San Diego 1

In July, we went on another plane ride to go visit Papa and Nonnie in San Diego!!  For the first time, the kids got to sit without their car seats on the plane like big kids.  That way they could sit together and watch a DVD.  :)  

Nonnie had prepared for our trip by saving lots of empty containers of foods that she had bought to make a "store" for the kids to "shop" at.  She managed the store and the kids paid her in buttons!  So cute!

 Here is Maya paying for her merchandise.  Nonnie would tell them how much things cost and they would count out the right number of buttons.

 Nolan really got into the paying part.  He showed Nonnie how high he could count!

 We also took lots of walks like we usually do.  It is one of our favorite things to walk up the hilltops and see the bunnies, birds, and other wildlife while exploring the area.

 Nolan could continue exploring all day if you let him!

 Maya was ready to head home after walking up some big hills...running down is the fun part!

Nolan posed for me in front of this gorgeous bougainvillea.  

 Of course, we had plenty of time for reading.  Papa and Nonnie always pick up some new books to add to their collection along with some new toys.

Happy times with our grandparents!!

 One afternoon we took some bread and went to a nearby pond to feed the ducks.

 Here ducky, ducky!

 Hmmmm...this duck food tastes good!

 These ducks were a bit hard to find, but once we walked around the whole pond, we found lots to feed.

 Cheese!

 Sunny and Ellie, the two dogs, were happy that we stopped by to give them some attention.

 Snuggles for Nonnie!

 We also had time for a dip in the pool!

 Ahhhhhh, so relaxing!

 On Friday we spent the day at Legoland!!!  It is an amusement park and play center made for young kids....The kids had an absolute blast!!

 They had so many interactive games and activities for toddlers and young kids.  Here is Nonnie holding Maya up so she can control the water shooting out of the statue.

 There were so many toddler rides too. Maya was just over the height limits for many of the rides so it worked out perfectly!

 The helicopters and planes were lots of fun.  Kids get to control the helicopter going up and down and left to right.

 This was one of Nolan's favorites...this HUGE slide!  I got him situated in his sack and he did the rest!  It was SO FAST and he loved it!  

 This ride was a track of cars sort of like the Jeep that we have at home.  Kids push the gas pedal and actually steer the car.  Nolan loved it!

 Maya had a different feeling about it...

 One ride I did not get a picture of was one that Maya did that Nolan was too scared for.  It was a huge boat that we rode in the water.  It's track went up a huge hill and then did a free fall into a huge pool of water!  We all got soaked!  Nolan thought he wanted to do it but backed out right before the ride left.  Maya, Papa and I ended up doing it together and she was so brave!!!  She kept talking about it afterwards and I think she felt really good that she did something Nolan was too scared to do!

We also went on a "safari" in these little cars.

 There were so many fun things to see around the park.  There was a whole miniland where they had smaller scale versions of cities made of Legos and lots of Lego characters around the park.  This sleepy Lego man made a good picture.

I think this ride was our favorite of all!  It was called the Beetle Bounce!  It lifts you up into the air and drops you a little bit at a time.  Darin told the kids it was like when he throws the up in the air and they loved it!  The look on everyone's faces says it all!

I will blog about part 2 of our trip soon!!