SeaWorld!!!!! Busch Gardens!!!!

We couldn't let the long winter pass without finding some excuse for a "tropical" vacation or exploring another amusement park!!!! Off to Florida again. Jadeyn seriously has talked and talked about last year's trip to SeaWorld, so it was the perfect excuse to have to go again!!!

Highlights of the trip!
Brian, Kasi and Payton Miller
We were able to hook up with our old buddies from Optometry school whom we haven't seen in seven years!!! How can it be that long ago!?! It was just as if we had never been apart except for the addition of two adorable and rambunctious little boys who adored each other. Brian and Kasi are such good people and we are so happy that our friendship has continues through the years and the miles! We will hopefully find a way to make a tradition out of this trip and do it again!!



















Coasters!!
Montu -a feet hanging coaster with some sweet twists and turns.

Cheetah Hunt - still a work in progress but when it opens, it promises to be a spectacular ride and will give us the excuse we need to come back. Supposedly it will be a launch coaster with three stops and starts, imitating a Cheetah hunting its prey. I thought that the work-in-progress pictures were sweet!



















Sheikra - a coaster meant to imitate the sharp dive of a hawk! Hanging your feet over the edge, it takes you up over 200 feet, suspends you looking straight down for 3 seconds, then plummets you down at a 95 degree angle!!!! Sweet ride and one we went on over and over again!!



















Animals - combining a coaster park with a zoo was a great idea. Jadeyn loved riding the steamer train through the big game. We spent a whole day just with the animals exploring all the corners of the park.

Kid's Play Area - There were acres of fun for the little ones including an entire HUGE maze of climbing ropes and tunnels and bouncy places, and slides all intermingled somehow with aquariums and an atrium full of flying foxes, etc. Jadeyn wore himself (and us) out climbing and swinging and sweating in the Florida heat!

Flamingos and Sharks! - Definitely Jadeyn's favorite part of the trip was seeing the Sharks! He remembered from last year when he was only 1.5 years old exactly where the shark tanks were at SeaWorld and was so excited to see them again. A newly discovered love was the flamingos!!! He couldn't get enough of them!!!

Lorakeets! My favorite part of course was the Lorakeet exhibit where we got to feed those beautiful birds! They weren't shy at all this time as we found ourselves quickly swamped with hungry birds. Jadeyn wasn't so certain about them when they landed on his head though!

The Weather! We couldn't believe that the weather could be as beautiful as it was. 70-80 degrees felt like heaven compared to back home! For Kevin it was the much needed "recharging of the batteries" to make it through the still winter months ahead!