The End and The Beginning

Summer vacation has come to an end and a new school year has begun. Needless to say I am super behind! I had some issues with blogger and couldn't log in but I've finally resolved it. So, let's pick up with the end of Ira's Kindergarten year!

I never thought I would be one to get emotional on the last day of school. I can't really put into words what I felt as I walked onto the campus to pick up Ira. Something about the din of children, parents, teachers and staff all calling out their good-byes really struck a chord with me. Seeing the office staff waving to a bus full of students as the bus driver honked his horn did it for me. The tears started coming. All I can say is I am grateful for sunglasses!

A few days earlier my son's teacher surprised me with the cutest gift. I haven't taken a picture of it, but she painted a large terra cotta pot. The pot is decorated with ladybugs created by the red thumb prints of the children in the class. SO thoughtful!

And here is Ira with her on that last day:
Ira is so cute. Can't you tell how much he loved her just from this one picture? It cracks me up every time I look at it!

Ira also gave his teacher a gift. I had him write her a note and included some chocolate chip cookies, permanent markers, and sharpened pencils. It was hard for Ira to grasp that he was not returning to Mrs. L's class in the fall (he didn't seem to catch on until a few weeks before starting the new school year).

Here's his little note:


And I made a decorated soap dispenser. I saw an idea for something similar on a blog and decided to try making one. First, I bought some soap from the Dollar Tree and then applied some cute stickers I found at Michael's. I finished it off with a few coats of Modge Podge and some twine and a little charm at the top. Now Ira's teacher can have her kindergartners wash their hands in style!


I'm grateful that Ira's first year of school was so positive and I'm grateful for teachers, like Mrs. L, who are committed to providing a fun learning environment for her students.

Memorial Day Fun

I actually wrote a post on Memorial Day some time ago, but somehow the file didn't save. I was a bit deflated by that and haven't written a post since. I guess I have finally gotten over it and figure it is time to get back to business before there is too much to post! Mark was off for Memorial Day so we decided to drive down to visit my sister and her husband and also visit the nearby Yucaipa Regional Park.

I thought I had seen all there was to see in Yucaipa. My grandmother lived there while I was growing up and we would visit almost monthly. My midwife for my second child also lived out there and I would drive down at least once a month for my appointments. So imagine my surprise when I saw a post on a friend's blog about Yucaipa Regional Park. I had NO idea it was out there. If I did, I would have been a frequent visitor!

The kids loved the water area. Ira and Emma splashed and had fun while Sean stayed on the sandy "beach" to dig (so far, he is not a water fan, but we hope to change that!). I was glad that even my mom was able to enjoy watching the kids from her own shaded spot in the grassy area.

Plus, the playgrounds are incredible. We are definitely planning on heading back to this fun park! :)

Here's Daddy with the little Seanster:

Isn't he the cutest?

I love Emma's cute sunglasses:

But I also have to add this picture of my blue-eyed girl!

Ira being a ham:

And here, splashing in the water:

Sean with my Mom:

Sean LOVED the little rock wall:

While Emma enjoyed the BIG one!Every once in a while I'll throw in a picture of me to prove I was there. :)

Hats on Parade

Evidently it is a kindergarten tradition at Ira's school to have a hat parade near the end of the school year. I thought it was a nice send off and not nearly as corny as a "kindergarten graduation" (sorry if I offended anyone, but really, kindergarten graduation?).

Ira was thrilled with this project, but to be honest, I was done with projects. I let him have his way with the red sand he found in the craft bin and printed some pictures of ... wait for it ... BAKUGAN, of course! (Although, since my in-laws baby-sat for us last Tuesday he has been talking all about Avatar the Last Airbender ?? Could this spell the end of his Bakugan obsession? And having never seen the show, should I hope that this will be his Bakugan replacement?)

While I muse over these questions, I'll let you enjoy Ira in all his Bakugan hat glory:


Here's a nice back view:

And one last shout out to my baby boy, having survived his first year of public school!

