Old Photos

Don't you just love old photos?

Here are a few I came across when helping clean out my grandmother's home.  I just love old photos... and scanning them in the computer makes them even better.

Here's my Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, Uncle and Aunt

Circa 1950's

 And my dad, age one in the late 1940's

 

San Diego Zoo Safari Park

We visited the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (formerly the San Diego Wild Animal Park). It's a conservation park that is quite impressive. The girls loved it. We really needed more time to see everything, so I guess we will just have to go back. :)

This is probably the only family photo that was taken on the trip... it turned out well.

This is the Z fam before we climbed aboard the Africa Tram Ride that tours the entire park.

 Here's a view of the part of the park we toured on the tram... just beautiful. The animals are in  wide open areas instead of cooped up in tiny enclosures. On the ride we were able to see a baby giraffe that was experiencing his first day outside in this part of the park... tiny and cute!

 We were also able to see a baby gorilla! Awe!

 Lilly wanted to pose with the baby gorilla...

 Those gorillas are HUGE! The big daddy one was quite intimidating. Let's see how we stack up compared to a male gorilla...

 But Dad is close!

Look closely for our bats!!

 and our butterflies...

 Super family... super fun times!

Hotel Swim

What's better than a hotel with a heated pool?

Answer... A hotel with a heated pool, a water slide and splash pad just for kids.

One can only guess how many times we heard, "Can we go swimming?"

Both of the big girls LOVED the kiddie slide.

 And they were both quite good at riding the slide, with one exception...

After this little incident, we were happy again.

Lilly loved it too!

 It felt like we had our own private splash pad. Or, maybe it was because everyone else was waiting until the sun came out.

 On this particular day, Maggie didn't want to swim. She decided to lounge instead.

Gotta love the pool!!

SeaWorld San Diego

Shamu, where are you?

The girls were super excited to meet Shamu and friends on a beautiful, sunny day.

 Our first stop was the Shamu show... of course!

We were wise and avoided sitting in the splash zone. 

  Throughout our trip, Maggie wanted to be a big girl and sit on her own... even on the bleachers at the Shamu show.

 There was so much to see and do... what should we do next? Check out the map!

SeaWorld doesn't only have animals. Oh no, they have rides... ones that spin round and round.

 Our mode of transportation for the girls... the double stroller. And, when needed, Dad's shoulders.

 Claire posed for a picture with this sleeping polar bear. You can see him in the middle upper part of the photo.... on the other side of the class.

At the end of the day, it was time to pick a souvenir. SeaWorld has a gift shop at the end of EVERY exhibit- you have to walk through them to exit the exhibits. Genius on their part. But, for us, as you can imagine, the girls thought they needed something after each attraction.  After awhile they caught on that they should "browse" each gift shop and make their decision at the end of the day based on everything they had seen. So, at the end of the day, these were the choices... a Shamu for Claire and a baby seal for Lilly.

 Another great day! We will be back, I'm sure!

LEGOLAND

We made it to Legoland California!! Hooray!!

  We spent the day in this super fun park, enjoying beautiful weather and smiles galore.

Our girls cannot pass up a chance to wear face paint. Who can resist when they look so cute?

Hello Claire!

Pretty Lilly

 If you've not been there, Legoland is the perfect park for children under age 10. The rides and events are geared toward younger children. The girls, all three, had a blast. We will go back!

Besides having lots of things made of legos, including a car just like ours, they have all kinds of cute creations throughout the park. Claire liked this one.

 Lilly took her first opportunity to drive her first car... and she did VERY well rounding the corners and using the pedal. Claire drove one too... without as much success.

Maggie hung out most of the day and enjoyed observing her big sisters.

 Rob had fun too...

 The girls were told that if they behaved, they could each pick one souvenir.

So, when the time came, Lilly said she didn't want a stuffed animal or anything, she wanted a portrait... of herself. She sat still for a caricature drawing we will frame for her room.... right after she takes it to school to show her art teacher.

Lilly asked to be painted as a queen.

 And, as expected, Claire wanted one too. I'm surprised the artist could actually see the girls through their face paint!

Claire asked to be painted as Rapunzel.

 One of the best days ever!

We will return, Legoland, we will return!!

One funny story before I forget, at the end of the day, Claire asked 

"Are we going back to our show and tell?" uh hum... hotel. She called our resort our "show and tell" throughout our stay. Too funny.

California Flower Fields

North of San Diego near Carlsbad you will find fields of flowers. Of course we had to stop and visit the farms; the color and quantity of flowers were amazing... and it was a great place to take photos of our beautiful girls.

 

Spring Break San Diego

We hit the road for a short drive to beautiful Southern California. Our goal was to have fun... and we did. :) We took so many photos, that I'll have to make several posts to include the highlights.

Our first stop: the beach!

The big girls were supposed to just play on the beach for a bit. Instead, they splashed and splashed until they were soaked to the bone with chilly seawater. Blue lips and all, they had fun on their first beach experience. 

One of my favorites... Lilly attempted to hold back the waves.

We actually went back a day later for a beach splash encore... this time, we took swimsuits.

The girls are quite fond of the beach, of course, and we have plans to return someday with a beach umbrella, a picnic lunch, towels and one extra large beach blanket. Just before we departed the beach for the last time, a small (large to Lilly) wave caused her to fall and tumble in the surf. And as you can imagine, that didn't go over so well. Thank goodness for Barbie bandaids.

Until next time, bye beach!!