Sea World

We took the boys to Sea World last month; my first time back in over 20 years.  I don't feel old enough to reminisce about something I did 20+ years ago, but it was a blast back then and we had a great time this trip.

Here we are settling in for the Seymore the Sea Lion show.

Notice the earbud Hots is sporting.  What you can't see is his iPad on which he was keeping tabs on the Aggie game.

J wanted a front row seat in the splash zone.  That wasn't recommended for the iPad or for Kaydie or me and L wasn't into being "spwashed" this early in the game.  My hair thanked him and I pondered future visits and how long I'd be able to work this not sitting the splash zone angle.

Snack break just before the show

The show began and the main character honed in, noticing the Aggie game/iPad setup Hots had going on.  He may as well have flagged the guy down.  "Sir, you look very...focused."

This type of situation (being put on the spot in front of hundreds of people) is right up H's alley, so he was an enthusiastic participant.  Personally, this is one of my worst nightmares.  Oh, to be so extroverted!

See?!  He thought it was fun.

Taste-testing the sea lion food

A close second to the whole feed the sea lion exhibit was the hand washing stations they had set up nearby.  To me, at least.  The boys weren't all that impressed.

"I was surprised they had alligators there since they are not sea animals," said J later that day.

Maybe I shouldn't have joked with L about tossing him over the fence...

Sea Horses

"Shahks!" were L's fave.

Looking for an electric eel "because they can shock you!"

They were so excited to find what they were sure was an electric eel.  (beside that rock on the bottom right)

Some grandmothers are so cool that they'll sword fight with you any time, any place.  

Each time Kaydie and the boys had a jousting match they drew a crowd of curious kids.

Penguin House

For some reason I really like hand-in-hand walking pics.

So I took one of each boy.

As strange as it sounds, my fave show was the pet show.  All pet participants are rescue animals.

This was the only ride I actually considered riding (I'm not a rides person).  It was for little kids and looked like a large swaying boat.

When they fired it up, it swung high and then started spinning.  I got nauseous just taking the pictures.  The boys-all 3 of them-were huge fans!

We went to the Shamu show at 9:00pm.  The boys were troopers and had a great time...

...with the exception of L's dissatisfaction of the splash zone.  It had cooled off significantly and they boys were FROZEN after the show.

He warmed up pretty quickly.  :)

Right after Shamu we passed this high ride that reminded me of the log ride at Six Flags (except that the "log" was significantly larger and the drop much higher).  They were loading their last log so J and Hots literally ran to the gate.  

L was done with anything involving water, so he watched with Kaydie and me.

Unfortunately I stood in the wrong place to get an action shot, but the guys LOVED it.  J came bounding back, soaked and enthusiastically describing what fun they'd had.  

Here's Kaydie on our way out, close to 10:00pm.  Many, many thanks to Kaydie for making this such a fun trip!

On our way out of town we got a quick visit with dear friends.  :)

Since we can't ever pass Gruene without stopping, we introduced the boys to Gruene Hall after dining at the Gristmill.