Christie's Crew: SeaWorld 2013 with #AdventureCon13 Day 2 BEGINS!

As my "Adventure"Con13 continued on day TWO, I wasn't sure what to expect. This was all such a new territory for me, yes I blog but these amazing ladies BLOG. I kept my mind and heart open for what the day would bring. So here goes...

The first part of our Saturday started off with a bang. Since this was our family's first trip to SeaWorld San Antonio and our boys first trip to SeaWorld EVER, just the excitement of entering the park the first morning was filled with infectious joy from three little boys and 1 big one. Thanks to my friend who had been there several times prior, she told me of the fun things we HAD to do like take a picture of our kiddos by the size chart, so we would know what they could and couldn't ride on. Not only was that a great idea, look at the cute picture it made. I can't wait to scrapbook these memories!!

I love that the morning started out with not only a session for us, but also for my kiddos. Knowing how much they included and invested in my family was so special. My kiddos were able to make some fun crafts and enjoy some breakfast goodies, before they had some time in the park while our session continued.

After our fun start to the morning with full bellies and joyful hearts we began our first session with Magaly Chocano, @SwebApps. She offered great information which in turn stimulated amazing discussion amongst the bloggers. As an aspiring blogger it was awesome to learn the top 10 Blog Apps:

1. Wordpress

2. Tumblr

3. SoundCloud

4. DropVox

5. EverMote

6. MindMeister

7. Feedly

8. DropBox

9. Blogsy

10. Quicklyrics

I have already started exploring and learning more about these Apps and can't wait to see which ones will work best for me. I have to admit some of the info was over my head, but encouraged and motivated me to dive in and LEARN! I have had a blog idea for a very long time, but have been reluctant to get it going, but in this first session alone a fire was lit to begin the process and make the dream a reality!

Before we headed off to a fun few hours with the family, we were greeted by some fun furry friends encounter with these furry friends. How cool is that! I think I want one of each!!

After are great first start to the day we enjoyed some fun time with our families before continuing on to our next session, MY FAVORITE SESSION! A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words: Techniques and Photo Walk. We started with a panel made up of three amazing people with different photography backgrounds: Bob French, SeaWorld Photographer, Nan Palmero, local photographer; and Sarah Hubbell, Wildsider and photographer.

Now, I always LOVE a good panel, but as a photographer (Joy in the Journey Photography) myself to have a panel of professionals talking about a subject I am soooo invested in is AWESOME! To be honest I couldn't take notes fast enough during this session. The only things that would have made it even more amazing was to let them talk all day and to see examples of their work. One of my favorite quotes was "Be Bold and Move," I totally agree with this! With pictures success comes with moving and getting right in there for the shot, especially with kiddos :)!

They all shared so many great apps, but what I loved most of all is they shared WHY they like and use these apps. I always find I am more apt to use and try new things when I know how and why they are being used. Apps, I am excited to use first are: Camera+, PicMonkey, and Flickr.

THEN, wait for it. We had the opportunity to choose which one of these amazing people to go on a PhotoWalk with, now how does a person do this? I wish I could have spit myself in 3 and gone with all of them. In the end I decided to go with Bob French, since he had years of experience and he was the official SeaWorld photographer and since we were at SeaWorld I thought it was a good match! He walk us around the park and explained how he gets those amazing shots and from the angles he shoots, even showed us. We were able to take some pictures in the same locations, cool. You could really tell how much he loved photographing SeaWorld and he allowed us to ask tons of questions, which I loved. One of my favorite questions was "How do you know where Shamu is going to be in the water." His answer, which of course made me look for this the rest of the weekend, was watch where the trainers throw ice. How cool is that?! I am soo grateful for this opportunity. Enjoy some of the pictures I took during the walk..

We ended the day with our big group watching the "New" Pets Ahoy show. We absolutely loved it, I teared up when they were talking about the animals that were unwanted, but found a home at SeaWorld. I am learning very quickly about the heart this place has for people and animals, I am in love!!