I'd like to be...under the sea...

This post has nothing to do with an octopus' garden. It has everything to do with sting rays and dolphins! It was finally time to take Rozzie for her adventure with a dolphin. She was so excited to go and was a delight on the drive. We got to Discovery Cove and it rained.... We sat it out for 30 minutes and the rest of the day was great. We spent time in the aviary looking at some odd birds and some pretty birds. There was one bird that looked like a FROG!! It isn't an owl, either. Its actually called a tawny frog. Very funny looking.

Roz got hold of this little pink bird and then couldn't get rid of it! She liked it, though. It was very pretty. It even had a few blue feathers on its back.

Here is Roz at Discovery Cove before we got our hair wet. She is sitting in the "lagoon." The lagoon is just a nice big, ocean-looking swimming pool. It is nice and warm!! After going in the saltwater pools which are kept at 75 degrees, the lagoon is like bathwater.

Roz and I snorkeled the lazy river twice. It is part of the lagoon, so it is not salt water. It is a great place to practice the snorkeling. Roz seemed to already know what to do and was really good at it. She even dives down to the bottom which is something I won't do because I know that I'd end up with a mouth full of water. After the lazy river, Roz and I got brave to go in the COLD water. I mean cold. 75 degrees is a lot colder than you think. But we finally acclimated and jumped into the drop off!! Roz was a little freaked out about the size of the sting rays. THEY ARE HUGE - 5-6 feet across! There were lots of fish to look at. At one point, we got caught on a ledge and couldn't off because of all the sting rays swimming past us in very shallow water. It was a little freaky - they have all had their stingers removed, but it is still a little freaky. There is also a specific sting ray lagoon where you can go and are surrounded by sting rays. Again, freaky, but fun. Roz and I had a great time together, just hanging out and swimming. Finally, it was our turn to meet a dolphin. Roz was so excited. She was really bubbly and giddy. Our dolphin was named CJ. There were 8 people in our group. Two of them didn't want to do a swim with the dolphin, but once they saw everyone else do it and saw that it wasn't dangerous or anything, they decided to do it. Here is Rozzie kissing CJ.

Roz told me that dolphins were her 3rd favorite animal (1. flamingo, 2. zebra). Here we are with CJ. He really did seem to enjoy playing with the humans. As the trainer said, if they didn't like playing with us, they'd swim away.Here is Rozzie going for a swim. She held onto the dorsal fin and the flipper and the dolphin pulled her right along. The dolphin is a powerful animal. That was very apparent when hanging on and feeling the animal move! It is a very exhilarating ride.

After our dolphin swim, we got showered up and were off for Tampa. We got there in time to watch the TV specials on both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. We really had such a fun time together. The next morning we were off to Busch Gardens. Roz got to ride one coaster when the rain started. It rained twice that day and we were under cover for about 2 1/2 hours total. we took that time to get some food. It was pretty packed and we shared a table with two other families. Lightning hit the building and scared everyone pretty good. it was really loud!! Then we were off for more rides.

Here is Rozzie with her #1 favorite animal - flamingos!! She got to see zebras on the train ride, so all her dreams were realized. She saw her top 3 favorite animals!!

We went into the aviary with the lorikeets. they paid her no attention until i spent $5 on food and then they were all over her! She loved it. Mom, if you were wondering, yes, they are your sunglasses on her head!

We had a nice drive home and are happy to be here. I have had 3 weeks of running and I'm ready for a break. I have already painted the chair rail in Morgan's room. I'm happy to have that project done. Next is the girls' bathroom. I have started priming it. As soon as I post this, I'll finish that job! it is nice to be home and get these things done. Morgan and Roz are back at Girl's Camp. Our two Jacksonville stakes were split to make a 3rd stake. We are in the new South Stake. East Stake was having their camp this week and they invited all the new South Stake girls so that they could meet their new friends! My girls were all about that!! it wasn't until Morgan was at the church and realized she didn't know any of the JC's that she got a little nervous. I'm sure she has been just fine. Roz left this morning and knows a few of the girls her age that were going. I'm sure I'll have more to post next week!! Happy Independence Day!