Orlando Vacation Part II - Sea World

We arrived at Sea World around 9 am and visited these Sea Lions first. Michael and Noah got to feed them!

We saw the dolphin show, which was pretty incredible.

The show left such an impression on Ethan that he cried when we left the arena. For the rest of the day he said, "I wanna see the Pink lady!" The picture below was taken when we went back to Sea World the last day, just before going to the airport. We had to see the "Pink Lady" once more!

Noah got to pet a Wallaby - so soft!

Of course, we had to say "hi" to Shamu!

Visiting the dolphin viewing area.

Those Sea Lions are always so funny to see.

They had this awesome climbing and play area. (for the BIG kids too!)

We both got to ride with Noah on his first roller coaster, The Shamu Express. He loved it!We had a very special treat for dinner, sitting by the shark tank!! Pretty wild.

We pet the graceful and slippery stingrays.

We also got to pet dolphins, but I didn't get a very good picture of that. (c:

This was the flume ride, Atlantis, that Noah decided he would ride with Daddy. Perhaps it was a little too scary...

Don't know if you can see Noah's face. Shear. Terror.
They survived.

Orlando Vacation Part I

We had a lot of fun getting ready for our trip.

We drove to Arlington the day before, so we could make our early morning flight.
We woke the boys at 5:30 am.

The boys did great on the plane; the first one since our return from Peru, 2 years ago.
They were so excited!

We arrived safely, picked-up the rental car and headed to Summer Bay Resort.

Over the next two days we took full advantage of all the fun the resort had to offer us.

There were lots of places to swim!

We also enjoyed seeing lots of wildlife - turtles, ducklings, toads and frogs, and some neat birds.

These Sandhill Cranes were quite bold - they approached our patio daily and were delightful to watch. They adult ones were taller than Noah.

The boys did a great job sleeping together for the first time, in a hide-a-bed.

Sunset from the patio.

Father's Day

The Summer has already been very full of fun...but one of the best parts of Summer is having Daddy home with us during the day!! We feel very blessed to be altogether during these warm summer days. The boys wanted to celebrate Daddy's special day by painting him some special cards...

...and making him a pancake breakfast after letting him sleep in.

Michael definitely deserves the "Best Daddy" award for all the ways he loves our boys. He is always up for taking them on a long explore, giving them the gift of loving Creation and pointing their sweet little hearts to our Creator.

Michael has passed down his "Billy goat feet" to his sons - they are both quite sure-footed.

He loves to rough house with them, cuddle with them, sing with them, inspire them with music (listening to it or making it), pray with them, garden and read with them. He just began reading "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" with Noah - so many sweet lessons to learn in those wonderful books.
Ethan summed it up well tonight when he prayed, "Thank you for Daddy."