Day 4

The boys hanging out by the flamingos at Sea World.

The boys getting ready to watch Sesame Street in 4 D. Peter refused to wear the glasses.

Seals basking in the sun.


More flamingos
My favorite..sea turtles!

Love this pic!

more turtles.....

Octopus anyone??

Tom touching the star fish.

The boys checking out the star fish.




Peter taking a break from the animals to snack on a juicy California orange!
Joe eating his juicy orange.


This dolphin kept getting us ALL WET!
Brian and Joe attempting to pet the dolphin. The dolphin in return gave Joe a nice gift of getting his shirt all wet.

The seal show



This bird watched us eat our lunch VERY intently.

The boys checking out the tree house inside the Sesame Street play area.

Jumping in the bounce house.

SHAMU!!





SHARKS!

Peter's frightful look in front of the shark window.

Tom being SILLY with 3 hats.

Joe and I on an ELMO ride.

Monday January 24^th, 2011

Sea World

Life is SO much better when one has gotten a good nights sleep! 9 hours for me! I can’t tell you the last time I have slept that long!

We enjoyed our breakfast up in the club room. The boys were the only kids up there; luckily there were really good. One lady came up to us and commented on how well behaved they are.

All three guys sat at a table overlooking the harbor eating their oatmeal, yogurt, and lucky charms. Discussing how old Peter will be when Tom and Joe are 5 and so forth….very cute.

Then it was down to the lobby to purchase our Sea World Tickets!

We had SO MUCH fun at Sea World! The boys enjoyed watching a Sesame Street movie in 4D where water came shooting out at us, chairs vibrated and bubbles fell from the sky. Tom and Joe were digging it until they got wet….Tom said, “I’m never going to one of these things again…getting me all wet…now I am going to have to change my clothes.”

The Sea Turtles were awesome, but I am bias because I love turtles! Brian got some great pics of them sunning themselves on the rock.

The boys were able to pet the star fish, sting ray, and get really close to the dolphins. It was quite amusing b/c the dolphins would come right up to you and spit water at you or splash you with their tales. Joe will tell you that the dolphin got his “arm ALL wet.”

After that, we saw the sea lion show, which the boys also enjoyed. Just go ahead and ask Peter to make the seal noise “HAAAAAAAAAAAARC” pretty entertaining.

We sat and ate our lunch with a bunch of sea gulls waiting to eat our left overs.

After lunch, the boys went to Sesame Street play area, where they climbed this giant tree house like thing. They had a blast and probably could have played in there a lot longer but off to the Shamu show we went to get some good seats.

Killer whales are amazingly large creatures! The show was filled with jumps and flips in the air to get us all wet! By now, the boys were done with getting all wet so luckily the whales didn’t splash as high as we were sitting. Brian also took some great pictures of these awesome animals.

The one exhibit that Peter wanted to see was the shark encounter. He kept asking while were in there if the sharks were going to bite him…..legitimate question, I guess.

Since we had an hour before the park closed the boys wanted to go on some Sesame Street rides….so I got to ride the Elmo wheel 3 times while the boys each took their turn…..I guess that will leave Brian with some of the rides at DisneylandJ

For dinner, we ate at a place called Pizza Nova! I had spotted it on the way home from dinner last night and thought it looked like a fun place. It was delicious!! The boys ordered mac’n cheese and Brian had a liguine dish and I had a pizza! Yummy!

Back to the Hotel around 7pm and boys in bed by 7:30pm….time for a bath and to get caught up on our adventures!

Day 3

Brian fix'n the boys lunch out on the patio.


Tom enjoying time at the pool!


View from our hotel room

Sunday Janurary 23^rd

Church, swim, Depart for San Diego

On Sunday we woke up ate some breakfast and then we were off to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert. Mass was at 9:30, so we left around 9 and got there around 9:26 and the place was packed!! There were police directing traffic in and out and by the time we entered the church there was no where to sit besides way off to the side where we couldn’t see the alter at all. The boys were pretty good, except for the fact that we didn’t bring Joe’s favorite blankie and he whined and cried about it the whole time.

After mass we stopped off at the local Walgreen’s, that’s right Nick and Jess, in honor of you, I bought some nail polish since I had forgot to pack my own before leavingJ

Then is was back to Dee and Tom’s place for some mean egg mcmuffin sandwiches while watching the golfer’s out on the patio. It is so funny, the boys will be talking loud and once they spot a golf cart they say “ we need to be really quiet so the golfers can concentrate. When the golfer hits the ball in the water, then they shout “Hey Dad, did you see that ball…it landed right into the water!”

