California fun for Spring Break

This year we decided to go on vacation to California for Spring Break. We made plans with Natalie and Dallas to go to Mission Beach area in San Diego. We decided to rent a house for the weekend. It turned out to be a great choice because splitting the cost made it affordable and we had four bedrooms, a kitchen, 3 bathrooms, and a washer and dryer. It was plenty of space for our two families.

We arrived in California on Wednesday night. We planned to head to Sea World on Thursday. It didn't open until 10 so we slept in (as long as the kids would let us anyway!) and took our time getting ready and eating breakfast. The house we rented was only a couple miles away so we decided to ride bikes/walk to avoid the parking fees.

Here's some pictures of the fun we had!

 Caleb loves rollercoasters. This one at Sea World didn't disappoint. It was fun!

It had been a long time since Brayden had fallen asleep in my arms. I cherished every moment of it!

We attempted pictures of the kids. Let's just say the kids weren't thrilled with that idea! Ha!

All in all it was a fun day at Sea World!

The next day we decided to visit the USS Midway for a tour. It was really neat but the kids got restless quick. Maybe someday I can return without kids and really enjoy looking around and listening to all the stories. We lost Brooklyn for about 15 minutes while we were there and it really was scary. Gratefully when we found her, she was sad but ok. It just wasn't the best place to take little kids. Here's a couple pictures from while we were there.

After the Midway we went back to the house and gave the little ones naps. We woke them up early and headed for Mission Beach. Our kids were so excited to finally be at the beach!

Surprisingly the kids all got in the water despite it being cold. They all loved it...

...except Brooklyn!

 No worries though! She loved playing in the sand!

Saturday we spent the entire day riding bikes around the beach and playing at the beach again. Stephanie and Dave and their kids joined us and that was super fun. 

Sunday we had to be out of the house by 10 so we got packed up and then drove up to see San Diego temple. It's a beautiful temple and we enjoyed walking around the temple grounds and taking a few pictures. 

After that we found a ward to attend Sacrament meeting, ate lunch at a park, and drove home. I think it was a very successful trip. Many great memories were made and everyone had a fun time!

Guess who turned 7?

This handsome boy!!!

Look how he's grown over the years...

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

 FOUR!

FIVE!

 SIX!

SEVEN!!!!!

 Oh, how I love this boy! He brings a lot of joy and craziness to our home. I am so grateful Heavenly Father has allowed him to stay on this earth so I can spend time with him each and every day!

Happy Birthday Kyson!!!

Brooklyn turns THREE

Our little princess turned three years old Sunday! I was disappointed that her birthday landed on the one Sunday a month that Jared has Air Guard duty so he has to go down to base for most of the day. It's always a tough day for me to get all the kids to church on my own and I'm very emotionally and mentally drained afterward. Gratefully Jared was able to leave a little early and was home by 1:30. When Brooklyn woke up from her nap, we did some fun birthday activities.

First, as is tradition in our family, I hid her presents all over the house and she had to find them and open them. Of course the boys loved helping her look for her presents and watching her open them. 

Brayden's favorite part was all the wrapping paper everywhere!!!

Brooklyn got some fun new toys! We gave her a little art table, some new kitchen supplies, a play grill, beach toys, and a book and coloring book. She had so much fun opening it all!

Soon after opening gifts, Great Grandpa Gunnell came by to wish Brooklyn a happy birthday. Here she is showing off all her new toys.

Brayden wanted in on all the fun too!

And Kyson decided to show off his impressive reading skills while Grandpa was here.

After Grandpa left we made dinner. I tried to think of something Brooklyn would love so I made waffles. She likes hers with just syrup and the rest of us had them with whip cream and strawberries...yum!

Jared made some cookies to have with ice cream and while he was finishing that, we all went outside to play and enjoy the beautiful weather. 

Brooklyn has always LOVED to swing so I thought Id push her on the swing for a while.

She never tires of it and would have been sad to get off if it weren't for the promise of cookies and ice cream!

Once we finished our dessert, we blew up some balloons and let the kids play around for a little while. Soon, it was time for bed, and the birthday fun came to an end.

The next day, I decided to take Brooklyn with one of her good friends, Kendall to the trampoline park (Krazy Air) that is by our house. They had a lot of fun together.

Such cute friends!

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!!!