San Diego!

With Bryant in school, we couldn't do our San Diego trip in October anymore, so we decided to go in June.  And to totally change things up, instead of driving, we decided to fly.  It was the first time flying for the kids and they were so excited.  It was also nice to be there in 1/2 day instead of 2 days, but we did miss so of the memories that come with driving.

Garrett loved watching our plane fly in

It must have been a smooth landing because Garrett fell asleep as we landed in Salt Lake City and didn't wake up until we landed in San Diego.

The both got their wings and a benefit of being awake when we landed was that Bryant actually got to sit in the cockpit.  And go figure, one of our pilots was from Whitehall.  Such a small world.

The cousins always hit it off like they just hung out yesterday and the fun started with a parade around the house.

And of course a trip to the park

Little monkey man

In the car to the San Diego Padres game!

The boys loved their Slugger Dogs

And Cotton Candy!

Garrett thought the birds flying around the stadium were really funny!

The next day, we went to the Zoo.  Since we flew, we didn't bring a stroller and so we weren't sure how Garrett would do at the Zoo, but he was so excited to see all the animals, we didn't have to carry him that much.  Here he is asking where the other monkey went and then gets so excited when he comes back!

This orangutan couldn't have babies of her own, but loved being the silly aunt and got close enough for pictures...and to lick the glass.

Garrett mimicking the orangutan licking the glass

He was mesmerized by the gorillas.  We got there in time for them to eat, so we got to see all of them - dad, mom, and baby.  We actually saw the baby gorilla when he was first born and now he's a wild and crazy kid.  He and Garrett have a lot of similarities.

This is the dad who caught and ate the tomato whole.

And when he finished his food, he went for the kid's food.  I love the look on his face!

He would signal with his hand for more food

Garrett mimicking the gorilla

Riding the sky tram

We spent a good chunk of time at the Zoo and Garrett did so well, but he crashed hard on the way home and we thought he might be done for the night.  He did end up waking up and playing more later that night.

He didn't want to miss out on the cousin slide train!  Those smiles are awesome!

We loved having the pool and hot tub in the back yard.  I think the kids went swimming every night we were there.  It was amazing to see how much better Bryant's swimming got by the end of our trip...if only we could have a warm pool in our backyard year round...

Beach Day!

Again...laughing at the birds

We went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant and Garrett was mesmerized by the mariachi band

The last day we went to Balboa Park and did the science museum.  They had a Mythbusters exhibit and Travis, Madeline, and I were all in the show.  I was the winner and got the lucky prize of being shot at with paint balls...the video is too long to upload so you'll just have to use your imagination.  But you can watch a game of "Who did it better?" - Travis and I tried to remove the tablecloth without knocking the dishes off the table.

Of course Trav had to do it better and with only one hand...

What brings this huge smile to Garrett's face?

A ball being blown in the air.

What a way to walk around Balboa Park!

It's always sad when we leave San Diego and even more so when our flight leaves at 6:00 am, but the boys did really well and it was an awesome vacation.