But, I Digress

I have to apologize for the lack of blogging lately. I promise the rest of our vacation soon. I've been sidetracked getting our home ready to sell. We officially put it on the market today and I have to say that it looks pretty good (after several nights past midnight, light fixtures, new tile and carpet, patch paint jobs, and a whole lot of de-junking into a storage unit). I am exhausted and hope our combined efforts yield some sweet rewards. Enjoy the pictures. And if you know of anyone interested in a two bedroom, two bath condo in a great location send them on over!

Vacation: Part Three - SEA WORLD!

Unforgettables:

1 - Feeding and touching the dolphins
2 - Walrus' eating rituals (not pretty)
3 - Shamu's show (amazing and adorable)
4 - Holding a star fish
5 - The trampoline

I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Sea World! I have to admit that watching whales and dolphins jump more than twenty feet in the air amazes me. The first thing we did was feed the dolphins. Since cousin Lincoln had already been to Sea World he was comfortable being so close to the animals, which helped Ben approach them with less trepidation. The dolphins know you're bringing food, so they come right up to you and open their mouths like a two-year-old begging for a snack. Ben was even brave enough to touch them before he nervously dropped a fish in their mouths - they do have a lot of little teeth!


We were lucky enough to catch the polar bears while they were active and Ben and Isaac loved watching them scratch their backs on the "ice" walls.


So, I never thought I'd see a walrus, let alone the way this walrus eats. He crammed a ton of fish in his mouth, and then spit them all back up again against the glass wall and then sucked them all back in. This was repeated several times. Maybe he didn't have teeth...maybe he saw another walrus do it and thought it was cool...maybe someone coated the fish in hot sauce. Still, it was almost like he enjoyed all the "EEWWWs!" and silently laughed at us from behind the glass. Very entertaining.




One of Ben's favorite parts of the arctic exhibit was the wall of ice, REAL ice, which is quite a feat in Southern California.



I really enjoyed Shamu's show, but for a different reason than you'd think. Here's what I learned: the convenience of having food in the right place at the right time is golden. We found a way to "Picnic with Shamu." We ordered lunch and simultaneously reserved seats for the show BEFORE going to Sea World, which made our day so much easier! The lunches were really good and the seats were perfect. We didn't need to sit in the sun an extra half hour or more to get the right seats, and our food was brought right to us! In summation: if anyone is contemplating going to Sea World anytime soon, order the Picnic with Shamu lunch ahead of time! I thought this hug was adorable!


This was a photo experiment, but Jacob really liked the sea turtles. "150, dude, and still young!"


Jacob LOVES jumping on trampolines. We found one of those cool trampoline "toys" that lets you jump super high and Jacob and Kenny took a chance on it. Although it wasn't the best trampoline Jacob's been on he enjoyed himself, and Ben loved seeing Dad way up in the sky! I love the way Jacob plays with our boys. He always finds a way to make them laugh. It was great spending some free time with Jacob after busy season. We all missed him and we're glad to have him back.

Overall, our Sea World adventures were unforgettable, and I'm so glad we chose to go!

Vacation: Part Two - The Sickie

Every time we travel one or both of our kids gets sick. This trip it was Isaac's turn. The day before we left he had a fever, and I was hoping it would end up like Ben's fever a few days earlier and just go away without any other symptoms. But it was not to be. The day after we arrived it was still raging through bouts of Tylenol (along with a mean sore throat) so we took him to Melissa's pediatrician who discovered a double ear infection. To my surprise it wasn't strep throat - go figure. He was prescribed amoxicillin and we promptly drove down to San Diego. The next morning after Isaac's second dose of the medicine we noticed lovely red spots covering his arms and legs and upon calling the pediatrician and returning to his office the next morning we discovered it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotics - so we had to pick up another prescription and attempt the procedure all over again. Melissa and Kenny were very patient with us during this process which we greatly appreciated! Her doctor was amazing too. Isaac was a trooper through all his discomfort and he appeared to have a great time despite it all. So here's a big HOORAH for Isaac!

Vacation: Part One

As a reward for all of our fine efforts during tax season we took a much needed vacation to visit my sister Melissa and her family for a week. Ben was probably most excited to go so he could ride the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disneyland and play for hours with his cousin Lincoln. We visited the Wild Animal Park, Sea World, and Disneyland, and we even got to see Grandma and Grandpa Mildenstein for a few days. I'm stealing Melissa's idea and dividing up all our fun-filled adventures over the next few blogs. There was just too much fun to fit into one post!

Goodbye Taxes...Hello Spring

Kudos to my brilliant husband who once again managed to trudge, plod, and wade through affliction...I mean tax season this year, and came out smiling. I always seem to complain about how much he's gone during this time, but I don't often take the time to tell him how much his work means to me and the boys. He has the tremendous ability to be positive and stick to tasks no matter how difficult they get. I truly admire his hard work and dedication. So here's to you, honey! We're glad we get you back!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Today is my mom's birthday, and I wish I could be there to make her birthday cake! She's always been there to answer my questions about the boys - hence the picture of her with Isaac. She has done some amazing things in her life and my only hope is that I can have a little of her faith one day. Happy Birthday Mom!

Every once in awhile I do something ridiculous. Okay, I'll admit it happens more often than I'd like. Today's ridiculous moment occurred as I checked my blog for comments. I've posted three new entries over the last week and wasn't receiving any comments...on any of them. And I thought, gee, everyone got really busy. My next thought was, gee, I must be really sporadic in my postings because nobody has checked out my blog in a week!

Um, yeah, the comment moderation button was activated, so I was the one forcing my blog to be comment-less. Sometimes I think the "DUH" button in my brain got pushed by too many pregnancies and is permanently damaged. :) In the mean time please keep blogging because I've fixed my comment moderation problem. And I really do love hearing from you!