San Diego: Ferry, Tide Pools, and Mormon Batallion Center

On Saturday, we took the ferry from Coronado over to San Diego harbor.  It was a beautiful, but slightly humid day.  The boys loved the boat ride!

We walked around the harbor, checked out Seaport Village, and then had lunch at Anthony's- where we enjoyed a gorgeous air-conditioned ocean view table of the harbor.  

Owen doing his "dragon face" next to a dragon on the harbor.

Owen being goofy.  Right after this a group of Chinese tourists asked to take a picture with him.  He was pretty unsure about the whole thing, but was a good sport about it.  They loved his blue eyes & blond hair!

The boys were pretty grumpy so we let them ride the carousel in Seaport Village.  It immediately snapped them into a good mood!  Best $4 spent that whole trip!

On our last day we visited the tide pools at Cabrillo National Monument & the recently renovated Mormon Battalion Center in Old Town- both things I have never been to before!

The Mormon Battalion Center was so different than how I remember it as a child.  So much more interactive-- Owen loved listening to the stories, and--of course-- participating in the presentation!

San Diego never disappoints!  It was an awesome trip!  

San Diego: Sea World, Exploring Coronado, and 4th of July

We spent one day of our trip at Sea World and we all had a blast.  I hadn't been since high school and Brad hadn't been for almost 20 years-- it sure has changed!  We weren't sure how the boys would do and how long we'd be able to stay, but we ended up staying 8 hours and seeing everything that we wanted to.  Brad's parents came with us, and it was nice being able to have the extra help.  

First stop of the day- put the day off to a great start!

I love Owen's face here!

Our first show was the Dolphin Show.  I think we all agreed it was our favorite!  

Snack break.  

Owen was so excited to meet Elmo & Grover.  Porter was a little less sure of the whole thing.

It was a fun day!!

One of the nights we went out to dinner with the whole gang.  Owen's new favorite thing is to go to restaurants!  He got the hang of it on this trip.  He always makes sure to tell the waiter his name, Porter's name, and that Porter is a baby but he is growing up.  He sure isn't afraid of new people!

Miguel's Cocina never disappoints!

After dinner we explored the Hotel Del Coronado and took some pictures.  We were walking home at sunset and it was beautiful!

We were able to be in Coronado for 4th of July!  What an experience!  We read an article that said the city grows from 20,000 to over 100,000 (low estimate) on July 4th.  It is a naval city and very patriotic.  We loved being there and soaking in the patriotism.  My family came and joined us for the day.  We enjoyed the parade in the morning, the beach in the afternoon, BBQ'ing in the evening, and fireworks at night.  Perfect day!

I love this picture of Owen waving to some of the servicemen as they walked by.   The most touching part of the morning for me was watching the wounded warriors walk by.   I am so grateful for their sacrifice & service!  

Happy birthday America!  

San Diego: Swimming, Animal Park, and the Beach

We just got back from our summer vacation:  10 days in San Diego!  The first few days were spent in Escondido with my family, then we spent 7 days in Coronado with Brad's parents.  It was an awesome trip!  We usually visit San Diego a few times a year, but this time we actually made a vacation out of it and were able to do some new things.  

On the first day there we swam at a friend's house.  They have an awesome water slide.  Owen was unsure about it at first, but by the time we left he was going down all by himself.  

Uncle Luke & Aunt Taryn came swimming with us.  Owen loves spending time with them.

Later that afternoon we visited the San Diego Safari Park (ie: Wild Animal Park) with more of my family.  We usually steer clear of that place in the summer- it is just too hot!  But we lucked out and the weather was great.  

Uncle Ross got some nectar and we got to take turns feeding the birds.  Owen and Porter were not fans of them!

You can't visit the Animal Park without riding on the tram.  I would wager to say that Porter was the most excited person on it.  He absolutely loved seeing all of the animals- especially all of the "deer" (ie: anything with antlers).  

One of our first stops after we got to Coronado on Monday was to the beach!  We went a few times throughout the week and never got sick of it. 

We even got Owen boogie boarding on the 2nd day-- he loved it!  

Aunt Taryn joined us for the first 2 days in Coronado.  She was such a great help with the boys.  They sure love her!