San Diego Zoo, Here We Come

Mike and Mak just getting out of the truck to go to the zoo. Mike decided to wear his hat so he would look the "rough" type. The baseball hat just didn't cut it today. We are so excited to all go here for the first time. We hadn't been here for years.

We are so lucky to go today. We told the boys we could see gorilla's, elephants, hippos and tigers.

The boys had fun in the double stroller. Mak is loving his Disney sunglasses. The sun came out a few times and he really could use them. We forgot how far we had to walk. Can you see the map in Mikes hand. We really did use it too.

Fine figure of a man. Yes, that is all you need to know.

Huge tortoise. They are over a hundred years old. Hard to believe. They were really fun to watch.

Ahhh, good stuff. Whitney was able to buy two mugs for the price of one. Way to work it Whitney.

Emmett couldn't wait for the mug to be held. He just wanted it right now. I really can't blame him. Was that a rockstar, Emmett. If so, pass it around.

So nice of the hippo to hold still while the boys got on for a picture.

I love the family pictures. We had so much fun taking pictures of everyone.

I love taking pictures of your family. You know we both have blogs, don't you.

The elephants were huge. The statues were more fun to see than the real animals. They hold still for pictures. The real ones just keep walking around in their pens. Mak and Emmett were so excited to see the animals.

Smile again boys. Thanks for being such good sports. We had such a good time with you.

Mike, you look so good. Did you shoot that animal? He looks like a saber-tooth tiger. Thanks for the fun day.

Cute pictures of our three cute boys.

Hold on kids. What a fun day. We sure walked a long way. The Zoo closed at 6:00. It was getting dark. And we were ready to go back to Natalies. We needed to get ready for a fun day at California Adventure. We would check the weather, but then it wouldn't matter if it was cold or not. We had one more day of fun ahead of us. The days were going too fast.

Welcome to Disneyland Mak and Emmett

As we left Small World, they have a few huge pictures of post cards. I thought they were perfect for my blog. And sorry my blogs are so long.

Everyone needs a picture on the tram. Mickey and Pluto are glad to be going with the boys.

Here we are ready with everything ready for a fun day. Let the fun begin. We are at Disneyland.

Cute family that came clear from Idaho to spend a few days in California. They sure did pack a lot of playing in that week. It was fun just keeping up with them. And great memories do begin at Disneyland.

Mike and Mak are waiting in line for Peter Pan ride. That was quite a long wait. We tried to get to the most rides without the long wait.

Here they go on Peter Pan Adventure. Mike and I are right behind them. We hadn't been on that ride yet, so it was a lot of fun.

This is the famous Dumbo ride. Look how cool he looks with his sunglasses on.

We took so many pictures but they mean so much to us. Mak carried Pluto around most of the day. Emmett chose MickeyMouse. Seems like all of kids going to Disneyland carry an animal around or wear a princess dress. Don't think that would have worked for the boys.

We are waiting in line for the Small World. Mak and Emmett were able to get down and run around for a while. They were so patient waiting in line.

David and Emmett are on the top of the riverboat so they could see the cowboys and Indians better.

Don't remember what Emmett was looking at so intently. But everyplace you look is something great to see.

We are on the New Orleans riverboat. We sat on the front, because it was the best seat in the house, but we have never sat anywhere but on the front. But Mike said it was the best seat.

We are taking a break and having a few snacks between rides. Disneyland was not that crowded at all, so we were able to get to ride on quite a few rides. I was so surprised that Mak and Emmett know all the rides and the characters. Whitney reads to them all of the time.

I love this picture of Mak. Now, what are you thinking.?

LaJolla Cove and Picking Oranges

After going to Sea World, we went to LaJolla Cove. Whitney stayed with Mak in the truck. He had fallen asleep. The waves were so big this night and came over the rocks. We had never seen it so bad. The waves we felt were from the earthquake in Japan, and also there was a full moon. It was great being there to see everything. The sealions even had a hard time hanging on to their rocks.

Natalie and I took turns taking each others pictures. We sure do love this area. It was fun sharing it with David and Emmett.

Mike loved playing with the little boys. They stayed in Natalie's home. She has three bedrooms, with two extra bathrooms. So they had plenty of room. The boys had a lot of fun playing with the exercise balls and playing on the stairs.

Whitney played ball with Emmett. He just ran all over the yard and enjoyed the green grass.

Natalie had a dart game for the yard. She brought out all of her yard toys for the kids. David is just taking a rest from chasing Mak and Emmett around.

Emmett was up looking at the flowers on the tree and wanted to smell them.

Natalie saved a few oranges on her tree so Mak and Emmett could pick them. Mak came running in to show Natalie he had picked the oranges. They smell so good not to mention how sweet they taste. Ahhh California.

Two cute brothers sharing the adventure being in Natalies yard and smelling the flowers. Who said you can't take time to smell the flowers on vacation.

