Vacation part 2

After visiting Grandma on Tuesday and the beach on Wednesday, we decided to do a theme park on Thursday. My parents also decided that it was time to go visit their other grandkids in Arizona, so we basically swapped houses for a few days.  They got the 110 degree weather for 3 days, and we got 78.  Fair trade I say :)  It was also the perfect weather for a day at Sea World.  Because my parents live in Orange County and Sea World is in San Diego, we had to get up a little early so we could make the hour and a half drive to get there, but it was WORTH IT.  Our kids had never been there before and I've been twice, I've always wanted to take them.  It was a breezy, sunny 77 degrees the day we went, and still... no sunburns.  Except the back of Austin's neck, but I guess he's just not that good at putting sunblock on himself.  I, however, am an expert sunblock applier.  It's a gift.

Sorry about the picture overload, but it's Sea World.  Every animal is cute and amazing.

The first show we saw was "Blue Horizons", which is the dolphin show.  I wish I'd thought to take videos instead of pictures, but that didn't occur to me until later.  Oh well.  The kids weren't fans of sitting in the bleachers waiting, but once they saw the show they figured out that it was worth it.  It's like waiting in line at any other theme park, only you get to sit down.  Who wouldn't love that?

We also got to feed the Sea Lions, (by throwing them dead fish... ew) who were loud, obnoxious, and greedy.  We loved it.  One Sea Lion even stole a fish right out of another Sea Lions mouth, the selfish little turd.  The one on the rock in the center was so loud we had to cover our ears, he could be heard around the park.

 This Sea lion was a lot louder before I pulled out the camera, then he just started moaning.  Until someone threw him a fish, then he started begging again.

The Sea Lion show was really funny, they were making fun of shows on TV.  They did CSI, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, and a couple others.  It's amazing what you can train these animals to do!

Sea World isn't all shows, there are a few rides.  Grace liked all but one, which was the roller coaster.  She was more than tall enough, just not quite brave enough.  She blamed me for scaring her to death the rest of the day.  So I guess we can cross Six Flags off our list for next year.

Half the rides are designed to get you wet, which felt really nice.  River rapids (where Ben and I got soaked), and Atlantis, which is like Splash Mountain at Disneyland, got us nice and wet.  Atlantis actually had a spot on the bridge where you could stand and get splashed by the ride every time it went by.  Ben and Ember stood there for a bit to get good and wet before we got in line ourselves.  I also had the foresight to bring a big ziploc bag to put the camera and cell phones in for each ride.  No electronics got damaged :)

My favorite show was probably "One World", which is the Shamu show.  It's amazing that a killer whale can throw it's entire weight out of the water and into the air like that.  Also, not only are the rides designed to get you wet, but so are the shows.  There's a section of the bleachers called the 'splash zone' where if you decide to sit there, you WILL get wet.  We never actually got to do that, you have to get there early, but check out that picture of Shamu using his tail to soak the audience... maybe it's a good thing we missed that experience.

For theme parks we always make the kids wear tennis shoes, but we didn't realize what bad shape Ben's shoes were in.  He'd been trying to tell us all summer, but we forced him to wear them to Sea World anyway. His feet were killing him because Elphie had chewed on his shoes, so he had to walk funny just to keep them on.  We had made a previous decision not to buy any souvenirs, but I made an exception for Ben and bought him a new pair of flip flops.  We made a little ceremony out of throwing away those terrible shoes.  His feet felt fantastic the rest of the day :)

The shark encounter is really cool, you actually walk through a tunnel underground that is under the shark aquarium, so they swim over your head and all around the sides of you.  Ben wanted a stuffed shark from the gift shop when we were done, but he settled for a picture of the shark eating his face instead.

Sea World's new attraction this year is Turtle Reef, and I just love Sea Turtles.  Who doesn't love Crush and Squirt from Finding Nemo?  And of course, at the end of every attraction they have the gift shop.  Marketing genius, parents nightmare.  Ember loved the little stuffed turtle, and also had to settle for her picture taken with it.  And as long as we were taking pictures with merchandise and not buying it, she put on the shark headband to model also.

The Arctic Circle was fun to visit, to see the penguins and Polar Bears.  It was freezing inside, the kids couldn't wait to get back out into the sun.  The setup was a shipwreck frozen in the ice, modeled after a real ship that got lost there in the 1800's.  They also had a helicopter simulator ride, taking a tour of the Arctic shelf.  Austin's thick Alaska-homesick blood felt right at home, but the rest of us desert rats couldn't wait to get back into the heat.

