*Long post ahead*
Nov. 16-19
Sometime in October, I was chatting with my mom and she said that she and my dad were flying out to San Diego to meet up with my brother and his family (they live about 3 hours from San Diego). I sweet talked her into letting Ethan and I tag along! It was last minute and a ton of fun!
We flew from St. Louis to San Diego on Wednesday (Nov. 16).
Doing all his homework on the way there :)
Mountain view from the air
On the way off the plane, the pilot invited Ethan into the cockpit to help him out with some post landing stuff. He told Ethan which buttons to push at what time. It was pretty cool!
Ethan in the cockpit
After getting our luggage, and rental car, we were off to meet up with Jim and family. It took a while to get our lodging figured out. After getting into our rooms we headed to dinner and then bed.
On Thursday (Nov. 17) we were planning to go to Sea World, but it didn't open until 10am, so we decided to fit something in beforehand! I had been researching and wanting to see the La Jolla sea lions/seals (I'm not exactly sure the difference or what we saw), so off we went! We found a beach/boardwalk first and looked around a bit and then made our way to the "Children's Pool" to see the seals.
Checking out the pacific ocean
Paige, Ethan and Josiah found a cool tree
Jumping from the cool tree
View of the "Children's Pool" from above
Ethan and a seal
We could have walked up and touched them! (But the signs ask you not to)
Waves crashing over the sea wall, startling the sunbathing seals :)
Ethan and I- having a great time!
Grandma Terri too!
The whole group
Enjoy a video of the scenery!
Ethan and Josiah had so much fun trying not to get wet...or maybe they were really trying to get wet, who know?! I didn't get much on the video, but you get the idea ;)!
After we had spent a decent amount of time watching the seals, we headed to Sea World!
We were the only 3 brave enough to sit in the "Soak Zone" for the Shamu show! (and we didn't get a drop!)
So neat!
Josiah and Ethan- right next to the tank and a whale
We got a special- behind the scenes- opportunity! We were able to go on top of a sting ray tank and feed them. I was thankful that no one fell in!
Ethan and the ray food 🐠
Petting a dolphin
Riding the rides, was by far Ethan's favorite part of Sea World! Especially "The Manta"!
We were so fortunate that the park was pretty slow the day we went. There were no lines for anything! I think we rode this ride 6 or 7 times! And some were back to back without getting off!
Loved his first real rollercoaster
We had to buy this one of the boys on the ride!
Leaving the park with Ethan's killer whale stuffed animal he picked out!
We basically closed the park down! What a fun, exhausting day! That night I had Ethan and Josiah in my room, and they were out as soon as the lights went out!
On Nov. 18 (Friday), we went to see the USS Midway, a retired Naval Aircraft Carrier. It was really really cool, and might have been Ethan's favorite part of our trip!
Walking up to the ship
Ethan and Josiah as the "Boss" and "Mini Boss"
View out of the "tower" windows (where the Air Boss and Mini Boss work)
Steering the ship
Waiting on the flight deck
Flipping all the switches and pushing all the buttons :)
Ethan being a "shooter" on the flight deck
Just hanging out in a jet engine, no big deal!
Ethan and Josiah earned their wings while onboard the USS Midway
After we had spent the morning on the aircraft carrier, we grabbed a delicious sea food lunch. Then headed to Mission Beach. We didn't plan to swim or get wet, so we didn't bring suits/towels. Turns out...we should have! The kids had a blast running into the water and back on to the sand. They were soaked (and cold) by the time we were ready to leave.
He was having a blast :)
Ethan and Josiah with the pacific ocean and a pacific sunset!
I LOVE this picture
San Diego beach selfie with mama
Saturday, Nov. 19, was the day we had to fly home. We said goodbye to Jim and family as they drove home. Our flight wasn't until the afternoon, so we had the morning to do a little more sightseeing. When we went to the Midway, we drove past some other ships (all sorts: sailboats, submarines, fishing vessels, etc.) and decided we would check those out.
The deck of the first boat we walked through. You can see a submarine and a couple other ships in the background that we went on also.
This is inside a Russian submarine (the black one in the pic above). I found this one very interesting as we crawled through to each part!
Pop and Ethan in a control room on the sub
At the bow of the ship with San Diego in the background
We had an amazing time and can't thank my parents enough for letting us come along! It was so special to have some one on one time with my biggest. It's a trip we will both remember for a long time :).
Nov. 12
Ethan started Cub Scouts this year and his first big event was the Space Derby. He and Jared worked to make his space rocket- which was made from balsa wood that was propelled down a line with a wound up rubber band. They loved working on it, and the event was super fun! Ethan ended up 3rd in his den, which meant he got to move on to the pack finals (in which he did not place 😊).
Ethan with Soren and Zach- waiting their turn
Ethan's rocket is the first one (farthest left)
It's intense watching those things fly :)
Proud boy with his 3rd place trophy
Pop and Grandma Terri came to watch. And we had some yummy Krekel's afterwards!
Oct. 28
Nora had her school Halloween party and we celebrated her birthday and Jared's birthday with our neighbors!
Preschool Halloween
Photo Booth with my girls
Happy Birthday to these 2!
Nov. 5
Ethan's Cub Scout pack got to fly in an airplane when they visited the airport! Then also got to go up into the air traffic control tower. It was a really neat experience!
In front of the plane he took a ride in!
Nov. 11
The whole 2nd grade class put together a Veteran's Day program open to the public. The girls and I went to watch and it was so good!
Singing Ethan
A little excerpt of the Air Force song for Uncle Jim and Pop :)
I grabbed Ethan before he went back to class for a selfie!
Nov 6
The weather on my birthday was amazing! We took advantage and went out to Rock Springs to hike around and we geocached (not sure if geocache is a verb??) for the first time! It was so so fun! The perfect way to spend my birthday :)!
Love this girl! And she loves selfies!
Family birthday selfie on my birthday! Love these 4 :)!
Some pictures from Rock Springs! We found the pine tree forest and the kids loved exploring!
3 kids and some tall trees
Photo courtesy of Ethan
They found a teepee made of logs
Ethan, Atley, Nora
I downloaded a geocaching app and we decided to try it out. Basically, you follow the directions and map to find a treasure of sorts. Then you take out what you find and replace it with something for someone else to fine. Ethan and Nora both chose a few small trinket type toys to put in the container. It was really fun, and I think we will do it again!
We had to go off the path! Searching in all the trees.
We hit the streets for some serious trick or treating on Halloween. The weather was beautiful, which was a nice change from recent years. So, we put a bowl of candy on our porch for trick or treaters and all went out! It was so fun and the kids ended up with quite the candy haul.
Oct 17- Boo at the Zoo
Tate & Lyle (Jared's work) has an annual Boo at the Zoo night and it's always a good time. This year was no exception! We ate dinner and then made the rounds to the animals and treat stations.
Corn dogs and mac & cheese!
Atley enjoyed it too!
Football player and some cute cheerleaders!
Ready to go!
Nora got some fun face paint
Ethan's face paint
Atley even got some :)
First treat station
Some kids and some zebras
Spooky train ride
A fun (and warm) evening!
Can't leave without the carousel ride
Atley loved it
Ethan and the cheetah
Before we left, Nora got cozy with this creepy guy!
