California Vacation! Days 3 & 4

I didn't take any pictures on Sunday but we did find a nice ward to attend...right across the street from the temple. Aiden was so tired and grumpy during sacrament meeting so I took him out to the hall where he fell asleep on my shoulder and slept all through Sunday school. He woke up in time for Relief Society but had lots of energy so I spent the majority of class in the hall with him again. Luckily we found a chalkboard in a side hallway which entertained him for the rest of the time. After church we took a nice walk around the resort to find the other swimming pools and look at the ocean. It was a gorgeous view!

Monday was Sea World day. As soon as Aiden woke up we loaded up the car and drove to San Diego. I was a little bit nervous how the day would go with Aiden in such a hot, busy place without much time for a nap but he did great. It was hard at some points but he got a couple little naps in the stroller and loved seeing all the water and animals. We had several unique experiences just out of pure luck. One of the first things we got to do was pet a tiny little alligator (or crocodile - I can't remember).

Aiden wasn't afraid at all and thought it was so cool. I was shocked at how soft and smooth it's scales were.

Another fun experience was to be able to feed the sea lions for free. They usually charge an arm an a leg for a tiny bowl full of fish, but it was the end of the day and the worker must have been getting rid of all the fish anyway so we each got a bowl to throw in to the sea lions. I thought Aiden would love to feed them but I guess he's a smart boy and wanted nothing to do with the slimy fish. Good for him. There were also a lot of pesky birds flying around trying to steal the fish and they were successful multiple times. They even managed to get a few right out of our hands. I guess that's probably because none of us were very keen on holding the fish very tight. Ew.

Aiden got up close and personal with the birds and the sea lions. He was fascinated!

This was our favorite sea lion. He was so funny. He stayed on that rock and just moaned and begged for fish. They were all noisy but this one was definitely the winner. The other ones barked like normal but this one just kept going with one long, lout, constant noise. 

There was another one (I think the one in the back against the rock) who would just splash and splash to get attention. I guess when they have to fight for every meal they learn new tricks to get what they want! :)

W, D, N, and M waiting for the show to begin.

Since we had a little boy with us this time we took advantage and did all the little kid activities. Aiden's not too thrilled to be in the this picture but that's only because he didn't want to turn around and pose, he just wanted to keep climbing!!

Aiden could have spent all day on this little bouncy pad. He was hilarious to watch because he'd stack up a bunch of blocks and then flop onto his stomach on top of them which would then crumble and dump him onto the floor. He'd also be running around and bouncing, then suddenly stop, make a very serious face, and do a back flop. After each fall he'd exclaim "oh man" or "oh poosha" (Portuguese - probably spelled wrong). He's just SO silly! All the other parents were watching him too haha.

We also got to watch the piranha feeding but it wasn't nearly as cool as we expected. We'd all heard the stories about a whole cow getting devoured in seconds so we thought it would be a flurry of madness once they dropped the food in, but I guess when piranhas are fed consistently they don't care as much. One by one they wold casually swim by the dangling fish and nibble a tiny bite. It took forever before you could even tell the fish was being eaten. After a while they sped up and were more viscous but still nothing like we had imagined. Maybe it's because it was already dead and they only get excited about live food. Either way I guess it was still cool to be able to say we've seen it.

While Grandpa, Uncle Nate, and Aunt Wendy went on the water ride, the rest of us enjoyed looking at the sting rays up close. Aiden tried multiple times to reach out and touch them with his hand or foot. I'm sure he'd have had no problem getting in to swim with them!

One of Aiden's favorite shows was the pet show where all the animals do tricks. I think he liked it so much because they were all familiar animals to him, unlike the whales, dolphins, and sea lions even though he loved those too!

Going on the tram above the water. We could see a couple of the shows going and it was fun to have a different view even for a couple minutes.

Going on the water ride. It was pretty chilly once we were wet so Tyson and I only participated once then wimped out.

SPLASH!! We always chose to stay out of the soak zones but got close enough to still feel a little mist. It was the perfect temperature for walking around all day but a little too cold to be soaked!

Sea lions are always my favorite because they do such funny things. All the animals amaze me with the things they are able to learn, but sea lions just seem to do so much more. 

I just love this picture. His nose was pressed against the glass watching those bright fish at eye level for a looong time.

This aquarium wrapped up and above us and Aiden couldn't take his eyes off the fish long enough for a picture.

Wow a turtle to touch! :D

Sea World was so fun. We had all been before but it was fun to go again and experience it through the eyes of a toddler. Everything was so much better and more exciting. We were all exhausted by the end of the day but it was definitely worth it.