Sea World, San Diego

I must say, having grown up in Northern CA, and frequenting Marine World Africa USA, Sea World is nothing compared to it. But, our kids have never seen anything like it, so they had a good time. We sat in the "soak" section of the Killer Whale show, and indeed, we were SOAKED. Alanna didn't really appreciate it, I think she took it personally and holds it against the whale. The rest of us thought it was pretty funny though. I didn't know that Shamu tries to get the audience wet! The kids really like picking up the star fish and sea urchins, and petting the sting rays. Jackson got to ride "Journey to Atlantis", which is like the typical log ride where you get wet.

The highlight of the day was definitely the "Sesame Street Bay of Play". Our kids could have spent the entire day there, and it had age appropriate activities for each of them. It was the most fun to watch Alanna explore all of the tunnels and bouncy equipment there. Paul loved meeting Cookie Monster and Elmo. Jackson really enjoyed the "4D" Sesame Street show. He's been learning about dimensions in school, so he was very excited to learn what "4D" means. It was a "3D" show with effects like feeling rain, wind, and air beneath our feet.

The next day, we went to explore La Jolla cove, in San Diego. It was suggested as being a great place for kids, and it really was. The views were incredible, and there were so many sea lions on the beach that we could get really close to. There was a little baby sea lion that was floundering in the sand that I could have watched all day - he was soooo cute! The boys got right into the ocean, and they were very shocked when the waves came crashing ashore and knocked them down. They thought it was really funny, and several adults on the beach had a good time watching them. People kept passing by telling me how cute our kids were playing in the ocean! James and I loved this part of our vacation, and I told him next time we are just going to rent a condo in San Diego and hang out for a week! It's just heavenly there :)

We stopped in Las Vegas, to break up our trip home, and stayed in the Golden Nugget Casino because it was really cheap. It's the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in. All the counter tops are granite, there was a huge flat pannel TV, and my favorite was a separate vanity with a chair and make-up mirror! Beside our room though, I'm not a fan of Vegas. There is far too much glutany and waste going on, and it's definitely not a kid friendly place! Maybe we'll stop in St. George next time instead!

Paul's Birthday Wish List...

Paul is turning 4 tomorrow, and here is what he has requested:

• Goofy, Pluto, Cookie Monster, and Elmo at his party
• An I-Phone! (we explained there is no way he can have one, so he said he wants -
  
• A Slide Phone
• A licorice cake (what is a licorice cake????)
• a plant with rocks in it

I think I can do the plant with rocks in it :) I have been trying to talk him out of the rest of his list, but he's VERY insistent so far!

Imagination...

Jackson is constantly talking and singing to himself. The other night, while picking weeds, I asked him to tell me about his imaginary friends. He told me he used to have imaginary friends, but now he just makes "video logs". He asked me if I know what a video log is, and I had him explain it to me. What he does, is several time a day he goes and looks in the mirror and talks to himself about his day. Even at school he will ask to use the bathroom, and he will go talk to the mirror! I guess that's what we get for letting him watch Avatar! He admitted that's where he got the idea from!

Disney Land!!!!

James and I participated in the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" project by making some fleece blankets for children in need of comfort. This was probably the only way I could have roped him into going to Disney Land - free adult tickets! Our kids had the time of their lives - as they should have- and I hope they remember it forever! Jackson's favorite ride was the Matterhorn, Paul's was Splash Mountain, and James had never been on Space Mountain before and loved that. Of course, Alanna and I were limited to what we could ride, but she loved the classics like "It's a Small World" , "Peter Pan's Flight", and "Pirates of the Carribean". I was pretty annoyed that I couldn't go on the bigger rides, but next time I definitely won't be pregnant!

The highlight of the day was our dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. It's a really good buffet, and the Disney characters all come visit each table individually. We bought an autograph book for the kids, and Paul pretty much took it over. He was trying to go to other people's tables to meet characters because he just couldn't contain his excitment. They particularly loved Goofy when he put on a little show for them trying to eat a banana peal or wear it on his ear. Paul and Jackson about peed their pants! Paul got several kisses from the Princesses, and he loved hugging each character as if they were his own big stuffed animal. If you have little kids and are going to Disney Land, I would suggest looking into one of these characters meals - they are too cute!

Alanna acted just like a little princess while surrounded by the beautiful Disney Princesses. She stripped off her clothes and insisted on eating her ice-cream cone all by herself and made quite the mess. She really wasn't interested in posing for any pictures with the characters either - it was all about the ice cream for her!

The whole day was pretty awesome because the weather was coolish, and the longest we waited in any line was about 20 minutes - that was for the Peter Pan ride :) Surprisingly, the boys LOVED the roller coaster rides, and they even went on Splash Mountain twice because they loved getting wet.

Blessings...

March and part of April were pretty stressful around here as we learned that James's office here, with Lockheed, was going to be shutting down. They wanted to have all of the employees transfer back east, and we didn't want to have to do that since we are close to family and it's a horrible time to sell a house! Considering the current economy in our country, we feared that moving may be our only option. While this was going on, I was in my first trimester of pregnancy and feeling pretty sick on a daily basis, which didn't help the situation at all. James was taking time out from work to interview and study for interviews which was causing him to be away from home much more than usual. It's amazing what tender mercies we were granted during this time though! My family didn't know about the possible job loss yet, or the pregnancy, but on one particularly bad week, two of my brothers decided to come up and play with our kids for two days in a row. They are usually pretty busy, so this was not a common occurance, and I don't know what inspired them to come and help me out, but it was such a blessing. The kids love playing with their uncles, and it allowed me to get some rest and take my mind off of our stresses. Several things happened to just let me feel that Heavenly Father was aware of us, and he was watching out for us.

As it turns out, James received four great job offers here in Salt Lake, and accepted one with L-3 Communications, which will afford him much greater opportunities than his former job did. He was able to work right up until one week before his new job starts, still get his severance paid out, and gave us time to take a vacation to California during his week off. We also found out that Jackson got into the school program that we wanted him to, and he is really looking forward to that opportunity.

It seems like everything that was worrisome the past couple of months has worked out. I am so thankful for these great blessings, and I don't know what we have done to deserve them! Things don't always seem to work out the way we want them to even though we feel we are doing our best to live the gospel, but that's the only thing we can attribute our blessings to this time!

Photo Shoot

Coming October 3rd (officially)! Hopefully he will come early like the others. I'm 19 weeks along and feeling really good! The next photos you see of the little guy will be much cuter...I promise :)