Adventures at Sea World

We took the kids to Sea World and they had such a great time.  

The first event of the day was chasing the pigeons around.  I have it on good authority that that was one of the highlights for me and my siblings when we were this age and going to Sea World often.  In fact, this little boy's daddy took his first steps at Sea World chasing after a pigeon!

We stopped in at the dolphin show next.  Sophie couldn't believe they had the audacity to get us all wet!  It was her grandpa's fault for picking to sit in the soak zone.

It would be a tough job.

This little guy could jump!

We only went on a few little rides while there, but since we've never wanted to stand in line for the teacups at Disneyland, this was Sophie's first opportunity getting really dizzy in a ride like this.  She was a fan.

Before we went to see Shamu jump and splash everyone, we stopped by his tank to say hello.

Sophie and Austin thought it was pretty cool that there were 3 of them who came right up to the glass for introductions.

And this is why I bought the camera I did.  I see a shot and I get it, without waiting around for it to finally click.  Love it!

Hey, Big Guy!  (Actually, I think the lead whale is a girl.)

Sleeping on the job or sunbathing?  I don't know.  Did anyone else see Free Willy where they said that if their top fin curves like that, they're unhappy?  Is that a myth?  Always wondered that.

Sophie was very relieved that Shamu failed to get us wet, even though we really should have where we were sitting.  She totally thought we pulled fast one on him!  (I never could get a shot of all of us looking at the same time.)

The whole group all together.  (The gentleman who took the picture was nice, but he sure didn't have a clue what he was doing, either. :D)

The seal and otter show was hands down our favorite show when we were kids.  That little otter was hilarious.  It's still a fun show to watch, but in our humble opinions, the old story line was much better than the current one (especially when they played Spooky at the end.  If you happened to go to Sea World 25 years ago you know what I mean.)

I know this is a little graphic, but we couldn't help taking a picture.  We were looking in the pirana tank and noticed that there had been some cannibalism going on.  I swear that's a pirana that's been eaten up by his buddies.  When Joseph and I took the rest of the family back later to show them, it was gone.  Yowzas.

Gramma and Grampa Lamb hauled these two around on their shoulders for quite a while and got great resistance whenever they tried to put them down.  What great sports.  Thanks for the fun trip to Sea World!  We loved being there with you!

100 Random Things

So I've seen this a bunch and had a second to do it, so here's a list of 100 random things (who generated it I don't know) and the ones that are highlighted are the ones I've done.  Enjoy!

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band (it was a family band that my Grandma Austin wrote the music for in all the different keys for all our instruments)
4. visited Hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to Disneyland
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited Paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch (if scrapbooking is considered an art :D)
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. seen in person the Statue of Liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch-hiked
23. taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb (if my little siblings count! :D)
26. gone skinny dipping (honeymoon, baby!)
27. run a marathon
28. ridden in a gondola in Venice (been there, but didn't actually take a ride in the gondola)
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or a sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen Niagara Falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an Amish community
36. taught yourself a new language (I learned Polish mostly in Poland because I sure didn't know much after the MTC!)
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing (up Provo Canyon)
40. seen Michaelangelo's David
41. sung karaoke (in a group, never alone)
42. seen the Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. visited Africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. received a prestigious award
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. kissed in the rain (I think?)
53. played in the mud (one of the funnest things I've ever done is tug-a-war in the mud--I found mud in my ears weeks later--gross!)
54. gone to a drive-in theater
55. been in a movie
56. visited the Great Wall of China
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited Russia (is Poland close enough?)
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies
62. gone whale watching (I've seen a whale out in the ocean, but I wasn't in a boat)
63. got flowers for no reason (I love my husband!)
64. donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a nazi concentration camp (Auschwitz/Birkenau in Poland 3 different times)
67. bounced a check
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy (my blanket--I still have it and several stuffed animals)
70. visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in Times Square
74. toured the Everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guards in London
77. broken a bone (just my thumb, and it didn't even need a cast)
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the Vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in Jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire Bible
86. visited the White House
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone's life
90. sat on a jury (I've never even been summoned!)
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the Alamo in person
96. swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee
100. learned to play an instrument (piano and clarinet)

Now I want to hear yours!  It's fun to check out what people have both done and also not done in their lives.

