san diego childrens' discovery museum

A few weeks ago the Dahlquists invited us to join them at the childrens' museum in Escondido.  It was really cute, and the boys had a lot of fun.  It's a smaller museum, but it's great because it's one big room that kids can't get lost in.  And they can't run away.  : )  Double bonus.  There was so much for the kids to do they kept quite busy and were sad to leave.

other daily activities

Oftentimes I get a collection of single pictures on my phone and camera that don't really end up in a post by themselves, so enjoy this conglomerate of little photos.  : )

I love that these little boys love books.

other birthday-weekend activities

My family was here for a few days, and we tried to fit in as many San Diego sights as we could.  One afternoon we drove over to the temple and to see the seals in La Jolla.  Both sights were just beautiful.  : )

Happy Birthday, Mason!

August, August, August.  How did you get here so fast?  Somebody told my little baby that he could grow up and turn a whole year old.  That somebody wasn't me.  I can't believe how fast this last year has gone.  We've been pretty busy, but Mason has grown up way too fast.  But he has turned one year old, and we say, Happy birthday, sweet little Mason.  We sure love you a whole bunch.  At one year old, Mason is the sweetest little guy you've ever met.  He's so happy and funny.  He loves walking around and following Graham wherever he goes.  Mason is very curious, and very brave.  And strong too.  He loves to eat.  And he'll eat anything.  His favorite food is anything with spaghetti sauce.  Pasta and tomato-based soups are his favorite.  He loves playing with cars and trains, and would rather be outside than inside, mostly, I think, to eat rocks.  : )  Mason likes to play with balls, and has learned to kick soccer and footballs.  It's too cute.  He definitely lets us know when he's upset, but he also has the greatest laugh and the cutest dimples.  Happy Birthday, Mason.  We love you so much, and are so grateful that you are in our family.  We can't imagine our lives without you.

Mason's birth August 2012

Mason's big day

 

Mason had quite a big day on his little birthday.  We think he had a good time; we sure enjoyed our day with him!  We did our birthday festivities a little backwards because of the plans for the evening.  We let him see his big present right when he woke up, and he loves it.  We filled his little truck with presents, and made a balloon path to his toys.  

summer activities

There were a few extra summer activities we did that were part of our ward summer calendar.  We picked strawberries in Escondido, and made jam with what the boys didn't eat.  I hear it was yummy.  : )  We also went to Lake Miramar to feed the ducks.  When we go to Idaho Falls, we usually take the boys to feed the ducks, so when I told Graham we were going to go feed the ducks, he kept insisting that Papa was going to be there.  I think he was a little disappointed when we didn't feed the ducks with Papa.

zoo days

Not only does San Diego have one really cool, humongous zoo, it has a second equally cool, rather vast Safari park.  We've been lucky enough to make lots of trips to both zoos so far.  We sprung for a zoo pass, which has been great.  We first ventured to the San Diego Zoo with our friends Emilee, Wes, and Olive from Arizona!  We were so glad to see them.  It's good to have great friends to visit with, and was something we especially needed, since we've been mostly just introducing ourselves over and over again instead of having any real conversations.  : )  But we also went to the zoo with Jake and Kelli when they were here, which was just as awesome.  I ventured to the Safari park with the boys one day while Matt was sleeping after a night shift, and anther afternoon he was able to come with us to the Safari Park.  The good thing about having a pass to the zoo is we don't have to see the whole thing each time, which is perfect for little tiny kids who tire easily.

family visitors

One of the perks of living in such a nice vacation destination is we are getting people who come visit!  Lucky for us, we got to see Jake and Kelli last week, and they brought their newest little cutie, Hadley.  My, is she cute.  We tried to get a picture of all the kids, and this is what we got.  : )  At least it's documented that the cousins were actually together.