World of Wonderland

The Rowdy Girls have been counting down to this weekend. For two weeks now, Em has asked 'what number is today?' And finally, we got to number 1. The day we departed for Sea World!

Em and Roo brought their A game and had a fabulous day playing in the water park, seeing their favorite exhibits and catching the new season of shows.

Bonuses included the new baby killer whale and the baby beluga whales!

We overnighted and had a pretty restful evening at our hotel. I must say that travel with the RGs has definitely become easier as they've gotten older. This time around, we all stayed in the same room, no suite. The girls slept cosily in their PeaPods next to our bed and the 4 of us got a solid 10 hours of sleep. Not too shabby. And it made for happy campers the next day.

Which brings us to Morgan's Wonderland. This is a new park developed specifically for special needs kiddos. Some of the most appealing places for us were the sensory village, water works and awesome playgrounds with 360 degree swings. Even though the high hit 100 degrees, the park just didn't feel that warm. Shade everywhere, misters and fans for all the outdoor activities and nicely air conditioned indoor features, too. One of our favorite things was the limited number of people allowed inside. So, nothing gets too crowded. Once we got on a ride, if the girls wanted to go again, we just stayed on and rode some more. No exiting and waiting in line for a second turn. Really, we could have stayed all day. And we'll definitely be back to this amazing place. It's sort of the best children's museum/playground/amusement park ever.

a whale of a tale

This visit to Sea World was all about Shamu. It was the first show of the day for us and the Rowdy Girls couldn't get enough. They are big fans of 'da splashin' an da swimmin' in da watur'. The Shamu show is titled Believe. And Roo yelled it throughout the entire show. "BeWeeve!"

Em and Roo were super excited to share one of their favorite places with their cousins. They seem to feel some ownership in the park and scampered about as if they were showing off their home.

It was a cool wonderful day with some of our most favorite people in the world.

Cheese Their Heads

The Rowdy Girls did Sea World with their cousins, Jonah and Gracie, today. It was a total win for them. They loved every moment.
At the end of the day, before we parted ways, I tried to get a group photo.
Here are the results.

Sea World, the sequel

The past few days have been a busy, eventful, fun and hot. On Wednesday, we motored off to San Antonio to hang out with the McGrandparents.

Em and Roo did a little swimming at the hotel pool. And a lot of jumping on the beds. Nothing more fun when you're 3 years old.

They woke up bright and shiny and ready to roll to Sea World.
Mommy is shiny, but not so bright. must.have.coffee.

Marmee and I introduced the RGs to the water park at Sea World. Because it was flippin' hot!
We opted for full coverage on the swimwear.
No regrets, because no sunburns for the Rowdies after 8 hours in the sun. On a 105 degree day.
Although, they did look a bit like water park orphans in their mismatched ensembles.

After a few hours at the baby splash pad, Em spiced things up by giving me a heart attack. Roo was hanging with Marmee and Em was directly ahead in the water. I took a minute to walk to a trashcan. And Em decided she would look for me. Several minutes later, I located her up a flight of steps, around a corner and surrounded by strangers who found a lost little girl. She was terrified and incoherent. And stuck to me like glue for the rest of the day. And my heart gradually restarted. Thank goodness for those guardian angels.

Grandpa finished up work and joined us at lunchtime and we migrated to the wave pool.
A hit for Roo. And a miss for Em.
Mostly, Em was ready to move on. She knew we were going to Sea World that day, but she didn't really believe we were there. No animals had been sighted, yet! Em asked me, "PLEASE?! Want to go to Sea World!"

When asked what she wanted to see, she asked for seals, then dolphins and then whales. So, we hit the shows and exhibits. Em and Roo were thrilled, tired, but thrilled.





We had a great time and can't wait to do it again.
Perhaps on a cooler day, however.

second time around

Monday's trip to Sea World was a serious success. Em and Roo were beyond thrilled to return and visit the "do-fins" and "shawks" and "Dory fish" and "wayules".

Roo was totally excited about the first show at Sea Lion Stadium.
Seals, Walruses and Otters, Oh My!

Then, we got some up close looks at the sea lions goofing off and eating.

We made a pit stop at our favorite jumpy house and the girls ran and bounced off some energy.

Waiting for Daddy to make it through the line to order lunch was a little tough, but the iPhone came through again. Well, the iPhone and Sesame Street podcasts.

Look! They held hands while they watched The Street.

The beluga whale and dolphin show was amazing. And one of the whales had her calf swimming with her through the performance. Super sweet. Em kept pointing and yelling "baby wayule!". *We also saw a dolphin mommy and calf up close at the Dolphin encounter.

By this time of the day, a wardrobe change was needed. Both girls got fresh pants. And then, Roo conked out for a 45 minute nap in the stroller.
So, Em got Daddy all to herself in the penguin exhibit. She loved the whole thing. Each time they finished the conveyor belt sidewalk, she ran up to check on Roo and myself. Then, she grabbed J's hand and asked for "Penwens, Peeeeze!" They went through the exhibit at least 5 times.

Roo woke up towards the end of our stay in the dark, cool, Celtic music'd penguin habitat. Just in time for us to jet over to the Sesame Street Beach Party.

Oh. My. Word. She loved it! Once she got rid of the sleepies and realized that Elmo was really on stage, she was in heaven. J laughed when the staff announced during the pre-show that parents should make sure their children did not run onto the stage. (They also had bouncers to assure there wasn't a toddler bum-rush). But, seriously, if he'd let go of Roo at any point during the performance, I think she would have made a run for it.

When the Sesame Street gang said goodbye, J and I were concerned that Roo would cry. She sucked it up and managed to transition well. Phew!

Em enjoyed it all, but she's not hardcore like Roo.

The last show of the day was Shamu's. We were all a bit worn out by this point. The girls totally dug it and Em was all over the crowd participation parts. Very very adorable.




After Shamu, we headed to the car, changed the girls into their jammies, grabbed some supper and headed home. Five minutes into the trip I looked back and saw Em crashed.
Roo watched and sang along to Singin' In The Rain all the way home and then slept the sleep of the Sea World-ed that night.

It was a super day and we're looking forward to going back and doing the water park next time.

Sea World Travelers

Sea World, at the end of October, with two little people experiencing the whole thing for the first time... Absolutely Priceless.

We had the best time with Marmee and Grandpa at Sea World! The girls can't stop talking about the dolphins and swimming and splashing. I have hope that this may, in fact, become one of their earliest memories.

It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect. There were butterflies everywhere. Not people. The park was just starting to fill up as we were leaving. That's the way we like it!

The shows were great. Em and Roo were completely enamored by the performances.
My only regret is that we did not get a family picture with the four of us, Grandpa and Marmee all together. To make up for that, we have almost 300 photos and videos to memorialize the day. Thanks, Grandpa!

Click here to see some of the favorites.