Ode to Sea World

I love Sea World!

There I said it. I've actually always loved it. Because of this, Kelly thought it would be fun to take us there as part of my big birthday extravaganza. He was right, we had tons of fun as a family. There are so many reasons why I love it, but the #1 reason is this face right here!
Although our kids were horribly sick, they really enjoyed themselves. Then again, what's not to enjoy. We did lots of fun things while we were there, but the best was eating lunch with Shamu. We were able to eat in a small venue where Shamu practices. They give you little VIP passes, which Jackson wore proudly the rest of the day, and you get a fairly nice buffet. They escort you to your assigned seats and then the trainers come out and explain that this is a practice arena and that although they will not ask Shamu to splash everyone, he is an animal with a mind of his own and it may happen. They warn you to cover your cameras the best you can and that they will let you know when it is safe to take them out. However, Shamu was feeling a bit rambunctious this day, and decided to spray the whole center portion. Every one's cameras were ruined. Luckily, we were off to the side and some of the lucky few that were able to smile and be grateful it wasn't us. These pictures are not zoomed in. This really is how close we were to Shamu.

Gracie was a real trooper, but by the end of the day I think her cold started to get the best of her. Poor little thing! She did however, really enjoy the seal show. She laughed the entire time.