Day 4 Spring Break: Sea World and the pool

Following our morning of breakfast fun, we did some souvenir shopping at a large gift shop (aka jip joint) beside Waffle House. And, while Chip wouldn't let me pick out matching shirts for us all, I did manage to get him and Daniel Captain America ones and Belle and I red Minnie shirts for Disney the next day.

When we got back to the room, we packed up the backpack and headed back to Sea World for a few hours.

We started with the aquarium, which the kids LOVED!

I loved watching their faces.

They loved this.
We literally had to pry them out so that others could have a turn!

After the aquarium, we went to a show called Pets Ahoy.

This was a cute show starring dogs. At one point a dog ran through a series of obstacles and at the end slowly unwound a sign that said,
Can
Shamu
Do
This? 

Afterwards, they said you could up to the stage and meet the stars. Well, wouldn't you know who in our party was super duper excited for this?

She wasn't content to say hello to only one star, though. Oh no. Not Belle.
We were one of the last people in the room. She petted (and kissed....I know, I know) ALL the dogs.

Looking cool in their shades chomping on some goldfish and cheez-its between attractions. They were so good about not asking for stuff like ice cream and pop corn, which was on every corner. Completely content with the snacks we brought along in the backpack, but we did splurge a little at Disney and got some ice cream and then some frozen treats at the water parks a few days later. But, the nice thing was they didn't expect it. 

We stopped by the dolphin cove briefly on our way to our next attraction. The show had just ended, but the kids enjoyed watching the dolphins swim around. 

Next stop: Turtle Trek
A 3-D show followed by viewing of sea turtles. 

What's that that stopped us in our tracks?
A turtle?

Nope. A rabbit! 

Waiting in line......so cute. 

That is one huge manatee!

Next, we went into the Wild Arctic! This was a motion simulator helicopter ride, which took us right into the Arctic Ocean. 

Afterwards, we ended up in what really felt like the Arctic Ocean. Boy, was it ever cold. I can imagine it's a nice reprieve during the summer months, but for us on that nice 70 degree day, it was frigid!

They thought this ice was so cool. Look at them putting their fingers in it. Like touching snow without mittens! 

Just outside the actual "arctic" they had this igloo, which they had a blast playing in.

And, of course, we had to take turns climbing onto this big guy. 

Finally, we stopped back by Shamu's Happy Harbor for some roller coaster action, only the line was too long, so we decided to call it a day. 

Daddy's little girl can always manage to get carried. 

We left Sea World around 4:30pm, and since we still had a few hours of sunshine and nobody was too tired out, we decided to spend the rest of the evening at the pool. The kids had been wanting to do this since we arrived, but honestly it had been too cool. That afternoon it warmed up to about 80 degrees, and since the pools were heated anyway, we decided to try it out. I packed us some sandwiches and drinks, and we ate our dinner there that evening.

Woohoo, finally have on our suits and are Pool Bound in a matter of minutes!! 

Why is it sandwiches always taste better outside?

They jumped right in and picked right up where they left off last season. We didn't bring along the puddle jumpers, so that security wasn't an option, but they didn't need them anyway. They could both touch, and it was only a few minutes before they were dunking under just like they did last August. Daniel picked back up going under and actually swimming for a few seconds. Hooray for pool days being just around the corner! 

Boy, were they ever pooped that night! I just loved seeing them sleep together like this. Look closely, it's like they're holding hands. Some nights they'd be right up against one another. So sweet. Reminds me of when they were infants and they'd snuggle up against each other. Be still my beating heart. :) 

Saying good-night to another fabulous day! Yes, I think they were asleep before the sun even set that night! They needed lots of rest after such a big day and also because on Day 5 guess where we went?! Stay tuned.....