Seaworld!!

We ended Kayla's and Owen's trip to California with a trip to Seaworld. I was SO excited because I have never been and really have been wanting to go. We had a great time. It wasn't crowded at all, the kids were great...it was just a super-fun day. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, the kids or the adults, but either way it was well worth the money!

We started off at the sea lions, and this one cracked me up because he/she (I don't know the difference!) was sitting on the bottom, just relaxing and watching everything that was going on.

Then we went to the sharks...which I think was Owen's favorite. Him and papa had been talking about them before they came, and he was SO excited to see them, and didn't understand why we wouldn't let him get in the water with them! Call me crazy, but even if he could swim I just didn't think it was the smartest idea...Morgan and Owen loved being able to get up close to the fish and touch the glass...there were some really awesome and beautiful fish in the different exhibits.

My favorite, of course, was the Shamu show. It was so amazing!! When I was little I always wanted to be a marine biologist, and after going to this show I had to ask myself why I didn't pursue it?!? But a funny story...before the show started, as those of you who have been there know, they were showing a movie/preview thing on the big screen in front of us. We were sitting on an aisle seat, watching the show, when the people around us are laughing and I think someone tapped Kayla on the shoulder. We look over, and Owen , who was standing in the aisle before the show started, decided he needed to pee and had pulled down his pants and was getting ready to go RIGHT THERE, in front of everyone, on the stairs where everyone walks. Kayla, of course, was super embarrassed and grabs him, and his pants, and bolts out the back way to take him to the bathroom. It was absolutely hilarious!! I'm just glad it wasn't Morgan:)
Morgan loved the stingrays, especially when they started splashing her! I thought she would be freaked out by them and wouldn't touch them, but she loved putting her hands in there and rubbing them as they swam by. We didn't feed them, because truthfully it freaked us out a little bit, but they were really neat to pet and watch.
They both loved watching the dolphins swim right in front of them, and again we had to explain to Owen that he couldn't just jump in and swim with them, even though he tried!!

Owen loved the Polar bear caves, but Morgan was a little freaked out by the growling sound effects that they had playing through them. She wouldn't go through them without a death grip on my hand!
Morgan's favorite movie right now is Happy Feet, so naturally her favorite exhibit was the penguins. She kept tap dancing like they do in the movie and wanted to know why they weren't dancing too!
I'm not sure how many times we were asked if Morgan and Owen were twins, and then when we said no they would usually ask if Kayla and I were twins! I used to get mad that people couldn't see that I was eight years older than her, but now it's starting to be not such a bad thing!!
I don't think we were in the car for more than 5 minutes before these two just passed out! It was a long day for all of us, and they both did so well. Morgan absolutely loved having her cousin out here and keeps asking for him. She even still calls her car seat "Owen's seat" and is waiting for him to come back and use it again!!

As a souvenir we got the kids matching Shamu jammies and slippers. They were hilarious together when we put them on them....and absolutely adorable. They really are best buds. I was worried how they would do since we don't get to see them very often, but they were great and I am so happy that Morgan has such a good friend, regardless of the distance.
~A perfect ending to a perfect day~

They FINALLY make it!

So FINALLY, after hours of headaches and frustration and tears and delays and everything else that went wrong, Kayla and Owen make to LA!! It was so nice to see them finally in California!! Their luggage had come hours before they did so I already had it loaded in the car, so we just got to hug and be glad they were safe and then jump in the car and head home. We get to the car, take off, start talking and everything is going well. We were all so excited that everything had worked out, me especially, that it wasn't until we were in the middle of no-where-land, out of cell service, at least 30 miles away from a gas station, that the gas light comes on and I realize we are going to run out of gas. Seriously, after the day we had had, it would have just been the icing on the cake! It's the middle of the night, we can't call anyone, the only cars we see are an occasional semi, and we just know that we are screwed. Nick is working in Inyokern, but I don't know if we're going to make it even to cell reception to call him. Kayla says we could start a small grass fire because his engine would be the one to respond, and even if they didn't have a tank of gas with them, at least they would know we were stranded and could get us help. By now we are laughing uncontrollably, because for me it was either that or cry. We somehow, after lots of prayers and luck, make it into Inyokern. I know that there is a gas station just past Nick's work, and it was a big down-hill, so we put it in neutral for as long as we can and coast to the gas station...only to find out that it doesn't pump gas all through the night! I had finally gotten ahold of Nick, and I'm somewhere between his station and Ridgecrest. I tell him I'm going to try and make it to Ridgecrest, but if he doesn't hear from me in a few minutes to come and find us, when out of nowhere a second gas station appears that I have never noticed before...and the pumps worked!! If it wasn't so nasty and covered in germs and who knows what else I would have kissed the pump, but I didn't, i just was very greatful...which I explained to the sheriff's officer who pulled in after us to make sure everything was OK! All in all, we got home extremely late, but we were safe and happy to be there, and the kids had a blast...starting early the next morning!

