San Diego. Santa. Shamu.

Saturday was a big day ... we were done with our after-Thanksgiving napping and it was off to one of our FAVORITE places ... SeaWorld. It was a bit rainy (and a bit chilly ... that's what I get for complaining about the gorgeous sunshine) but we bundled up and headed out the door!

And when we got there ... we had the best seats in the house for BREAKFAST WITH SHAMU!
Um ... Good Morning, Shamu!
We were all so distracted by the killer whales ...
That we almost forgot to eat breakfast. Almost.
After our tummies were full, it was off to meet Santa with a serious REAL beard! Very impressive!
Joshua announced that he wanted a map for Christmas and I think that took Santa a bit off guard. "Oh, I don't think I've ever had anyone ask for that before." Um ... we hadn't heard that one either! And Eli ... he wants Mac. And for that matter, he thinks everyone wants Mac.
A family shot with the fabulous Santa ...
And another family shot with Ben's parents ... and a grand Eli meltdown.
Amidst a few sprinkles, Joshua was determined to see the splash ride. He's been talking about this since July. He is still an inch too short to ride ... but he stood here for close to a half hour ... just watching the ride! And returned later that evening to watch it again.
While "J.J" watched the splash ride, Eli went in search of the beluga whales. Wish I had video of him saying "beluga whale" ... it's fantastic. And we got there at just the right time ...

BREAKFAST!

We spent the rest of the day riding all sorts of rides ... hugging Cookie Monster ...

And Abbey ...

And climbing REALLY tall mountains ...
And some of us slept right past lunch ... and reaped SERIOUS rewards for such perfect nap timing. All that was left ... a chocolate covered Shamu cookie with a shot of milk on the side! HE ATE THE WHOLE THING!!

And since our day seemed to revolve a LOT around food ... Joshua and Cake fed the string rays. Does it appear as though How's hand is in that creatures mouth? Um ... LET GO OF THE FISH!!

We had the BEST day. Seriously ... rain and all ... THE BEST DAY! And about 30 seconds after we left the park gates ... the skies opened up and the RAIN CAME POURING DOWN! No worries for us ... we snacked on hot chocolate and funnel cake. Can you just feel the holiday pounds sticking to our thighs??!!

Thank you Cake and Pap Pap ... what a precious memory for our family!!!