Baking at Sea World

Yesterday we had a family birthday party for Marcus's older sister Wendi at Sea World in Orlando. Eight adults and two toddlers planned to meet at the park at 9 am, though we didn't all get there until and into the park until around 11 am. I had never been to a theme park with eight adults and two toddlers, and did not realize how slowly everything can move when there are that many people involved in every decision. It was not like anyone was insisting on their way at any point in time...in fact the exact opposite: everyone was being so flexible that it was hard to take a direction. Yesterday also happened to be one of the hottest, most humid days in Florida this summer. In spite of the slow progress and the oppressive heat, we did manage to see four shows, four animal encounter exhibits, ride a roller coaster, eat a meal, and even hang out in the kiddie area for a little while. We also managed to bring a small birthday cake into the park along with 31 candles for a covert little birthday celebration. We tried lighting the candles in a sitting area, but the wind kept blowing them out, so we all huddled into a little concrete alcove beside a building, lit the candles quickly, sang the song and laughed as Wendi blew them out (Traci had accidently included some trick candles in the mix...) Largely because of the heat, we were all totally exhausted by 7 pm. All in all, it was a fun day to be together and celebrate Wendi's special day, though next time we all agreed to go later in the year!