The boys playing at our local splash pad, just 2 blocks down from our house (woot!).
Desmond showing off his certificate of completion for swimming lessons.
Summer activities wear a lil' guy out, he falls asleep in the weirdest positions. =)
This last weekend my cousin and her husband were very gracious hosts to us as we visited Sea World Orlando through a program called Here's to the Hero's. It allows active duty soldiers and up to 3 dependents to attend Sea World for free. So we slathered on the sun screen, packed our towels and enjoyed a great day with sea creatures.
We arrived right as they opened which provided a couple of non-crowded hours.
A little pre-big day pet affection for Bailey. Both boys loved this dog! And she loved the attention so it was a win-win.
First stop: flamingoes. Don't know why Jax is grimacing? He was happy when we snapped the photo. And yes, I did dress my children alike so that a.) it was easier to find them in a crowd because they were both wearing the same outfit and b.) if one got lost we could point at the retained son and say "He was wearing the same thing as this one!" You laugh but we saw one very distraught mom who we think did loose her child so.....better safe than sorry! =)
So excited to go see dolphins!
Our first show of the day. It was fantastic. Notice the birds in the left corner that were trained to fly over our heads at the right moment for dramatic effect. It was truly remarkable the talent in these shows.
This picture was taken by a camera stealing mime during one of the pre shows. I was taking a picture of the boys and he offered to take it for me and then ran off with my camera....obviously I got it back.
Said mime. He was hilarious.
Sea Lions, pretty impressive and funny with attitude. We went to this show twice because the first time the star of the show refused to come out and complete his tasks, the second time he also refused to come out for a portion but the trainers did a great job of covering and carrying on humorously.
Desmond requested to meet the actors/trainers after the show and wanted his picture taken with this one in particular.
Both boys begged to have their picture taken with the whale but wouldn't sit still for me to get a good one...
This show was fantastic, we would have like to gone to it twice as well but didn't get to.
This is how close we were. Yes, we got wet. No, I did not get offered as whale bait this time. (Long story, ask my mother,)
You can't really see him, but Desmond is on this ride, he liked it.
Jaxter giggled the whole time.
Watching the dolphins.
These dolphins are a tease, they come just close enough to NOT let you pet them. However, one did feel generous while we were there and Marc and I both got to pet him/her. The boys did not. But they still thought it was great.
The HUGE walrus (?) that comes out at the end of the Sea Lion show. Crazy big.
Boys didn't last 10 minutes once we got in the car to leave.
Saying good-bye to Bailey.
Desmond especially bonded with sweet Bailey.
******Some video of our adventures lately.*******
Desmond has graduated from tricycle to balance bike to an honest to goodness 2 wheeler. He did this a couple weeks ago and has been doing long rides since. We walk the 2.5 miles to Dad's work some days and he rides his bike right along with me pushing Jax.
It never ceases to amaze me how fast my husband, gold star father, can teach his boys something!
Jaxter getting dunked at his first swimming lesson.
Now that Desmond has been introduced to swimming, he is loving practicing and learning. Marc got him farther in an hour at my cousin's house than the teacher got with him in 2 weeks!
Jaxter's first roller coaster ride, its a little hard to watch but you can see him go from excited to terrified to unsure to happy. At the end he says "it tickled my tummy!" He, of course, asked for Dad to ride with him (I was in front of him with Desmond), so that he "wouldn't have to be scared".
Desmond's second roller coaster ride.
