California Vacation: San Diego

CALIFORNIA VACATION!!! On day 1 we drove to Vegas and stayed the night there.  We thought we'd have time to walk around and see the sights, but we were too tired so we just drove up and down the Vegas strip.  It has changed a lot since we went there 5 years ago.  It is growing like crazy and was super busy even on a Tuesday in September.  On day 2 we drove down to Seawold.  I lost my camera in the ocean so I borrowed some pictures from the internet that were close to what we saw!

First thing we did at Seaworld was race in to see the sea lion show.  It was a Saturday night live type show that I wasn't thrilled with the dumb humor, but I was impressed with how talented sea lions can be. I don't think I've ever seen them perform before so that was a nice treat!

This was our first stop in California and in this first hour during the show, we melted to death!  We were all dripping with sweat. It was SO hot!!!

One of my favorite parts that I don't want to forget is the shark tunnel. It was really cool! I loved seeing the underside of a shark and how spooky they look even when they're just swimming around.

 I think the kids liked this sky ride more than the little kid rides.  I especially loved it because of the breeze. It was nice to get a relief from the heat!

 Tommy was SO cute at the Shamu underwater viewing area.  He took Vic's phone and took a million really cool pictures of the whales bumping up right next to the glass.  When we lost our camera I was grateful we had those pictures, only to find out Vic had deleted them all :(  I think I enjoyed this area more than the actual whale show. 

 Seaworld was DESERTED! It was weird they even stayed open with so few people so we got to pick where we wanted to sit & never had to wait in line.  The kids didn't want to be in the splash zone so we sat right behind it.

 I was planning on waiting to the very end of the day to take the kids to the Sesame Street play area because I knew the kids wouldn't want to leave it once they got there, but Vic was anxious to please them and insisted we go earlier.  We left our diaper bag in one of the rides with our keys, wallet and phones and lost & found said they didn't have it so we went the day without it.

 We had to drag the kids to the dolphin show & they liked it, but they couldn't fully enjoy it because they just kept wanting to go back to the Sesame Street area.  It was a fun show, but I still like the dolphin show at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago better.

 The park closed at 5pm and everyone was hungry, but we couldn't go anywhere without our bag.  The entire park was emptied out and we were running around checking bathrooms, bushes, & garbage cans to see if someone stole our stuff & ditched our keys.  Finally we sat at the lost & found office and sure enough... a worker had it all day, but hadn't turned it in.  That was frustrating, but we were sure glad we got it back with all our cash in tow!

The next day we went to San Diego Zoo.  We definitely toured it backwards.  In the morning we went through all the treetop trails and shaded jungle trails which was SO much fun!  We had lots of energy and was shaded so it was great.  In the afternoon we went through the desert and Savannah un-shaded areas & it made us even more hot & tired. 

Here is the areas we were in, in the morning.  We loved how we felt like we were in a jungle instead of just a bunch of cages.

 Their monkey area was huge, which Vic loved because that is always his favorite.  We both decided we loved this baboon the best.

 After the monkey area, we went to the tiger trail.  We went first thing in the morning so we got to see all of the animals eating their breakfast.

 I wasn't sure how I felt about letting the kids see the lions & tigers eat their big bloody breakfast!

 These hippos were so much fun to watch!

The baby hippo was feeding out of it's mom's mouth so it kept looking like they were kissing or the baby was getting eaten!

 The apes & gorillas had a nice huge viewing area.

 This panda was probably our favorite animal of the day.  He was first laying on a log and then right when we got there he decided it was time to eat.  Vic thought it was hilarious how he sat down right in front of us & stared at us as he ate his grass.

 I was excited to see my first koala bear, but they are not near as cute as I had hoped.  They were so tiny and there was a lot of them, but they were all laying around in the trees sleeping with their heads turned away from us.  There was just one that kept turning back & forth for us to get a quick peek! 

 By the time we got to the elephants, I was pretty tired and ready to go, but there was a volunteer there that let the kids touch a dried elephant tongue, foot, skin, and tusk.  He taught us a lot of tidbits we didn't know... but now I've forgotten them!

 The north pole area was really cool, but I couldn't find any decent pictures of it.

 After that area, we were all pretty exhausted so we rode the skyride back to the front of the zoo.  I felt so bad for Vic because they wouldn't let large strollers like ours on the ride so he had to walk all the way back.

 I was so done, but our little Whitney had been looking forward to seeing her favorite animal... the alligator so we trooped on to see every last square inch of the zoo!  The zoo was so big and definitely needs to be done on those little motorized scooters!

September Happenings

The kids started back to school!  Here is Tommy on his 1st day of Kindergarten.  He has been looking forward to going to Sunnyside Elementary for so long that he wasn't nervous or sad at all to leave his mommy behind!  He was quite disappointed by Thursday though.  We were walking home from school when he said.  "Mom!  At this school you have to go every day forever.  I hate that!"  He was so distraught by it so I tried to explain that is why people get excited for weekends. (Which he had no idea what a weekend is.  Vic has never had a regular schedule so we've never explained to him about week days & weekends!)

