

It was such a great day!  We literally went until we dropped and fit in everything we could.  We played from 10:30 am until 10 pm when it closed.  Caleb was such a trooper and is the best kid ever!  We are so glad the grandmas came to celebrate with us in Sea World.

Caleb and his new mommy and baby Shamu (or Willy has he prefers to call them) would agree, 

Sea World is pretty Magical!