Swiss Festival

 Sunday July 20, we did something unusual (for us!).  We skipped out of church early.  We had gone to a random ward, chosen because it was on the way north.  It was an excellent service, but we bailed after Sacrament meeting and headed up to meet up with family at the Swiss Park for the Swiss Festival.  Yep, family trumped religion that day!  We met up with aunts and uncles and cousins and Grandma Marion.  It was a hot day, but we had a lovely spot in the shade.

The kids had a blast playing little arcade games for prized that they were very excited about.  I got them lunch- traditional Swiss wurst and regular hotdogs.  Some enjoyed it more than others.  There was lots to see and do and I really enjoyed the chance to see and chat with my extended family. It was just a nice afternoon.  I got to watch my cousins shoot the crossbow and the kids participated in the kid's parade.  We left around 5:30, hot and tired, but happy.

The favored prize of the day were these lovely fans.

 Which also doubled as peacock tails.

Delaney with her Swiss lantern.  

Joshua found alternate uses for the lantern.

I loved all the Swiss dress.  So formal, and yet festive.

 Joshua got to be a helper when they did the auction.  He jumped up when they asked for a volunteer to help pick the tickets. Nope, not a shy boy.

 Someone enjoyed her chocolate cake a little too much!

 

I got a shot of all of us with Grandma Marion! Love her!

Going over the potential prizes on the table.

Delaney had a good time.

Marian was hot and did not want a photo.  Heh heh heh.

Cynthia and Chris got to shoot in the crossbow competition.  It was probably more fun to participate in than to watch.  Although it was fun to watch for a little while.

Cynthia's adorable baby Leah.  Delaney was fascinated. 

Trouble?  Why, yes, there might be some around.

Yep, the official Swiss Park!

Grandma took a little power nap.  I thought it was so cute, this elegant lady, still looking elegant, even when napping.

I didn't care about the parade, I just wanted the cool lanterns! But the girls had fun marching around and waging their lanterns.  There was a definite risk of losing an eye.

Best Day!

 I had the best day on Sat July 26.

I got to go to the San Diego Temple!

But never fear, I did not go alone.

  Dan and I ditched the kids and went together.  

(Ignore the weird way I look photoshopped in.)

It was awesome to go with my sweetie pie and it was great.  Unfortunately, I then took him to the airport and sent him on his way.  That was not part of the best day, but I like to gloss over the negative and live in denial.

Next, I went to visit my awesome and amazing friend Bryn!  LOVE her!  I wish I saw her more often, and I am really glad I made the time to see her.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, Bryn told me there was one of these, less than a mile from her house.  Oh yes!  I did partake freely and purchase more than I ought.  See's Candy, oh how I adore thee!

Later that day, I made the kids very happy by taking them back to the pool and swimming them till well past bedtime.  Rylee was so tired she zonked out before we even left.

Pool Time with Family

The timeshare resort also had a bunch of fun pools.  I think the kids went to the pool every single day we were there!  We also invited Dan's brother and his family to come hang out at the pool with us.  that did come and it was a lot of fun.

 Can you count the cousins?!  Callie, Josh, Ashley, Kaitlin, Marian, Emily and the back of Delaney's head! I love that they got to play together and enjoyed it!

I was surprised how much Joshua and Kaitlin interacted.  I really hope it helped his social skills!

As long as Rylee has a floaty, she's all over the place and feeling very confident.

The kids enjoyed playing with Daddy too.

And there was a slide.  Super fun!  The kids went on it over and over and over.

Then Rylee got cold and tired.  

 Who is that?!

It's Delaney!

Love this kid!  (Well, fine, i love ALL of them!)

Gone Fishin'!

 My awesome aunt and uncle hooked us up with a sweet timeshare in Escondido.  Wait, I may have already mentioned that in a previous post.  Or maybe not.  In any case, that's where we go to stay for a couple days in CA.  Did I mention how great it was?!  It was marvelous.  Anything that fits the whole family is marvelous, and this place had some neat things as well.  One of them was fishing!  You could rent fishing poles and fish in their pond!  How fun is that?!

So we got some poles and the girls got to fishing.  Mostly.

 Rylee raided the bread supply to win lots and lots of duck friends.

Callie worked hard at her fishing.  She had trouble getting her line out very far.  I think she needed something heavier on the hook end to help with her cast.

The fish were very clever and mostly just nibbled the bait off the hooks.

It was still a lot of fun for the girls.  They complained about not catching anything, but when our rental time was up, they did not want to quit!

Sea World

I have discovered I am not a fan of Sea World.  I have been informed I would be a bigger fan if I were to go in the winter when it is less crowded and much cooler. If it makes the kids less winy, then I probably would like it better!  It probably wouldn't make it less expensive though and it felt like everything was so overpriced, it was just annoying.

We did have a good time.  We got there early, before the crowds and the first few hours really were nice.  Unfortunately, we squandered the lovelier weather on the air conditioned, indoor exhibits!  The kids had fun.  They liked the rides and the animals.  The dolphin show was awesome, and the Shamu show was awful.  The rest of it was pretty good.  The heat and walking were not so good.  The hands on tide pool exhibits were a hit.  The walrus was very entertaining!  He was doing laps back and forth across his tank, but it was particularly entertaining because he would swim up to the panel people watched him through, and then flipped over and swam on his back on his return trip.

To sum up the trip in Joshua's words, "It was fun, although the Shamu show did kind of suck."

Selfie with my darlings!  

(Check out Callie, she's awesome!)

Rylee wanted a selfie with me too, and Joshua is trying to photobomb.

Can you see the Komodo Dragon in there?!

Selfie with the flamingos.

This was pretty neat and these guys were fun to watch.

That wall really is ice!  It is super cold, but if you leave your hand on it long enough, it will leave a print behind.

Callie, posing in the polar bear ice cave.  (No, this one isn't real ice!)

Checking out the big aquarium.

I didn't know some penguins liked the hot sun.

Rylee wanted to pose with the big turtle.

Callie preferred this turtle!

This part was fun for the kids. Delaney enjoyed driving the boat.

Dan got to go on the super fun ride while I got to hang out with the 2 little girls who were too scared to go on it.

Did I mention that the dolphin show was really really impressive.

I don't know how the performers feel about it, but I think it would be such a fun job!  Especially the guys who just dived over and over and over.  Spectacular!

Shamu show was a dud after the dolphins.  They just showed some video about "save the planet" on a big screen behind, and the whales did a couple tricks.  I would have really liked some sort of interaction with the audience from the trainers, but the whale just did some tricks, and that was all.

Petting starfish?!  How great is that?!

Rylee and Delaney are too cute!

Rylee was fascinated.

I would not pay $49 for this stuffed whale.  So Rylee asked if I would take a photo of her with it.  Yes, that I can do!

I love the sheer joy on her face here.  She was having so much fun!

The kid section was pretty great.  It was also too easy to lose kids in it!  Delaney and Rylee had a marvelous time while Dan took the 3 older kids on the fun/scary ride. 

Riding the teacups. Delaney got it spinning really fast!

It was nice to have rides the little ones could enjoy and they did!