We went to San Diego Zoo.

Caleb and I thought it was awesome, but the kids thought it was a bust. So we fought about it for the entire morning before giving them what they wanted: the beach. But before we let them win, we dragged them around the park. I thought it was beautiful. The landscaping, the hills, the exhibits. It was all perfectly done, and completely lost on the kids.

But we did find one thing they loved: the super tall people mover. Sure beats stairs! 

Even the elephants were a bust for these bratty little kids. Because, wah, where are the roller coaster rides?! 

We took a ride on this double decker bus where Mason managed to miss seeing every single animal. That kid. 

A gorilla chillin' on the other side of the glass by your head? Whatever. Beach, please. 

Never mind that flamingos are your favorite animal. Cry about it. 

Oh, look, there is a Panda just chilling right by us eating some lunch. By the way, you may never see this animal in person again. Ever. No big deal. Let's keep the line moving, parents. 

So we packed up the jolly campers and gave them what they wanted: the beach...

And that is how you get happy pictures. The beach. With no attractions but water. Which cost us no money to see. Noted!

This girl clung tight to my fingers until she saw how brave her big brothers were. So she got brave too, and chased waves until one crashed her. Then it was game over. 

Tide is coming in, but that didn't keep the boys from body surfing their way through the afternoon. 

And why not put sand all over your body. YOLO! 

This girl crashed hard at the end of the day!

We hit up Sea World.

And the kids--and we--loved it! Sea World is an amusement park with a side of aquarium. My little daredevil Jacob went straight for the Manta roller coaster with Caleb:

He is either playing it cool or is terrified out of his mind! Not so much of a poker face on the big guy. 

While the two tall boys were doing the thrill ride, the two littles and I got our feet wet on Sea World's version of the Dumbo ride:

Only two riders per character, which meant each kid had to sit on the sideline alone and wait for me to chaperone their flight. If we hadn't been nearly the only ones on the ride and had been traveling in a radius larger than 10 feet, this may have been a mommy freak out moment. But both kids played it cool. And so did I! 

After hitting up the kiddie rides, we found the first fast ride fit for Mason's size, and he loved it.  

This opened the door to bigger things, like this water ride:

Jacob grabbed the first row on this million-story plunge straight into the water. Mason and I sat behind him, and I think I may have screamed loud enough for us all! 

We took a sky ride across the park. Jacob is holding one of three flamingos Caleb won for the kids at a carnival game. That man is good for something!

We did manage to fit a few marine activities in to our day. Here, the kids are holding up fish to feed to the sea lions. It was a riot! And then the birds flew in and snatched up the fish right out of Jacob's hand! Oops! 

Here is Camryn at the Shamu show. Something tells me she won't remember this. Nothing like wearing a body blanket in the insane heat. Holy sweaty mess! 

Well that was one wild ride!

We took off from the park so that the kids could finally dip their toes in the ocean. And dip they did!

Our day ended with baths for all. Thank goodness Caleb had bought a souvenir beer cup at Sea World. Otherwise I have no idea what the kids would have played with in the bath! 

We hopped a flight.

And landed in San Diego. 

But not before our flight was delayed, our gate was changed, and I was used as a human napkin. This is what delayed boarding looks like. About as much fun as it sounds:

So then we boarded. Caleb sat with the boys, and I sat with the lady. This is what Caleb's duties looked like:

Poor guy was only able to get through 1 1/2 movies before we landed. Sad. 

And this is what I was assigned to just a few short feet away:

Four hours of princesses. Four hours. And not the kind of hour that flies by. Camryn really was amazing on the flight. And several people commented that she really has a lot to say. Probably because she never stopped talking for the whole four hours. And though I wasn't able to catch a movie (or two), I did manage to break from princesses long enough to snag this shot:

The boys thought it was pretty awesome to fly directly over their cousins' house. 

The flight was crazy bumpy for the first half and then smooth sailing the second half. By the time we landed we were all ready to check in to our hotel and check out for the night. And that is exactly what we did.

Poolside

These boys know how to do summer! 

Day two of one.

Having just one child in the house makes going out to dinner an almost pleasant experience. Until you snap a picture of said child after she demands that you stop, which turns her into a tantrum-throwing demon. Then you realize that dinner out really can only be pleasant when you hire a babysitter.

Pre-devil spawn. Playing video games with Dad and loving her "big" ponytail. 

Day of Camryn

The boys are currently spending the week in Iowa, so several bribes were made to make Camryn ok with not being part of that. And today we cashed in on those bribes. Her and I spent the day--literally, the whole day--at the mall where she made a dog and a cat at Build a Bear.

She named both of the animals Spike. And she thinks they are pretty fabulous! 

Then she rode the carousel. It took her a long time to decide on this black beauty. No worries. No hurries today! 

And, after scarfing down food court lunch, she played in the kids space.

And then rode the carousel again. Because she needed to try out the white horse on the top deck.

 Spending single time with this girl made my day. And I think it made hers, too! 

Water Park Day

Caleb and I took the boys to the water park last week with our neighborhood friends. The dads hung with the big kids and the moms hung with the littles. Jacob was tall enough for--and bravely conquered--EVERY water slide. Mason was still a little short so he and I spent our day going on many of the thrilling but more tame rides. At the end of the day, I asked my future stay-at-home-dad-kids-optional Mason what his favorite attraction was. Not surprising: The lazy river. Geesh. 

Favorite Things

Nearly everything essential to this girl's survival is pictured below:

1. "Glow" Her must-have stuffed animal.

2. Her "gween bwanket." At bed and every other time of the day. 

3. Something flamingo. Tonight it is the PJs.

4. Her corner of the couch. She will fight you for it. No joke. 

Not pictured: Food. Though most days that is optional. 

The Fest

Just getting in some last minute pre-Disneyland training. And spent just about the same amount of money as a park hopper pass to Wally World...

The first almost-big-kid ride of the day. A good warm up to this...

The Tilt-a-Whirl. The boys' official first big kid carnival ride. I thought this would be their favorite ride and the highlight of the day. But, no. The bumper cars were. Because nothing spells fun like bumping around a 10-foot square corral. Or in Mason's case, being stuck in the corner of the corral for the duration of the time.

Camryn's first ride of the day. And an overly dramatic Jacob. 

The two littles took the boats for a spin while Jacob went down the Giant Slide. Not nearly as giant as my 8-year-old self remembers it being.

Camryn's first ever Dragon ride. She loved going on it so much with Jacob that she thought she would try it again while the boys bumper car-ed. 

She loved being in the back all by herself. Until the ride started. Then she freaked out. But like all of the other $10 carnival rides, this, too, was over almost as soon as it began. 

With only tickets left for one person to go on one ride, we decided Camryn should get to pick. And so she did, the two-story tall rotating bus. With me as a chaperone. Rides are not as scary with a mom by your side! 

Madness!

Looks like we might have to tidy up. 

Or get a bigger playroom. 

Unintentionally Creative

Love that my kids and their friends call this "Han-itizer." Thinking the hand sanitizer companies need to rename their product! 

Horseback Riding

My mom took the kids to ride horses at a stable not far from our house. This place has become a regular stomping ground for the trio and my mom, but this is the first time they have done more than just feed the horses carrots. I didn't get many details from this outing, but the pictures tell me it was a fun time.