Really, my heart is so full of thanks for his amazing kindergarten teacher. She worked miracles with her class and with this particular boy. No person should be locked up with 32 five year olds, but she is no ordinary person! And Ira--he has come such a long way. We couldn't be happier or more proud of his accomplishments this year!

When I Woke Up This Morning...

Ira had already gone outside for a little adventuring before breakfast and school. He came rushing in to exclaim, "There are a hundred million bees in our apple tree!" Well, if you know Ira you know he can be a bit theatrical (understatement of the year, I know), so I let Mark check out the apple tree. I couldn't believe the pictures he returned with. This was our apple tree this morning:
Here's a nice close-up shot:
Mark called the pest control company we use and talked with their "bee man". He said that the bees were probably migrating and decided to use our apple tree to rest from their travels (lovely! of course they wanted OUR apple tree). If the bees hadn't left by a day or two we were to call the "bee man" back. Fortunately only a small handful of bees were on the tree tonight so, hopefully, we don't have to quarantine the kids from the backyard any longer.

Gettin' Crafty

As usual, I have been neglecting the blog. My only excuse is that I have been busy trying out a few crafty ideas. It all started with this:


A bracelet for my daughter. I had been curious about beading before, but after buying a small book on the subject I decided that it required too much stuff that I would have to buy. What if I didn't like doing it? So I put the book on a shelf to collect dust and went about my business. Then the RS had a class on beading. Too much fun! Stacey admitted that it might be just a tad addicting but she had some great tips on finding the best deals too!

So I began to bead. First for my daughter:


(with the exception of the far right necklace--that's a "boy" necklace for Ira).

And then for me:


Of course, I couldn't stop there. I decided it was time to make some cute clips for my daughter. For Christmas I got a bunch of cute bows off e-bay. Now it was time to get some flower power. Here are a few of the clips I've made this last month:


Just recently I have also decided to rearrange my great room. I'm loving the change. Ira came home to the new arrangement and exclaimed, "Mommy, you moved the furniture! It's so beautiful!" And I finally decided what to do with a beautiful framed picture Mark gave me for Christmas. So, I've been a little busy and maybe even a little crafty. Which is funny since I have never considered myself a crafty person--I figured my sister got the lion's share of the artistic talent--but it has been fun to keep my hands busy (if you don't count the garden which could probably use a good weeding :p).

Ira's Birthday Bash

Ira turned 6 at the beginning of April. To celebrate we threw a little birthday bash. We decided to rent an inflatable (after all that fun at Jumping Jacks). The pirate ship inflatable was SO fun! The kids had a blast climbing, sliding, and bouncing off the walls. We also got a motorcycle pinata so everyone had a bag of loot to take home. That morning Ira changed his mind about his birthday cake. The plan was to serve cupcakes, but he wanted a cake. To save myself some work I bought the cake when I bought the balloons and the added some Bakugan figures to it. Yes, Ira is still obsessed with Bakugan! Good thing too, since he got a TON of Bakugan stuff.

Make a wish!

Fun In The Pirate Ship

We never got a "before" picture of the pinata.


Score!

All in all, we had a lot of fun. And my little boy has grown up so much this year! He still has a wild imagination and tons of energy. But he has also matured. He is a sensitive and caring boy and I'm so grateful that he is my son!

Fun Day Trips

While Ira was out on spring break, I tried to take advantage of his time away from school to go on a few day trips. I planned the little trips while my niece would be out visiting her parents since it is more manageable with just my kids.

One day we decided to take the kids to see the Cabazon Dinosaurs. For those not familiar, there are two large (concrete?) dinosaurs looming over the 10 freeway as you head toward Palm Springs. The first is a "long neck" (love the Land Before Time reference which we've adopted) which houses a small gift store in its belly. The second is a T-Rex that boasts a great view out of its teeth to the cars below. In order to climb inside the T-Rex and to view the animatronic dinosaurs in the area's General Store you have to pay a small admission fee. Also included in the fee is an area to dig for stones with dinosaur names. If you find one, you can take it back to the general store for a tiny plastic dinosaur. There is also a sluice where you can "pan" for fossils. If you want to find anything more than little pebbles you have to buy bags of dirt at the general store. We bought a bag of dirt for $5 and I think it was worth it. The kids loved discovering the pretty stones. Unfortunately, Emma didn't quite understand the concept and after looking at her portion of the loot, dumped it back into the water. This caused Ira to go into a frenzy to recover the stones and he inadvertently knocked his straining board into the water as well. Thankfully we recovered all the large stones, but only after some diligent hunting.

