San Diego Final Edition

I loved SeaWorld! I'm sure I went when I was little; but I don't remember. We had to drive home that day so we only stayed until three; but we could have kept going for several hours.

The boys loved bringing their whales; that they named Shamu; to the Shamu shows. It was so funny watching them make their little animals flip when the big animals did. Luckily we did not get wet; I did not want fishy smell in the car for a seven hour drive.
I know this is not technically the best picture; but I just love it. Look at how cute they are holding hands and carrying their new Shamu. Makes me melt.
After much research; I found the best way to get a souvenir was to win one. After a few "whale races" both boys came away victorious.
They had a little Sesame Street area for the kids. They had rides; shows; games; and huge inflatables to bounce on. I think Logan is getting a little too cool for Elmo; but McKay was excited.
There was also a 4D Sesame Street show. It was hilarious watching Logan try to get the cookie that was popping out of the screen. The food was horrible; but we still had a great time. The sea lion show was hilarious; and the opportunity to spend six days on vacation with my family was priceless.

San Diego Zoo Edition

We had to do the zoo. Even though we were exhausted. And it is a really hilly zoo. I had no idea how hard it would be to push the stroller up hill. Finally I gave up and made them walk.

This little guy joined us for our picnic outside of the zoo. He especially liked oranges and bread; and would eat right out of your hand. The kids were even brave and tried it.
Of course; McKay liked feeding everything. He kept finding leaves on the ground and giving it to the goat. After a little bit of time; Logan got in on it. They also liked running around the playground.
The zoo had a little helicopter the kids could play in; plus a few little pieces of equipment here and there. After all the excitement of Legoland the animals were not quite as appealing. It was kind of nice to quietly stroll; though. I especially loved the red panda. Google it. So cute.

After the zoo we took our passes and ran to the Natural History Museum; which is so lame I can't even explain; and the Science Center; which was quite cool. We got a quick nap while Loren and Logan watched an IMAX movie on sharks. After a full day out we stayed in our hotel to have dinner and watch the football bowl game. Of course; that night I spent the evening puking fish tacos; but that is another story.

San Diego Knotts Berry Farm Edition

After our Legoland fun we jaunted up to Anaheim to see Knotts Berry Farm. It was on our Culture Pass so we thought it was worth the drive. They have a little section of the Park called "Camp Snoopy" which had little kids rides and activities. We stayed in this little area the whole time.

It is a little blurry... but can you see the pure joy? The more nauseous a ride is; the more they liked it. Here they took them up and dropped 'em down. The kids threw their arms up in the air and giggled all the way down.
Of course; they loved that they could drive a big "Grandpa truck." They were quite noisy. I was starting to get a little sick; so Loren was a trooper and took them on any ride where I thought I might lose my lunch. They loved the roller coasters; McKay was a little sad he couldn't ride on all of them. Logan surprised me and looked for the biggest; fastest; spinniest ones he could find. And he wanted to ride in the front! The workers would pull him off and make sure he fit because he looked so little. McKay wore thick shoes and a hat to try to sneak on some.
We stayed until closing; and the kids slept all the way back to San Diego. They did so great; no whining or complaining; and only one melt down over not being big enough to ride. So much fun.

San Diego Legoland Edition

For Christmas this year the boys got Go San Diego passes; which enabled them to see any of 38 attractions over three days. We put those passes to work! Our first stop was Legoland. I had never been there; but had heard that it was great for smaller children. The boys loved it. McKay could go on almost all of the rides; and was easily bribed when he couldn't go on the few coasters Logan could.

Yes; McKay is driving. He was very insulted when I tried to help. Legoland was a boys' dream. They had boats; jeeps; race cars; fire trucks; helicopters; and airplanes. The boys got to drive them all; as well as earn their drivers licence.
The rides were tame enough that Mom and Dad could go on all of them. I even enjoyed the coasters here. We skipped all the play areas in favor of the rides; we have playgrounds in Arizona.
We did have to take a few breaks to rest Loren's feet; however.
We had a great time; and stayed up through nap time. I would certainly go again; there was so much to see and do. Logan said it was his favorite part of the year.

San Diego Boy Edition

While Loren was working; I had some time to kill. So I took the boys down to the Firehouse Museum in downtown San Diego. We got lost several times; but finally we made it.

There wasn't much to do; but the boys did have some fun checking out the old trucks and equipment.
Then we headed to Home Depot to do some manly projects. McKay built and painted a tool box. Logan built a helicopter; which he preferred in its natural wood color. I freaked out with all the mass of people and bad directions.
We also took the boys to the Visitor's Center at the Mormon Battalion in Old Town. It has been completed remodeled and is very multimedia and hands on. The boys got to get geared up for the march; and experience the wind and rain of the plains. They also got to pan for gold again. Later; we found a Root Beer and Beef Jerky store. Loren was in husband heaven.
The San Diego Temple has always been one of my favorites; so we stopped by to check it out and have a brief Family Home Evening. It is beautiful.

