San Diego!

So Friday night we headed to San Diego!! We just stayed in a hotel that night, but after breakfast and some running around Saturday we met up with my Aunt Terri, Uncle Paul and their kids to stay with them in their condo they had rented for the week. They are from Vegas too and I lived with them off and on for years and almost every summer growing up, so they are like my own family!! :)

Their condo was really nice and it had it's own private beach. Which was nice to not be so crowded with others. We played in the ocean Saturday night and almost all day Sunday. The kids didn't care for the water at all. Noah NEVER would go in, and he'd scream if we tried to take him. Once you'd set him back down on the wet sand, he'd run as fast as he could to the dry sand furthest from the water!!! LOL Carlaya actually got into the ocean on the 2nd day, but still screamed if any seaweed or anything touched her. She wouldn't really do much but stand where it came up to her knees and enjoy the waves rolling in. :)

Noah finally got into the sand on the 2nd day, but only if Jonathan or I would sit with him. We built some pretty cool sand castles and Jonathan had fun digging holes underground that connected. I didn't take my camera to the beach except for one day, so I don't have many pics.

On Monday, we took the kids to Sea World. I have been a few times and Jonathan a time or two as well, but our kids haven't been before, so it was a lot of fun. Their favorite part was probably the new area called "Sesame Street Bay of Play". It had almost all the Sesame Street Characters and had lots of kid fun, from baby age up to probably 10 year olds! They had 3 kid rides as well, that Noah could even ride on. He hated the first spinny ride and screamed the whole time, so he refused the second ride (which was like the tea cups at Disneyland). This is Carlaya's Favorite!

That was fine by me because I was already feeling whoozy from the 1st ride. But the 3rd one was Elmo which he loves, so of course he went and he loved it. It was very much like the Dumbo flying elephant ride at Disneyland. They also had water fountains, so I packed the kids swimsuits to play in the water and cool off during the day. They really loved this area.

This is the start of the giant maze! Notice all the dads!

Carlaya the fat dwarf! LOL

See Noah waving to Elmo!

The shows were great. The kids loved them too, but during the mid-day when it was really hot, they had a hard time sitting still to watch. We left for a few hours to cool off and eat dinner, but it was dark and much cooler when we returned. The night shows were awesome and they also had fireworks. Plus the big rides didn't have near the wait, so we actually got to ride those.

The "Journey to Atlantis" ride is a water/rollercoaster ride. 42" can ride but with a parent and so Carlaya insisted on riding although it looked pretty scary, especially for a 4 year old. There was a huge drop and I knew she'd freak out, but I figured then it would be over. So we boarded, and the mom and young girl in front of me warned that it is a bit much for young kids. They figured she must love roller coasters- going on this one! Yeah right, I explained this is the 1st one ever! Then they told me that the BIG DROP is the FIRST THING!!! AAAAHH! Carlaya is going to die! :) So we make the big clickity climb up and round a corner and before I could say anything to her, down we went!! That sick free fall feeling, righ under a waterfall!! I let out a big scream, but I didn't hear a peep from Carlaya...............................well until about 3 seconds later............S.....C....R....E...A....M! I think it scared her so bad, she COULDN'T scream! LOL Luckily we had a few slow minutes where I could try to console her and calm her down although she wanted off. Once she realized she was brave and made it through it, she was ok and we were warned again, the roller coaster part was next. It was not too bad, but again really fast with 2 corners and 2 drops! Not what I expected for a ride accepting 4 year olds!! LOL LOL Carlaya still screamed, but admitted she actually liked the roller coaster part. But no way was she riding again, so poor daddy had to go alone!! :) After seeing a few more exhibits, the park was ready to close, so she and Joanthan ran to ride the Shipwreck Rapids (a raft water ride). They finished at 10:53 pm. The park closes at 11!! You could say we made the most of our day and it was a blast! Our tickets are actually good for one free day before 12-31-08, so we'll see about another trip later this year.

Mommy's favorite part: IKEA!! :) Not really, but I do love that store. We spent 2 hours and over $200 there on the way home. So now I can start putting our final guest room back together! LOL