Did I mention that I was the one who ended up looking for the stones in the "dino dig" area, or that the crushed marble gave everyone "ghost hands"?

For some reason I love this picture of Ira.

Here's the happy family (minus myself). Mark looks good in his Burger King crown. :)

Behind the T-Rex Teeth

For $2 you can take a ride on an animatronic dinosaur.

Loving EVERY Minute!

Best part of the trip, I had a good enough excuse to stop at the Outlets to do some quick shopping before dropping in on my sister around dinner time (thanks sis!). It was nice to get a chance to visit with my sister and the kids always like hanging out with Uncle Scott.

Another fun day trip was planned on a day Mark had to work so he wasn't able to come. I learned about Jumping Jacks from a fabulous book my mother-in-law bought (she later bought me a copy for my birthday so I would return the copy I had "borrowed" from her :p). It's a book all about fun places to go in Southern California with kids. Jumping Jacks is an indoor inflatable "park". It is only open to the public at certain times on certain days. The remaining time is reserved for parties. Ira and Emma were thrilled with all the fabulous jumpers. I had never seen such large inflatables! Emma did get a little hung up on one inflatable, but I was able to get her down and she had no trouble with a similar inflatable in another room (there are two very large rooms filled with inflatables). In each room there is a little toddler corner as well. Sean found the police car cozy coupe and went to town. He also had great fun pushing an infant walker around the two rooms (still not walking!). Of course we couldn't leave until I took Sean on several of the jumpers and down the fun slides. I had to get used to holding him and hiking up the walls, but it was well worth it!

Our little police man!

Isn't He Adorable?!

It was hard to get the kids to sit still long enough for a photo.

After Jumping Jack I treated us to Joe's Crab Shack nearby. The kids loved the dancing and the playground, I enjoyed the food. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera to the restaurant so no pictures of the fun we had there. :( We'll just have to go back some other time.

Still to come... Ira's Birthday and Easter!

Returning to the Blog

So I have neglected this blog for far too long... Got a little caught up in the madness of our lives with 5 kids 5 and under and all that that situation has entailed. I wanted to write a few things I've noticed about my kids. You know, the fun stuff.

First, Sean is a hoot when it comes to shoes. He still is not walking, so I'm not talking about him trying on shoes... at least not in the usual way. Sean enjoys shoving his little hands into any pair of shoes he can find and then takes off! One Sunday I heard footsteps down the hall, only to discover Sean "wearing" my boots. Mark shot a little video of Sean with some hijacked shoes, haha!

Emma has always been a little goofy. My life could use a few good jokes so she has been a real treat. She is also a little sweetheart and definitely knows how to tug at the heartstrings. Her latest invention is to, when someone has tucked her in or said good-bye, say, "Come back! I have to tell you something!" Once you get close she whispers in your ear, "I love you!"

We love you too, Emma!

Ira is a real sweet heart. He is really sensitive to the feelings of others (perhaps because he is such a sensitive fellow himself). Ira's teacher commented on his report card that, "Ira always puts a smile on my face!" I think Ira's teacher is just one of Ira's new friends. Ira loves to make new friends.

Last weekend we drove up to Big Bear to go sledding. Another family with a little girl Ira's age was also sledding. They hit it off and the little girl and her family shared one of their inner tubes with our family (note to self: must buy inner tube sled). Mark was surprised when the wife told him how impressed she was with Ira. Ira had thanked her at least twice for sharing the inner tube and also told her how much he enjoyed making a new friend.

