Beach Day!

We hopped in the van, packed a lunch, grabbed the sunscreen, towels, and beach toys and headed to the beach! I was especially excited to see Maggie's reaction to the beach the second time. Not mention soaking up some sunshine myself.   Rachel, of course, headed straight for the water. Maggie on the other hand decided a peanut butter and jelly sandwich sounded like a good idea. Sand and I have a love hate relationship... one minute its caressing your toes and the next it's up your nose and in your mouth... Maggie didn't seem to mind though...

Look Mom, it got stuck between my toes too!

The Beach Queen

Oh the hours of fun this provided...

I really had to keep my eye on this little girl. I couldn't believe how brave she was! Every time the water receded, she went with it. She soon found out that it came back and could knock her off her feet. 

After getting knocked down by a big wave, a PP&J hit the spot...

She cracks me up with that smile! It's her "thing" these days. 

I think we've been reading too many Fancy Nancy books...

Haha! This was the only shot of Maggie laying in the sand I was able to get. She was too quick getting up! Still, I think it's hiliarious. That warm sand sure did feel good though...

Caitlin and Rachel had a good time playing with the sand. Rachel especially enjoyed getting buried in it!

Sand and chips- its a delicacy! haha!

Back to the ocean she goes!

Rachel's expressions revealed sheer joy. It was written all over her face...

Mommy and Maggie   

After about an hour of eating and playing on the beach, Maggie finally gives the water a chance.

I don't know about this Mom. It's highly suspicious moving back and forth like that...

With Caitlin's help Maggie gave the water a fair chance. 

Can't you just tell by looking at this picture that Caitlin is going to be an amazing Mommy one day?

Seriously, she looks like a natural...

And it worked!    

You were right Mom! This is fantastic!

She is beyond thrilled!

There's no taking her away from the water now, she's hooked...

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!! I love the beach!!!

Every time the wave came in she'd happily exclaim, "Again, Again!"

And it always came back again! 

It must have been pure magic to Maggie. If only Mommy had that "again" magic that the waves have! 

If I remember correctly we stayed at the beach for three and a half hours, and I still had to drag the little turkeys away from the water...

Wooo, there's a big one...

Free fun is music to my hears! It always turns out to be one of the biggest hits...

Goodbye Pacific Ocean! We'll be back for your sandy, salty, blue, sunshiny goodness in a few days!

SeaWorld San Diego

I dare say SeaWorld was my favorite outing during our trip. The girls and I loved it! You may or may not already know this about me but my one of my many wildlife dream jobs is to become a dolphin trainer.  People laugh, but I'm being completely serious. After all I did major in Wildlife in college and couldn't have found a better fit for me. So you know I'm going to like SeaWorld! The interactions and training possible with marine mammals is incredible. 
We headed to the Shamu show first and couldn't help but take a look underwater before finding a good seat. The girls were blown away...

Waiting for the Shamu show to start...

More than ever Rachel has begun the Miss Independent phase lately. With everything buckling herself in to pouring her own cup of milk to getting into SeaWorld all by herself...

She had no idea she wasn't holding a real ticket. Ah that girl, she is growing up way too fast...

Say howdy to Shamu!!!

Maggie was quite impressed...

So was I! Look at those gorgeous creatures!

This was the highlight of my day... getting to touch a dolphin! With the crowds I felt lucky that all three had the opportunity to touch one! Rachel didn't want to leave and neither did I. 

The girls loved petting the baby sting-ray! He sure made a big splash!

Checking out dude Crush!

The Payne girls at the turtle tank...

Gift shops... oh those darn gift shops! They were everywhere.

I'll take all the penguins Mom...

The Sea Lion show was a big hit! My two crazy kids are actually being still! 

Well, I thought they were being still. No such luck with Miss Mags. In fact she didn't mind getting comfortable with anyone in the stands...

Checking out the polar bear and beluga whales...

We couldn't leave the park without riding a few rides could we? 

Can you tell I was having a good day? It was a blast. I have got to take Tyler when he gets home.

Thank Goodness! A place to let the kids run wild...

And apparently the Mommies as well... Climbing out of that sucker was a bit of a doozie.

No need to worry, I'm in good hands...

Oh Maggie, you make me laugh so hard! 

You wouldn't believe just how hard she is hugging Shamu...

Have we seen it all? Is there anything else you want to do?

Remind me to get the group shot as you're arriving not as you're leaving. 

Despite having incredibly hungry and tired kiddos, the picture turned out decent. 

I miss SeaWorld. I think we'll have to check on the San Antonio one soon.

Aunt Tricia- The Birthday Girl

Not only is July the perfect time to schedule a vacation from Texas, it is also BIRTHDAY MONTH! Birthdays are a big deal for me. I celebrate and celebrate and celebrate some more, and I absolutely love to make them special for my little girls. After Tyler and I got married, I kidded and said that everyone deserves a whole birthday week. Tyler wasn't sold at first, but I convinced him with my amazing convincing skills. ha-ha! Anyway, it was the perfect time to head to San Diego because not only is it my birthday month, but it's Tricia's too! So we went ahead and celebrated two weeks in a row. ;)
Tricia wanted her birthday to start out with a run on the beach. So we woke up super early and headed to the coast for a beautiful, breezy 5 mile run. My Grandpa Barrow jokes and says that the weather in San Diego is so boring. Who'd ever want to live in a place with boring weather?  That would be me. He's right- it is boring. Every single day is perfect. I'll take boring, thank you.

Next up on the agenda was going to the most enchanting temple in the world- in my opinion anyway. Don't ask me why there's an annoying blurry spot in the lower right hand corner- I have no idea. Dumb thing.

Now this is an unusual shot... How did I ever manage to get a shot of the temple grounds without anyone standing in it? I tell you what, the place is always packed with people, brides, wedding parties, and tourists. It is insane!

The temple grounds are lovely, don't ya think?

There we are!!! Golly, that temple is beautiful. I had a small picture of the San Diego temple in my room when I was a little girl that stayed with me all through high school. It was were I wanted to marry my prince charming. 

Turns out, I got married in the Houston Temple instead... I like it better that way. After all, it is deep in the heart of Texas.

The three of us after the session... Look, we even have that after-temple glow... I love the temple and I love birthdays!

After the Temple we headed to Panera Bread for lunch. Have ya'll ever been there? Boy is it top notch! I've been craving it for weeks! After lunch we went home to check up all everyone. And thanks to Cody, everyone was still alive. He even changed a poopy diaper! Bless that boy! 

And the celebrating didn't stop there. Tricia picked a steak dinner for her birthday which was followed by delicious cupcakes. 

Tricia was kind enough to let Rachel help her blow out the candle. 

Rachel LOVES blowing out the candles.

hmmmm... this looks interesting, I think I'll lick it and see...

ooooooo, it IS good! I knew it!

Maggie definitely approves of birthdays. 

Happy Birthday Aunt Tricia dear!