Emma Goes to Sea World San Diego (2016)

Back when I was pregnant with Addison, we decided that we needed to take Emma on a trip....a just her with mommy and daddy trip. The questions popped up.....should we go to Disneyland....Lake Tahoe....Monterey Bay...etc etc etc. After perusing many a travel site and shopping all the deals we decided to go to Sea World. Darin and I had never been together and it was a great opportunity for our family to experience something new together. We spent two nights down in San Diego and did all things Sea World related.


Day one was a drive day. We managed to get down the state in about 3.5 hours. Just in time to check into the hotel and mosey over to Sea World for lunch and a half day of piddling around the park. Let me tell you....IT WAS HOT! I wanted to climb into the stroller with Emma to get some shade. We kept cool by going through all the exhibits and seeing all the fish. We also watched the dolphin show, which Emma fell asleep watching. Poor thing, the sun will do that to you.

 

After getting all of our ocean fill in at the park, Darin wanted to take me to the resort that he stayed at as a child. We parked at the resort and had a wonderful dinner with a live band. Emma didn't want to eat her dinner because she wanted to go and play and dance with all the other kids in the restaurant. Also I think she wanted to climb right on top of the subwoofer and play the guitar with the musicians. After dinner we took a walk along the wharf and watched the sunset amongst the boats.

  

 

 

 

 

Day Two was planned as a full day inside Sea World. We planned to do all the things that we didn't do the day before. Emma's favorite exhibit was by far the shark exhibit. She stared at the majestic creatures for at least 45 minutes. We were ok with it because it was in air conditioning. This preggo mama needed to stay cool and it seemed extra hot down at the wharf. The next favorite thing, I think it was more mommies favorite, was the tour of the park. We paid for a tour and we got to see exhibits and animals that were recued off our coastline and are being rehabilitated as well. One of the dolphins just gave birth and we were able to see the little baby swimming around. It was so cute. We also saw some penguins that were not for public view and lots of other interesting things about the park. After the tour we went and sat for the Orca show. Since that summer was the last summer of "traditional Sea World" animal shows we knew we had to get the last show in before we called it for the trip. It did not disappoint! Emma ooed and aahed through the whole show. She even saw a real life "Bailey" the beluga whale (Finding Dory reference). It was so cool to see how agile those gigantic creatures can be! We fed some sea turtles after dinner and just thoroughly enjoyed our family trip!

Annnnd finally and favorite joke from Darin and I. Because Emma loved the shark exhibit so much we needed to go home with a souvenir. We wandered through each and every store looking for the perfect one. We found this shark and we put an "I love Dolphins" sweatshirt on it, because that's our sense of humor! For the next 60 years Darin and I will forever giggle and the stuffed shark with the sweatshirt!

Memorial Day Weekend 2018

So I posted......hmmm a month ago stating that I wanted to get back into blogging. Oopsies. Well a month is better than a year! I want to share all the experiences that we have with our girls. It just makes sense. Including our travels...and even just our little adventures that we take along the way. Having these to look back on with them to remember fun times and the not so fun times as well. I will go back and post over the last couple of years the things that we have done!


First up, this years Memorial day weekend. Darin wanted to go camping, but we didn't plan far enough in advance (I.E. 6 months or more) and we weren't going to get in anywhere. So what's the next best thing? A trampoline park! YOU GUYS! I think Darin and I had as much fun as the girls, but we hurt so much more after. We are seriously out of shape! This summer we are getting out of the house more and moving our bodies.....getting back into shape. We did start off the weekend with a bike ride to get ice cream....counter productive I know. My bootay hurt from the bike seat....seriously need a cushy one!

Emma loves to share with her sissy!

On Sunday we went to the trampoline park......after much fighting to get the girls to eat lunch also! I mean how long does it take to eat a hot dog? If your Emma.....an HOUR! We left pretty late in the afternoon and ended up getting out to the trampoline park pretty late in the day. But it wasn't too busy which made it super enjoyable! We jumped for an hour and a half. Mommy practiced her toe jumps and didn't die in the process and we tried to teach Emma how to do a cartwheel. Addison just had a blast being launched around on the trampolines and running all over the place. The smiles on their faces speak volumes about how much fun they had. We will be going again!

