epic vacation part 3 (the conclusion.)

If you are going to attend a zoo, may I suggest the one in San Diego. We had such a great time, despite the weather being like sweaty swamp magoo hot. There was so much to see and cover, there's no way to get it all done in one day but we did our Sumsion best. 

Does anyone else from back East call this a Tager?

One of the real highlights was seeing the panda bears. Obviously they are rare and super endangered.. I've never seen one in real life before. They are cute and fat and fluffy and all they do is eat. Sean told me they have to hide the bamboo around the enclosure so that the pandas actually get up and move. I guess there can be a huge line (like an hour!) to walk by the pandas but it wasn't very busy and we basically walked right in. Really interesting, super glad we went. Isabelle loved seeing the elephants and was VERY disappointed we didn't get to feed a giraffe. Apparently that only happens during the summer busy season and wasn't an option for us. SAD. We did feed some goats though, and they are basically the same.

Too hot for pants. Also, we got zero pictures of Lincoln this day because I am an A+ mother and my camera battery died. This was the day Linc basically said I'VE HAD ENOUGH and wanted OUT and DOWN. We were exhausted and so hot at about 4 and despite my Sumsion instincts to close down the park, we called it an early day after a five dollar ice cream cone. Both kids fell asleep in the car so we drove up the coast and saw the ocean, found a SPRINKLES bakery and packed a picnic for the San Diego Temple. Total win.

Isn't it beautiful! (Taken with my phone)

When we got there, we realized it was closed for refurbishment, so we sat outside the gates and ate our dinner. Eventually we saw a few people milling around and they told us it was fine to walk the grounds. So beautiful! I think I have been there before with my family but not in a long, long time. Right off the freeway, you seriously can't miss it. 

Two of these ended up face down on the floor. Such a tragedy.

Eventually we crashed back at our hotel for the night, and the next morning, drove back up to LA to see the southern Sumsion family for the day. We had lunch together, and then me and Rachel went to the Los Angeles temple together.

We stayed with them for the evening and had delicious pizza and laughed and our kids ran around together. Sidenote: Rachel delivered a sweet baby girl FIVE days later! Can you believe it! She is super woman. Welcome baby Allison Kate.

Relaxin', sharing a blankie.

Just the best little pals.

I swear I'm almost done but I have one more day to do and I don't want to do a whole separate post so this one just got longer. Hang in there! Sunday was our final FINAL day at Disneyland. Surprise, it was super hot again. We got there pretty early so we could do Peter Pan before it got too busy... we also did the Jungle Cruise which Isabelle loved. ("The boat ride!") Finished up all the things we wanted to, and then stayed late for the fireworks.

Halloween time at the park is so much fun.

I love this picture. I love Isabelle so much.

That face! Those cheeks!

Watching the fireworks from the square right there at the end of Main Street was just one of those special moments from the trip. I love the fireworks and it was so fun to finish up our whole vacation watching them- Linc slept through them, I held Isabelle cheek to cheek and watched her little face light up with each explosion. Jazz stood next to me and squeezed my hand and I felt like a million dollars..standing with my family, watching Tinkerbell fly to the castle. Makes me cry every time. So thankful for this wonderful vacation we were able to take all together.

epic vacation part 2

Surprise! More pictures! Only two of us are wearing pants in this picture!

Iz: "And some for baby wiiiiinnc." She loves his ears.

So we took Isabelle to meet some princesses. She actually knows them and was really excited to see them.  Her favorites are Ariel, Cinderella, and Belle since she has seen those movies. AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, Ariel, Cinderella, and Snow White were out when we passed by the line, so we hopped in. We waited for forty minutes in the sweltering desert heat, only to get to the front of the line and I KID YOU NOT, we were next to go and they swapped them out for fresh princesses. Tiana? Jasmine? Not our favorites! But she did get to meet Belle so that was consolation. She didn't want to talk to them or hug them, she only wanted to show them her sparkly pink nails. 