After a yummy breakfast and visiting with the neighbor Joan, we decided to go for a swim! The boys really enjoy being in the water and really like the hot tub. Another funny side note, Peter is now calling the pool a “cold tub.”

Once the boys looked like a bunch of raisins, it was back to the house for a quick shower and change. I quick did a load of laundry and then we packed up the cool mini-van to head to San Diego before the sun set.

It was a good idea. The boys fell asleep after 2 minutes in the car and slept for the 2 hour drive to San Diego. Brian and I had a nice and peaceful drive filled with ups and downs due to the mountainous region. We also enjoyed munchin’ on a bag of pistachios.

Thanks to our Tom Tom we were able to reach our Hotel destination "The Sheraton" in Harbor Island. It is right next to the airport and the harbor so the boys are loving watching the planes take off and seeing all the hundreds of boats docked in the bay.

Bellmen are AWESOME! They unload your car and take all the stuff up to your room and unload it……not needed prior to having kids, but is the coolest thing ever now!

For dinner we headed to a place called Miguels a Mexican restaurant in Port Loma. The boys seemed to like it and we did as well. Margaritas and food both tasted very good after a long day.

Back to the hotel we went to check out the very large pool and then go to bed. Take note that both Brian and I were in bed before 10pm!......this NEVER happens!!

Day 2 of our family vacation in California

Saturday January 22^nd, 2011

Joshua Tree National Park

Saturday we woke up to a bright blue sky and great scenery of beautiful flowers and palm trees. Breakfast consisted of frozen waffles and honey nut cheerios…the boys’ favorites!

We decided to head up to Joshua Tree National Park to see the Joshua Tree, of course. It was about an hour drive from Palm Springs so we stopped and grabbed some lunch to eat in the park. On our way, we had noticed these small trees that looked like palm trees, but were half the size. I had asked Brian, what he thought those trees were and he replied…those are probably Joshua trees. My reply ….if they are, I am going to be slightly disappointed! After stopping at the visitor center to pick up a map and plan our adventures, we had opened the map and behold there was a picture of the Joshua Tree….Indeed it was the tree we had seen prior!

Upon entering the park, Brian stopped along side the road to take a picture of these GIANT ROCKS. He then proceeded to tell the boys that one day they were going to appreciate the picture he was taking of the ROCKS for a possible school project or needing it for future reference. Immediately, Joe replied, “No, Dad I will never thank you for taking a picture of rocks!”

The boys were getting hungry so we made a stop where there was another GIANT ROCK that people were climbing. We sat and ate our Subway sandwiches while watching the rock climbers…while, I stood on the look out for any wild animals to attack. I always get nervous in natural environments and I wish I didn’t so I could enjoy myself a little more. So after lunch, Joe went and climbed a rock and said, “Hey dad, look at me. I am a professional rock climber!” It just so happened that a rock climber had jogged past Joe when he made that comment and replied, “That’s AWESOME and someday you too could make $15,000 dollars a year!”

We piled in the Van again and headed to a trail, recommended by a park ranger. She said it was super family friendly….I was quite skeptical. The boys kept reassuring me that everything was going to be FINE. Come on mom, you can do it.!

We all completed the 1mile hike through the rocky trail and didn’t get eaten alive by any bobcats, cougars, or mountain goats. Before leaving the park, Brian made one more stop up to a look out point where the wind almost blew the boys right over!! They said, “That’s it were are going back to the car!”

It was another hour drive home, where the boys took a short nap. We stopped at the grocery store for some dinner items and then home to swim before it got dark. Brian had cooked up a mean hamburger with cheese, bacon and cooked onions. He is still raving about it today.

After dinner, we finished watching Beauty and the Beast as a family…Peter fell asleep on my lap and then it was time for the boys to go to bed.

The rest of the night consisted of Brian reading the newspaper from the last 2 weeks and myself documenting our family outings for ya’ll.

