SAN DIEGO--Thanksgiving

WILD ANIMAL PARK

I loved the gorillas. They're just so interesting to me. The sign near their dwelling said not to stare at them that it was not polite in Gorilla culture. : ) There were hundreds of people standing around staring and taking pictures. This gorilla was very pregnant, she's resting her arm atop her tummy.

San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park was built originally to breed animals for the zoo. It was opened to the public to make more money. I guess that is why they charge 5 star prices for a hamburger and nuggets. Everything they make goes toward protecting animals.

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Here we are in the larakeek pen. We bought some larakeet nectar and braved all the hungry birds. Julia must be extra sweet since she wasn't even holding the nectar...one just landed on her head.

Catherine was content to play with the sand. She's trying to figure out why she can't hold on to the stuff.

Our Bathing Beauties

It was actually freezing but they had to get in the water anyway. Julia was knocked over in the waves and couldn't get her balance with the water rushing by. She still talks about her scary experience today.

WE LOVE THE BEACH!!!

BALBOA PARK
The Lily pond in front of the botanical house.

Here's a note on the architecture seen throughtout most of the park (you can see some of it in the background of this picture):
First World's Fair: The 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition Art and Culture, Gardens and Spanish-Renaissance Architecture.The 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition commemorated the opening of the Panama Canal and provided a major impetus for the creation of the Park as it appears today—the first of two Expositions that created many of the cultural institutions as well as the stunning architecture in the Park. Most of the arts organizations along Balboa Park's famous El Prado pedestrian walkway are housed in Spanish-Renaissance style buildings constructed for the 1915 Exposition. It was one of the first times that this highly ornamented, flamboyant architectural style had ever been used in the United States.

BALBOA PARK

Brett, Carol and Baby Ashton Stimpson

BALBOA PARK

These "globes" were place all around the fountains representing different ways we can be more earth friendly. Here's Collin in front of veggie guy. Remember to eat your veggies.

Our 3rd day was spent at Balboa Park and the Beach.

Here's a little blurb from the Park Website:

Balboa Park: the nation's largest urban cultural park. Home to 15 major museums, renowned performing arts venues, beautiful gardens and the San Diego Zoo, the Park has an ever-changing calendar of museum exhibitions, plays, musicals, concerts, and classes—all in the beautiful and timeless setting of this must-see San Diego attraction.

SEA WORLD

We ended up eating at a BBQ restaurant in the Park for our Thanksgiving dinner. It actually wasn't half bad. Not quite like a traditional T-dinner but nice...no prep or clean up.

SEA WORLD

Here is one of the many Shamus in the Shamu family at the underwater viewing tank. It took us a while to get shamu in the picture since he was swimming circles in the tank. I think Brett was disappointed to find out that it wasn't the actual shamu. Turns out the original shamu was born in 1960, or something, and is long gone but the shamu family lives on!!!!!

Our next day, also Thanksgiving day, was a visit to SEA WORLD.

LEGOLAND

Collin (5) and Julia (2) enjoying a double scoop of ice-cream in Fantasyland. I think older brother has taken control.

Legoland
We spent our first day at Legoland. Here we are in the Miniland portion of the park in front of the

Golden Gate Lego Bridge. There were many famous cities built out of Lego's in Miniland..including San Francisco, Washington DC, New York City, Vegas, Paris, and more. It was pretty impressive that everything was built out of legos and looked sooooo realistic just mini. Even the tree's and shrubs were mini. When we were looking at San Francisco the gardeners were in manicuring the gardens and they looked like Giants compared to the mini city and shrubs. Fun!!!

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Story from Legoland. We were waiting in line for one of the rides and Collin was stomping around and entertaining himself while waiting. He ended up stomping on a snail. We don't have snails in our part of AZ....and having no idea what the slimey goo was that was produced on the pavement afterwards he just stood staring at it and asked Michael what he had just stepped on. Later, Collin was acting quite somber. I inquired and he said nearly crying, "I killed a snail." I hugged him and assured him that it was in snail heaven and we went on with our day. I never knew he cared about little critters so deeply. So.... we went to San Diego way back in November during Thanksgiving week. Brett, Carol, and baby Ashton (Michael's brother's family from Highland, Utah) invited us to join them. And we all had such an enjoyable time together.

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Here is the cute little 1960's house that we stayed in while there. It was fun to be in a residential neighborhood in SD verses a hotel. We felt like we were just part of the town!!! Especially after Michael dropped his blackberry in the corner Albertson's grocery store while stopping to buy a new pacifier-- of which they had none--for Catherine. What???? a grocery store with no paci's.... only in California. We later retraced our steps and found the phone. Thank heavens!!!!

Birthday Boy

Collin had his 5th Birthday on Sunday!!!! It's so fun to be five and in Kindergarten, I think this is the best time of his life so far.
We invited our friends, the Smiths (next door neighbors) and the Aguilars over for dinner and cake on Sunday. Here is Collin and Mikayla Smith ready to blow.

Collin got his first real bike.

On Saturday he invited 2 friends, Nathan and Mark to Peter Piper Pizza. They all had an absolute blast!!

Happy Halloween

Before Trunk or Treating at the church

This year we had a princess (Julia 2) and a knight (Collin 4)

(had to show the tonsil and eyes wide open picture)
Here they are looking a little more normal ....

and here is our sweet bunny Catherine

HALLOWEEN NIGHT

Our friend Clark (who was superman...very fitting with the name Clark..: ) trick or treated with us too. It was great fun and we got way tooooo much candy. After a couple of days of way too much sugar, I dumped all the candy in a big bowl for Michael to take to work. I saved out a few pieces for the kids, though!

