No, I didn't forget the boys 10 month post, we were on vacation! Yeah! Yes, we were a bit crazy and loaded all five of us in the car and headed south to San Diego. It is a six hour drive and if anyone comes up with a
teleporter soon, they will make a lot of money, whew! Some notes about the boys:
- They eat like the hippos in the hungry hungry hippo game, slap the tray and try and grab something, getting it to their mouth as quickly as possible
- Olivier is now crawling on all fours, pushes himself up to sitting, pulls himself up to his knees and in the last couple of days, has started pulling himself up to standing
- Mason has mastered the army crawl and we call him monkey Mason because he tries to climb on us when we are holding him
Day 1 - 9/11/10 (Saturday)
We drove down...now remember it is a six hour drive, it took us eight hours. The drive was not fun to say the least but we did make three stops including a longer stop for dinner. The boys were not happy being in the car and once we arrived in San Diego they wanted to play, although it was well past bed time...ugh...
Day 2 - 9/12/10 (Sunday)
We went for a walk in the morning to see our surroundings and got settled. We were staying in a condo which worked out great. It was about half a block from the beach.
Matt went for a 10 mile run on the beach while the kids all slept in the afternoon.
We got these pictures that morning.
Mason's 10 month photo -
Olivier's 10 month photo -
Another of Olivier -
Mason and Olivier -
And big sister Anna -
In the afternoon we went and played in the sand. The weather was warm and sunny! We were less than five miles from US Mexico border and would hear the border patrol helicopters often.
Mason and Daddy -
Day 3 - 9/13/10 (Monday)
We took shifts, Matt and Anna went to the beach in the early morning and we switched mid morning after the boys went down for their morning nap. We all went to the beach after the kids afternoon naps.
Anna with a statue right on the beach.
Anna in her turtle. It was a favorite when we went to Hawaii about a year and a half ago, she still loves it!
All three enjoy the sand, Mason, Olivier and Anna. (Before the trauma of going in the water and Olivier really got messy!!)
Mason has big smiles, not for long though!!! He did not like the water and was fussy the rest of the afternoon!
Olivier, being still, and still fairly clean!
Mason was the first to get a dip in the water...
And the crying started...poor Mason!
Daddy comforting Mason!
Olivier's turn! Not much better!!!
Not so sure about the cold water.
Olivier remembered Mason's crying!
After all that trauma, Anna said no way to going in the water!!!
Olivier just a few minutes later that afternoon, he got sand everywhere!
Mason in one of his rare moments not crying, sitting with Anna while she is in the hole that Daddy dug for her.
The view from our front porch, does not do it justice!
Day 4 - 9/14/10 (Tuesday)
We took an easy day, knowing that tomorrow we would have a full day at Sea World! Anna and I went to the park while Matt and the boys took a walk. We ran some errands and just enjoyed spending time together!
Day 5 - 9/15/10 (Wednesday)
We ventured to Sea World! We decided to play the day as it came, we had five day passes so we figured if we were there for two hours or eight hours, it was fine. We started off in the Arctic area and saw beluga whales, polar bears, and walruses first. It got Anna very excited!
Here is a beluga whale
And two polar bears
Anna in the entrance of the polar bear cave display that Anna was afraid to go into! They had the sound of polar bears growling loudly inside.
Things were going well so we decided to eat lunch and see the
Shamu show. It is really cute to hear Anna talk about it,
Shamu is "shampoo". She knew the whales jump and splash but really didn't know more than that. Matt and I agree, seeing her reaction made every effort to get there so worth it. She would squeal with happiness and cheer when the whales would jump! The sound of pure joy! She loved it, can you tell?
Then it was off to touch the rays. Anna had fun touching them and feeling how slimy they are.
We saw the turtles too!
We went into the aquarium and saw a huge fish.
We went to see the sea lion show and dolphin show and called it a day just after four pm. Anna crashed in her stroller on the walk back to the car. The kids were exhausted!
Day 6 - 9/16/10 (Thursday)
We headed off for a morning at the San Diego Zoo. We did a lot of walking and got a workout pushing the strollers all over the park but it was great to see all the animals! Anna liked seeing the elephants and had to give all the statues hugs as we went by.
Anna corrected us when we went to see the hippos (and rhinos). She told us "they aren't hippos they're just hippopotamuses." (As I am typing this she came over and was looking at the photo and I said it was a hippo and she repeated the same thing! Get it right Mom and Dad!) :-)
The tiger was on the move and we got to hear it roar. There was a woman who was trying to get her son to roar at the tiger and when she gave him an example the tiger roared at us! It happened numerous times, crazy!
This is the sun bear, taking a snooze in the sun (of course!). If you look closely you can see the drool coming down from his mouth (left bear).
Right around lunch time when we were wrapping up for the morning at the zoo and Anna was getting worn out. Stopped by to see the rhinos where we were corrected on their names! :-)
One last smile with the giraffes!
That afternoon was spent as quietly as possible. Matt had a horrible migrane and was confined to the dark bathroom floor for several hours. I tried to keep three kids as quiet as possible and get him what he needed. It was a long day for everyone!
Day 7 - 9/17/10 (Friday)
We went back to the zoo in the morning and let Anna pet the goats. I think she wanted to take this one home!
