Enzo is a TEENAGER!!!

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Happy 13th Birthday to Enzo!!!!  Wow!!  Enzo is a teenager! This is crazy!  So why not be crazy and head to SeaWorld Orlando?!?!  Yep, that's where we went for Enzo's birthday.  

Usually we go to the zoo for Enzo's birthday or the pool. So how about do both in one area?  SeaWorld!

The main reasons we usually take Enzo to the zoo or pool for his birthday is because Enzo absolutely loves animals of all shapes and sizes.  He also loves being outside.  

If I could, I think it would be neat to create a giant mural in our home where each room had a different theme.  Imagine the living area with a mural of the ocean and all of its creatures, like this dolphin who gave Enzo a big fat wink and a smile when we entered the park. 

I can even imagine the hallways being decked out like the aquarium tunnel.  In fact, it'd be so cool if we had a tunnel in each hallway of our home with fish, lobster, and sharks swimming all over our heads. 

If Enzo could have that in each hallway of his home, I think he'd be in aquarium heaven.  He loved going through the tunnel. 

Enzo had the most fun at Sesame Street Land.  It is the area Enzo enjoyed the most.  The first ride as you are walking down Sesame Street is the carousel.  Immediately Enzo points to the carousel and says, "this one!"  

We all hopped on our Sunny Day Carousel horses and took a ride on a classic theme park ride.  It was nice and slow - perfect for Enzo's first ride of the day.  

No doubt Enzo would want a carousel in his home too.  Boy, Enzo was super upset when we had to get down from our horses.  

Without a shadow of a doubt, Enzo's favorite ride was Super Grover's Box Car Derby!  Because we headed straight to Sesame Street Land when we first arrived, there were no lines!  

Enzo loved the ride so much, he asked to go again.  Because there was no line, the operator asked our group if we'd like to go again.  Everyone yelled out "YES!"  It was PERFECT!  Enzo was in rollercoaster heaven!

Next stop, the Cookie Drop!  It was a super cute and super easy ride.  We went up and then down a couple of times.  Soft and smooth.  The best part was when we went up, you could see so much from the top of the cookie monster's cookie jar. 

Again, no lines meant lots of fun over and over again!  I was super impressed by how easy it was to get Enzo on some of these rides - until we went to Elmo's choo choo train.  Enzo loved watching the train but didn't want to take the ride.  Ha ha

Next stop - The Orca Experience!  That was definitely our favorite show.  In fact we watched both the noon show and the 6:30pm show.  

The Orcas were absolutely amazing and beautiful at the same time.  The trainers were so fun to watch too.  You could tell they have a passion for Orcas and love their jobs!  

While the Orcas were doing their thing, the trainers in the back would be dancing and laughing.  Even when the video talked about conservation and protection of the Orcas, the trainers, while setting up for the next stunts, were singing the songs being played!  

While Enzo took a break to go to the bathroom and drink his formula, Eli and I snuck away to hit the ICEBREAKER rollercoaster.  Eli and I lucked out with getting into seat #1 right in front!  

As written on the SeaWorld Orlando website: "Florida's steepest beyond vertical drop is just the beginning.....

Named after the icy Arctic summits, Ice Breaker features four airtime filled launches, both backwards and forwards, culminating in a reverse launch into the steepest beyond vertical drop in Florida - a 93 feet tall spike with 100 degree angle. The thrills continue as riders fly over a near vertical tophat maneuver into a series of exciting twists, turns, and airtime hills."

Needless to say it was an intense ride, Eli's first....and probably his last for a while.  We didn't realize the intensity of the ride.  Maybe we should have done some research.  But MAN it was CRAZY AWESOME!  

Here's a YouTube video from SeaWorld.  Click Here!

The Birthday Dude had a blast at Sesame Street Land so we went back to let Enzo run around freely.

The weather was exactly what we needed.  The shady spots were on target too.  

One thing Enzo wanted to see were alligators.  We found out that there is a large rescue center at SeaWorld so we went to check it out. 

We looked for alligators at the entrance.  We found HUGE manatees eating lettuce (maybe lettuce is actually fattening ha ha ha). We walked all around and then we went underground and saw way more.

This rescue center is one of the largest in the states and they really do great work with rehabilitating injured and sick marine life like sea turtles, manatees and alligators.

YES - we saw alligators.  Enzo was determined to see alligators.  We found them.  However, they were very small alligators.  

Enzo insisted that there were more alligators, and bigger ones somewhere.  Sorry, birthday dude, only little alligators.  

As the day progressed we went to the Sea Lion and Otter show.  It was.....awkward.  Maybe they had a new script or something.  It was a bit of a bummer.  

We did see the most amazing sea lion show in Tenerife in the Canary Islands at Loro Parque.  THAT was a great show!

From the sea lions we moved onward to the Dolphin theater to check out the dolphins.  That was a cute and funny show.  Once again, the trainers were just so passionate about their conservation efforts and that just makes the show even more attractive.  

While we headed to the Orca Experience (again) we had just enough time to hop on the 400 foot Iconic SeaWorld Tower.  We got a bird's eye view of the park and the rest of Orlando.  WOW - this park is HUGE!  Yet another ride that Enzo did NOT want to leave. 

By 6:30pm, the heat had taken it's toll on us all and the shade of the Orca Experience theater was a welcome reprieve.  Still, how much fun is it if you can't sit in the SPLASH ZONE!  Scott and Eli did just that while Enzo and I sat in the handicap section, just a hair above the SPLASH ZONE.  I still can't stop laughing at how soaked they got.  Buahahahahahahahaha.  

Scroll to the end of this blog for a not so great video of Scott and Eli's section getting soaked and me just laughing my head off!  

By 7pm we were ready to leave the park....this picture was taken BEFORE Scott and Eli got soaked.  When we were leaving this bridge was PACKED with everyone leaving the park all at the same time.  Phew!

For those of you who might not know this - May is Military Appreciation Month.  Waves of Honor is a program that honors those serving or who have served in the military.  The tickets we got were courtesy of GovX and were free.  Yes, that's right, our trip to SeaWorld was a thank you for our service to our country!  

It was the perfect gift as it was a BIG HIT with Enzo!  I think this was his favorite birthday yet!  What in the world are we going to do next year?  And now we have a teenager in our home!  WHOA!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR FIRST BORN ENZO!  We had an amazing day for an amazing birthday dude!  Can't wait to see what this year brings.  

The guy standing up with his arms stretched out is the perfect example of how to take it all in!!!!!