Fun in the California Sun

My family came to town so we partied hardy for a week with them.  We love when family comes to visit!

 We went to Sea World in San Diego one of the first days.  I think the general consensus was that the best show of the day was Shamu Rocks, the night version of the Shamu show.  We loved it!  I highly recommend it if you're ever at Sea World.

The day show was excellent as well, but it can get a little cheesy at times for me.  Sophie and Avery are totally captivated by him the entire show, though.

Our other favorite show was the Seal and Otter show at night.  The day show has been changed and is pretty funny, spoofing all the reality shows that are on tv right now, but the night show is hilarious.  They spoof other Sea World shows.  We were rolling in the aisle, and the girls loved watching the seals, walrus, and little otter perform.

Avery sure loves her Grandpa Lamb, and so do I!

Waiting for the Dolphin show to begin.  Sophie was glad they didn't soak us this time.

A large tortoise went waddling down the path next to us, so Sophie stopped to pet it.  It was really big!  Slow and steady wins the race.

We had our trusty umbrella ready at all times to be popped open and save us from the Sham Slam, but we never had to use it at either Shamu show--lucky us!

Sophie was in heaven riding on her Aunt Julie's shoulders.

The next day we headed to Seaport Village in downtown San Diego.  Our first stop there was the carousel ride.

This thing is 115 years old but still works like a charm.  And it's cheap and 5 times longer than most carousel rides.  Sophie loved it.

She named her horse Thunder and had a blast going up and down on him.

I admit, I enjoyed it, too.

My parents and grandparents used to bring me and my siblings here when we lived in San Diego when I was a child, so I have a lot of fond memories of this place.

It was fun to watch my girls start making memories of their own.

Avery obviously got pretty attached to Shamu from the day before.  She looooooves stuffed animals, and is usually spotted at home with 2 under each arm as she toddles around the house.  She will be the animal lover in our family I bet.

Julie was in heaven in the hat shoppe.  She was definitely born in the wrong decade.  A century earlier would probably have been perfect for her, though we're sure glad she came when she did.

Avery of course had to chase every bird in sight.  But she always came back to me. :)

While my parents gave me an anniversary gift of time with Joseph, they took the girls to La Jolla beach to play in the sand and water.

Have I ever mentioned that my girls love water?  Yeah.

The next day was spent out on my Grandpa Lamb's boat at Castaic Lake.  I have many fond memories of waterskiing as a child, too, and thanks to Grandpa's fabulous instruction, we were all doing it at a very young age.  Too bad I have so much more to haul up onto skis these days.  It was quite a workout for me, and I should've just tried two skis from the get-go so I wouldn't have spent so much of my time down in the water like this.

I actually tried wakeboarding first which I really enjoy, and though I got up several times, the rides were pretty short-lived.

It was fun for a little while at least!

My shorts kept threatening to fall down which is why they're all bunched up around me here, but thank goodness no one in the boat ever got a show!

Sophie thought riding in Papa Lamb's boat was awesome and enjoyed watching the skiers pulled behind her.

I'm very impressed that my parents both still ski.  Neither can do slalom anymore, but they both had a good ride on two skis.

Here's Dad up on two.  We were all sore the next day, but it was so worth it.  We had a great time.

My Grandpa Lamb is so patient with everyone and it doesn't matter how many times you have to keep trying to get up, he just keeps going back and giving you that rope again and again.  What a great man.  And the most impressive thing is, even at 80 years old, he can still slalom!  Wow!

The highlight of the trip for me was watching Sophie have a ride on the tube.  I thought she was going to be terrified, but from the first time we mentioned going she was excited, and she absolutely loved it.

As long as her Uncle Geoff held her tight, she was happy.  She loved going next to Austin and Peter, too.  I love the name of my Grandpa's boat.  It truly was an Escape for us!

It helped that my Grandpa started out very slow pulling these kiddos, but even when he got going faster, they were still having fun.  Honestly, the entire ride Sophie had a huge grin on her face.  I was so glad she had a blast.

Abby and I took a ride as well, though a little bit faster than Sophie's and Austin's.  But as much weaving and speeding as my Grandpa did, he never did shake us off.  I can't say as much for Jonny and Peter!

We got to relax in my Grandpa's pool after returning home.  Avery splashed until the cows came home and although we were in there for a couple of hours, she never seemed to get tired of the water.  She's a little daredevil in it, too!  Funny girl.

I like to pretend that I still know how to dive and try a few when I get the chance, the easiest ones of course.  Inwards are still my favorite I think.

But a back flip is right up there, too.  After all, I couldn't be showed up by Sophie who decided all on her own that she wanted to try a back dive off of this board!  It was more like a back flop, but she did it with no tears!  Brave girl.

I love that my Grandpa and Maybeth still get in with the family to play each time we come over.  We revived all our old favorite pool games, like Marco Polo, BePe (one that Peter and I created as kids), swimming all the way around the pool underwater in one breath, and Silence of the Lambs.

We had such a fun time with our family, and sure wished that Joseph and Scott could have joined us in our adventures, too.  Work is so overrated. ;)  Thanks for the fun, Fam!  We love you!