 Whitney started Apple preschool.  She had to watch Tommy go all last year and she too was dying to get started.  She wants nothing to do with the learning, but she is a social butterfly.  Every time I drop her off she runs inside without a wave goodbye or even a glimpse backward!

 I meant to go practice on the BMX track all summer and so we hurried out there on a few nights in September.  Tommy loved it so we decided to let him enter a race.

 He was pedaling twice as fast as the other boys his age, but they had the new fancy BMX big tires and he had regular.  I didn't think he'd win anything because of that, but at the very end he pushed extra hard and passed the guy in front of him by a couple of inches and won 3rd place.  The lady that gave him the trophy told him if he had a different bike then he'd probably have won 1st and that made him pretty proud.  He didn't seem to mind 3rd either.  He was just ecstatic to win his 1st trophy! 

 His teacher at church asked the kids to draw a picture and Tommy made this super detailed picture.  We were shocked when we saw it.  It was super detailed as before this he only ever really drew people stick figures!

 I spent my birthday in Disneyland and we didn't stop to celebrate my birthday so my mom made this cake with the kids.  They all pitched in to help decorate.

 The kids also finished out their soccer league.  Tommy did really good when he wanted to, but we had to coax him away from trying to be goalie all the time.

 Whitney ended up loving it when she wasn't playing against older kids.  She really knows how to trash talk already too!  She is such a stinker that way!

 Here is our group on the last day.  Lois & Robert were the coaches. (such a relief from when Vic and I were the coaches for t-ball!)

Sutherland Reunion

Vic's parents wanted to do a reunion before they left on their mission again so we had one at their house.  On Sunday we played "Sabbath games". Here are the kids doing a sack race.

 On Saturday we went swimming at 1000 springs.  Here is a picture of Tommy in the same spot 4 1/2 years ago! I hate seeing him grow big!

 Florin, Nate, Ender, Tausha, Tommy, Vic, Whitney, Tucker

 slippery log no one could stay on too long

 Aunt Cindy & Whitney

 Grandma, Ian, & Tucker

Baseball: The Sutherlands didn't want any competition so they had everyone bat in order of age and walk or run the bases if they hit the ball. 

August Happenings

Squished in between cabin visits, Boise, & work....

We didn't have time to celebrate our 9th anniversary in July & we planned a trip to Jackson Hole that fell through as well so Vic decided to surprise me when I got home from work by lighting up the backyard for a "romantic" night with the kids! It was very sweet & thoughtful. :)  He bought me that light up arch & 9 wicker baskets to hang in the trees.  We follow the traditional wedding anniversary gifts & it was wicker or pottery this year.  You can't see in the picture, but that big white bowl is what I gave him.  It is customized with "Sutherland Snacks" and I filled it full of caramel popcorn Vic likes.

 Tommy did his 1st triathlon.  He was pretty proud of the metal he got for finishing.  I was really proud of how much effort he put into it.  He went full speed the whole time.  For my records...

He did: 6:02:52 on the Swim, 6:21:20 on the bike, & 6:15 on the run, 18:28 Total

 They let the kids out in heats at the start. Tommy was in the last heat, but he pushed to the front of his pack. He did great!

 He passed a lot of kids on the bike as well. I was surprised how many kids struggles with the bike portion as I thought that would be the easiest for most kids.

 He ran with Victor for the run & I was worried Vic's pace was too fast & that Tommy might run out of steam, but he was so hyped up on adrenaline that he did great.  There was an older girl from an earlier heat ahead of him at the end & he sprinted past her at the end.  He has quite the competitive spirit!

 The next day Vic did his race & the weather was TERRIBLE! It was really cold & drizzled rain the entire time.  There was parts where it started pouring rain even.  I felt so bad for all of the runners & was glad I didn't do this one! Vic did the Olympic distance & got:

Swim 34:41, Bike 1:28:35, Run 48:32 T1 5:50, T2 2:53, Total 3:00:29

 We were out riding bikes one HOT day & I told Whitney & Tucker to go inside & get their shoes on so we could go to the park & this is how they came back out... goobers & partners in crime is what these two are!

 Tucker did his first visit to the dentist and had the nicest hygienist, he did great!

 I took the kids to weekly story times at the library & one of the dress up parties. Our library does a great job of both.

 For my Dad's birthday we had him over for a BBQ & cake. The kids LOVE Grandpa Miller!  They were quite disappointed that we didn't get to go to his house though as when they see him they want to see all of his fun extras too! (horses & tractors)

 I took the kids to the zoo lots & bought a little pack of tickets so we could do a few rides after each visit.

 One of my neighbors had a BBQ with a giant slip & slide down their backyard. The kids had a ball doing that!

 We were also very busy with the kid's soccer games & Vic's baseball games. It was really fun to see him play on a team again!