Nothin' Like the Beach in January

We took a trip to San Diego last weekend where my parents were staying at a condo overlooking the beach in Mission Bay.  

The view out the windows was incredible, and all night long you could hear the waves on the shore.  Sophie thought she'd died and gone to heaven!

The first night there we took a walk along the beach with Gramma and Grampa just as the sun was setting.

It was a little cool, but fortunately Sophie's a little furnace that never seems to get cold, so she was just fine with only her sweater on.

Grampa convinced her to walk with him to the water.  She wasn't afraid at all to get her feet wet, even though it was pretty cold water.

Letting the waves run over their toes.

Avery, on the other hand, has no fat on her body to keep it warm, so she stayed nice and cozy in Gramma's arms, wrapped in a towel from the condo.  Love those baby blues!

Sophie couldn't get enough of the beach and would've stayed out all night if we'd let her.  She is seriously addicted to playing in the sand, whether she's got a shovel and pail or just a little seashell to dig with.  She loves it all!

The next time we visited the beach was during the day, but the water wasn't any warmer.  Sophie had fun running from the waves.

She spent most of the time sporting these amazingly attractive goggles from her cousin.  Look out, Boys! (in 16 years)

Grampa with his two two-year olds.  I think Gramma and Grampa were in heaven, too!

I loved catching my Mom making this in the sand, and she and my Dad indulged me in a little lip locking for the camera.

Gabe and Avery didn't hang out in here too long.  Avery doesn't ever want to be laying in one place for long anymore.  She just loves to be held and to be standing whenever she can!

Music to My Ears

Sophie got a tea set for Christmas and plays with it all the time.  She often invites me or Joseph to come to her tea party which, as you know if you've ever been to one, can become a leetle bit tedious after the 28th time.  So it made me love my husband all the more when I heard Sophie ask him for the umpteenth time "Daddy, would you like to have a tea party with me?" and his quick reply was "Why yes, I would like to have a tea party with you.  I'll just get us a treat and be right in."

Then he endures a few minutes of sipping tepid water with his toddler and commenting on her colorful set of plates and cups.

I knew I loved Joseph for a lot of reasons when I married him, and I was sure that he would be a good father, but I had no idea how much it would melt my heart to watch my girls with their daddy.  I am so lucky.

Thanks for being a good sport and indulging your daughter in her imaginary play.  I love you two!

Avery at 6 Months

Avery is already 6 1/2 months, but we were just getting back from Utah when she turned 6 months, so that's why this is a little late.  I can't believe she's already so old!  Those 6 months honestly flew.  Here's some of what Avery is like and can do at 6 months old.

She's a teeny little thing at only 13 pounds which is 10th percentile for weight.  But she's 55th percentile for height and 70th for head circumference, so she's measuring right on those two.  She's just petite!  (She definitely hasn't chunked up like Sophie had by this point!)

Avery is now eating fruits in addition to rice cereal and loves bananas and prunes the best so far.  She is not an easy one to feed because she loves to arch her back in between each bite and often makes a big mess doing it.  She just doesn't want to miss out on anything going on around her!

Avery is such a sweet and happy girl.  She always has the biggest smile for anyone who looks at her and she has brought so much joy to all of us!  She has been rolling for over a month now but she only rolls to the left.  She manages to figure out how to get to just about anything she wants to by rolling, pivoting, and dragging herself.  It's fun to put her down on one side of the room and watch her end up at the other end within a matter of minutes, and having played with everything in between.

She can't quite sit up all by herself yet, but she's SO close!  She'll sit for about 5 seconds but as soon as she gets excited or tries to reach for something, down she goes.  I figure that without much of a behind it would definitely be hard to sit for very long because there isn't a base to support you, so it makes sense.

Sophie and Avery are still trying to figure each other out a little bit.  They have quite the love/hate relationship.  Avery would love Sophie to pieces if she'd just leave her alone.  She laughs and laughs at whatever Sophie's doing, but Sophie has struggled with sharing our attention with Avery and takes it out on her periodically.

