A well NEEDED and DESERVED Vacation!!!

Let me just tell you, Brent and I aren't very good about taking vacation, not that we don't want to but something always gets in the way of allowing us to take the plunge and do it. However, last month, Valentines weekend, I managed to talk Brent into a spontaneous vacation to Sea World. We decides to wake up sat. morning, pack the kids up, and go. Caleb had told us he wanted to go to the Phoenix Zoo that night before, so when we woke up we told him that is where we are going. With the kids in there jammies, we drove, and drove, and drove. I thought that Caleb was going to ask what was taking soooo long, but he only asked two or three times.

This is Caleb being goofy on our way to California!

Cheyenne Chillin with Mommy glasses!!!

Kingston driving at the rest stop!!!

Cheyenne driving at the rest stop, sporting daddy's hat!!!

When we arrived at Sea world, Caleb was really surprised, and at first he was a little disappointed we weren't at the phoenix zoo, but after we explained and got inside he thought he was in heaven. We spent three days at sea world, and did almost everything there was to do.

We waited for the Shamu show to start, and that was a fun show!

We rode the Star fish spinney thingy!!! Caleb got us spinning really fast, in fact I thought we were going to lose Cheyenne, she couldn't sit up straight. I though Cheyenne wasn't going to like it but she did!And of course my least favorite thing, the jungle gym. This contraption is meant for kids and adults to climb, but let me tell you what..... It was hard, and I couldn't wait to get the heck out of that thing. After the first time I was like noway am I doing that again. Tons of kids, and Adults trying to climb this giant mesh maze, next time I think all pass;) The things you do, just to allow your kids to have a fun time.

We waited in line to feed the dolphins, pet first feed second. Cheyenne was scared to death as soon as those dolphins came our way, but Caleb couldn't get enough. I can see why it would be scary, those dolphins were aggressive, and looking into a mouth full of teeth is something to be scared of.Brent and Kingston petting the sting ray (Bat ray)! Again Cheyenne didn't want anything to do with them.Caleb at first was a little scared, after all they are called STING ray. After a little while of talking to him I convinced him to feed them. It was amazing, as I too had never feed them before. You place the fish between your pointer and middle finger, place your arm underwater as far as you can, and the sting rays swim over the top, and suck it right out of your hand like a vacuum. A couple of times I though Caleb was going to lose his hand because he kept it down there so long, but as you can see he still has them both.

We saw the Sharks!!!

And the flamingo's!!!

A dairy cow, that sounded like a guy, dressed in flowered shorts!

This is one of the rides Caleb went on several time. It is part roller coaster, and part log ride. He loved every minute, and not at any minute did it ever scare him. The other ride that he went of was a raft ride, that got both him and Brent soaked, but again he loved it. Cheyenne however was very disappointed she couldn't ride so she got spoiled because mommy bought her a bracelet with her name on it, and daddy bought her a doll. I guess you get whatever you want as long as you stop crying. Well it worked!!!

The sky ride was fun, of course it would have been better had we all been able to go at the same time. Apparently Kingston, although riding on our lap is one to many riders for one cart. Now we know.Kingston sporting his new Sea World hat!!!Cheyenne and daddy!!!

And you can't forget to get the Shamu Ice cream. Cheyenne took one bite, and half of it fell on the ground. She wasn't very happy!!!What a cute group!!!Through all the fun, we had we diffidently got tuckered out, can't you tell;)Someday I will get one of these beautiful trees at my home!!!This is the hotel we stayed at. I booked a hotel on hotels.com, and thought to myself this looks like a good place. I showed pictures to Brent (Look at the rooms, look at the pool etc.) You know how that goes. All looked great, but when we got there, nothing looked like the picture at all, it was in a shady neighbor hood, and the parking was horrible. However the rooms weren't that bad once you got to them.Look at these cute kids all ready for bed!!!

We had a wonderful time as a family, and enjoyed every minute we got to spend with each other. When we got home, Brent was already planning our next vacation, so I hope this is a start to much more vacations, and creating lasting memories for our kids, and with our kids.