We spent the afternoon relaxing and walked to the Farmer's Market near by.
Day 8 - 9/18/10 (Saturday)
Anna and I enjoyed walking along the beach in the morning looking for shells (although she never wanted to go in the water!). Matt had a 9 mile run that afternoon (he is training for a half and a full marathon in October) and I played with the kids.
Day 9 - 9/19/10 (Sunday)
The kids took morning naps (even Anna, she is worn out from all the activity!) and we went back to see Shamu in the afternoon. We sat in the splash zone but we didn't get wet. Anna wasn't as excited as the first show but it was still great to see her enjoy the show.
Day 10 - 9/20/10 (Monday)
The kids slept in! Yeah!!! It is rare for our kids to sleep past 6:30 and they made it until almost eight. Wow!!! Once everyone was ready to go we headed to Coronado.
We finally got a family picture of us on vacation!!! We're standing in front of the Hotel del Coronodo.
Anna loved all the fountains that we saw.
Day 11 - 9/21/10 (Tuesday)
Another quiet day enjoying our last full day in San Diego. Anna and I took a walk in the morning and I had to share these signs that were posted all around where we staying. Not very reassuring when you are so close to the water!
This is the beach that we spent a lot of time visiting. Our last two days were a bit on the gloomy side.
Anna loved these dolphins!
We all walked to a park in the afternoon. The battery died before I got a photo of Olivier (sorry!) but here is a great one of Mason! They had a blast!
Day 12 - 9/22/10 (Wednesday)
We drove home. It actually took us more time to get home than it did to get to San Diego but the boys were much happier and Anna did well. We got home at a decent time and we were able to unpack and get to bed at a normal time. Boy is it nice to be back home!
Grandma with Mason:
Grandma with Anna (visiting the mermaids of course!):
Grandma with Olivier and Anna (she was a busy lady!):
Anna being a cute princess:
Olivier not too happy with his face in the sun:
Olivier's 10 month photo -
Another of Olivier -
Mason and Olivier -
In the afternoon we went and played in the sand. The weather was warm and sunny! We were less than five miles from US Mexico border and would hear the border patrol helicopters often.
Day 3 - 9/13/10 (Monday)
All three enjoy the sand, Mason, Olivier and Anna. (Before the trauma of going in the water and Olivier really got messy!!)
Mason has big smiles, not for long though!!! He did not like the water and was fussy the rest of the afternoon!
Olivier, being still, and still fairly clean!
Mason was the first to get a dip in the water...
And the crying started...poor Mason!
Daddy comforting Mason!
Olivier's turn! Not much better!!!
Not so sure about the cold water.
Olivier remembered Mason's crying!
After all that trauma, Anna said no way to going in the water!!!
Olivier just a few minutes later that afternoon, he got sand everywhere!
Mason in one of his rare moments not crying, sitting with Anna while she is in the hole that Daddy dug for her.
The view from our front porch, does not do it justice!
Day 4 - 9/14/10 (Tuesday)
And two polar bears
Anna in the entrance of the polar bear cave display that Anna was afraid to go into! They had the sound of polar bears growling loudly inside.
Things were going well so we decided to eat lunch and see the Shamu show. It is really cute to hear Anna talk about it, Shamu is "shampoo". She knew the whales jump and splash but really didn't know more than that. Matt and I agree, seeing her reaction made every effort to get there so worth it. She would squeal with happiness and cheer when the whales would jump! The sound of pure joy! She loved it, can you tell?
Then it was off to touch the rays. Anna had fun touching them and feeling how slimy they are.
We saw the turtles too!
We went into the aquarium and saw a huge fish.
We went to see the sea lion show and dolphin show and called it a day just after four pm. Anna crashed in her stroller on the walk back to the car. The kids were exhausted!
Day 6 - 9/16/10 (Thursday)
Anna corrected us when we went to see the hippos (and rhinos). She told us "they aren't hippos they're just hippopotamuses." (As I am typing this she came over and was looking at the photo and I said it was a hippo and she repeated the same thing! Get it right Mom and Dad!) :-)
The tiger was on the move and we got to hear it roar. There was a woman who was trying to get her son to roar at the tiger and when she gave him an example the tiger roared at us! It happened numerous times, crazy! 
This is the sun bear, taking a snooze in the sun (of course!). If you look closely you can see the drool coming down from his mouth (left bear).
Right around lunch time when we were wrapping up for the morning at the zoo and Anna was getting worn out. Stopped by to see the rhinos where we were corrected on their names! :-)
One last smile with the giraffes!
That afternoon was spent as quietly as possible. Matt had a horrible migrane and was confined to the dark bathroom floor for several hours. I tried to keep three kids as quiet as possible and get him what he needed. It was a long day for everyone! 
We spent the afternoon relaxing and walked to the Farmer's Market near by. 
Anna loved all the fountains that we saw.
Day 11 - 9/21/10 (Tuesday)
Anna loved these dolphins!
We all walked to a park in the afternoon. The battery died before I got a photo of Olivier (sorry!) but here is a great one of Mason! They had a blast!
Day 12 - 9/22/10 (Wednesday)
Yummy!
