Keeping Up with the Etheridges: Waterlogged

The day after getting home from our day-trip to the beach, Allen drew the shortest straw... and was left in charge of spraying down all of our beach toys & equipment.

And while Allen stayed busy outside, Mrs. Preggers stayed nice & cool and relaxed inside - where she enjoyed a little Internet time in her favorite room.

With no computer in the room and both Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh still retired, I think it's safe to say the "office" has officially been renamed to the "play-room!" Needless to say, there was definitely lots of playin' done in that room while we were there!

But not all the playing was done inside. With all the warm and great weather we had, the pool got its fair share of playing too!

"C'mon Dad-Oh... don't be scared!

Get in already! Here, I'll even hold your hand!"

I couldn't very well replicate the waves we experienced at the beach, but it still made a splash or two and definitely made Allen a happy little boy!

Moe-Joe may have gotten play-time in the pool...

but Dad-Oh was certainly in charge of nap-time!

Playing in the pool and taking naps are fun... but there's no way they can compare to taking baths with Moe-Joe and then jumpin' on her bed! ("Naked Time!!!")

And when the pool at home just wasn't big or warm enough,

there was always the clubhouse pool down the street!

But don't think all the fun and silliness stopped

just because we were at a public pool!

With the sun shining, the pool nice & warm, and some quality play time... it was almost impossible not to smile!

Without a doubt the number one activity on our to-do list for the week was to visit the beach. However, a close number two was to take Allen to his very first theme park! We certainly had a bunch to chose from, but ultimately, we decided to go with the one with the most animals!

Once again, Moe-Joe came through with her

weather order for another perfect day!

We hit a couple of really neat aquariums right off the bat,

which Allen found completely fascinating!

It was definitely your typical hot & humid sunny day in central Florida, so a visit to Antarctica was more than welcomed.

We enjoyed a nice short ride through the Antarctic, cooled off in the super low temps, and saw a whole bunch of cute little penguins... which Allen didn't seem all that interested in.

Happy Feet?

Seeing Shamu was a must... but no splash zone for us,

as we opted to sit up high to get a better view.

And what a magnificent view it was!

Such an amazing show.

After an incredible show like that, Allen was just beside himself!

I'm pretty sure Moe-Joe, Jei and I could've gone to the other side of the park, ate lunch, rode a roller coaster, and come back to see Allen right where we had left him!

There certainly was no shortage of amazing things to see.

Especially in this particular aquarium... where Allen

got to see one of the most silly & crazy creatures of them all!

Allen loved the Stingray exhibit! Loved just watching though... as he was too freaked out and unsure about sticking his little hand in there.

But Mom certainly tried her best

to get him to get his hand in there to pet some Stingrays...

And then Dad tried even harder!

Once we finally got around to seeing the Dolphins, it was game over. Allen could've sat there and watched them swim & play around forever!

We told him it really wouldn't make a difference, but Allen insisted that if he got as close as he could to the glass, he would feel like he was in there swimming with the fish too.

"Hey there Mr. Turtle...

Are you 150-years-old too like the one in 'Nemo'?"

Allen: "Hmmm... I wonder if we'll get to see any sharks?!"

With such an absolute incredibly beautiful background, I couldn't imagine anything ruining a picture there... that is until I noticed a certain someone's little finger where it didn't belong... which sadly, did in fact ruin a couple of good pictures!

In the end, we had to leave him be and let him pick till his little heart's desire! Allen eventually stopped... just long enough to finally get the perfect shot!

One of the best parts about the park... and arguably Allen's favorite,

didn't even involve any animals at all!

Not only did SeaWorld have water exhibits for all of the animals,

but they also had one for little humans too!

Allen sat on the sidelines for a while... getting the lay of the land so to speak. And he definitely took a while to get comfortable playing in all the splashing water everywhere, but he eventually got in there and got plenty wet!

As hot as it was that afternoon, I'm sure it felt really good to get wet and cool off... and it certainly was a fun & entertaining way to end a great day.

It was Allen's first visit to a theme park... and it was a huge success! He was a trooper and powered right through nap-time so that he could see all of the amazing animals. It was a long, hot and tiring day... but definitely lots of fun and totally worth it. Thanks to Moe-Joe for treating us and for spending such a fun day at the park with us!

Our last day in the sunshine state... and we got just that: lots of sunshine! Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh treated us to a big delicious meal at our favorite breakfast spot, and then after eating way too much, we tried our very best to walk it off.