The San Diego Zoo!

While in San Diego we decided we would take the kids to the San Diego Zoo.  They are all animal lovers and figured they would not want to miss the chance to see this great zoo!  The weather was perfect!  We were able to see most of the zoo in the several hours we were there.  There were zoo buses, a sky lift ride, and animal shows.  We did the sky lift twice, but spent most of our time walking.  All of the kids got a stuffed animal souvenir and that was their favorite toy for the rest of the trip :).  

Here we are with the totem poles!

A Koala Bear!  They sleep 20 hours a day!  We barely got a good picture of one awake ;)

Talmage helping Lorna see the rhino.

This is the baby jaguar.  She was running back and forth while we walked by her cage.  A tour bus drove by while we were there and the driver said she was running back and forth because the children are the size of her prey... good thing we were separated by that fence!

The kids got to be koala bears too!

Lorna climbing like a koala

There were several stations set up with volunteers to tell us about the animals.  This was the vulture area.  There was a skull, wing, and such.  It was fun to listen to learn more about the animals.

The huge camel!

Clark couldn't (didn't want to) climb the camel... but this worked!

Family photo ;)

We loved having Daddy at the zoo with us!  The little ones really enjoyed getting a better view!

Love them

Sandra and Mhari on the prehistoric tiger!

The volunteer teaching about prehistoric animals and today's counter part animals.  She is holding up a prehistoric bear paw... it was crazy huge!

We watched a demonstration with the Main Wolfs.  They look like really big red foxes, but they aren't even closely related to them.  They are trained to touch their nose to their symbol.  They were good at showing off!

Lorna playing on the polar bear!

Grant on the nose of a huge polar bear!

Mhari and Clark reading about polar bears ;)

And here is the real polar bear :)

Kids getting to act like a seal peeking through the ice

Lorna had to take her turn later since there were only 5 holes in the ice ;)

One of Grant's favorite animals... the arctic fox!  He's not so white when he's not surrounded by snow!

They have a Red Panda too!  He is related to the raccoon family.  He looks so soft and fluffy!

Here is the main attraction!  The Panda!  He is actually pretty small for a panda, and he is old and has bad teeth so they feed him soft food ;). 

Porcupine! 

Another of Grant's favorites!  The fennick fox!  I love his huge ears!

We had a great time and really enjoyed the zoo.  The zoo even had a humming bird sanctuary that some of the kids and I went into.  It was really cool to be around such beautiful plants and little birds!  
The gift shop was really cool because they had practically every animal there!  They had porcupines, hedgehogs, one last mountain goat, red pandas, and every other kind of animal!  Yay for zoo's and lots of great animals!  

Mission Beach

Since Jeff had a conference to attend in San Diego we decided to turn the trip into our family vacation!  We rented a house to hang out in and Jeff's parents even came for a few days and had fun hanging out with the grand kids. 

On Monday Jeff and Grandpa got some work done while Grandma and I took the kids to Mission Beach.  The weather for the week ended up being in the 60's, but it was still beautiful!  There was a nice breeze and the kids really enjoyed the beach!  We stayed for several hours and I think we were all worn out when we were done!

Here is Lorna cuddled in her towel... she was a little cold at the beginning ;)

Grandma hiding under Clark's towel... trying not to burn!

Clark having a blast!

I got some boogie boards for the trip so the older kids took turns riding the waves.  They had so much fun!  Here is Talmage.

Sandra was really good at riding the waves!

So cute :)

Grant and Talmage

Sandra and Mhari

Mhari

Grandma helping Clark collect water so we could make sand castles!

Learning how to make good sandcastles!

Talmage pretending to not be there...

Halfway covered in the sand :)

Things we learned while at the beach:  It is easy to get a rash from the salt water and wearing swim shorts, salt water tastes gross, sand gets on everything!, the wind is great for kite flying (totally forgot to get pics of the kite), at least one person will end up with a sunburn, playing in the sand is almost as much fun as the water, going in May when the weather is still cool means no one will be on the beach!, the kids will want to go back!

It sure was a fun day!

Desert Beauty!

I can say that when we moved away from Arizona almost 9 years ago there wasn't much about the weather and scenery that we were sad to leave.  Texas has been a nice change for our family and we really enjoy it in the DFW area ;).  

We drove back through Arizona on our way to a conference in San Diego and that is when I was reminded of the beauty that is in the desert... the beautiful sunsets!  They are so vibrant and full of color!  We had small rain storms move through also so it really seemed to reflect great off of the clouds.  There is also something special about an Arizona rain storm... it has a special mix of dirt smell with the rain.  

This was the color in the clouds opposite the setting sun.

The sun disappearing behind the mountain.

Love the amazing colors (and no, photos don't ever do it justice).

I guess this was our welcome back after not being in Arizona for about 3 years ;)

The Birthday Bug!

It is hard to believe that our sweet baby girl is 3 years old!  She is growing up way too fast!  She really loves her older brothers and sisters and thinks she's just as grown up as they are.  She was so excited to have her birthday!  We got a package in the mail from Grandma Whitmer.  She knew it was her present (since the other kids told her) so she carried it around and even slept with it until we let her open it on her birthday!  

Here is the most anticipated box!  A new shirt and a Minnie Mouse doll.

Lorna is at such a fun age!  She loves anything and everything!  It makes getting presents pretty easy :).  
She was so fun to watch open all of her presents!

Talmage made her a new blanket :)

Her very own bat and ball ... seriously thinks she's a big kid ;)

New swim suit and church dress from Mommy and Daddy!

So happy with all of her presents!

Let's not forget the cinnamon roll cake... er, birthday cake :).  

Such a cutie!

Blowing out her candles!

Playing with and sharing her toys!  

Lorna is such a sweet 3 year old.  She loves pink, water bottles, babies, dressing herself and changing her clothes (several times a day), riding her scooter, running, being pushed in the stroller, watching Netflix, playing with her friends, eating snacks, playing with Clark, doing puzzles, twirling her hair (into knots), getting her hair done - in two braids, coloring... and so much more!

One of my favorite things about Lorna is that she loves to sing the hymns during church with us.  She will sit on my lap, help hold the hymn book and just sing away.  She is pretty loud and never cares that she is out of tune and doesn't know the words.  I often see other adults sneak a glance at her ;).  She is a strong, confident, beautiful girl - inside and out!  Lorna is our sweet love bug and we just love her!