California Dreaming

It's been a very, very busy week and a half.

There was the trip to Universal Studios to see this and some other stuff.

It was cold, but the sun graced us with its presence on day two, which was nice after getting soaked on day one. (We hadn't packed for Seattle, after all...) Then we drove to Santa Monica and we hung out here:


And there were pretty views. And children playing in the sand despite the lack of warmness.


Then we ate dinner with this gorgeous view just as the sun set:


And then we headed off to Sea World for animal attractions galore. I found Sea World to be much more interesting than Universal. But, I'm probably biased, given my lack of interest in movies and my almost over-the-top love of animals.

Killer whales seemed to actually enjoy doing this (there were a lot of whole fish treats given out):


The dolphins were very talented!


I was surprised when we were able to pet a real dolphin. Ironically, it felt fake.


We fed this guy. He scares me a little.

Okay, a lot. Can you blame me!? Look at those teeth!

This guy scared me, too. I didn't realize walruses were that B.I.G. This photo just doesn't do it justice.


And speaking of being freaked out:


There were Flamingos and Turtles and Penguins, oh my!




Dang, that snow is slippery!



And beluga whales enjoying what I was told feels to them like a Hawaiian vacation. Relaxing.


I don't know why, but I loved this guy. Not his species, just this one fish.


Plus, polar bears are cute and fuzzy. But, not friendly, I'm told. I wasn't allowed to pet one or take one home.



And they seem to have a fondness for snow.



Sea otters eat shrimp out of Kongs at Sea World, so, you know, that entertained me for quite some time.



I was thinking of teaching Raya to do this next week.



I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

There was a gorgeous sunset over the wing of our plane right before boarding...


and then we landed in the middle of a ridiculous snow storm in Seattle. Awesome.

Also, we booked the date for our engagement photos with Abbey Hepner! I know, we're a little slow on the photos, but we figured we had a better chance for a little warmness if we the shoot closer to summer. So exciting! I can't wait!