October activities 2011

So I figure I will lump October together minus Halloween.

My husbands brother's wife had a baby shower and while the women folk were having fun celebrating a sweet baby girl to come the men folk took the kids to a local farm and let the kids pet animals and feed ducks. From what I could tell they had a lot of fun.

Boxes! What more could a kids ask for?

Playing in the maze on a field trip to the local pumpkin patch.

Picking her pumpkin

Mommy photo shoot

My daughters class plus a few siblings.

Below is a different trip to the same pumpkin patch just us as a family. Here the kids are helping daddy pick some pumpkins.

Heading to the car with our pumpkins.

Then we went to the local pond and fed the ducks. We started on the side of the pond but the ducks were a little aggressive so we moved to the fishing pier to finish feeding the and keep kids safe.

Leaving California and Heading Home

We packed up, took a few pictures here and there and headed home.

The kids found their Mickey/Minnie Mouse ears and wore them a lot on the drive home. Here they are on the balcony of the hotel. Yes the beach was in the background. I view was amazing and at times I miss it if I have a moment to think. Since I am a mom those moments only happen when looking at a picture. I spent a little time on the balcony checking out the view.

Here my husband is coming back from loading the car. His nice co-workers helped get stuff down there. Between our stuff and the work stuff let's just say we had a lot to pack.

On the way out my husband humored me and we stopped for one last moment at the ocean. Which gave me a chance to get some pictures of us and the kids playing at the beach.

Yep chasing Seagulls again.

Look mom I made a sandball. A lot like a snowball but made from sand. She saw it on Curious George once and has been patiently waiting for the snow to come.

On the way home we stopped in in Primm, NV. I had told my husband I have never been on the Roller coaster there and he was thinking that I could ride with our daughter while he stayed with our son. Well between the cost of riding and the height restriction we chose not to ride it anyways. But the monorail was free and my son didn't get a chance to ride the one at Disneyland. So he got to enjoy a "Train ride".

Some of the view on the way home. The walls are impressive in this Canyon.

So we had to stop one last time because we were exhausted. By my son was so excited to see us pull up to another hotel. He got even more excited by what he saw in the Hotel. He was even too distracted to eat breakfast because of what he saw.

A train!

The train went between the lobby and the breakfast room.

After breakfast we tried to go to church but the one we were going to go to was renovating the building and we had a hard time finding the other church building. So we headed to my sisters house. Where we had dinner with my side of the family for my sisters birthday and then that night we slept in our own beds for the first time in over a week. It is nice to go on vacation but, there is no place like home.

Day 3 in San Diego

On our last full day in San Diego we checked out the hotel and the Bay, ate lunch in the hotels restaurant, went swimming in the pool with Grandma and Grandpa and had dinner at Tony Romas with them, and drove over to the San Diego Temple.

Here they had some huge fish and ducks. This hotel fish pond/stream went along the pathways throughout the hotel.

They even had some Tropical birds next to the Lobby.

The hotel was right off Mission Bay. Here were some boats my son was fascinated with so of coarse I had to take a picture of the kids with the boat.

Enjoying our lunch.

And once his tummy was full he curled up in the chair and went to sleep while his sister and I finished our lunch.

In the last year of my Mom's life the San Diego Temple was Dedicated. I have fond memories here of working at the Open House as people came to see what this massive building the "Mormons" had built. I remember her smile as she volunteered and answered questions. I remember being at the Dedication for this building and feeling the spirit so strong. I remember promising that when I grew up I would get married in the Temple. I signed my name on a piece of paper and that paper was placed in the corner stone of this building to be viewed 100 years from the day of this building Dedication. I feel apart of the history of this building. I long to see it when I am in San Diego and loved taking my children to this place and tell them of the Grandmother they will never know in this life. But hopefully I can help them know her a little better with experiences like this.

Their last night sleeping at this hotel. These were the smallest beds I ever saw at a hotel. But what they lacked in size they were still really comfortable.