Case in point.  Joseph and I both thought the other had Avery this morning when things got really quiet in Sophie's room, and this is why.  She had been painting Avery with some of my waterproof mascara!  Poor Avery Jane.  She didn't cry at all, just wondered what on earth was happening to her.

Our poor little raccoon :(

We do love you, Peanut!

Heat Wave!

After reading several other people's posts who live in the northeast and midwest about their frigid temperatures right now, this is probably not nice to post.  But California is currently experiencing a heat wave.

This entire week we've been donning shorts, t-shirts, and even hats to keep from getting burned while we play at the park and go on lots of walks.

Have we mentioned before that we like California?

We do.

Family Pictures

(This is the last of the Christmas posts, I promise! :D  Just had too much catching up to do.)

While we were in Utah we took family pictures with both sides of the family.  The Jensen family was all together for the first time in like 5 years, so we took a professional picture with all of them that we haven't gotten back yet, but with my family we just took a semi-spontaneous one in my parent's living room.  The girls thankfully cooperated nicely for both and I think they turned out well.

The picture with our own little family still didn't turn out the best, but that's okay.  Maybe if we just photoshopped Avery's mouth closed?

Recreatin'

While we were in Utah we all went bowling with the Lamb's.  That's one of our favorite things to do as a family, but I had no idea how creative some of my siblings had become with bowling.  I don't think Scott threw a ball that didn't go in the gutter at some point down the lane, but often it would pop back out and still hit some pins, sometimes all of them, because of the speed with which he threw it.  Very amusing I assure you.

Sophie and Austin got a lane with bumper guards and had a lot of fun for about the first 5 bowls, then had more fun playing with each other after that.

Joseph and I always have a bet on bowling games, and for the first time ever we were both able to get what we bet because we tied with a 120 each!

The kids liked putting the ball up on this nifty contraption and watching it fly down to the lane.

Joseph was pretty proud of this action shot, even if I do look a little silly.  I don't think bowling on the Wii has done anything to help my game, unfortunately!

We also went to an indoor pool there which both girls absolutely loved (well, it was a teeny bit cold for Avery, but we tried to find the hot spots to sit on for her sake.  I was successful until Peter decided to exercise his brotherly prerogative and push/pull me off of them every time I found one.  Still such a bully!  Some boys never quite grow up! :D)

Pretty Lights

Our little town does Christmas big.  I mean really big.  You don't see many houses that don't have lights on them, and most have a bajillion huge blow-up things on their front lawn in addition to a million lights.  Sophie loved it.  For our FHE activity one night we just drove around town looking at all the lights.  So we knew she'd be excited about seeing Temple Square while we were in Utah.

She was.  They've cut the number they put up almost in half which is sad, but I guess the lights were hurting the great big trees or something so they no longer put them on there.  She still loved looking at all the others, especially the pink ones (her absolute most favorite color!)

Even pillow got to come along!  (We really don't usually let it out of the car for things anymore, but this was an exception.)

We were glad it wasn't too cold the night we went since it was pretty frigid the rest of the time we were there!

Sophie enjoyed seeing the Christus statue with the universe behind Him.  I love how little she is as she points up to Him (but I wish I could've gotten her without anyone else around!)

Our Taste of Snow

It was beautiful here in California all December, but it just didn't feel like Christmas because it was too warm and there was no snow!  We were all excited about going to Utah where Mother Nature had so obligingly dropped feet of it for us.  

Sophie knew all the fun things there were to do in the snow and couldn't wait to play in it for the first time in her memory.  But the first time she touched it she started to cry and wasn't sure if she wanted anything else to do with it.  I guess she wasn't expecting it to be so cold and to sting like it did!

We went sledding with the Jensens and had a lot of fun, but Avery wasn't sure what on earth she was doing with 8 layers of clothes on, outside in such a cold place, and with ever-increasing dry and chapped red cheeks.  So we took her in before too long.

Sophie loved sledding as long as she didn't get her hands in the snow at all.  She also liked watching her uncles and aunts do daredevil slides down slippery stairs.

Avery and Sophie love their Grandma Bob and we're sure glad we got to spend some time with her and all the Jensen's at our first ever family reunion with Joseph's immediate family.  We all had such a great time!