Here are my nails. 

Also, here are my nails again. 

Nails! Belle was sweet with her. What a fun job.

This is outside Ariel, which we rode twenty times, and I am not exaggerating. 7+ minutes of air conditioning.

Handsome!

We were sad to leave Disneyland on Wednesday night- we stayed late for World of Color where Linc slept on us throughout the show. Good dog, Carl. 

Thursday we got up bright and early and drove down to San Diego to be at Sea World for the day. Now, if you know me, you know I love all things ocean, specifically sharks and whales and stuff. SUPER EXCTED for Sea World. After being there all day I was just "meh" about the park- don't get me wrong there were some huge highlights. Such as:

The park not being busy. 

Iz not thrilled. Kind of scary.

By far, my favorite part of the entire park was seeing the beluga whales in the Artic exhibit. This totally blew my mind. You ever have those moments where you just feel the majesty and grandeur of the entire earth and feel very small? Like when you know that there is a God and he created everything? I was so overwhelmed, these animals are so beautiful and graceful and we really got to be up close to them. They look so soft and fluffy and all smiley and marshmallowy. 

They offer a beluga interaction program and I was like SIGN ME UP. Skin shamu and make me a wet suit and I'll hop right in that frigid water. Maybe next time. 

Waiting for the dolphin show. BLAZING HOT.

Orca wanted in on the snuggle. ( Linc was too hot for pants. Ovbs.)

We stood here at the window for a good half hour, she was mesmerized.

Watching the Orca show with "binoculars."

So okay we loved the killer whale show, the arctic exhibit, the shark enclosure. We got to touch a dolphin! (softer than I expected.) I did not love it being 239847 degrees and my skin melting off. We also did not enjoy the food. You can't bring in your own so they force you to eat their stuff. Barf. If I lived down there I'd totally get an annual pass, would be worth it...lots of great stuff to do... but we probably won't be back for a few more years. 

I also felt sad for the animals a little bit. You know that part in Happy Feet where all the penguins are in a zoo exhibit and they have kind of lost their minds? Like that. Some tanks seemed so little. I know they would probably rather be in the wild, but I think they take good care of them at sea world. Maybe its like the Four Seasons of animal enclosures? 

Up next: The Zoo and our return to The Park...

epic vacation part 1

WE HAVE RETURNED FROM THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT.

How am I supposed to condense our big vacation into a single blog post? We were gone ten days, drove 1500 miles, spent 53 hours in Disneyland alone...800+ pictures. You'll just have to get the cliffs notes version.

As you can imagine, we had a fabulous time. We spent four days in Disneyland, a day in sea world and another at the san diego zoo, one day spent with our southern Sumsion family, and we just couldn't return home without tagging on an extra day at Disneyland. The beauty of having an annual pass. Isabelle is turning three next week (I mean, whaaat.) so she got in for free every where we went! Yesss to bargains.

You know I'm gonna do a couple picture vomit posts of this trip, and then probably a bonus traveling with babies post. So, just a heads up for the next week or so you will be bombarded. You've been warned.

We drove down to Anahiem last Saturday, and stopped in Los Angeles on the way to have dinner with Sean and Rachel and Jakob. They are living in LA for a year while Sean does his first year of Residency at White Memorial Hospital downtown. So fun to see them, and it was nice to break up the drive a little bit.

Sunday was our first day at Disneyland. There are two places other than my home that feel like heaven to me- one is the temple, and the other is Disneyland. There is something so magical and special about being in that park that just can't be replicated or replaced. Walking down Main Street towards the castle in the early morning hours with the music playing and the grounds all pristine- perfection. Maybe because I have great memories there, maybe because my parents love it so much that it holds sentimental value? (Not everyone feels this way. Some people love to go camping or do a cabin in the mountains, some people go to the beach or the ocean. Time share in Mexico. Whatever. We do Disneyland.)

Isabelle's most favorite ride. 

Me n Linc, Small World

Parade! Saw Nemo. Was excited.

