San Diego Vacation (Part 2)

On our second day in San Diego we went to Sea World. The kids really enjoyed everything; I thought there would be a bit more to see but it was still great.

This was the tank where the walruses were. They were fun to watch and they would come to the window and rub their belly on it as they did kind of a backflip in the water.


This was a simulated bear cave and there were spots that were real snow. But they also had speakers with bear growls and Tim tried to take little T. in there and climb around but as you can see from his face, he wasn't too thrilled about that and didn't believe when Dad told him it would be ok. He left that cave as quickly as he could.

Mom and the boys on the water ride right after me and 2 of the boys had gotten thoroughly soaked by Shamu during his show (the only part the kids didn't like was the taste of salt water in their mouth). Tim isn't a real fan of getting soaking wet and then walking around a large park the rest of the day. I don't mind so much; it's part of the fun. But it works out well since someone has to be with Little T. anyway.

The touch tank was fun for all the boys:

Big T. and Little T.

Little J.

Little T. looking at the Flamingos. They were really chatty and energetic since we got there just as they were feeding them.

Little T. actually got to touch a ray as it swam by. All the boys got a chance to do that.

Another picture at the tank with the rays.

A great ride was Journey to Atlantis. Here are Tim and Little J. just at the bottom of the log ride part (like splash mountain). Then it proceeds to put the boat on tracks and turns to a roller coaster. We all went on that a couple times and it was a lot of fun. It was a great ride.

On the third day we took the kids to Mission Beach to play in the waves, play in the sand, play with the kelp and all that fun ocean stuff. Little T.'s favorite part was playing in the sand. He even got buried by his dad. The other boys' favorite thing was searching for sand dollars and sea shells. Then in the afternoon we drove to a place that supposedly had good tide pools but we didn't find them and didn't search too hard since it was very windy there.

When we drove along the freeway Little T. (he's only 2) said "Temple, Temple!" Well, we couldn't be that close and not take the kids. Of course being on the temple grounds is great but when you have 4 boys it's also great that they have a giant grass hill great for rolling down.

We also stopped at Children's Beach and watched the seals and sea lions on the rocks. Although I enjoyed watched them push each other off the rocks and swim around and sun bathe, I couldn't keep Little T. interested in them. He was too busy laying on his tummy on the ground watching some ants.

This is Little T. playing at Mission Beach. We have some good pictures of him getting buried in the sand too but after I took those pictures Tim pointed out that maybe I shouldn't post them since the background had the girls next to us sunbathing in bikinis. I love his fake smile!

Children's Beach

On the day we drove home, we stopped at the church's historic site: The Mormon Battalion. If anyone is ever in San Diego you Have To go to this place. The little tour uses the latest technology and is fun for everyone. We heard about it when we visited the temple. When we searched for it we realized it was about 1 1/2 blocks from our hotel.

The kinds got to try their hand at panning for gold and they got to take some home too.

San Diego Vacation (Part 1)

Tim took his personal days and we took a vacation a couple weeks ago. We chose San Diego because we've never been and because we wanted to try out Legoland before our kids outgrow it. When we arrived, the kids were the most excited about their separate/partitioned room with bunkbeds and the pool. It was nice to finally upgrade and get more than just a standard room for all 6 of us. I was a little surprised how small Tim and my section was but it was worth it to have bunk beds for the kids and separate space for Tim and me.

The next day was our Legoland Day:

Little T. wasn't big enough for the real driving cars but was just as happy with these fake ones.

He also loved the boats they had that aren't on a track or anything. You actually drive them yourself. He was very proud of himself.

Little J. showing his stuff. Yes the lego statues and other decorations around the park are all truly made out of legos that have been glued together. They even had a full size car made out of legos. I think it weighed like 3,000 pounds or something even though it is completely hollow.

This was little T.'s first ride. A helicopter that went up and down and you could make it turn. It had helicopter noises and he really enjoyed it.

The older 3 boys got to go to Volvo driving school and actually drive little cars around town. They had turn stop at stop signs and watch for others when they turned. It was fun for them.

Daddy and Big T. driving the boats.

Little J.

Big J.

A fun roller coaster for the kids and just the right speed for me.

They liked it so much they went on it again with Tim.

They also had MindStorms which Big J. and Little J. were old enough for. They build a robot lego and learn how to program it to do certain tasks (go forward for a specific length, turn, etc. then shoot balls into a hoop, turn around and come back). My kids thought it was great and wanted to buy one they could take home but when I told them it was around $300.00 they quickly changed their mind.

While the older boys waited in line for a log ride (very small and not worth the wait) Little T. played in the water at one of the several puddle parks they have. He had such a great time and probably could have stayed there for hours. He figured out quickly to step on certain things to make the water shoot up near him, on him, or around him.

There was also a pirate play place with slides, rope climbs, and several other fun things to knock over, climb on, and explore around.

Knights Tournament is this ride you see Tim and Big T. on. You can choose level 1-5 (the kids all had to do 2 I think because of their height). Each level is a different ride on this robotic arm thing. The other boys went on it too but here's one shot of Little T. sideways with his dad.

There was also a giant water area and the older 3 boys played with their swimsuits and got soaked. Every few minutes a giant bucket dumped water over the entire play area. The kids loved that. They even had little "water slides" or rather slides with water.

All the boys tried to stand in the spot they would get the wettest when the giant bucket dropped.

While the older boys played, Little T. snuggled up in a towel with his dad and took a nap.

This is MiniLand USA (or actually just a small portion of it-all made of legos). There is NYC (behind the boys), Las Vegas, and many, many other cities and areas. There were working legos boats with skiers, drag racers, a trolley, etc.

The kids insisted on getting a picture with this Darth Vader.

Be watching for Part 2 - Sea World, the Beach, and the Mormon Battalion