The Lohreys: Sea World Saturday.

Now we did not intend to hit up Sea World. In-fact, our intentions were to avoid it. Not because we didn't want to go there, but because it's a freaking $70 per person to get in. Now I love sea "creatures", but that's a lot of coin to see them, especially for someone who is trying to be smart with their dinero. Our plan when we departed from El Centro was actually to spend the day in San Diego, since the day we got there Kai was a little insane from being so tired and was unable to handle both Coronado and San Diego. However, our plans changed when we stumbled into a McDonald's for Rachel to use the bathroom. There, right in front of us were 3 coupons for $20 off each. CHA-CHING!! I'm in. Kai was free of course and we ended up giving our extra coupon to the girl in front of us. You're welcome lady. But seriously, $40 of savings is actually quite a lot. It's more than our water bill if you really want to put it into perspective. Plus, in all honesty, I saved more because my sister paid for me to get in! Except no-one told us it was going to be $15 to park. Seriously? What a rip-off. I was more than happy to pay for parking though since Rach paid for the park tickets, I just think that to park your car should always be free. It's not like they wash it when you're in the park or anything...but I digress.

So we walk a couple miles from our $15 parking spot to get into the park. No shuttle? Another rip-off. Really? Didn't I just say I wasn't going to complain about the parking situation anymore? Shoot. Okay, so the park...or actually I guess it's the "world" since it's not called Sea Park. We walk in and I immediately spot Elmo. No only did I spot Elmo, but so did a little 2 year old redhead. WHAT the what? Why is Elmo here?! This is AMAZING! Kai loves loves loves Elmo, aka "Melmo" (in Kai language). Not only is there Elmo, but there is a whole entire area of Sesame Street. Did we just pay to get into the wrong "world" because last I checked Elmo wasn't a sea creature. Nonetheless, Kai LOVED it. He literally ran around saying "Melmo...Melmo...Melmo...Melmo" for a good half hour. You're lucky I think you're cute, kid otherwise I would have found that EXTREMELY annoying :o) We even got to get our picture taken with Elmo and The Count. I was really surprised that Kai ran up to Elmo and gave him a big hug - you know how some kids are with big giant characters. I thought he might be a little timid, but his obsession with Elmo pushed all fear aside and he was smiling from ear to ear. Not gonna lie, I was smiling from ear to ear myself just seeing how happy and excited he was. I guess the $15 parking spot has already paid for itself. Yes, yes it has...

We hung around in Sesame Street chaos for a little bit before moving on. The only reason we didn't stay longer was because Kai needed his diaper changed and we thought it was a good way to get his mind off Elmo so we could enjoy the rest of the park. Now you know how there are some things you wish you would have thought of before you did something: you know, like "why did I bother bringing this stroller in when every time we put him in here he screams and kicks and ends up walking anyway"...that was us. The stroller was actually more of a hassle and Kai wanted to run, so run he did. We literally ran from place to place. Penguins, to Baby Balooga, to polar bears, to turtles, to sharks, to dolphins, to Shamu...QUICK AVOID ELMO...to a sky tram ride thingy, to Cirque del Mar, to many other sea animals. We had a BLAST. Finally, when we were getting ready to leave we decided to let Kai have one more go at Elmo World. There were a few little kiddie rides that Kai was just DYING to go on. Literally could hardly hold the kid back from jumping the fence and/or having a mental breakdown for having to wait in line. On the last ride of the night there were these Elmo flying fish and it was just a simple little ride where you sat in Elmo and it brought you up high and you went around and around and around. When the ride was done I hopped out and turned to get Kai out, who had literally wrapped his hands around the bar in death grip mode. Now begins the all out battle. Here goes my "Parent of the Year" award. I'm physically yanking, tugging and pulling at Kai to get out of the ride. The whole time, even after I pryed his little fingers off, he is SCREAMING, "MELMO MELMO MELMO MEEEEEEEEELLLLLLMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOO". As we pass the gated area he somehow gets a hold of the gate and another battle begins...and then another to get him into the stroller...and another to get him into the car seat. However, he surrendered once in the car because the poor kid was OUT before we even left our parking spot. All in all we had an amazing time and it was sooooooo much fun seeing Kai's face light up with all the different animals and of course, Elmo.

Warning: Picture overload.

Big hugs for Elmo!