La Jolla 2011

Still catching up on our California trip... bear with me.

Sea World was kind of a last minute decision for us. We had planned on Legoland and no more. But the whole rest of the group was going so we got pressured into it. :)

The first show we went to was the dolphin show. It was such a hot day and all of us were squinting, trying to see everything that was going on. Towards the end of the show, the whales came out. The dark music began to play and the splashing began. Remember it was hot. So of course we were sitting in the splash zone.....10 rows up. I knew we would get wet.

I did NOT know we would get drenched. DRENCHED I tell ya!! Me, Griffin, and Kai. The 4x2 square footage of area that got hit the hardest was where we were sitting. AND.... the whales splash 3 times in each spot!! The exact same spot. We were soaked after the FIRST splash and I was trying to comfort the boys (who were both stunned and crying) when the second and third waves came.

It was ridiculous.

The very. first. show.

I had brought extra clothes for the "I-can't-stand-to-be-wet" boys but MY clothes were still damp when we got back home at 11pm that night!!

Thank goodness I had put enough hairspray in Kai's hair that morning to be able to remake his "shark hair" for the rest of the day.

The Cirque show was unbelievable!

Sea turtles were a big hit too.

Back at the house, there was lots of swimming:

Some inappropriateness, of course:

Playing Spiderman on Greg's iPad:

One of the days, we drove to Coronado and rented a Surrey. Pedaling it was more work than I thought it would be but the boys loved it and the views were great.

YIKES!!

(Your pick on which face I'm saying that to. My crazy big smile in the picture above or EITHER of Griffin's faces -- above or below.)

The beach always made for a fun day too:

Jeff was the only one willing to be buried.

Some of us rallied to make a sandcastle with mote, bridge and seashell decor:

My cheesy way of proving that I took part in the construction:

--What am I?... A wanna-be mermaid?

Sorry, no good explanation for that pose.--

There was seaweed jump-roping that showcased Courtney's Crazy Cross-legged jump:

A good game of catch is always a must:

I don't remember, but let's just say Jeff caught this next one:

I just found out my brother, Jason, and his wife, Stacey, will most likely be getting sealed in the San Diego temple come July.

It is one of my favorite temples for sure:

LEGOLAND

I'm so behind in my blogging, it's ridiculous.

This summer, with the Garnders, we vacationed in La Jolla, California.

We were excited to go to Legoland, hearing that it was the perfect adventure for our kids' age group.

And it was true.

I couldn't believe everything they had made out of Legos! It was amazing.

This was one of Treyson's favorite rides. My little 1 yr. old nephew, Ty, could actually go on this one as well so we went again, again, and again.

This part of the park split up the kids into older and younger.

The older kids drove around in this mini city.

Here's Griff, who we barely got to see the whole day:

Theme parks are much more fun with cousins apparently.

While the younger kids drove.... in a circle.

I didn't expect Treyson to drive as well as he did. I was pretty proud.

Here's Kai and Gracie:

Jeff and Greg made sure Zach got his fill of thrills to make up for his height requirement deficit.

There was a fire truck relay area where teams raced using a pumping lever to get them from one end to the other and back.

Poor Hope is so popular with the grandkids and ended up with this team:

Needless to say... they didn't win. Their combined lack of beefy muscle mass didn't stand a chance.

Here's the winning team: Todd, Megan, Courtney and Danica

One of the attractions we all did together was this riverboat tour of Lego-made, world famous sites and monuments.

The tour guide's script was so chock-full of great puns, I couldn't help but think it would be the PERFECT job for my dad (one of the quickest, witty-est, punners I know).

Licks and Ladybugs

Before school let out and before it got so STINKIN' hot!!!!!..... Kai, Treyson, and I took a trip to one of our local parks with a box of Drumsticks.

Chocolate dipped, chocolate coned, cookies and creme Drumsticks.

Yum!

(FYI.....I have a MAJOR ice cream weakness.)

Now, I know flies will eat anything and everything. But I am POSITIVE he enjoyed his ice cream as much as we did.

(Can you see him on the paper?)

Using the previous bug picture, I will segue (pronounced "seg-way" --- I didn't know how to spell it, so maybe you didn't either) into the next bug picture for my amazing mom.

She is a heart collector. Any non-man-made heart.... she wants it.... or at least a picture of it. Birthmarks, rocks, moss ON rocks, shadows, etc.

While at another park one night, someone found this albino ladybug with heart-shaped spots.

It was AMAZING!!!

What wasn't so amazing was how close I had to get to my toes for a good shot of this rarety.

Maybe this next shot using my sister-in-law's finger will be more appealing to the general public.

Have you ever seen anything like that?

The big 3-1

On the 30th of June I had my 31st birthday.

It was great.

Jeff made me a massive deluxe ultimate omelette for my much needed protein-after-morning-run-breakfast. It was delish!

My plan for the rest of the day was to drive around town with the kids acquiring every possible birthday freebie I could find. Joe's Farm Grill, Krispy Kreme, Baskin Robbins, Liberty Market........ okay, now that I'm naming them all, it would have been quite a lot of food. Too much perhaps. (never!)

Instead the day consisted of Harkin's Summer Movie Fun and a quick check-up of my hip 'clicking' at the PT office Jeff works at. Then some much needed alone time wandering Dick's Sporting Goods to spend a certificate I'd been waiting to use. Jeff took me out to a movie and dinner at The Compass (rotating restaurant on top of The Hyatt in downtown Phoenix). Really good food, but not worth the dizziness and headache Jeff got from spinning backwards for an hour. :)

My sister, Katie, who's been featured on this blog as my baking assistant for birthday cakes, wanted to bring "something" by when we got home.

Wanna guess what it was?.........

......A CAKE!!!

My very own FONDANT-ASTICALLY decorated birthday cake!

(That made-up word is MY birthday gift to YOU, dear readers)

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED IT!

So much, in fact, that I didn't even cut into it for a few days.

It just sat on my counter allowing me to stare in awe at it's beauty.

After cutting into it, I thought I'd take a few better lighted shots before I let my boys dig in.

Isn't it just amazing?

Thanks Katie! Great job.