 

 

 

After jumping we needed sustenance. Cue tepan grilling! We haven't had our favorite Japanese food in 3 years and it was desperately needed. Chicken, steak, fried rice and a mai tai for mommy (daddy was driving) and entertainment for the little ladies. I was a yummy perfect day!

 

To say we all passed out when we got home would be a gross understatement. I don't know how I even made it into Addison's room. I zombie'd her in there and fell asleep in the rocking chair along with her.

Monday we puttered around the house and worked on projects. Darin changed the oil on his truck....a task that was made tougher by the fact that some people don't get the meaning of the phrase "hand tight." The girls played in the planters and with bubbles while I sat watching their silliness in the sun repping my Air Force hat. Earlier in the day we prepped our front door for paint. Sanded, washed and pulled off some trim that was "altered" by previous owners. While the girls were napping I painted all the trim and got it ready for a final roller coat. Darin put on the finishing touches after he was done with the truck.

 

 

 

We ended the day with bbq'd chicken, Ferdinand the Bull and bathtime. I'd say that was a perfect weekend to share with my family! Thank you to all that serve and protect us on a daily basis and those that have given the ultimate sacrifice.

Easter 2016

How fun are these holidays with little ones? I mean experiencing all the traditions with them is just the best!

Easter morning Emma woke with such excitement! The Easter Bunny had hid the eggs and she was going to find them! She had such a blast finding those brightly colored plastic eggs and then meticulously opening each one. Some had stickers, some had jelly beans and some had CHANGE! Oh then on a breakfast of jelly beans she put each coin in her piggy bank and proceeded to shake it to hear the sound. We took the coins out of the bank several times just so she could put them back in. SO CUTE!

The Easter Bunny brought her a new outfit, a Minnie Mouse shaped plate with a new cup and a Playdoh set! Such fun! After the sugar high wore off we got ready to head to my aunt's home in Hermosa Beach. You may remember from the Easter bumpdate  with Emma.

My cousin, Emma's godmommy, pulled out her old kitchen set and Emma was in heaven playing with the plastic foods and all the tools that she had. We made the trek down to the beach to dip our toes in the water and Emma was NOT HAVING IT. She cried when we put her on the sand, when we tried to get her feet in the water, when mommy went into the water, when daddy went into the water. Poor thing was not interested in the beach one iota. We snapped a couple of photo's and then made our way back to the house.

Once back in the safe zone, Emma played and danced and snuggled with family while we ate some yummy food....I did not partake in the ham, but my cousin smoked an awesome side of beef and that went down so nicely!

On our way back up the hill we made sure to stop at the hospital where Emma came into the world and visit D's grandfather who had to have back surgery. On our way in we ran into his mom and grandma and made plans to get a bite to eat before we head out. We went up and spent a couple of minutes up there, we left because he was eating dinner, then went and had an Easter dinner of the Habit with Darin's mom, grandmother, sister and brother-in-law. It was a nice evening and we managed to get home in time to put Emma to bed. Poor thing was so wiped.

I hope your Easter was as wonderful as ours!

LA Airshow

One Sunday in March, my mom asked if we would be interested in joining us for the airshow that is held near our house. While Darin wasn't super interested in going I knew he would enjoy himself, so we packed some snacks and the stroller for Emma and headed out.

We got there at around 11 as the show was to start at 12, and the Blue Angels would perform at 3. We made our way through the mass of people and into the airfield. Lots of vendors were there and we looked for some souvenirs for Emma but they seemed a bit too old for her age. Although I regret not buying her a silly toy plane now! We met some of the Blue Angels and bought some lunch. On the way in a guy was handing out hats for a donation and I got an Air Force hat in honor of my dad. We watched all the old  WWI and WWII planes perform and then had some lunch.

We went and looked at all the cool display planes and even sat in a LA Sheriff helicopter and squad car for Emma's godfather. That will be the only time shes allowed in the back of a squad car! LOL.

Daddy picked up Emma to put her on his shoulders for a time while we watched all the cool planes fly and do awe inspiring tricks. Since I have limited storage on my phone I missed taking all those photos....but trust me they were impressive. Miss Emma and all of us enjoyed the day immensely. Can anyone else attest to doing this. I was so focused on keeping the sun off my precious baby's skin with sunscreen that I completely forgot to put some on myself until in was too late and I looked like a tomato on my back :-S Oh well. All in the name of motherhood I guess!

What fun things do you all do with your kiddos on the weekends?