Day 2 in San Diego

So on day 2 in San Diego we went to Sea World while Daddy was in meetings. The kids had a lot of fun seeing the different animals. We went to all the shows and it reminded me of when when I was a kid. The Sea Lion Show is as funny as ever and Shamu is still pretty cool. My daughter liked the dolphins and Shamu the most while I think my sons favorite was feeding the Sea Lions.

Below we are looking at the dolphins.

Here we are feeding the Sea Lions. We discovered why you shouldn't hold the fish out. Because the Seagulls will try to snatch it straight from your hand. The Sea Lions in on the rock were funny. You would throw a fish to one and the other would yell at you as if they were wondering why we didn't throw it at them. The one in the front made me laugh because I was asking my son if he wanted to feed the Sea Lion and the Sea Lion started nodding his head. As if I was asking if he wanted a fish.

The Sea Turtles were huge.

Two cute kids enjoying the stroller.

Shamu was as cool as ever.

We stopped for lunch before we saw the dolphin show. My daughter enjoying her hot dog. Luckily no Seagulls tried to snatch this out of her hand. We saw a kid in a stroller eating a churro and he lost it to the daring Seagulls.

My son fell asleep before eating so hear he is. When he woke up the only thing he really wanted was crackers and cheese.

The Dolphin Show was theatrical. At points it was a diving musical ballet of sorts about birds and next thing you know there were actually Dolphins in the show. My daughter liked watching the performers fly through the air and seeing the tricks that the dolphins could do.

When we finished at Sea World my husband had finished his meetings for the day. So we headed to Old Town where we checked out the Mormon Battalion Center. This place reminded me nothing of my childhood. They gave this place a whole new makeover. It is definitely more kid friendly now and very interactive. Here we are in the covered wagon.

During the tour we went into a room that represented a place the Soldiers camped as they planned and rested while on their trek to San Diego. Here my daughter got to try on a bonnet.

One of the fun things is as you went through the tour they had a video going that appeared like people were knocking on windows and talking to you. It was pretty fun.

This represented a camp site.

They even have a prop set up like an old camera so you can take a picture and be an Honorary Member of the Mormon Battalion and you can send it straight to your email as well as print out a copy just for you all free of charge.
At the end you could pan for gold. Where was this fun stuff when I was a kid?

After the Mormon Battalion Center we met Grandma and Grandpa for dinner at an outdoor Mexican Restaurant. Which for some reason I can't remember the name. However it had great food and a fun environment. My son woke up for dinner and they enjoyed the musicians that came to our table.

Day 1 in San Diego

So after a couple days at Disneyland we were tired. So my husband got to go to a full day of meetings on our first day in San Diego. So after taking it easy in the morning the kids and I met up with Grandma and Grandpa to have brunch. Then we went to the beach for a little bit. It felt like home to me. I actually grew up in San Diego and very much long for days at the beach. I was so grateful to have Grandma and Grandpa there to help me with the kids. My kids were in heaven to spend so much time with them. Eventually my son laid down on some towels and fell asleep. That was the end of the beach for me and the kids. We headed back to the hotel which was only a block away. After getting cleaned up from the beach the kids and I took a much needed nap while waiting for my husband to get done with meetings. Then we headed to his company dinner which this year was a fun Luau and the kids got to come with us.
My son loved the sand castles others had made and left behind.

Loved to destroy them that is.

My daughter on the other hand wanted to build a sand castle.

And run from the water.

And my sun loved running after the seagulls. He laughed the whole time chasing the birds.

At the Luau the Credit Unions decided to recognize My husband and his Co-workers with a gift card each. It was very much appreciated and made everyone smile to be thought of. My son was a bit attached to my husband this night.

The Luau program was fun. At the end since they knew we were from Utah they kept saying "Go Utes"! It was amusing to see some big BYU fans faces when he said that.
My husband said that my son laughed during the fire dancer. I think he liked it.