We had a visit with Carly and also carved pumpkins

Carly (Senior) Snar stopped by for a visit since she was in town visiting the Yegge sisters. For those who don't know.... Carly and family are long time friends from San Jose where I grew up. Here is a pictures of Carly and 2 of her kids, Audrey and Julia (baby). Hubby and Andrew (her little boy) stayed behind at the Yegges. It was great to chat for a couple hours especially since we're in about the same stage of life right now...3 small kids.....and never a dull moment.

Our beautiful masterpieces: Julia wanted the kitty and Collin..the skull and cross bones (surprise, I know)

Julia...happily scooping her pumpkin goo

Collin wouldn't touch his...Dad did it!!!!!!!!!

Since last post

Catherine started crawling
Julia had an unbirthday

Michael had a real birthday

I made peach and raspberry jam with my friend Kim

(sorry no pictures of the raspberry)

Julia fed Catherine all by herself

Swimming, Boise, kids

A day at the Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center in Chandler

(Labor Day weekend)
Handsome honey (Michael)
Collin Cutie (4)
Sweet Julia (2)
Sleepy Catherine (5 months)
Check out those thighs?!*
My happy girl


Couldn't resist this picture, zonked in the high chair

At a park in Boise with Michael's fam
Aunt Abby and I taking pictures of each other : )
Aunt Rachel, Julia, Catherine and Rachel's dog Princess
At Burgdorf Hot Springs near McCall Idaho (and they were hot!)
Michael's brother, Brett; his wife, Carol and baby Ashton

Getting ready for fam picture
almost ready
cheese!
Collin's first day of kindergarten!!!!! Yipee!
My first rice cereal and lovin' it!

It's been a while

Well, Michael has started up soccer again for another season starting tonight so I thought I'd post an update of our lives. The kids are all in bed (miracle) and asleep (another miracle) at 8:45 so here I am.
Summer is over and Collin has started kindergarten. I have gone back and forth in my mind thousands of times over the last year trying to decide weather to put him in early since he misses the cut-off of Sept 1st by a couple of months. We finally decided to do it and full-day no less. After a month of school, I am now convinced it was a good idea. He loves his teacher and friends and all the fun things he is learning. I too really like his teacher. She is very kind and motherly just what these young kids need. Anyhow, I am amazed at the variety of ways that material is presented, rules are enforced, and just the orderliness of it all. It is the perfect environment for my little I-need-something-for-my-brain-to-latch-on-to-every-second -of every-minute-of every hour- child, Collin. He comes home after 7 hours of school and is still going strong. Wow, I love kindergarten.

Since Collin is gone the majority of the day it gives me more time to hang out with just the girls. Julia is practicing the potty right now, FINALLY, she's been ready for months, I just haven't been. I find that Mike and Ike candies work great for her. She came running in today with her "pot" full of pee and said with a huge grin, "Mom, I did it". Nothing like a little positive reinforcement. Julia loves to play hide and seek; she tells me where to hide and then goes to count and she gets the biggest kick out of it. Don't you wish we were all entertained that easily??? She also loves to snack and not eat meals. She will only eat sandwiches if it is a bite of mine. Other people's food is much yummier to her. She loves nursery and playing with friends. And currently her favorite movie is Peter Pan. For some reason she really likes the crocodile parts. She is a great helper and actually gets quite upset if I don't let her help. Her favorites are: unloading the silverware, putting the soap tablet in the dishwasher and then starting it, and dumping the soap in the washing machine, oh, and "folding" laundry. She's such a sweetie to have around (she only has terrible 2 moments once in a while).

Catherine is so unique for lack of a better word. I have thought so from the get go. I can't really explain but nonetheless she is a good baby. Despite all of her tummy troubles, spit up etc, she is pretty happy. She's been on a special formula since she was 2 months old to help with her tummy trouble. It has been marvelous for her so I went and messed it all up for her last month when I decided to try her on a different formula. It was a no-go as she cried for almost the whole week she was on it and started waking up multiple times a night. I used up the whole can and then went back to her old formula. We're still trying to get her sleeping under control again. Well, at least now I know she wasn't ready for it. We'll try again in a couple months. But I do have to make a note that when we were in Idaho in August I noticed her spittting up dramatically decreased. I'm not talking your regular spit-up baby...this is like 20+ times per day. We were going through bibs and burp cloths by the washer full. I guess her 'valve' finally decided to mature after 5 months so this was and is a big deal. She still spits but it is nothing in comparison. She started rice cereal at 5 months and is now doing veggies. What a big girl and I'm not kidding...she is in the 97th percentile for height and 90th for weight (18 lbs and 28 inches at 6 months). She is sitting up by herself and rolling over and today she was scooting all over the family room to look at different toys laying about. I think she is so pretty with her big eyes and chubby cheeks. It will be interesting to see her temperment as she grows.

As for me, the kids keep me quite busy but I'm not quite so stressed all the time now that Collin is in school. I'm attending a stake institute class on Tuesday mornings on the New Testament. I'm enjoying it so far and wish I could do a little studying for it during the week but that isn't happening so I just go and hope to get something from the lecture. I'm looking forward to volunteering in Collin's class once a month once the schedule is organized. It'll be fun to see him in action and I think he might actually like me being there.

As for Michael, work still keeps him busy. See him for more detail. Like I said, he started soccer which he absolutely loves so I'm glad he gets to do something fun. He loves his kiddos, as do I, and he is so great to play with and wrestle them when he gets home each day. They love him too. We're so happy to be a family and so thankful for our blessings.