More Pool Time!

Grandpa John says he doesn't enjoy the pool, but I think was feeling a bit guilty by the end of our vacation so he decided to make an appearance!  I think he is much stronger in his mind... the "launching" of the kids was semi-successful.

But very hilarious!

The kids showed off some of their tricks... Brooke "walked" on the water.  The kids had on socks because their many hours in the pool started giving them little sores on their toes.  Notice, the sock on backwards... nice touch!

Oliver did a few "dives" which is a fancy term for "belly flop".

Can I say... expressive!?!

Double trouble...

Thanks Great-Grandma Koke and Great-Gpa Wally for all the good times we have had in this pool over the years!  It has given the kids such a love for swimming (and cannon balls!).

Oh!  I forgot!  He did get one or two launches with Oliver.  There was something about the weight being more "compact" that helped!

More California Pictures

The kids had fun getting to know another five year old named Brianne.  She was the granddaughter of a neighbor.  They had the best time using a fake key to lock the rooms in the hallway, especially when I was in one of the rooms.  She also got a chance to swim with the kids one afternoon.

My mom's garden is so beautiful and peaceful.  She obviously loves to care for her flowers and it shows!  She even cut back tons of flowers so the kids would have a path to the fountain!

Once at the fountain, the kids would play with the fountain water and in a patch of dirt.  Lots of imaginative fun!

The Living Desert

Today we went to the zoo!  Oliver and Brooke LOVE the maps!

Kent and Brooke fed the giraffes!

This is the first time we have seen a cheetah at The Living Desert.  What a beautiful animal!

It's always fun to see the animal show.  They always change it up a bit, like having this possum walk the fence instead of the usual mice.

The North American Parrot.

Oliver loves the playground area with all the underground tunnels.

The huge train exhibit is a boy favorite!

Brooke and Kent enjoyed a camel ride!

Woo-hoo!  That was FUN!

Video

Spring Break: Day 3 and 4

Last day of driving SOUTH!  We left Las Vegas and headed to the Palm Springs area.  I struggled to keep them happy and could sense that there was not much that could keep them occupied, happy and content. So we settled for some Curious George videos which allowed Kent and I to listen to our audio book.  The drivers were much crazier than anywhere we had been before and the scenery was not quite as interesting.  We all couldn't wait to make it to our destination!

Can't you tell we are happy to be out of the car and having fun!?

It has been five years since Kent and I came down to California together for a vacation.  The kids can't get enough of the fact that their Daddy is here!  It sure makes it nice for me to get to relax a bit more and have help!

The kids are sure swim-babies!  No more floaties!  Brooke loves to do cannonballs into the water and one time she even ended her cannonball with a swim to pick up a toy on the bottom of the pool!  I could not believe my eyes when she did her first front somersault in the water!

When we arrived, Gpa John helped Oliver put together his new Spiderman Lego car.  Too cool!

Road Trip: Day 2

We left Salt Lake City this morning for Las Vegas.  "Only" six hours of driving today!  We started off rested and ready for the day!  Brooke sang her heart out to some music from one of the Glee Soundtracks...

Oliver is really interested in coloring sheets these days.  He asks us to search for them online and print them off on a daily basis.  His last request was for a "Lego cannonball coloring sheet"... sorry, Oliver, no luck there!  Today he branched out and used three colors on this page.  Normally it's just one color that fills the entire thing!

And Brooke also enjoyed some coloring.  I found these lap desks for $8 each at Staples.  They have been really nice on this trip, the kids even played with Play-Doh!

We really enjoyed the scenery through central Utah and needed a lunch break at Cedar City.  I found a pretty amazing playground for them to explore.  It was very windy, but not too cold so the layers of coats eventually came off.

Brooke was timid to explore this new playground but she is lucky to have a brave brother to follow. My only complaint was the fact that I couldn't keep track of the kids for most of the time.  What a maze!

They had large sand pits and dinosaur "bones" to find.  Such great ideas for a playground!

Back on the road again!  We realized later on that we got to travel for about thirty miles through Arizona!  It was the most scenic part of the trip.  The red rock was so beautiful!

As we got closer to Vegas we started to see Joshua Trees, cactus and palm trees.  The kids thought we were in California and got SUPER excited.

There was a windy stretch of road in Arizona that was so amazing!  Kent and I thought it was so spectacular!  Makes me want to visit the Grand Canyon someday!

Our one and only stop in Las Vegas was Circus Circus.  When we arrived, Brooke was very nervous.  She broke into tears when we told her we were going inside.  Finally, I convinced her that it was just to use the bathroom.  Talk about sensory overload!  Both Brooke and I were probably at the height of our anxiety level in this place.

Every half and hour they have a short free show.  It was pretty awesome to see the Russian Bar Act.  The acrobat did multiple jumps and even two full rotations in the air before landing gracefully on the bar.  Next adventure was to drive the Vegas Strip and see the sights!

On of Brooke's favorite part of Vegas... Hey, Caitlin.  What's that statue?! (Sorry for the inside joke, I don't plan on explaining)

FINALLY, around 6pm the kids got their wish.  They got to go swimming!  Brooke has become such a Daddy's girl.  She couldn't wait to swim with him!

Time to relax and watch a show before the pizza arrives!

Our hotel turned out to be a really nice surprise!  We had no idea we were getting a suite with a full kitchen. It was nice to eat off of real plates and at a table!  We ordered a large pizza which was barely enough for us. Kent and I were a little sad when Brooke had asked for the last piece (her third!).  We let her have it and she ate it all!  Tomorrow we get to drive to Thousand Palms, CA our final destination!