Out to Sea the World Underwater

Sunday morning wasn't quite as early as Saturday - thank goodness.  We had time to hang around and eat breakfast and just like many of you, Emily didn't know where we were going.  When we did reveal our destination to her she was pretty excited and showed us what the dolphins do (her interpretation of them diving in)...

it was pretty funny but I was really grossed out too - again, hotel floor!  Ick!

Anyway, I was able to move forward and we were off to Sea World!!

One of our first stops was the rays - Daddy was the first to get his hands dirty and feed them.
Only problem, he didn't really know what to expect and was really caught off guard when one tried to eat his hand fish.  He jumped about a foot off the ground and everyone got a good laugh.
But, that didn't deter him, he was right back at it and had great success.

Then, Emily had her turn to pet them... (don't you love how she was doing it "with" Daddy?)
OR not.


Next up, dolphins...
and starfish.  
Then it was time for our first show... Shamu!  It really held Emily's attention...
and we enjoyed NOT being in the soak zone.  (Notice it is no longer called the "splash zone.")



More feeding after that... the sea lions.  This one was quite the beggar and Grandpa had some run-ins with the birds flying around too, pretty funny (video in post below).
Time for the dolphin show - where Emily was totally enamored by a baby in front of us.  I had to keep pulling her away before she climbed right into the carrier with the the baby girl!
Our last animal show, my favorite, was Clyde and Seamore.

It seemed to be Emily's favorite too.
With so many more things to see we hit the penguins,
sharks,
and the arctic area...

(check out the bird just hanging out on his back)
before ending our day in the kids' area.  Emily chose "Elmo's Flying Fish" to ride with Daddy and while they waited in line she chose exactly which fish she wanted.
Bummer, the first people NOT to make the cut-off this round.
Oh wait, what is this?  One more fish is available?
Woo Hoo!


Pictures while they were flying around was impossible (I will show you the attempts) but they were both all smiles at the end.
For our final trick of the day, we sat down to watch "Countdown to Halloween" - a Sesame Street show!
The wait was long and hard (for Emily especially)...
but the show was totally worth it.
This was MOST definitely her FAVORITE show and perhaps favorite part of the whole day!

So, that's all folks.  We were there from 10AM-6PM and hit the road home straight out of the park.  About halfway home, not at all like Emily normally, Emily fell asleep - wiped out!  We couldn't bear to make her bathe when we got home even though it was clear that she needed a bath.  After all... her pony tails shouldn't still be standing when there aren't any more rubber bands!