This is not the first time Ira has made impromptu friends on trips we have taken. On our trip to San Diego last month, Ira befriended a couple boys who were staying in the hotel room across from ours. And on a trip to Mission Viejo a few months ago, Ira made a friend at an awesome park we found. The mom was so impressed she wanted to set up a play date! I have always been more reserved (yes, even shy), so to see Ira happy to meet and make new friends makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Building a Snowman with New Friends!

Merry Merry Christmas!

Well, we are late in mailing out our Christmas cards, but we do have quite a few addressed and ready to go. I thought I would post our Christmas letter for everyone to enjoy. Hope the holidays bring you much joy!!

2009 has brought many changes to our home. Our littlest one, Sean, celebrated his first birthday this October. Ira, 5, has begun kindergarten. Emma, 3, is still our little princess and comedian.

Sean is a delight and a little handful! He enjoys playing patty-cake and peek-a-boo. He recently has perfected his “bye-bye” wave. He also loves to ride on Ira’s lap while Ira drives his motorized play tractor. No steering wheel goes untouched by Sean. We sometimes have to pry those little fingers away, much to his dismay!

Emma is our little doll. She loves to be goofy and silly. You never know what she will say next. Recently, she and Ira attended a winter activity at Ira’s school in which a “Santa” appeared to talk with the children. When she came home, I asked her if she met Santa. She looked up at me with her big, blue eyes and said, “That wasn’t really Santa, it was a teacher.” I asked her how she knew it was not Santa and innocently, she replied, “He didn’t say HO-HO-HO!” Currently, Emma’s favorite things are stickers and purses. And she never tires of crafts.

Ira has begun kindergarten. The first two weeks were difficult. The excitement was over by the first day or two and he was ready to stay home. Thankfully he is now fully enjoying kindergarten. Much of the credit has to go to his amazing kindergarten teacher Mrs. L*. He often comes home singing and dancing. He has learned so much in such a short period of time!

In fact, he loves kindergarten so much he says that when he “grows up to be a daddy” he wants to be a teacher and teach 5 year olds all the fun things his teacher is teaching him! Ira still has a crazy, amazing imagination and is always inventing new games and stories. He eagerly listens to Magic Tree House and Magic School Bus books as they are read to him. He also looks forward to continuing with school so he can learn how to build robots! His current favorite toy is Bakugan Brawlers—little balls that when rolled onto a magnetic card transform into robotic forms.

We have enjoyed our experience in the high desert and in our (relatively) new home. It's hard to believe it has been just over 2 years since we moved! We have lots of room to play (and lots of toys to fill up the room).

We hope that you and yours look forward to a bright New Year! Merry Christmas!!

Dinosaurs, Dragons, and Thumbelina's--Oh My!

More than a month has passed since Halloween, but better late than never! Halloween festivities were a little crazy given the changes in our home. We tried to make sure the kids had their usual favorite activity: pumpkin carving.

Unfortunately we could not find our camera, so we resorted to using Mark's cell camera for pictures. The best shot we got of the three oldest digging into their pumpkins is blurry, but I'll post it anyway. At first we were going to carve on the kitchen table, but then Mark suggested we carve in the foyer so Sean could get in on the action. Sean had a great time. Even Brandon sat nearby for a little while.

I was the designated "pumpkin artist", drawing the pumpkin faces according to specifications. Ira's pumpkin was to have "evil eyes" and "vampire teeth". Emma wanted "pretty eyes" and a "happy mouth with teeth". I kind of winged it when it came to my niece's pumpkin since she doesn't talk much yet.





Ira was able to wear his Halloween costume to school for a Halloween parade. I also sprayed his hair green and spiked it. He LOVED the green hair (don't go getting any crazy ideas, my son!). I put him in a green shirt under his costume, and I think he loved the fact that his hair matched his shirt. Fun times!


As far as costumes go, Ira was a dinosaur. Emma and my niece were Thumbelina. Sean was a dragon. I went far and wide to get Ira's costume. We actually lucked out when I found it in Mission Viejo on our little vacation the beginning of October. It had sold out online and in the local stores (Children's Place). I had all but given up hope of finding it.

