Favorite Picture Friday: April 19th, 2013

Here are just some random pictures from our lives.  We don't have much time in between school, work, and church but we find time to have some fun.

Disneyland with the blossoms.  

Eating a delicious Indian dinner.  

Walking along Corona del Mar beach.  

Favorite Picture Friday: April 12th, 2013

Friday night we were able to go and play a little bit at a charity event.  It was held at this cool classic cars garage with tons of shiny and expensive toys!  I know that I didn't appreciate it as much as Jason did, but he had fun walking me through and explaining all of the cars to me.  We had an awesome time that night and were glad to hang out with Jason's friends from school. 

Spring Break with the Barnum Boys

We were so lucky to have the Barnum Boys come down and visit us while they were on Spring Break!  Actually, I was the lucky one because I would have been alone during that time because Jason was in New York City at that very same time.  I liked to claim that my family came down so they could babysit me while he was gone.  They came down on a Saturday afternoon and they were ready to have some fun!

Baby Ben showing me his flower Grandma picked for him.  

Drewbie trying to fit his orange in his mouth.  I like how it matches his Skylanders shirt.  

One place that I have been anxious to take the boys is the Aquarium of the Pacific just a few miles from our apartment.  Jason and I have had so much fun every time we've gone there and I knew that the boys would find it fascinating!  Here are some pictures from that visit.

Drew with the jellyfish tank.  He was trying to figure out if they were alive or not, so I stood there with him while we watched them swim around very slowly.  That finally convinced him that jellyfish are alive.  

Here the boys were allowed to touch sea stars, anemones, and other ocean creatures.  They were both hesitant at first but liked being up close.  

Here is Shel encouraging the boys to touch everything, even the squishy, slimy, and pokey ones.  

I took this picture to show Jason when he arrived home.  He hates sea urchins and here I am touching one.  The workers at the aquarium showed me where to put my finger and it wouldn't hurt me, but it was weird because the spines would start to clench around my finger.  It pinched a little but not bad.  It totally grossed Jason out to see this picture!  

I think this is by the penguin exhibit, but it was in the afternoon so they were out sleeping at this time and not swimming.  

The cute boys smiling at their favorite part of the aquarium- THE SHARK TANK!  We probably spent most of our time outside so the boys could see the large and small sharks.  Here they are standing by the large shark tank.  

We went underground to see the sea lions  in their tank.  If you can see the shiny reflection in this picture, that is the sea lion.    

Matt likes watching the sea lions swim.  

At the aquarium is a live bird exhibit where they wander around an open area and so you can get up close to them.  Matt and I found this bird on a rock by itself. 

Drew especially liked the splash pad and taunting the other kids to squirt him.  He was pretty soaked by the end.  

I think this was Drew's favorite part of the aquarium, because if we couldn't find him we would just come back here .  This is a touch tank so the kids can actually touch sharks.  There were also some other animals, such as horseshoe crabs.  There was another touch tank with stingrays in it, but the boys weren't too crazy about those unusual animals.  I liked them because they kept coming really close to me and I could touch them more than before.   

The next day we took the boys to Newport Beach.  They love the beach and continue to impress me with how comfortable they are getting with it.  At first they were confused by the waves and were constantly being knocked over by them, but now they can go out further and can control themselves better in the ocean.

The only one that isn't crazy about the beach is Baby Ben.  There is something about the sand that he just doesn't like.  The whole time he was telling us "go?"  

Shel and Ben.  

Grandma walking with Ben.  He liked watching the shadows while he walked, but this sometimes meant that he would accidentally step in a pile of sand, and that was unacceptable.  

The boys told me that they wanted to learn how to surf at the beach and were telling me that they were going to use our surfboards (paddle boards).  Drew tried it but the waves kept taking it away from him, so he retreated to digging for buried treasure.  I was impressed with how dedicated Matters was in trying to "surf."  Apparently his idea of surfing is getting in the shallow part of water and being able to stand on the board without falling off.  He was pretty good at it.  I tried to show him how to use it as a boogie board, but he thought that looked too hard, and he was happy with his version of surfing.  

It was fun having my fam down visiting me, but it was the first time I had been to the beach with my sweetheart.  How I missed him!  

Finally the party had arrived!  Jason was back in town and the boys (and me) were so happy!  All three of them love Jason and think he is the bees knees!  He can do anything and it is fun and hilarious!  Here is proof because Jason entertained Ben forever with our oven mitts.  Look at Ben's cute smile!

It was so nice to my Mom, Shelli, Drew, Matt, and Ben down to visit during their Spring Break.  They spoil us with their love and kindness!