Brian's favorite pic of Joe...he is playing outside Brian's Aunt and Uncles house.
The 3 chumps in Brian's Aunt and Uncle's courtyard.
The view from their kitchen window....how dreamy.
On the rode to Joshua Tree National Park and approaching windmill city.
The infamous picture of the ROCKS!
Windmill City!
The Joshua Tree!
Joe posing with the Joshua Tree.
Joe and Tom on top of a giant rock.
Brain's GQ pose
The 3 Amigos on top of a rock....not sure what their thinking about???
Here they are leading the way on our family hike.
Posing with mamma bear
One of Brian's artistic pics of the park
Brian and Tom out for swim after a long day in the National Park.
Brian with Joe relaxing after a long day.
The boys looking to see where the golf ball goes.....
The boys discovered they LOVE the HOT TUB!!
Tom and Joe racing each other to the end of the pool:)

Family Trip to California

Friday January 21^st, 2011

The unthinkable….

The unthinkable happened to me this morning as I was getting the boys ready for preschool and running errands. After coming home, I was going to grab some laundry in my bathroom and happened to glance at myself in the mirror…..I paused saying to myself “you look horrible!” I then take a closer look at myself in the mirror and realized…….NO MAKEUP!! YIKES! Yes, that’s right, in all my years of wearing makeup, I have NEVER left the house without it! So yes, the UNTHINKABLE happened today!

After cleaning and packing some more, it was time to pick up the boys from preschool. It was now 12pm and Brian was to be home any minute. I knew we still had a TON of things to do…feed the boys lunch, change clothes, along with last minute packing and cleaning.

Brian’s parents showed up around 1pm, causing some chaos in the house. When grandpa Vnak comes over he always gets the boys going. By 1:30pm, everyone was changed & fed; the garbage emptied and van loaded for departure.

Jim and Diane up front, Tom, Joe and Peter in the middle and Brian and I in the back with all the luggage. We love our Honda Odyssey! Minivans are AWESOME!!

We arrived at the airport a wee bit after 2pm. The boys were shelled shocked by security and the whole ordeal of checking bags and luggage. I’m so thankful that I had talked to them prior regarding security and what it entailed. At first, Peter was reluctant to take off his shoes and coat almost to the point of crying until I bribed him by saying, “Peter, if you are a good boy and take your shoes and coat off and walk through security, I’ll let you pick out a treat from your backpack!” It was a done deal. He was sweet as pie and very good going through security, that when we collecting our items out of the bins he was trying to rummage through his back pack for a treat. “Peter, we have to get our shoes back on and get out of everyone’s way.” Peter- “No, I want my treat!”

Once we had obtained all of our possessions again and put our shoes back on, we headed to gate H3. On the way, Tom is rolling a piece of carry-on luggage. As he is pulling the luggage, he exclaims in a exhausting tone “Uh, I am SO glad we made it through security.” Brian and I both just laughed.

The next hour consisted of bathroom trips, checking out the planes and eating lots of candy!!

When it was time to board the plane, the boys were really excited!! As we were walking down the aisle, all the older folks heading to Palm Springs were drooling over the boys. “Oh my, your boys are so cute! Are they triplets? Oh twins and a bonus! They are just adorable.”

Luckily, we were seated all in one row with an extra seat! It was so cute to see the boys’ react and try to put their seatbelts on. When we took off into the air, Tom exclaimed, “We can see the whole WORLD!” Everyone around us let out a good chuckle.

After a while in the sky, the boys wanted to know how much longer until we get to Auntie Dee’s house. Our reply was always, a long time! Sticker books and watching a DVD of Thomas and Friends helped Tom and Joe pass some time, while Peter fell asleep on Brian making his buttocks go completely numb!

After we landed, we had to claim our luggage and car seat and obtain our high-class rental van- the Dodge Caravan Baby! Brian’s Aunt also had her friend’s, meet us at the Airport to give us 2 car seats, life vests for the boys, and a stroller. Peggy also drove with us to help us find Dee and Tom’s house. We are extremely grateful to them for meeting us and for letting us borrow their stuff!! THANK YOU!!

Dee’s neighbor, Joan, had gone grocery shopping for us. She bought all the boys favorites…hot dogs, blueberries, OJ with no pulp, chocolate milk, and honey nut cheerios. Once we had arrived, she called and asked to bring dessert over…Vanilla ice cream!!! The boys’ favorite! THANKS JOAN!

Since the boys didn’t get naps, it was time for pajamas and off to bed!

Brian and I sat around paralyzed after the days events, talked about what to do on Saturday and then headed to bed ourselves.

Tom and Joe investigating
Checking out the guys loading the luggage and filling the plane up with fuel.
Tom and Joe ready for take off.....and Peter below enjoying his cotton candy bubble gum.