Photos from the last couple of days

On Thursday night the "kids" played a game of hockey in the back yard.  I am not sure which one enjoyed it the most!  

And poor Rufus was confused because they were using a tennis ball for the puck.  He thought they were wanting to play with him...or they were taking away his ball!

And today Matt was wearing the shirt he got for Father's day.  Cute photo during tonights story.

And a better view of the shirt although Olivier wasn't being very helpful!  It says "This Daddy belongs to Anna Olivier Mason"  (they wrote their own names.

And we have another niece on the way!

Tonight we all gathered at Tom, April and Eli's house to find out if Eli is going to have a little sister or brother come November 2014.  He got to open the envelope and announce to everyone that he is going to have a little sister!  

Here is a cute video of the gender reveal.  

Visiting with Great Grandma Gert!

The last two days we have been visiting with Great Grandma Gert who is visiting from Michigan.  The kids enjoyed a trip to the beach for a while and got to pet this beautiful pony.  Sweet photo of April, Lina and Anna.  

And tonight we were all together and got this photo of Great Grandma, her son Mark, Joe, Tom, Matt and all our Arnold kiddos.  Audrey, Gus, Lina, Olivier, Eli, Anna and Mason.  They are so blessed to have such a great visit with her!

Last day and now home sweet home

Today was our last day in San Diego.  We stopped by the zoo before heading out.  Boy, it sure is busy on the weekend!  It was nice that we were planning just a short visit because there was quite the crowd. The first thing the kids wanted to do when we got in was to take a photo on the lion.  

Then we visited the reptiles.  Most of them are behind glass and hard to photograph but this guy was in view without having to take a photo through the glass.  Not a friendly face though!

One last photo opportunity on the tortoise and then we headed home.

Got home at six and had dinner and let the kids run around a bit.  We are all tired and will hopefully sleep well tonight.  I know I am planning on it!

Off to Sea World

Today we were off to Sea World for the day.  We arrived just after the park opened and to our surprise all three kids wanted their photo with the polar bear.  I think Anna and Olivier didn't want to be scared since they knew Mason wouldn't be.  

We went on a couple of rides which the kids really like.  They aren't tall enough to ride all of them alone so we are along for the ride.

Then we went to see the dolphin show.  Mason was very solemn the entire show but he says it was his favorite one.

 And Olivier stood for most of the show, excited to see what was coming next.

 And here is some of the dolphin action.

 "Surfing" on one of the whales.

We then went to the pet rules show which Anna says is her favorite.  A quick lunch at the car then off to see the Shamu show one more time.  Olivier loves all the sharks (ironic because he gets scared so easily!) so we visited them again and I wanted to get a photo similar to the one two years ago.

Then we went up the "tower" at the center of the park.  They were a bit on the silly/tired side at this point.

A little more serious.

We then went to the sea lion show again and boy, do they love that show.  They have been repeating lines from it since we saw it the first time and now they have more lines to repeat!  We went to cool down a bit in the Arctic section of the park.  Mason saw this photo op and wanted to be the first one.

Then Anna.

And Olivier.

And then all three!

After exploring the touch tanks a bit more we decided it was time to call it a day.  This is what happened a few minutes later...  :-)

After dinner we went to say "goodbye" to the beach.  Happy boys!

And Anna talking to the statue.  She was taking sand from the statue bucket and "feeding" it to the fish.

 And Mason kept saying cheese so I figured I better take his photo.

 The boys also enjoyed hanging out on "the wall" with Daddy.

 One last one for the night.

Tomorrow is a short visit to the zoo then heading home.  Looking forward to the kids having their own rooms again and just being home.  Vacation is great but it will be nice to be home.

A day of park play

Today the kids asked for a day at the condo and just playing at the park.  We were happy because I think we all needed more rest, I know I did!  We went to the first park, then on our way to the pier we saw these "rockers" that the kids enjoyed.  

Then we went down to the end of the pier.  Loving the beautiful weather!  

Enjoyed a quiet day today to recover a bit.  Tomorrow we are off to Sea World for out last visit.

A zoo kind of day!

Today we took on the zoo and took advantage, for the first time, the bus tour, the kangaroo bus, and the skyfari.  We started with the bus tour just after the park opened and it was great timing because many of the animals were active.  And the kids were excited because we got to sit on the top deck of the bus, right in front.  

One of the most interesting spots was the lions.  The normally sleepy and lazy lions were active and getting fed/checked.  It is very interesting to watch.  

I had to laugh that we made sure they all had seats on the bus.  Do you think they were needed?

The bears were also on the move.

Olivier was talking as we went by the giraffes.  We can't remember what he was talking about but the expression on his face is too cute not to share.

We visited the zoo on Sunday and again today (Wednesday).  During the bus tour we found out that this "little" guy (in the pen) was born on Monday.  Amazing!

Then it was off to the skyfari.  We had to split up since it was a max of four.

I had Anna and Mason for the first trip.

Matt and Olivier were right in front of us.

When we got off we went to check out the polar bears.  Of course the play area was a hit as well.  I think they missed the message that polar bears eat seals...

Two of the three bears were moving around although I was only able to get a photo of one.

They enjoyed the helicopter much like last time.

Next stop was the panda bears.  They were also active because it was feeding time.  She was eating her dessert first which the kids enjoyed hearing.

Back to the skyfari but this time Anna and Mason went with Matt.

We returned in the afternoon and took the kangaroo bus to go see the tiger, hippo and monkeys.  The hippo was "swimming" which was very cool to see.

The excitement of the hippo swimming didn't really last, they really wanted to climb on the hippo statue.