Friday, July 25, 2014

Presents are something you open

"Auntie, presents are supposed to be something you open...not a day." This was the matter-of-fact response my niece gave when we informed her that we would be taking her to Sea World for her birthday.  Though I couldn't exactly argue with her logic, The Boyfriend and I did our best over the next few weeks to get her to understand how a day at a theme park could also be an awesome gift.  Despite our promises of exciting sea creatures you could feed and touch, the thing she seemed to be the most excited about was.....the pickles! My niece just LOVES pickles and when told that they had giant pickles on a stick, she was definitely on board! Though I was certain she actually would love Sea World, we took her excitement about ANY part of it as good enough and hoped she would be won over upon arrival.

Monday morning we picked her up and headed down to San Diego. My sister-in-law told me that my niece was so excited waiting for us to arrive that she kept opening the door to see if we were there yet. Being "babysat" is pretty much her favorite thing in the world!  The Boyfriend picked up doughnuts on the way and we grabbed a few and left the rest for my brother, sister-in-law and my other niece to enjoy.  The 2 hour drive went very well and only required one quick pit stop along the way.  As soon as we pulled up into the parking line, she was ecstatic and good to go!


First item of business on the list was the Explorer's reef just inside the main entrance. She just loved the little fish that swim up and nibble on your fingers! I was busy taking pictures and she said "Auntie come try it! It tickles!"



She was a little apprehensive about touching the little sharks.  She was afraid that they were going to bite her.  After some awesome support and encouragement from The Boyfriend, she finally gave it a go and then was SOOOO excited that she touched a shark!



Next up was feeding the seals (or was it sea lions? I cannot remember the difference!) which she was ALL about! She had zero problem touching the gross little fish and had a blast sticking them through the little tubes that were just at her level and feeding the awaiting seals.




After that, it was straight to the sea lion and otter show which she loved! She was so impressed with all of their "back flips" as she called them.


 
Then, we headed over to the shark exhibit. She thought it was pretty cool seeing all of the big sharks from far away. Haha!
 

 
She was not too happy that she was not allowed to touch the baby sharks in this exhibit.
 



When we started walking into the great white shark area (its a tube tank where you stand on one of those moving sidewalks and it takes you through a tube aquarium with sharks all around you) she said "I don't like this sad music!" and turned to walk away.  The Boyfriend picked her up and told her he promised it would be cool.  As soon as we got into the tube she said to him "You can put me down now." and watched the rest of the shark exhibit with wide eyed wonder.


 
Next line of business was a quick stop to feed the flamingos.  My niece had been reading me a book with Flamingos in it and she was looking forward to this part of the day.
 



After that, we were off to the Shamu show! We got our seats and The Boyfriend went to grab us some beverages before the show started.  My niece saw a vendor go by selling Killer whale fan misters and she said "I want one of those!" I sort of laughed and said "I feel like if I get that, I am gonna end up carrying it all day." She replied "No Auntie, I will carry it!" Since this seemed like an item that might actually come in handy for us on such a hot day, I gave in.



Of course, I ended up carrying it most of the day.....total rookie mistake! Although, it did have a lanyard and was a nice thing to have while sitting in the hot sun all day.  Plus, The Boyfriend had fun squirting us all day. He returned shortly with beverages and-Drumroll please- PICKLES!! My Niece was SOOOO excited and enjoyed her pickle while being amazed at the giant killer whales and all their tricks.



Following the show, we took a quick walk around the dolphin pool and then went off to lunch.



Throughout the day, at various spots, we made and started her a collection of smashed pennies.  My Niece got to pick them all out and got quite a work out making them.



Next came the highlight of the day, The bat rays! Now, if you remember from my trip to Sea World, I was not too crazy about feeding them myself, but I loved petting them.  We weren't sure how she would do with them.  At first, she did not even want to touch them and was content with just letting The Boyfriend feed them.


He then explained to her what it felt like when they suck the fish out of your hand and she said she would try it but then backed out at the last second.


We were one of the only people who had bought fish so the bat rays were flocking to us.  She finally got up the courage to touch one and let out the most adorable, joy-filled childish laugh ever!!! It was the cutest thing and she was so excited!! She asked The Boyfriend to go back and get more fish so there would be more for her to pet. She absolutely loved them!



After that, we visited the sea turtles (which she said was her favorite at the end of the day but she breezed by them), the beluga whales, penguins and the other aquariums.






