Our Last Summer Hoorah

Unfortunately Ryan had quite a bit of military training during the summer but I did not want that to spoil the kiddos summer so we did a little road trip to Cali without him. I did not want the kids to spend the last two weeks of summer moping around, wishing dad was there. Instead I packed a huge suitcase, loaded kids into the car and took off for our little road trip adventure.

We actually made great time. So great in fact, when we arrived, only Nana was there to greet us. That's okay because once we said our hellos, the little ones took off for the backyard to play in the tree house. The kids had a lot of fun playing outside.

I think it was the next day when we left for the Santa Barbara zoo. It was nice to walk around and see the different animals, eat lunch while Audrey chased all the birds away, watch a dinosaur show and just spend time with family. It's great to have moments where the kids can play and interact with their cousins.

The day started off pretty hazy but by the time we were done with the zoo, all the haze burned off and we were left with blue, beautiful skies. The kids were itching to go to the beach so we took the soooo long journey of driving across the street to the beach.  Audrey played most of the time going down a slide while the other kids made a sand castle with Papa and got a little wet in the cold ocean. I love the beach. I never realized how relaxing it can be. I'll love it more when my kids are a little older and I don't have to watch them like a hawk. It was a great day.

On Saturday afternoon we had lunch with G'PA and Grammie, then they took us on a tour of their new home after which we left for John's house. The kids had a lot of fun swimming and then playing rock band. I was rather stressed out making sure Audrey did not get too close to the pool. I ended up keeping her captive in the house for the last half we were there. Of course kids would not be kids without raiding the candy jar before leaving. There were a few sugar highs going on during the ride back to Simi.

 





















We spent Sunday going to church in Ryan's old family ward. I hardly knew anyone there. It has changed so much! I knew only a handful of people. After church we packed up and headed out to San Diego. We hit "traffic" which was really four lanes dropping down to two FOR NO REASON! No construction or accident, just a bunch of cones and a news van probably covering the no reason traffic jam.

 I realized during this trip I do not miss LA traffic at all. I will take a wide open road and drive for hours but the LA traffic is not for me. I am not an aggressive driver, which you need to be in LA.  My white knuckle driving could take only so much of it.

I was trying to be good and not go out to dinner on Sunday so I let each kid choose something from a vending machine and then made honey/ peanut butter sandwiches for the kids. They were super uber excited to stay in a hotel. So excited it took quite some time for everyone to fall asleep. With all the beds we had, the sleeping arrangements ended up as; Ella having her own queen bed, Jonathan had the sofa bed to himself and I was sandwiched between Leia and Audrey on our own bed.

The next morning we ate breakfast in the crazy filled dining area of the hotel and then packed up and took a five minute drive to Sea World. It was so easy to walk in since I prebought the tickets. Overall we had a lot of fun. We saw three amazing shows, walked through some of the aquariums, watched sharks swim above us, the kids touched sting rays and star fish and we went on a few rides. Rides were rather limiting for us since most rides do not allow three small kids with one adult.

The shows we did see were fabulous. I forget the name of the first show, but it actually had a story line with dolphins, whales and live birds, along with divers and acrobats. It was amazing to see it all together and have birds literally fly right over our heads. Jonathan and Leia decided to sit in the splash zone but actually did not get wet! They were a little bummed about that. We also saw a Circus de Soleil show which was amazing and quite funny. I think that was Jonathan's favorite because he wanted to go back and see another showing of it. The last show we saw was Madagascar. We missed one showing of it due to it already being full, probably because it was the only air conditioned show. However, we happened to be close by for another showing and were able to get seats. It was not at all what I expected but quite fun. It was mostly a live band singing different songs with some of the Madagascar characters. Leia had a blast. She loved the music and danced in her seat. I can still picture the look of glee on her face.

For the most part the kiddos were good. During lunch time Jonathan took off to go on a big boy ride by himself. I about had a heart attach when he was still not back about an hour later, but as we started to head out, we saw each other and I could breathe again. He had fun going by himself. He is growing up fast and needs those opportunities to be responsible.

After a fun filled day, we headed back home. My secret mommy plan was to tire the kiddos out at Sea World and then drive home with a nice quiet five hour ride. Instead the two little ones took a "nap" and then stayed up until about 9 or 10pm. Ella never fell asleep even though we were on the road until midnight. Jonathan stayed up to help with directions, which we still got lost but eventually found our way back.

With all of that going on, it was a nice drive. It was fun to see the lightening in the pitch black sky. At one point we needed to stop since part of the road was flooded but our car was able to make it through. I think we were super close to Mexico at one point but luckily no wrong turns were made yet and we stayed inside the good 'ol US of A.

It was a great trip. Overall the kids were fantastic. My OCD packing skills made getting dressed in the morning and ready for bed easy. The little ones actually went to bed quite well at Nana's house. The only night time issue was Leia fell out of her bed both nights. I guess if next summer we are looking for a place to go, Sea World is it! After all, we were not able to see Shamu so we HAVE to go back some day. Jonathan even said he kind of likes it better than Disneyland. CrAZy.

Audrey touching a star fish... Leia is right next to her. WE have a picture of Jonathan doing the same thing when he was about two or three years old.

We saw a bunch of hot air balloons on our drive down to San Diego.