End With A Bang

We sure ended the summer with a bang! We packed up the boys and drove to San Diego for a week of fun. The weather was perfect, except for one exceptionally hot day, the kids were on fabulous behavior, and we were all just as happy as can be.





Spent 2 days at LegoLand, first day enjoying the rides and the second day at the water park. Lots of great rides, shows, and sites to be enjoyed by everyone.






We spent a day at the San Diego Zoo which is an amazing place. Unfortunately, we had to cut our visit short as a result of the extreme heat to be had that day. Most the animals were hiding, taking cover from the blazing heat, and my little beasts wanted the same. We took the bus tour, the sky ride, visited a few animals including this sweet panda and then called it quits. We went back to our hotel and enjoyed the fabulous pool that had some fun seahorse fountains, and just beautiful view of the harbor. That night we took the boys to their first fancy dining experience.





We went to this trendy restaurant in historic gas lamp quarters, called Red Pearl Kitchen. It was dark, the music was going (like being in a nightclub), there were candles on the tables, we enjoyed a delectable Asian fusion dinner, including the boys,surprisingly. The boys were completely riveted by the experience and Daddy and I were so grateful to enjoy a nice meal out with not meltdowns.







Our final day was spent at the USS Midway Museum. We got the grand tour of this amazing battleship including a variety of planes and helicopters. Of course the boys "ohhed and ahhed" over the whole thing. We ended this visit with a ride in the "Desert Storm Simulator", definitely an experience to be had.

One of the sweetest things every evening during this trip was there were fireworks to be watched from our hotel room. I'm not sure what the events were, stadium? concert? who knows? but the boys loved watching them and I pretended they were especially for us so we could end our summer with a fabulous bang!

Family Time at the San Francisco Zoo

Daddy's work had an outing at the San Francisco Zoo today. We picked up daddy from work at noon and headed off to the zoo. It was the boys first time at the SF zoo and I hadn't been in years. I know the zoo got a bit of a bad rap after the tiger malling incident, but I tell you daddy and I were pretty stunned at it's beauty. Everything was so lush and vibrant, aesthetically pleasing. We were excited about the rhinos, baby gorilla, and penguins...however, the highlight for the boys was riding a new steam engine. This steam engine was so fast, I'd have to say it qualifies as the boys first roller coaster ride.

Zoo Membership

Some memberships are worth having, the zoo membership is one of those. We've had a zoo membership for 3 yrs now and our kids have yet to tire of it. I'm sure there will be a time when they finally out grow it but Aidan is soon to be 5 and still enjoys it, Miles and Liam 2 1/2 love it of course. We never get through the zoo in one visit, one day we see certain animals and another time I try to make it a point to see different exhibits. I think this helps keep trips to the zoo exciting. We talk about the animals and what they're doing, sounds they make etc. I'm always amazed at how interactive these little discussion get between us. Aidan gets really involved in these discussions and I think this encourages Miles and Liam to participate too. It's truly a wonderful teaching tool, not only do the kids get to see the animals, but they get to engage in conversation, focus attention, and appreciate nature and other living creatures. This membership holds much value to our family and I plan on renewing it as long as my kids continue to enjoy it. Oh and of course they never tire of the amusement park especially the train ride.

Spontaneous Trip to the Zoo

Normally the boys go to Kindergym on Thursdays but plans were spontaneously changed today. We left the house early this morning to attend a Mother's Day breakfast with Aidan at his preschool. (A sweet event by the way) When we left the breakfast it was still too early to head to Kindergym and since we usually meet up with Susan and her boys there I decided to phone her to see what they were doing. I'm so glad I phoned her because she informed me that she was going to the zoo instead and was meeting up there with another twin mom, Michele and her twins. I decided to go too. So, we go to the zoo, there we are, 3 moms and 3 sets of twins...wait a second who's that, Nagisa and her twins too...yes now there are 4 moms and 4 sets of twins all the same age strolling together at the zoo. The kids had a great time and it was so nice to have other mommy companions with us. Liam really enjoys being with Susan and it sure was evident today. He kept walking by her side and holding her hand. I know, Susan has her own twins to contend with but it sure is sweet to see my boys really enjoy time with other adults. Oh, and did I mention how amazing the weather was today? It sure was a beautiful day, so glad we spent it out doors. We spent a good couple of hours at the zoo and ended the visit with a ride on the train.