San Diego Beach Edition

McKay had never been to the beach. It was a sad fact of life. Then Loren got this really wonderful opportunity to give a presentation in San Diego. We; of course; jumped at the chance to accompany him.

Our hotel was right on the beach; so the boys were able to walk outside and play in the sand. You might not be able to tell from the photos; but they are covered in sand. It took me a good fifteen minutes to clean everyone's clothes from this little excursion.

Loren looks so happy! By this time he had finished his presentation and was footloose and fancy free. His presentation was very well received; by the way.
It was slightly difficult to get them to slow down long enough to take pictures. I got them some bubble guns at a swap meet; and they covered the beach in bubbles.

Natural History Museum

Loren decided to take off a few days around Christmas; so we felt like we got a little vacation. I got a Culture Pass from the library and took everyone to the Natural History Museum; followed by seeing the lights at the Mesa Temple.

While there; you got to pan for gold. The boys went crazy over this; and carried their gold around in their pockets for days. There was a dinosaur section they particularly liked as well.
This is just disgusting. Which is why McKay likes it so much. It makes me want to shudder. Besides getting lost in Mesa we had a great time.

Christmas

Arg! How do I get so behind on these things? Wasn't it just Logan's birthday? So for Christmas we actually stayed home; which may be the first time in eleven years we have not gone somewhere over the holidays. Crazy.

Logan and McKay were not too impressed with Santa. Although they saw different versions several times; so I think the luster was off.
McKay was quite impressed with his $1 garage sale train transformer. I swear that thing kept him busy for hours.
Sigh. I hate this. The ONLY thing Logan asked for this year was a shot gun. I think because he went clay target shooting with his grandparents and wasn't able to actually shoot a gun. He loved it. I think Loren secretly did as well.

Ah; my cute little shepherd holding a star. Love. Him. Even though he asks for a shotgun.

Harry Potter

Yes; I am a nerd. I know that. While we were in Orlando we of course stopped at Universal Studios to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The castle was actually a big rollercoster. You got to wind your way through and see offices and dungeons; classrooms and artifacts. It was fun. We only had to wait fifteen minutes in line; which let us hang out and check out everything. Because it was animated and fast I was very proud of myself for going on it and not being a big baby.

We also liked shopping at Hogsmead's village. Butterbeer was delicious and tasted like a melted sucker. The pumpkin juice was disgusting. Julie said it was like french kissing a pumpkin pie. I don't like pumpkin pie so my Mom had to finish it.

I think my Mom was just humoring us since she had never read the books; but she was a good sport and came along for the ride. Julie and I had a great time; although we do wish it were a lot bigger.

Good times.

Disney!

While Julie was in Afghanistan she made Chief! Yes; I know; she is awesome. While she was stationed for so long; and going through the process; she decided she needed something to look forward to. Thus the trip to DisneyWorld was born. My mom; Julie; and I took off for five fabulous kid free days in Orlando.

We flew out of Phoenix after Thanksgiving and left the boys home with Loren. We chose to stay in a Disney hotel and do the meal plan--which was fabulous. We had great meals at grown up restaurants and didn't have to break down a stroller once. We got to sleep in and leisurely stroll. The kind people at Disney also heard about Julie's service and gave us tickets to Cirque Du Soleil.
I love my girls! It was so fun to hang out with my favorite women ever. We actually didn't spend much time in Disney World; preferring to go to Epcot and the Animal Kingdom.
The Finding Nemo show was amazing. The costumes were just unreal. I wasn't really looking forward to the Animal Kingdom; and just went because my Mom wanted to go. But it ended up being great fun. The safari was interesting and the shows were fabulous.

My Mom liked the Lion King show the best; it was also very entertaining. We brought home a little Mickey for McKay; it has surpassed brown bear as his new lovey. It was hard to come back to reality but I sure did miss my boys!

Balloon Festival

A balloon festival is on my Mom's bucket list. It has been as long as I can remember. So I was thinking we were pretty lucky when there was a balloon festival in south Phoenix the week before Thanksgiving. Sounds like a good reason for everyone to come visit!

McKay and Julie were checking them out. We had to leave at four in the morning to get there for the dawn launch; but the boys were surprisingly interested. Logan was really into it. We got there early and did some shopping; and stayed late and jumped on bouncies.
It was pretty cool seeing a bunch of them go off as the sun came up. I tried to get close just because I was cold and there was fire. They didn't appreciate that so much. One more thing crossed off!

Soccer Fun

I don't remember if I have posted about soccer or not. Logan played in the 3-4 year old division this year; and he loved being one of the big boys. He always scored each game; I think his highest was 8 goals. We loved; loved; loved our coach. For some reason; only boys ended up on his team.

What? You want a piece of me?
Bend it like who now?
I love the tiny cleats. I mean "tacos."
Gooooooaaaaaaallllllllllll!
Ah. Hanging out with his team after a particularly muddy and grueling match. McKay can't wait to play next year.