Family Vacation: Part 4

After our long day at the zoo, we drove to Coronado Island.

We had a few hours to burn before bedtime, so we wanted to check it out. 

Kathryn and Maxwell were just happy to get some ice cream out of the stop.

The next morning we went to Balboa Park.

We wished we would have had more time to explore it.

It was a beautiful and artsy place.

We went on a harbor tour around the bay.
Michael bought Kathryn a special surprise for the boat ride.

She got a fun little backpack and a special "first mate" sticker.

But the favorite item in the bag was the binoculars.

There were several fights over those.  Maxwell really wanted those all to himself.

We had lunch in Little Italy at a fun restaurant.

The pizza was amazing!

We ended the day back on Coronado Island at the beach.

The weather was beautiful and the sand was perfect.

Kathryn made two little friends and played with them most of the time we were there.

And Maxwell was content to dig in the sand.  And eat it.

 

Family Vacation: Part 3

On our way home from Sea World, we stopped by the San Diego Temple.

It was even more beautiful in person.

    

The next day, we visited the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.

There was a very interactive tour, which ended with gold panning.

The kids especially loved that part.

We ate lunch at a fun little Mexican restaurant.

The birds kept us pretty entertained.

And then we walked around the Old Town San Diego Historic Park.

We loved exploring that part of town and learning more about how San Diego was settled.

We made a stop at Mission Beach, even though it was cold and gray.
Kathryn had been patiently waiting (and asking) all day, so we couldn't disappoint her.

We woke up early the next morning and headed to the San Diego Zoo.
I must admit, that we were slightly overwhelmed.  It is a huge!
Our children were a little restless and we tried to do way too much in one day.

We had a lot of fun though, but we would take a different approach next time.
Maxwell LOVED the turtles and tortoises.
He couldn't get enough of them.  I guess we all loved them.

We also loved seeing the famous panda bear.

Who was sleeping.

She recently had a cub, which is rare for a panda in captivity.

Kathryn loved the baby giraffe.

It was the same height as Michael when it was born.

Finally, we all decided it was time to find a bus stop.

So we finished the rest of the Zoo via bus tour.

 

Family Vacation: Part 2

Once we saw water, we pulled over the first chance we got.

I love seeing the ocean.  It is so exciting!  Like Christmas morning exciting.

We kicked off our shoes and played for a while.

The kids had so much fun playing in the sand.

Of course it was awesome to get out of the car after a long drive.

And like I expected, Maxwell couldn't keep the sand out of his mouth.

That kid is something else...probably about the same as every other almost two year old.

The water was nice.

Not quite as cold as cold as the Oregon Coast last summer (or all the time I mean).

We finally got back in the car to finish our drive.

But it wasn't too hard, knowing we'd be back again in a few days.

 

We checked into our hotel, unloaded our luggage and headed to Sea World for a few hours.

We wanted to fit in as much as possible every single day.

First, we took a sky-ride over the bay.
Kathryn was a little nervous, but we assured her that everything would be fine.

Actually, Michael and I were both a little nervous ourselves as the ride creaked over the water.

We looked at a few animals and then watched Shamu Rocks.

That was our very favorite show of all.  The music was fun and the whales were amazing performers.

Following the show, there were fireworks over the bay.  

We went back the next day to see the rest of the park.

We loved Sea World so much.  It was so family oriented and perfect for our kids.

We loved seeing all of the animals and watching the shows.

(Blue Horizon Show)

There were lot's of interactive animal encounters that we enjoyed.

Thankfully, this polar bear exhibit was not interactive.

Maxwell was up close and personal though. 

There were some fun rides that Michael and the kids got to go on.

I couldn't ride any since I'm pregnant.  Bummer.  Not even the kiddie rides.

Michael convinced Kathryn to ride a big kid ride, Journey to Atlantis.
She did pretty well.  Although, she did make fun of herself for crying for me before the ride started.

We love you Sea World!  And we'll be back sometime soon:)