We also got to see a Beluga Whale, which was pretty cool.  There was a mother and baby and the baby whale attached it's nose to the mother and followed her wherever she swam, it was adorable.  The babies aren't white, they're grey, they turn white when they mature.  These whales also can't do the tricks that the dolphins and killer whales can do, they are too top heavy and can't throw themselves out of the water.

The day ended with fireworks, and then a long drive home back to Orange County.  We didn't get home until just after midnight, and it was easy to drop the kids into bed without a fight.  We had a blast, and would love to go to Sea World again someday.  And don't worry, there's more vacation pictures to come!

Vacation part 1

July 25 we packed up our family and headed out to California for a week.  Cooler weather, the ocean, family, theme parks, what's not to love?  We got in late Monday and just went straight to sleep.  After a day of cleaning, packing, and driving, falling into an air mattress on a tile floor felt pretty darn good.

Tuesday we went to visit Great-Grandma Meacham, who will be 92 in September.  It's such a blessing that we still have her with us, so whenever we make it to California a visit to Great-Grandma is a priority.  She is recovering well from breaking her leg in April and having a stroke in July, she was very cheerful and telling us stories about her childhood.  I would have liked our visit to last longer but she had to leave for a doctor appointment.

Wednesday, after shamelessly sleeping in until almost lunch time, we took the kids to the beach.  We accidentally drove past Balboa beach, which was our destination, drove past Newport beach, and ended up on a secluded quiet beach in front of some very expensive oceanview condos.  There was only one other couple on the beach with us, and some junior lifeguards who were there because the sand shelf dropped off pretty steep and the waves were incredible.  It turned out to be the perfect spot, and the perfect day.  

Ember started out just wanting to walk around and pick up seashells, but she eventually got in the water.  The waves in some places were taller than Austin, so she was a little cautious at first, but she dived right in.  She even got knocked down and dragged out a few times, but Austin was always there to save her.  Made me nervous.

Ben is a digger, his favorite thing is to make deep holes in the sand, build sand castles, and bury himself.  Even he put down the shovel for a few minutes to get into the water, the waves were too good to pass up.

Grace also tried her hand at sandcastle building, but without success.  Her favorite part of the waves was getting just close enough to let the water brush her toes or fingers, and then running away.  Austin held her hand and took her out into the water a few times, but that wasn't her favorite part.  She looks like she's commanding the waves in these pictures, or else conducting some great oceanic symphony!

Austin LOVED the waves, he did a lot of body surfing and got knocked down several times.  

Me?  I stayed on the blanket, took pictures, and read a book.  I'm always behind the camera, so 20 years from now you may never even know I was there!  AND... not a single one of us got a sunburn.  Scroll back to the top, to our red-headed great-grandma, and marvel that the skin we inherited from her side of the family stayed nice and white after more than two hours at the beach.  That is expert sunblock application, after years of experience.  :)

There's more to come, but I didn't want there to be picture overload on my first post.  That's why it's titled "Vacation part 1".  Coming soon, Theme parks, swimming pools, and cousins!  (Plus there was a vacation earlier this month where just the kids went with Grandma & Grandpa Lawlor and Aunt Celeste to the cabin and Austin and I stayed home and had a stay-cation.  So peaceful... *sigh*... but I'll add some pictures from that trip as well, as soon as I get them).

And after all this talk of summer fun, let me remind you, SCHOOL STARTS IN 5 DAYS!!!

Just for fun :)

This is my new ring tone.  I smile no matter who's calling!

More July

July was a busy month!  We had birthdays, swim lessons, vacations, and back to school preparations.  I'll have to do the vacation posts later, because it was a long trip and it's going to take awhile to organize all the photos.

Swim lessons were great this year, Ben finally gained the confidence that he was lacking and always worried me.  He's a swim star now, and can do almost anything.  Just not the butterfly stroke, which I never could do either, so who cares.  Grace also became a stronger swimmer, and I'm so glad... I wouldn't ever let her go swim at a friends house because I didn't trust her abilities.  Now she can freestyle in deeper water and it's a big sigh of relief.  That girl just didn't want to work at it, she'd rather splash in the shallow end!  Silly girl.

Even though we had a huge birthday party for Ben back in June, his actual birthday was July 19.  We celebrated by going to see Harry Potter 7.2 on Monday the 18th, just Mom & Ben.  The movie was amazing, and we both clapped and cheered at the end!  This picture is in a dark theater and looks terrible, but it shows how happy we are and how much fun we're having!