CELEBRITY SIGHTING! Me and Isabelle were at the splash pad in Bug's Life area and this guy walked through and I was like whoa, that really looks like Jack Black. AND THEN IT WAS. I snuck a picture before the disneyland people came over and blocked our view of nacho libre.

Toy Story

More treats, obviously.

The first couple of days we spent doing all of our most favorite rides- though it was very, very hot. This time of year we usually bring a sweater for morning/night but we just didn't need it. 90-95 during the day, still 80 after the sun seat. Hot. A couple of the days we took an afternoon break and walked back to our hotel for a nap, then returned to the park with fresh feet when it was a bit cooler so we could stay later. We also have secret air conditioned places we know to hit up when it gets too roasty to be outside. (Animation room anybody?)

Being there with Isabelle was SO fun. She really understands things now- she has favorites and she definitely will let you know what she wants to do. Linc was such a great sport the whole time- going on the rides he could go on, napping when he could or playing in the stroller. We usually go with such a large group of people it was a nice change of pace to just be the four of us. We didn't hurry or have to worry about meeting up with anyone- just did what we wanted. 

Day three, back to the carousel.

Can you see, no lines? September is a great time to go. 

Lincoln Michael 8 Months

Lincoln at eight months.

Linc is about 20 pounds now (on our home scale) wearing size 3 diapers (only because I am forcing us to use the rest of the box before we open the size fours) and 12-18 month clothes. Little chunker! He is just so solid. He has eight teeth and is loving food. He eats solid meals three times a day- including some small food like puffs, mandarin orange bits, smooshed banana, etc. Seriously when I put those gerber puffs on his tray he goes all cookie monster on them trying to get them all in his little mouth.

Lincoln has had a cold this week so when I think of how he has been sleeping lately, it is not great. BEFORE the cold, he was sleeping in his crib all night needing his paci a few times. AFTER the cold he is waking up all the live long day for all kinds of stuff. Back to square one. This kid loves his paci, like all the time wants it in his mouth even just to bite on. We have to regularly replace them because he chews through them. Like, through the rubber material, and it falls apart.

This month Lincoln went from barely sitting, to sitting well, to army crawling, TO ACTUAL CRAWLING. We were at my dad's office yesterday to visit (there's a story there.) and he was up on all fours and took four real-live crawls. Crawl, crawl, crawl, crawl. I was so proud. He definitely is not content to sit and observe, he wants to be apart of everything. He loves to keep tabs on Isabelle and if she leaves, he wants to go with her. I can tell he is frustrated that he can't keep up with her. They are such pals.

I just realized this week that Lincoln has Jazz's toes. Long toes. Someday he will be able to pick stuff up off of the floor with them. Because I am kind of an independent person, I naturally assumed that my kids would look just like me. Dominant genes! But that isn't how it works. So, Lincoln has Jazz's toes. (And most of his face. so.)

Lincoln is such a little giggler, he always has been. He is super ticklish under his chin, his knees, his thighs and his toes. Turning him upsidown will guarantee some laughs, so will the "here comes a little birdie" song. You know that one? Probably one my mom made up but it seems legit to me. Loves patty cake, loves when you take his hand and point out your eyes, nose, and mouth.

The thing about Lincoln is that he is so smooshy and awesome. I want to simultaneously nibble his cheeks and squish his whole body, his fat little face and fluffy hair are soo cute. Even when he is crying and his little teeth are poking out he is just cuuuute. I guess theme for this month would be JOY- he is such a joyful baby and brings our family so much pure joy. His face is so cheerful and jolly? Yeah, jolly is a good word. Lincoln is jolly.

Oh little Lincoln, we love you so much. Our family wasn't the same with out you, we are so thankful you and your mischievous grin are here. Xoxo.

Izzie was tickling Linc with her "ballet pants." He thought it was hilar.

The hair fluff! The chins!

beans, not his thing.

His best zoolander.

My best little babies.