Even the kids were super excited that they finally made it!!

It wasn't my doing or my fault, the boy just loved Morgan's shoes!!

We got in some Rockband while they were here...go Owen!
Owen LOVED Morgan's 4-wheeler and was even gentleman enough to give his cousin a ride!
They kept zipping themselves up into the inside pocket of one of my suitcases...I don't know why but they were laughing and having a blast!

Santa Monica Pier

So I am WAY behind on my blogs and am trying to catch up...so this should be dated September 16th and not November 5th! Anyway, this is Morgan's first trip to the beach. Totally not planned, didn't have a swimsuit or anything, but after an absolutely HORRIBLE experience with the airline companies (which I won't go into because I would rant for about 2 hours and no one would want to read it!) I was stuck in LA for 10 hours with Morgan waiting for Kayla and Owen to get there. Instead of sitting at the airport, I decided to drive down to Santa Monica and take Morgan to the beach/pier. She absolutely LOVED it! She wanted in the water so bad (which is why in some pictures you'll see that I have a death-grip on her arm and the angle is weird because the camera is down by my side and I'm just snapping pictures and hoping she is in them!). Nick and I definitely need to plan a day trip when we can take her and spend the day and actually get in the water.

She loved the sand between her toes and loved to see her footprints and handprints as she walked...but loved it even more when the waves came up and got her wet and washed them all away!
So while we were playing in the waves, one of the seagulls came and stole her bag of chips~it was hilarious how mad she was when she saw it-and she was absolutely determined to get them back! She chased them all over, threw sand at them, and eventually got the bird to drop the bag-and she ran and got it before they could come back!!
This is the guilty seagull...if Morgan could have kicked him she would have!
Don't worry, I made her throw it away once she got it back!!
After the water and seagull fiasco, I decided we'd go walk to pier and ride some of the rides. Morgan had a blast...she was quiet upset that I wouldn't let her do more. I wasn't sure how I was going to do on the ferris wheel, but I made the sacrifice and did it for Morgan because I knew she would love it...which she did. I usually get really sick on rides like these, but thankfully this time I didn't! I think I was concentrating so hard on making Morgan sit and not letting her fall into the ocean below that I didn't have time to think about how my stomach was feeling!!
This is the view we had from the ride..absolutely beautiful!
Although the reason we ended up at the beach was horrible, we had a great time. Morgan had a permanent smile on her face, and I can't wait to go back again with Nick so we can all enjoy it for the entire day!

Morgan & my makeup...

So this is what happens when I leave my makeup within reach of Morgan (OK, it was on the floor in front of the mirror where I had been getting ready, but she can get it off the counter too!). She loves to watch me get ready and play with the makeup brushes, and apparently she's been watching closely enough to know that the mascara goes on the eyes! The only reason both eyes aren't done is because I noticed it was suspiciously quiet in the house, which almost always means she's into something she isn't supposed to be into, and I found her in my bedroom doing this! I had to laugh, she's such a ham about it and comes running to me with the mascara (knowing she was busted!!) and says, "look mommy...pretty eyes like you!" What could I do but laugh and take a picture?!?

Grandma's 83rd Birthday

August is a busy month for birthdays on the Young side...actually this was a September 3rd birthday, but close enough, right? We took grandma Pat to the steak house for dinner (delicious!) and then got some quality pictures after. She is such a ham...both of them actually! But Morgan really does love her Great Grandma...enough to do a flip in the restaurant as soon as she sees her!

A span of 81 years...beautiful isn't it? Happy Birthday Grandma Pat!