We then saw the Pets Rule show, which she loved, and then grabbed some ice cream while relaxing for a bit.




Next item of business was the tide pools.  She got a total kick out of holding all different colors and sizes of starfish and did not want to leave!




 
She finally agreed to leave when we told her it was finally time for her to get her souvenir! She has brought some birthday money with her and had been keeping an eye on what she wanted all day.  She kept coming back to these polar bear ear muffs.


She wore them around the rest of the day, yes in the 80 degree weather, even as we walked through the exotic animal exhibit.



We took a quick photo-op on our way to dinner before leaving for the day.  My niece even demanded a  couple solo shots!




After eating dinner, I got up to use the restroom. (for the first time alone all day! haha) When I came back out, I saw my niece laying on The Boyfriend's leg.


I asked if she was just resting or sleeping? He said "I think she's sleeping. She got really droopy-eyed and asked for her sweater and then just laid her head down." We woke her up so The Boyfriend could take a pit stop before we left.  She COULD NOT keep her little eyes opened!


She was SUCH a little trooper! We arrived at the park around 10am and left about 7:30 pm! We could not believe it! We totally planned to play it by ear and leave whenever she was ready. We thought that might be like around 3-4. She did not whine or get grumpy AT ALL! The only time she was carried was at the end of the day because we needed to get to the next show in a hurry. She was just having a great time and was wide awake right up until dinner.  We were so impressed and she was such a pleasure all day! She told me about halfway through the day "Auntie, this is the best present you have ever given me!"

It was about 10:30pm by the time we got her back home and she was knocked out!


Her little sister was wide awake however, and got to try on her gift we brought her. She loved her new shark beanie!


She also enjoyed the extra doughnuts we left behind and was apparently snacking on them all day. Haha! We also left behind our gift for my sleepyhead niece. We got her a display book for all of the smashed pennies she mad throughout the day.  My brother text me the next day to tell me that they had asked my niece how Sea World was when she woke up. She said "It was like a dream!" I guess that presents CAN be days after all, and a pretty amazing one at that!

1 comment:

  1. SO MUCH FUN!!! What a sweet auntie to devote a whole day to the little princess. You all look like you had a blast.

    ReplyDelete

Friday, July 25, 2014

Presents are something you open

"Auntie, presents are supposed to be something you open...not a day." This was the matter-of-fact response my niece gave when we informed her that we would be taking her to Sea World for her birthday.  Though I couldn't exactly argue with her logic, The Boyfriend and I did our best over the next few weeks to get her to understand how a day at a theme park could also be an awesome gift.  Despite our promises of exciting sea creatures you could feed and touch, the thing she seemed to be the most excited about was.....the pickles! My niece just LOVES pickles and when told that they had giant pickles on a stick, she was definitely on board! Though I was certain she actually would love Sea World, we took her excitement about ANY part of it as good enough and hoped she would be won over upon arrival.

Monday morning we picked her up and headed down to San Diego. My sister-in-law told me that my niece was so excited waiting for us to arrive that she kept opening the door to see if we were there yet. Being "babysat" is pretty much her favorite thing in the world!  The Boyfriend picked up doughnuts on the way and we grabbed a few and left the rest for my brother, sister-in-law and my other niece to enjoy.  The 2 hour drive went very well and only required one quick pit stop along the way.  As soon as we pulled up into the parking line, she was ecstatic and good to go!


First item of business on the list was the Explorer's reef just inside the main entrance. She just loved the little fish that swim up and nibble on your fingers! I was busy taking pictures and she said "Auntie come try it! It tickles!"



She was a little apprehensive about touching the little sharks.  She was afraid that they were going to bite her.  After some awesome support and encouragement from The Boyfriend, she finally gave it a go and then was SOOOO excited that she touched a shark!



Next up was feeding the seals (or was it sea lions? I cannot remember the difference!) which she was ALL about! She had zero problem touching the gross little fish and had a blast sticking them through the little tubes that were just at her level and feeding the awaiting seals.




After that, it was straight to the sea lion and otter show which she loved! She was so impressed with all of their "back flips" as she called them.


 
Then, we headed over to the shark exhibit. She thought it was pretty cool seeing all of the big sharks from far away. Haha!
 

 
She was not too happy that she was not allowed to touch the baby sharks in this exhibit.
 



