The Mormon Battalion

Friday, April 6, 2012

After the Midway, we headed over to the Mormon Battalion Historical Site. It was a very modern presentation, where they had talking photos of members of the Battalion tell their story.

Camryn was chosen as a volunteer to be dressed up with all the gear the soldiers would have needed. She said it was pretty heavy.

After the presentation and we took a photo, we headed out to the courtyard to pan for gold

and do laundry the old fashioned way.

It was time to head home. Dave was feeling worse, so I drove most of the way. With all the weekend traffic is was a long drive. It had been a fun trip, but as always, it was nice to get home.

USS Midway - Live the Adventure, Honor the Legend

Friday, April 6, 2012

Dave really wanted to see the Midway on out trip, sadly when we went, he was really not feeling well. While it was interesting, I don't think we enjoyed it as much as he would have.

We saw were the sailors slept,

the Brig,

listened to the tour on headphones and filled out an answer sheet to earn a special badge,

saw some cool planes,

and hung out with cardboard cutout sailors.

The kids did earn their badges and we learned a bit about life at sea.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Since Seth's Little League Team is the Padres, we thought we should take the opportunity to see the real team play. We took the trolley to the game, so we didn't have deal with parking. Our seats where pretty bad, but we moved around and found some empty ones where we could see better.

Surprisingly, Camryn had the most fun at the game. She danced to the music and cheered for the Padres, screaming and yelling.

The last inning, the Padres were down 5-3. Dave and Seth turned their hat inside out to make them rally hats. It didn't help.

The Padres lost, but we all had a good time.

“The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” --Jacques Cousteau

Thursday, April 5, 2012

The thing Alexis most wanted to do on our trip was go to the beach, she didn't really get how cold it would be. It was a pretty cold day as it was, before getting wet.

We had gotten castle shaped buckets to make sand castles, but the sand where they were trying to build wasn't wet enough, so the kids went down to get water.

The tide came up and pulled both the little ones down into the water.

Cam and Dave played catch.

Seth looked for sea shells.

We were all so cold, we only lasted at the beach about an hour, but when we got back to the hotel, we discovered the pool was heated, so the kids swam in there while Dave and I rested up.

Sea World - Just Like Legoland, But WAY Better!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

We got up and drove down to Sea World. As we drove up, we could see this Atlantis themed roller coaster. As soon as we got through the gate, the kids took off to ride it.

After we rode it, only getting slightly wet, we realized we were on the wrong side of the park if we wanted to see the One Ocean - Killer Whale show. We started heading that way, stopping to see things as we went. Alexis was the bravest when it came to touching starfish and other little creatures.

We stopped for a photo too.

We finally got to the show, eating churros while we waited for it to start. We loved the show.

Although we were in the splash zone, I thought we were high enough up to be safe, but the whale splashed us pretty good with his tail.

After the show we headed right over to the Blue Horizons Dolphin show - we didn't like it much. Then we went into some of the exhibits to see things like sharks, penguins, polar bears, and a huge walrus.

We went on a SkyRide and the rest of the family went on a raft ride where they were thoroughly drenched and froze the rest of the day. We also saw a funny sea lion show.

Later we split up, so Dave could take the girls on the Atlantis ride again. I took Seth to see the dolphin pool, where he got to throw a ring to the dolphins and they brought it back.

And we saw the whales swimming at an underwater observation deck.

Our favorite part of the day had been the Killer Whale show, so we went back to see the night show - Shamu Rocks! We were pretty cold and everyone else was still a little wet from the rides, so this time we totally stayed out of the splash zone.

It was a fun, but long day. Sea World was everyone but Seth's favorite part of the trip - He still thought Legoland was the best - crazy!

Not Quite the Happiest Place on Earth

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

We left Vegas about 4:00 a.m. to head off to the San Diego area. Our first stop on our trip, was Legoland. This was definitely for Seth. We had heard that he was just the right age for it.

We started the day in a very long line for a very short ride.

The kids drove cars and then pretended to be fireman and hosed down a "fire" in a burning building.

We went into the Adventure Club and had to look for hidden keys throughout different rooms, including this Arctic Room. It was amazing what people can make with Legos.

There was a Pirate Area with pirate rides (one of which got us really wet) and this log ride.

There were Star Wars characters and scenes from the movies made of Legos.

Animals made of Legos.

And towns made of Legos.

Seth had a really good time. He got a Lego water bottle to remember his day by.

The Fairest Of Them All

Monday, April 2, 2012

The Driscoll Family came to visit from Mount Vernon, WA. Camryn's friend, Avery, turned 9 while they were here, so we had a little party for her. She wanted to go see the new movie, Mirror, Mirror, so we had a Snow White themed get together.

The girls decorated hand mirrors with glitter, beads, and paint. It was a little messier than I pictured it being.

We had French bread pizza with salad and grapes for lunch, then had cake and ice cream.

Next, we were off to the theater. Our whole family went. The 8 & 9 year olds were the perfect age for the movie. You could hear them cracking up throughout the whole thing. Little Hallie was so funny, she totally puckered up when Snow White went to kiss the prince.

We all had a good visit and we were so happy to see our friends. Camryn has been so worried about Avery. It was good for us to see her in such good spirits and just as fun and silly as ever!