San Diego... Days 3 & 4

On New Year's Eve Day we went to the San Diego Zoo. We stayed so busy we didn't take one picture of the animals, but did get this cute one of my in-laws and the grandkids.

On New Year's Eve night my in-laws volunteered to stay at the hotel with the grandkids so that the rest of us could go out... We found a cozy Italian restaurant to have dinner at and then we drove around downtown San Diego.

New Year's Day the guys & Ramzee toured a Naval Ship.

In the meantime, we girls (and Deklan) went to Sea Port Village to have coffee, shop, & enjoy the water.

We then spent the remainder of our afternoon relaxing at the beach outside our hotel room.

Some good friends of ours, The Wagner's, were also staying at the same place and so the kids were able to play together.

Deklan didn't eat too much sand, but he was a big mess once he was done!

Firemen in Training

On Monday we were invited to join the preschool at our church to meet some firemen, learn about emergencies & fire safety, and explore a real fire truck.

Grafton was a star student and listened intently as the fireman talked.

He's a ladies man already and walked out to the fire truck with two of his best friends, Allison & Kate.

This was the first time Grafton sat in a real fire truck.

Once the kids were done exploring they received their own hat and a water safety coloring page.

Deklan stayed in my arms the entire time, but really seemed to enjoy all of the activity.

Goodbye, Firemen!

Swimming, Medals, and a trip to the Zoo!

One morning every week the kids and I get up early, quickly get ready, and head off to Grafton's swimming lesson.

This weeks lesson was extra special for two reasons. . . This was the first time that Vince was able to come with us, and Grafton received two swimming medals along with his friend, Kate. These two kiddos have been taking lessons together for over a year-and-a-half. It is amazing how much their swimming has improved during this time.

As soon as the lesson was over, Vince and I took our boys to the zoo.  The last time we were there was in November, so we asked Grafton what he wanted to see, and he chose the goats.  I thought it was kind of odd he would choose goats over all of the other animals, but I suppose it's because they're something he actually gets to pet, instead of just look at.

On our way to the goats we stopped at the tortoise exhibit and watched them eat lettuce and carrots.  Grafton said, "He likes lettuce, just like you!"  I think he was excited about this because I'm the only salad eater in the house.

We finally made it to our destination and Grafton touched every goat in the petting zoo. He could have stayed there all day, but Vince and I did not want to endure the smell any longer.

Deklan loved the zoo too.  At the young age of 7 months, he doesn't really notice the animals. However, I think he enjoys the fresh air, change of scenery, and the feel of riding in his stroller.

As we were leaving the petting zoo area we sat on this real tractor and neither boy wanted to take his hands off the wheel!

The next animal on Grafton's "must see" list was the rhino.  We didn't get a picture of him because he was sleeping in the shade, under a tree.  

We also stopped by the tiger, lion, wart hogs, sea otters, elephants, giraffes, and a few others.

When Grafton woke up from his nap following our zoo outing, the first thing out of his mouth was, "I want to go back to the zoo and see the hippo and the camels". It just so happens that we renewed our zoo membership on this trip, so I plan on fulfilling his request very soon. However, I'm not sure if there are hippos at our local zoo.  I guess I need to find out!