When we started walking into the great white shark area (its a tube tank where you stand on one of those moving sidewalks and it takes you through a tube aquarium with sharks all around you) she said "I don't like this sad music!" and turned to walk away.  The Boyfriend picked her up and told her he promised it would be cool.  As soon as we got into the tube she said to him "You can put me down now." and watched the rest of the shark exhibit with wide eyed wonder.


 
Next line of business was a quick stop to feed the flamingos.  My niece had been reading me a book with Flamingos in it and she was looking forward to this part of the day.
 



After that, we were off to the Shamu show! We got our seats and The Boyfriend went to grab us some beverages before the show started.  My niece saw a vendor go by selling Killer whale fan misters and she said "I want one of those!" I sort of laughed and said "I feel like if I get that, I am gonna end up carrying it all day." She replied "No Auntie, I will carry it!" Since this seemed like an item that might actually come in handy for us on such a hot day, I gave in.



Of course, I ended up carrying it most of the day.....total rookie mistake! Although, it did have a lanyard and was a nice thing to have while sitting in the hot sun all day.  Plus, The Boyfriend had fun squirting us all day. He returned shortly with beverages and-Drumroll please- PICKLES!! My Niece was SOOOO excited and enjoyed her pickle while being amazed at the giant killer whales and all their tricks.



Following the show, we took a quick walk around the dolphin pool and then went off to lunch.



Throughout the day, at various spots, we made and started her a collection of smashed pennies.  My Niece got to pick them all out and got quite a work out making them.



Next came the highlight of the day, The bat rays! Now, if you remember from my trip to Sea World, I was not too crazy about feeding them myself, but I loved petting them.  We weren't sure how she would do with them.  At first, she did not even want to touch them and was content with just letting The Boyfriend feed them.


He then explained to her what it felt like when they suck the fish out of your hand and she said she would try it but then backed out at the last second.


We were one of the only people who had bought fish so the bat rays were flocking to us.  She finally got up the courage to touch one and let out the most adorable, joy-filled childish laugh ever!!! It was the cutest thing and she was so excited!! She asked The Boyfriend to go back and get more fish so there would be more for her to pet. She absolutely loved them!



After that, we visited the sea turtles (which she said was her favorite at the end of the day but she breezed by them), the beluga whales, penguins and the other aquariums.






We then saw the Pets Rule show, which she loved, and then grabbed some ice cream while relaxing for a bit.




Next item of business was the tide pools.  She got a total kick out of holding all different colors and sizes of starfish and did not want to leave!




 
She finally agreed to leave when we told her it was finally time for her to get her souvenir! She has brought some birthday money with her and had been keeping an eye on what she wanted all day.  She kept coming back to these polar bear ear muffs.


She wore them around the rest of the day, yes in the 80 degree weather, even as we walked through the exotic animal exhibit.



We took a quick photo-op on our way to dinner before leaving for the day.  My niece even demanded a  couple solo shots!




After eating dinner, I got up to use the restroom. (for the first time alone all day! haha) When I came back out, I saw my niece laying on The Boyfriend's leg.


I asked if she was just resting or sleeping? He said "I think she's sleeping. She got really droopy-eyed and asked for her sweater and then just laid her head down." We woke her up so The Boyfriend could take a pit stop before we left.  She COULD NOT keep her little eyes opened!


She was SUCH a little trooper! We arrived at the park around 10am and left about 7:30 pm! We could not believe it! We totally planned to play it by ear and leave whenever she was ready. We thought that might be like around 3-4. She did not whine or get grumpy AT ALL! The only time she was carried was at the end of the day because we needed to get to the next show in a hurry. She was just having a great time and was wide awake right up until dinner.  We were so impressed and she was such a pleasure all day! She told me about halfway through the day "Auntie, this is the best present you have ever given me!"

It was about 10:30pm by the time we got her back home and she was knocked out!


Her little sister was wide awake however, and got to try on her gift we brought her. She loved her new shark beanie!


She also enjoyed the extra doughnuts we left behind and was apparently snacking on them all day. Haha! We also left behind our gift for my sleepyhead niece. We got her a display book for all of the smashed pennies she mad throughout the day.  My brother text me the next day to tell me that they had asked my niece how Sea World was when she woke up. She said "It was like a dream!" I guess that presents CAN be days after all, and a pretty amazing one at that!

1 comment:

  1. SO MUCH FUN!!! What a sweet auntie to devote a whole day to the little princess. You all look like you had a blast.

    ReplyDelete