After we went to Sea World, the Hobsons drove back to San Clemente and we stayed in a hotel in San Diego for the rest of our trip. I booked it through Hotwire and was pleasantly surprised! We got to stay at the Holiday Inn Express. They gave us the largest room in the hotel, a handicap accessible room that had its own private patio with a table and 2 chairs. That was nice because the kids got to eat out there. There was a refrigerator and microwave in the room, so I prepared lunches and dinners in the room to save money. The pool was right outside our room and I took the kids swimming each night. It also had free continental breakfast every morning and a huge bathroom. We slept SO MUCH BETTER there because we had a lot more room and it was just our family. This made for a much better day on the 6th of July at San Diego Zoo. And to top it all off, Harrison (who didn’t sleep AT ALL in Sea World) fell asleep in his stroller at the zoo for over 2 hours! We were able to go at our own pace and really enjoy the zoo. Kaisa and Everett had a blast, too. Here are some pictures from the day.

I didn't think to bring a backpack for myself. At sea world I kept having to drag my huge diaper bag every time I left my stroller. I got smart and used a backpack so I could have my hands free at the zoo. Nathan made fun of me because it was Kaisa's Tinker Bell backpack.

First stop: snakes!

Love the expression on his face when he saw this lizard!

I think the kimodo dragon scared her a bit. That is one big lizard!

Every time Kaisa saw one of these animal statues, she wanted her picture taken with it.

Petting zoo

And again...

Mom and Kaisa monkey-ing around

Love my kiddos!

The panda exhibit was our favorite!

If you look really closely, there is a panda in between them.

My favorite way to get up the huge hills at the San Diego Zoo...

More statue pictures...we were bummed because the real polar bears were hiding that day. It was hot.

Wow...that's a big bear!

Harrison woke up!

Zebras!

Thank goodness for that nap...it put him in such a good mood!

We rode the sky safari back down. So fun!

Riding the Sky Safari

To finish off the day, we took the kids to this little show. I was disappointed that there weren't any real animals, but these guys put on a really cute show.

This was actually the second time Nathan and I have been to the San Diego Zoo. We went when I was pregnant with Kaisa, so this was our first time taking our kids. It was such a different experience, and it brought me so much joy to see them having fun there. It also brought back fond memories of when Nathan and I were newlyweds. So glad we got to go!

On the 5th of July we went to Sea World with the Hobsons! We were pretty exhausted from traveling and a busy 4th of July, plus we weren’t sleeping very well at the Hobson’s house. It made for some tired, cranky moments at Sea World, but overall I think we had a lot of fun! The highlight of the day was sitting in the front row at the Shamu show and getting soaked! I also loved the dolphin show…it was amazing! They even had divers and people swinging around from the rafters above the tank. And dolphins are so beautiful…I loved watching all the cool tricks they can do! Here are some pictures of the day.

Llamas? At Sea World?

Checking out the star fish tank.

They had this area in the middle of the park that was for younger chidren. I think it was called "Sesame Street Bay." We spent a lot of our day there! Here is Nathan helping Everett climb up into the fort area.

This area was for kids under 18 months. Harrison loved it!

This bouncy area was for the bigger kids...Kaisa and Everett loved it!

First show of the day...the dolphins!

I want to ride one!!

This woman was depicting a colorful bird, flying high above the water.

One of the divers. They used these ropes to "ride" back up to the diving platform.

A diver

This seriously looks SO FUN!

Believe it or not, this was the best one.

Inside the penguin area

Polar bear!!

Manatee

Beluga whale

Shamuuuuuuuu!!!!

So gorgeous!

Front row seats!

They invited all the kids up for a closer look...

...and a splash!

Yep....SOAKED!!

Kaisa and Everett did not enjoy being wet. One. Bit.

Finished off the day with a sea lion show!

Feeding the seals

We went on ONE ride the entire day. Oscar's Eel!

Everett loved this place. Just a bunch of punching bags hanging all over. He went in there at least four times!

This year, we decided to take a family vacation to California for the 4th of July. Nathan took 4 days off of work and we made a week of it. Our good friends, the Hobsons, live in San Clemente. We spent the 4th with them and had a really fun day! In the morning we attended their ward’s breakfast. It was delicious! We were not prepared for the weather, though! It was in the 60′s and rainy the entire day. I didn’t bring jackets for any of us, so we had to borrow from the Hobsons. This was the first time I ever remember being cold on the 4th of July! After breakfast, we had a BBQ at the Hobson’s house. Then we went to the tide pools at Dana Point and watched fireworks on a cliff overlooking the beach. We could see two different shows from where we were sitting. It was a really fun day! Here are a few pictures.

At the tide pools

I only have pictures from two events in June: Orem Summerfest, and Nathan’s 30th birthday. I’m sure we did lots of fun things, but I honestly can’t think of anything else right now!

Orem Summerfest

Every year, Orem City holds their annual Summerfest celebration. We like to go as a family and partake in some of the fun. This year we went to the car show, saw the helicopter, and got balloon animals. And, of course, enjoyed some delicious (and incredibly unhealthy) fair food.

We loved this little camper...the man who entered it in the show made it himself from scratch! It has a bed inside that sleeps two people.

Loving the stroller ride!

Kaisa doing helicopter arms at the helicopter

Loving her balloon poodle!

Nathan’s 30th

Well, it happened. My sexy hubby turned the big 3-0! I can’t believe he is that old! Haha…jk! Anyway, I thought about throwing him a huge party, but he’s not really into parties. Instead, we just went out with another couple. Their little boy ended up getting sick, so they had to leave after dinner and Nathan and I went to the parade of homes alone. It was awesome, though. We really loved it! We also had a little Father’s Day/Birthday party at Nathan’s parent’s home with his family.

Loved this bathtub...

Think this is just a cabinet?

Guess again! It's a full walk-in pantry with counter space! Incredible!

I absolutely loved this zebra picture...it's hard to tell from the picture, but it shimmers in a bunch of colors!

We WILL be putting a pebble floor in the shower in our dream home someday...

Opening presents!

As requested by the birthday boy...a Cold Stone ice cream cake!

I have SO MANY adorable pictures of Harrison, so I'm going to include one at the end of every blog post. Isn't he cute??

Well, once again I have neglected my blog for other things. I almost wrote “more important things,” but then I realized that not everything I’ve been doing is more important…I decided to watch “Lost” on Netflix and got hooked! I’m almost through season 3 of 6….anyway. I figure I should get caught up with my blog before the holidays or it will never happen! Here are a few tidbits from May.

Mother’s Day

Nathan got me some new dish towels. The kids wanted to help me open them!

This was adorable! Nathan and the kids decorated my package with beautiful art. I loved it! They got me some sprouting trays and seeds so I could start sprouting.

What a face!

I just LOVE being a mother to these cuties!

Kaisa’s Preschool Graduation

For the past two years, I have been so blessed to have Kaisa attend preschool at Kids on the Move. She has been going to the “Bridges” class for children who have Austism or are on the Autistic spectrum. They need peer models for the class, and Kaisa has been one of the peer models. She has been able to attend preschool for free, which has been such a blessing to our family. Everett is now attending as a peer model as well. Kaisa graduated from preschool in May. Here are some pictures from the ceremony.

Getting her hat and diploma from Mr. Matt and Miss Ari

So proud of her accomplishment!

What a beautiful graduate!