Date with my little man.

Taking advantage of L being at school & getting some one-on-one time with my bear.

Turtles.

Strolling through the zoo today I stumbled upon some darling turtles.

Wild Lights.

Our zoo had a light display this year.  It was a fun little outing with the whole Birt clan.

Thank you Hanna for designing these awesome REI raincoats!  We LOVE them!   

M & N 

K & Lai 

Reindeer!  

Birt 5

Seattle memories with Denver girls.

Holly & I roomies in college.  We hadn't seen each other in a decade.  In September 2011 we stayed with their family, vacationing in Denver.  This year she brought her girls out to Seattle to stay with us.

It was a special time touring our lovely city with some really sweet girls by our side.  The kids were such troopers as we saw as much as we could in a mere 4 days.

Zoo

Ferry ride 

Docking

Beach time where we found 2 seal pups! 

Troll

Kerry Park

Rachel the pig, at Pike Place

Matchy mamas - at the Locks...

The kids got along so well.  It was fabulous to get some good girl time in.  Thank you for making the big trek up here, Hol!  We love and miss you!!!

2 years old!

If you're reading this blog, chances are you know what a cuddly, sweet, tough, loud, kind-hearted, solid, lovey, teddy bear our son is.  Most of my girlfriends call him their boyfriend.  He's a mama's boy that can hold his own.  He loves reading, running, copying his sister, eating, singing Jesus songs, swinging, trucks & our mailman.  Following the traumatic illnesses of earlier this month we were especially grateful to have our healthy little man back.  For L's 2nd b-day we visited the zoo & fed the giraffes.  Ax also wanted to spend his special day at the zoo.  We fed the penguins & birds, & rode the carousel.

feeding penguins

feeding birds 

White wolf just above shoulder.  

picnic lunch.  

our little b-day geek.  

Evening at Edmonds beach.

First visit of the year.  

L ran up to this store ooo-ing and awww-ing at the window decorations of this candy shop that was closed at the time.  The owner was walking by, went inside & came out with special treats for all.  "Anyone that appreciates the window display that much deserves a free treat!"  What a fun way to end a special family day.  We LOVE Nama's!!!  

Zoo day.

We met up with a friend of mine for a loooooooong over-due play date.  Kelly & I worked together for many years, we've since both quit to be SAHM's.  It was so special to get to meet her kids.  Her eldest, was such a joy to hang out with & I'm in love with her twins. (I'm pretty sure I'm in love with all twins...) but hers are especially sweet.  :)

It was a great outing & we'll definitely have to do it again soon!  Thanks Kelly for such a great morning!

This isn't this however, it's pretty amazing that the king (& queen) of the jungle are about 3 feet away from my little girl... 

San Diego.

Just about every rainy day over the last year I heard Jason grumble under his breath... "We're moving to San Diego."  Well, that won't happen any time soon however, we did sneak-in a quick trip.  We bought a 5-day parks pass giving us the freedom to go to SeaWorld, the famous SD zoo, & the SD zoo's safari park.  We saw a LOT of animals, ate at many Triple-D hot spots & enjoyed our time away.

Jason's cousin, Alli & daughter Addi joined us for one of our visits to SeaWorld.  They drove 2.5 HOURS (one-way!) to spend time with us.  Isn't that AMAZING!?!  It was wonderful to see them, Addi is growing into such a little lady.  We were so blessed to have them by our side.  I'm pretty sure they need to move to Seattle ASAP!  :)

SeaWorld:

Day 2 @ SW (Jason's b-day): 

Tower ride - checking out the construction site

DOLPHINS!!!!
(Notice the new bling for my Curious George?)   

Gondola 

What the heck - go crazy, get WET!!!  This was such a perfect way to end the hot day at the park...

All cooled off.  

I've been to SeaWorld many times (always leaving committing to become a whale trainer...) It was sad to see that trainers are no longer allowed to swim with Shamu, (now the Shamu show is pretty lame).  But, it was nice to see the dolphin show had been updated & that they are creating a new Manta viewing & ride...  Hopefully they will also finally figure out how to create shade in that park.  All in all, I still like it & it was fun seeing both kids so engaged in all the sea life around us.  

Zoo:

When Ax was naughty on the trip, Jason would ask him if he wanted to go live with the gorillas.  

small hippo 

the world famous pandas

L loves flamingo's - they are always a must see...

L made us take a pic of her in every one of these things around the zoo & sitting on every animal statue...
I got to the point that I would hold up the camera case & make the pretend click noise... "okay, looks great!"

This however, is not a statue.  Isn't he amazing?  

I have a crush... (on the koala & the peeps behind him...)  

Safari Park:

Ocean Beach:

OB pier

 Coronado Island:

Ice cream at Moo Time.
This is actually L's first ever ice cream on a cone! 

Balboa Park:

This is me the last time we visited Balboa.  Large & in charge with Lai.
(Makes me nauseous just looking at this pic)

2 kids later, our fam of 4 is complete.  

Judge all you want (auntie A :) ) but, this leash is awesome!  Strong-willed 1.5 yo + falling often + wandering off + doesn't like to hold hands = everyone's happy when he's wearing the monkey.  

The trees in SD are so beautiful.  

California Tower (where a princess definitely lives.)

The Old Globe theater 

This place is magical at dusk.
Our entire family loved roaming the park on this warm evening taking in the scenery.  

La Jolla:

Speaking of magical... And I quote, "O! beautiful, gorgeous, wish you were here!" 

Can you find the 3 seals?  

LegoLAME:

I don't regret going because now we know we'd never go back.  Compared to places like Disneyland & SeaWorld this place is dirty, run down and not worth half the price.  

L was only allowed to do a handful of rides - some of which were closed for maintenance.  
So, we lied & said she was 4 so that she could go on this one.

Gaslamp district:

I should have gone to this SALON instead of Legoland.  

To get my hair done by INGA herself!!!  Childhood besties.  It was beyond fabulous catching up with this girl even though she was with a client.  I surprised her hours before our plane departed.
Her new salon is amazing - congrats to you Inga-bear!!!
If you live in the SD area - you must get pampered here & tell her that Karlee sent ya.  

After flying to Anaheim, Austin, Lincoln, Santa Barbara, Denver & San Diego in the last year, this was the only vacation we did as a complete family & without anyone else.  It was a special way to wrap up a long year.  & I'm happy to report there are no trips in the works for awhile.  I for one am looking forward to staying local for awhile (bet ya never thought you'd hear me say that!) & completing some home projects that have been whirling around in my head.