For Halloween, we attended the annual "Trunk or Treat" at the church building. If you are not familiar with "trunk or treat" it is when you walk from car trunk to car trunk collecting treats from those with their trunk open. Some trunks are even decked out Halloween style. I usually decorate our trunk, but not this year. Mark had to work so it was a little crazy. The kids got a boat load of candy and everyone was happy. Even my niece warmed up to the idea when she realized people were giving her candy. Ira and Emma really enjoyed the "reading tent". Inside a man was reading children Halloween stories. I think they could have stayed there all night listening!

Times They Are A'Changin'

A lot has happened since my last post. I never got around to writing about the Discovery shuttle landing or Ira and Emma's fun with soccer. I also need to post pictures of our last vacation to San Diego and Mission Viejo, Sean's first birthday, and Halloween. I will try to get to those postings very soon.

But life has fundamentally changed for our little family. We have grown by 2 persons. My niece and nephew have come to stay with us. We do not know how long this stay will be. I am the first to admit that this has been the roughest 3 weeks of my life. My niece is 2 and nephew 7 mos. Add to my children, ages 5, 3, and 1, and you get some major crazy! All the children have had to make major adjustments--especially my little niece. This has not been an easy transition for her.

But every time things get hard someone or something comes to my rescue and things are made bearable again. I have to thank my dear friends and family for their impromptu visits and meals. Just today, I was pulling out my cookbook to get a recipe for dinner tonight when my mother-in-law called to say she was bringing over dinner if I hadn't started something yet.

The roughest night was the day after we picked up the kids. Ira and Emma had a stomach bug that week. I thought I was managing okay. I took care of the four youngest while my mom took Ira to soccer practice. I bathed the little ones and had them dressed for bed by the time Ira and my mom returned home a little after 7pm. As Ira and my mother were eating, my niece who had been laying on a recliner suddenly sat up and started to throw up. Being two, she got up and started to throw up on the floor, around the sofa table and then on me while I was nursing Sean. My little bubble of thinking, "hey I have the hang of this" completely burst.

Mark was at work. I called him sobbing and told him I didn't think I could handle another night. He was far from the office and it would take at least an hour before he could come home. I got off the phone dejected. And then I got to work. Took off my soaked pants. Got out the vacuum, mop, and vinegar spray. I cleaned the couch I was on, the tile floor by the sofa table, and vacuumed the "chunks" in the carpet and on the recliner before I had to stop and finish Sean's nursing.

As I was sitting there, feeling awful and wondering how in the world I could have agreed to this arrangement, the doorbell rang. There were two angels there ready to help! They cleared the dinner dishes and swept the kitchen floor. They were awesome.

Then another angel appeared and gave my niece another bath and held her for quite awhile. Taking care of her when she got sick again and again.

My own little angel, Ira, got towels out when my niece first got sick and then laid towels on her bed in case she got sick again (without being asked).

And she did get sick again--several times over. As I was talking to one of my friends I realized that I didn't feel so good. I ran to the sink and started my night of vomiting too. Mark got home about 2 hours after I first called him so he stayed up the night with my niece and I was able to get some sleep (interrupted a few times by the vomiting).

Thankfully we haven't had too many nights as bad as that one. And the bad nights we have had, I've been able to cope fairly well. I studied mathematics in college. I like order. Mathematics is all about order (and logic). I've been searching for the order in the chaos that is our new life and have found it in varying degrees. It will be a continual process as things will undoubtedly change with time. I feel the Lord is helping me every step of the way. He is strengthening my weaknesses. I am ever grateful to Him and to my dear angels he has placed here to help me along this journey.

Living Water

There are other posts on their way, but I wanted to write this down while it is still fresh in my mind. I am always amazed at the innocent, thoughtful questions my children pose to me. Often, they are the ones that open my eyes and increase my understanding of things temporal and spiritual.

Yesterday, Mark and I were getting our children ready for bed. They had brushed their teeth and undressed for a quick shower before bed. Just as we piled Ira and Emma in the shower, the water came to a halt. Mark and I looked at each other and began to survey what could have caused the water to go out. We tried the bathtub, bathroom faucets, the kitchen faucet--no water. Mark went across the street to a neighbor--no water. He went to the neighbor next door--no water there either. He made a phone call to his parents and they had water, so we knew the water break was not extremely widespread.

