Southern California Trip

I can't tell you how excited I was to go on this trip. Besides our trip to Miami for our honeymoon, Mike and I haven't gone on any big trips since so this was awesome. Mike came home 2 Monday's ago and told me he was leaving on Sunday for San Diego and I told him "Not without me!" We quickly planned an eventful trip and off we set on Saturday night. Mike flew out on Sunday. I stopped a few times to rest my eyes but we made the trip in farely good time and the kids were awesome.

The Beach...

On Monday we hung out at the beach. The girls LOVED it. Jade was the first to venture out into the ocean.

It took Kazia a little bit to feel comfortable enough to walk out a few feet.

We took Jade's sand toys and they had so much fun building sand castles and sitting on them or wrecking them with their boats and shovels. Kazia asked to be buried in the sand and Jade was happy to help.
Then it was Jade's turn. She's pretending to be asleep.

Sea World...

We went there on Tues. and Wed. The dolphins were awesome. Jade kept saying "Suit...Suit...Mommy Suit" She wanted her and I to go swimming with the dolphins like the trainers.

Here is proof that if you keep the kids on a schedule...they can sleep just about anywhere. This is on the grass out in front of the ticket boothe's at Sea World.

I had to wake them up a little early to hit the Shamu show which was well worth it.

The whales are amazing!

After the show we went below to see Shamu up close in the tank and we got a great view.

Next we headed to the 4-D Elmo show. The girls looked stylish in their 3-D glasses. Unfortunately as the show blew and sprayed us in scared Jade to death and she cried through most of it.

Kazia had a great time though.

The girls also loved holding the star fish. Hands-on is great for little ones.

I lost my camera for 2 days (which I found under the seat in my car) and so I don't have any pics of the Zoo or Mike at Sea World but I went to the Zoo with another lady and she's going to send me some pics.

Off to Disneyland...

While Mike, Jon, and Kazia went on Star Tours Jade and I wandered around and we found Alice. Jade thought she was Cinderella since she was in blue and she was happy to hold her hand and walk a little bit with her.

Tarzan's tree house was one of the girls favorites.

Jade is really into trains these days so we rode the Disney train 2 times.

While the others were on Space Mountain I took Jade to toon town and she loved playing on all the cool stuff. She didn't want to give up her spot on the fire truck.

The girls got pulled into the parade and got a chance to dance and interact with people and characters. It was great!

When we tried to leave Disneyland at 10:15 we didn't get out of the parking garage until 12:30. It was ridiculous. AVOID the parking garage at all costs. This was my first and last time to do that. We got home around 1:30 am and Mike went surfing at 5:30 am with Jon and Dave. When he got back we went to the...

Wild Animal Park...

We had a great time at the Animal Park but it was so hot that I think we got a little heat stroke.

There was a petting area where the kids could pet some deer and Jade had to give all of them "luvs". She's really not checking out the rear as it may seem.

We also took a African Safari Tour that took you up close to many of the animals and they were in exhibits that represented their homes in Africa. They had a ton of giraffe's.

We got a great view of the Lion and Lioness. They are so BIG!

After the Animal we were so tired that we took a nap, went to a soccer game that some of the family was playin in, and had a family dinner. It was great to see everyone and catch up a little. Thanks guys for letting us hang out!

Well, all good things must come to an end. It was an exhausting ride home and when we got home we were so tired. There was a thunderstorm so we put the girls in bed with us for a nap and when we woke up and moved out of the bed this is what we saw. PRECIOUS!

Camping in Moab

Kazia could hardly wait...the time had finally come to go fishing.

Mom and Kazia fishing together.

Uncle Brandon and Brooklyn caught the first fish. As you can see, Brooklyn is not quite sure what to think about the fish. Teebo loved the fish...and everything about camping. Jade caught a fish and thought it was great.

She even held the string with the fish wiggling. I was impressed.

Jade got a little cold so she sucked her arms inside her shirt. Sure makes it hard to eat her fruit snack.

Off to the outhouse...Jade's favorite place to "go". Don't ask me why, but she loved it and wanted to "go" in the outhouse for a couple of days after we got home.

Brandon, Suzie, and kids were still taking a nap so we decided to go for a hike. Mike looks so cute with the pink Dora backpack on. Then Jade demanded that she wear it.

We stopped by the lake to throw a few rocks...

then we hiked close to a mile up rough rocky terrain. This was definitely not a kids hike, but they were troopers. We sat on this tree at the end of our hike and at graham crackers before heading back.

Kazia took this pic and I think it turned out well.

I thought this was so cute!

Back at camp and waiting on dinner. Daddy and the kids are worn out.

Aunt Sue Sue was feeding Charlee and Charlee seemed to be getting food everywhere but in her mouth. It was quite entertaining to watch.

Brandon and Suzanne didn't think it would get very cold so they didn't pack pants or sweaters so Brandon made sure there was a blazing fire all the time. Meanwhile Kazia played peek-a-boo with Charlee. ADORABLE!
Now that you saw the pics of Jade fishing from the day before, this is what she looked like on the second day of fishing. She was fine until the fish got to where she could see them in the water, then she started saying "fishy bite" and running. This pic says it all.

Kazia didn't sit long enough on the first day to catch anything and she was delighted when she caught her first fish. You can see the ripples in the water from the fish being reeled in.

Kazia's trophy of the day.

Here is their catch for the day and they were super thrilled. Kazia even went with dad to hold the bag while he gut the fish.

Most people think of Moab as super hot and red rock during the summer...I think cool mountains and fishing. We had a blast with Brandon, Suzanne, Brooklyn, and Charlee!

Chloe's Birthday Fun

We had a blast hanging out at Erin's neighbor's house on Chloe's birthday.

Isn't she a beauty?

We all thought Jade was going to fall backward into the pool, but she didnt'.
Super cute!

My little monkey. Jade could get in and out of this pool even when the big kids couldn't. She's super strong.

Thanks to Auntie Erin, the Ariel tube made Kazia's day. Gotta love dollar stores.

Kazia's new found friend Treyson. They were stuck together like glue. Treyson even stuck up for Kazia and tried to get some toy back for her that she wanted. How cute...it is starting already. She has got boys wrapped around her little finger.

Lunch under the tramp was a great idea for shade.

We had a blast and can't wait for future outings with Byant and Chloe.

Kazia the Aspiring Photographer

So I haven't been home much this month and am way behind in my blogging, scrapbooking, etc. I finally got a few seconds to post the latest pics and found all of these random pics. At first I started erasing them, and then I thought I'd do a little post about Kazia's new found love...photography.

Check out the angle of this stool and tool box.

And the Clifford book with a foot. Great work!
Jade and Elmo is a classic!

Flowers from their room.

Elmo taking a nap...or in time out?

My messy craft area.

Jade's flower. All in all...these made me giggle just a little to find out what Kazia thinks is neat. I did erase all of the pics of Mike on the computer before I decided to post these...oh well.