Then on Sunday we had cake at Grandma and Grandpa Lawlor's house with some extended family.  There were no candles in the house, so Ben got to be the first one in our family ever to have toothpicks as candles.  They actually worked pretty well, but they DO need diligent adult supervision :)

The next day, Monday, we left for our week long vacation in California and Prescott.  We packed a lot of activities into those seven days and it'll take me awhile to blog about it all.  See what I mean about July being such a busy month?  Thankfully it's August now, and school starts next week!  Yay!

Child abuse on TV

She is SIX years old.  In a bikini, spray tanned, wearing heavy makeup.

I watched a few episodes of Toddlers and Tiaras on TLC tonight, and it was like a train wreck... I really couldn't look away.  I was watching child abuse happen on TV.  These Mom's are ruining these girls forever, their self-esteem will forever be wrapped up in whether or not someone else approves of them, votes for them, gives them a prize.  What kind of mother tells her screaming daughter who doesn't want to put on her full glitz dress, "Do you want to look like Barbie or not?!"

Here's some actual quotes I heard tonight that made me so angry:

*child's whisper*  "Mom, I don't like you."
Mom's response to the camera:  "She just loves pageants, we're here for her."
"It's time to bleach your teeth, get back here!"
"You need a spray tan, you look sick and I can see your freckles."
"Baby, you need to put on your eyelashes, please!"  (to a 2 year old)
"If I don't win a crown, I'm going to feel really really really bad about myself."
"The pretty kids are the popular ones."
"I'm not embarassed when she hits and screams, it's kind of cute."
*screaming* "Do you want to win this or not??"
"Don't cry, now we have to redo your makeup!"
"Just take the pain, baby girl."

Does an 18 month old baby need a spray tan?

Do 5 year olds need hair extensions?

Is a bikini/swimsuit competition appropriate?

They wear more makeup in one day than I wear in a month!

I am appalled, and so sad.  These girls are being trained to be judged, and the prettiest and most talented always wins.  They will seek someone else's approval their whole lives, and as a result will be at risk of being abused or suffer from depression. I may not be the best Mom in the world, but watching these pageant Mom's for even five minutes makes me feel a whole lot better about my parenting style.

 

My girls like to dress up, and they like a cute outfit or pretty necklace like any little girl, but hopefully I'm teaching them that true beauty is on the inside.  They do get to dress up for ballet recitals, but the costumes are modest and their hair is just in a bun.  I'm proud of their athleticism and grace and discipline in learning to dance, but they know that even with that, their value doesn't lie in ballet.  My girls are learning to love, learning to serve, learning to forgive, learning to develop their talents and their intelligence, and they are so beautiful to me.

 

Cool quote #2, on my continuing quest for kindness...

"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."

~Stephen Grellet, 1773-1855
French-born Quaker Minister

Cool quote

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."
- Kahlil Gibran


Maybe someday I'll have massive character, or feel strong.

Ember keeps growing!

Today is Ember's 11th birthday, and I can't believe how this girl has grown!  Her pediatrician called her a pre-teen today.  *faint*  Unfortunately, Ember got some vaccinations on her birthday, but she handled it like a pro.  See how tough she is?

That's an attempt at a tough face, though she does look a little weepy.  She may be 11, but she still wanted an ice cream cone for enduring the shots.

We didn't get to do anything extra special today because of swim lessons and doctor appointments and grocery shopping, but she still had a pretty fun day.  We opened presents after dinner, and before the rest of the family came over for cake and ice cream.

 (Lady makes a good pillow... squishy and tolerant)

 Ben and Grace got her her favorite toys, Littlest Pet Shops.  Grandma and Grandpa Meacham got her her first HOOP earrings!  Oh my gosh, so grown up!

They also got her the next two books in a series she's been reading, the Dork Diaries.  They're about a girl in Junior High.  That's my little girl in just one more year...

Austin and I pondered for weeks on what to get her, because she's just not little anymore.  Here's what we decided:

You just can't go wrong with cash.  Besides, the gift is the time spent shopping with Mom at the mall.

 

Adria came over again for more cake, and Ember loves to play with her and take care of her while she's here.  We have three summer birthdays, and Adria's come over for cake twice now.  In just a couple weeks we'll have her over one more time for Ben's birthday!  I love watching her eat cake, it's adorable.  Eric and Noelle brought Valette also, but she's too young for cake :)

 

We know she's not two years old, there were only two blue candles, which is Ember's favorite color, so that's an "11", not 2.  She blew out the candles on her first try, go figure.  It was a really fun day and I'm so proud of my beautiful, talented, intelligent, sweet girl who is growing into such a lovely young lady.

Love you baby girl.