Emmett picked his orange and was pretty proud of it. He couldn't wait to show it to Natalie.

Here is a cute video trailer of David playing with the boys:

David, Whitney, Mak, and Emmetts Trip to California.

We picked David, Whitney and the boys up at the Long Beach Airport. We wanted to eat at In and Out, but couldn't find one. So we spotted McDonalds on the way to the beach. So in we went. Mak said that he wanted to see Mickey Mouse in California. He was a bit disappointed that he was not waiting at the airport for him.

We were so excited to see Davids family. We were so worried about the cold weather, and yes, it was cold. We knew we couldn't play at the beach, but it was quite close. We had to wait for rush hour traffic. So we found a parking place. It was fun just taking the boys there.

We took this picture of everyone before they got too wet. Darn weather. It was so good to see them all. We drove two cars for everyone to ride in. Natalie knows I can't drive in the traffic and was able to drive the white car.

Emmett made a bee-line and headed right for the water. We really tried to keep him out. But he had "no fear" of the cold water and ran right for it. It would have been so neat if it would have been warm. The big waves would push him right over. I should have kept him dry, but a wave caught us both.

Whitney and I held onto Emmetts hands. But with every wave he was braver and would get wetter and wetter. He would go out a little further each time. You can see by the next picture that he did get wet and fell in. I could not stop him in time. So we wrapped him up in Whitneys sweatshirt. It doen't look cold, but it was just freezing. We had to take all his clothes off.

Mak also loved the waves that kept coming onto the beach. He would laugh and run back and forth in them. But it was just so cold. Those little boys are such good sports. They still wanted to play, and we were all just freezing. The boys would chase the seagulls around on the beach.

I love watching the little kids play in the water. They could have stayed the rest of the day had they not been so wet.

This is just a great picture of David, Whitney and Mak. Later I pulled that tree out of the water. Don't know where it came from, but I pulled in out. This is not a favorite beach, but was close to the airport.

Two boys that picked sticks up and began walking with them. We really had some cute pictures of them drawing in the sand too.

Saturday morning it looked like it would be a nice day. Gavin and Natalie rode with us to SeaWorld, and then went shopping and picked up Natalies picture of the SanDiego temple that Camille had given her. So the rest of us went to SeaWorld. First thing we did was get a map and a stroller. We decided where we needed to go first and which shows to see. Of course Shamu show and the Dolphin show were on top of our list.

I think this is the Dolphin show. Mike went with the kids to see the sights, while I stayed and saved seats for all of us. The next show, Mike saved the seats and I went with the everyone. It was so much fun seeing this with Mak and Emmett. The huge smiles and looks were just priceless.

Mak was looking at the Dolphins. It was hard getting a shot where the Dolphins and Mak were looking at the same time.

Everyone is looking at the Dolphins swimming around. Pretty big fish for us to see. They were being fed by the trainers. So it was great fun. We took P-nut butter and jelly sandwiches with us and a few snacks. So we could have a picnic while we walked around. The day was beautiful and the sun was out.

David and Whitney bought each of the boys a special stuffed animal. Mak loved the Dolphins and Emmett chose Shamu. They carried them around the rest of the day.

Mak took really good care of the Dolphin. It was so cute watching him play with him the rest of the trip while they were at Natalie and Gavins.

This is Emmett in the store as he bought Shamu. He loved holding him. He had a big smile and hug for Shamu.

After going to SeaWorld, we drove to LaJolla Cove. Mike and I love watching the sunset here whenever we are in SanDiego. The wild sealions swim here. But the wind was blowing, wouldn't you know it. Whitney stayed in the truck with Mak who had fallen asleep.

Sunday after church, we went to our apartment, watched a movie and the little kids roasted marshmellows in the fireplace. It was pouring rain outside. I think we even sat in the hot-tub while it was raining. Great memories though.

Monday morning we went to the Promenade Mall. They have a Disney store that had fun Disney animals for the boys. You know, they needed one to take with them to Disneyland on Tuesday morning. We kept watching the weather channel to see if we could go and have a break from the rain.

We just can't go anyplace during lunch time without stopping at the In and Out burgers. We love the hamburgers and fries. So we waited for Natalie to get off work, then we took everyone to lunch. It was pouring outside. We were soaked. Welcome to California. Sorry about the weather. Whitney had the boys in the In and Out hats, and Mak loved the pop.

After lunch, we went to Natalie home and the kids rested and watched a movie. Well, we all rested. Mak played games on the Ipod. He is showing his game to Natalie. I think she doesn't even know how to play like he does.

This is just a cute picture with Whitney showing the boys a game with puzzles on it. I am thinking we were fixing dinner also. Wish I could remember what we were fixing, but I am sure it was good. Wish we could put in all the pictures we have. This will be a posting of Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We had so much fun with them. Natalie bought little animals with parachutes on them for the boys to throw off the balcony. It was fun just being all together. Wish all our family could come and play.