Spring Break 09! Woohoo!

Ya gotta love a teacher's schedule! It was so nice to have Nate for a week all to ourselves. True to form, we decided to cram as much as we could into that week.....with outings to the park, beach, zoo, downtown, farmers market, and a whirlwind 3 day trip down south to do some of the So Cal things we've been meaning to ....before we move away.

We had a great visit with my great aunt MaryLee in Santa Ana.


We stayed with newlyweds, Tia Lina and Tio Mark in their cute little home in Anaheim. The kids enjoyed the attention.







Next stop.... SEA WORLD!!! First stop IN Sea World....The Sesame Street rides!




Finn grew a half inch since we were here in November, to exactly 37 inches tall, thereby graduating to some of the more mature kid attractions in the play area....like this bouncy house.....his fav.


Selah enjoyed romping around in the baby "Tide Pool" area.

With virtually no nap, she did quite well throughout the day in our arms

...in the stroller

...and all up in the fishies' faces.


The Beluga Whales were everyones favorite animal to watch. They are amazing and beautiful.


and of course, it wouldn't be Sea World without....SHAMU!




I think Nate and I enjoyed it a little more than the kids. We were sitting pretty high up in the nose-bleed section.


Finn had his first 3-D experience at the Sesame Street short film.


Next stop.....JOSHUA TREE!


Nate has wanted to come to Joshua Tree ever since we've lived in Southern California. Well, we finally made it happen, and I'm glad we did!

Finn absolutely loved finding "Finn rocks" ....rocks perfect for him to climb.














This is the Mecca of rock climbing. It would have been fun to bring some gear and really go for it....but it was just as fun to just play around.






It wouldn't be a vacation without a truly cheesy shot. (Hey - look how strong I am!)


Finn discovered some caterpillars on the rocks. He loves creepy crawly things.


The desert wasn't blooming quite like we had hoped, but there were some pretty flowering cacti and everything was beautiful...sort of other-worldly.




I think this is some type of chrysalis. There were a ton of them in the bushes, and you could see the caterpillars squirming around in there. Pretty neat.


So where do you want to go to next, kids?....Uh.....hey kiddos?




...stay tuned for Easter ....