As this was going on, I began to get Ira and Emma dressed for bed. Ira was a bit bewildered by all the activity and the loss of water. He said to me, in a bit of a panic, "We have to have water! When will we have water again?" I soothed him and explained that even if it took a few days to fix whatever break there was in the pipes, we would be okay. We would be okay because we have three large barrels of water in our shed outside. I told him that Heavenly Father taught us to be prepared and to store some things like water in case there is an emergency. Ira rested a little easier, but then another thought came: "What about our neighbors? They need water too!"

This question made me pause for a moment. What about our neighbors? I assured him that they will probably be able to get water, but if they are in need, we have enough to help them too. After I said this, Ira smiled and said, "Thank you mommy, I love you."

What about our neighbors? I can help them temporally if there is an emergency because I have supplies. I would willingly share my water with them. But what about the living water that I get to enjoy but many of my neighbors are lacking? Do I share that with them?

I think about what Ira said a few months ago when one of Ira's pals at church was gone for a few weeks due to sickness. When we told him she may not be back at church yet he exclaimed, "But how will she know about Jesus if she doesn't go to church?" His sweet, tender testimony touched my heart. Now it resonates even stronger after this new experience.

I would not say that I am a great missionary. I don't go over to my neighbors homes and invite them to worship with my family or attend church functions. Our neighbors know about our faith, we are very open about our faith and I am always willing to answer questions others pose about our faith. But sometimes I feel that I do not do enough to share the living water I enjoy on a daily basis. I hope that this experience with my son will help me realize how important it is to share the gospel as there are many thirsting for answers and I would be ashamed to withhold water from someone in need of a drink.

Welcome Home Discovery!

A few weeks ago my husband happened to be reading his friend's status updates on facebook when he read one friend saying he was going to watch the space shuttle Discovery's landing. Discovery had been diverted to Edwards Air Force Base because of inclement weather in Florida. The landing was scheduled for just before 6pm and we learned of the landing at about 2pm. My husband and I debated going (Ira would miss soccer practice) but we decided that it's a rare event worth the hour drive.

I'm really glad we went, although it seemed that Ira wasn't too excited about watching as the shuttle silently flew overhead and down to the air force base (turns out he was sick as I found out late that evening when he began 24 hours of vomiting--poor guy!). Mark and I were so happy to see such a spectacular event. As a child, I recall my dad loving to watch the planes fly overhead. When we traveled he would point out the planes flying overhead: "Girls! Girls! Look, a plane!" But as we got older my sister and I grew more cynical. I remember once saying to my dad on one of those summer trips, "Yes dad, a plane. If you want me to be excited, show me a space shuttle." What a cheeky teen I was. Now I'm the overly excited parent calling attention to the planes, trains, boats, and even space shuttles to my children!

Following the landing we decided to drive through the town of Boron and happy we did! We found a park with an old fire engine and a giant dump truck (Boron is famous for the Borax mining in the area). Across the street is a small aerospace museum. It was already closed but we got to inspect the fighter jet in front. I may not mind taking a trip one day to check out the inside of the aerospace museum. Perhaps when the kids are a little older.

Disovery Coming In For A Landing

Massive Dump Truck in Boron

Outside the Aerospace Musuem

Summer Stories Part 2

Of course, the stories don't end there. No, the next day we went to the beach. Our original plan was to go to Corona Del Mar--even though it is quite a ways from San Diego. We did not anticipate all the traffic (I guess we should have--it was a hot, summer Saturday). After a too long drive, we made it to Corona Del Mar to find no parking anywhere. Ira was upset and I was ready to go home. Thankfully, Mark is not one to give up. He just took us south to another beach, but it's parking was full, so then again south to another parking lot. This one was much further from the beach, but we did eventually make it to the ocean.

A few days after our vacation, I was looking at the photos that were shot at the beach and came across a gem of a video shot my dear husband who then forgot to tell me about it! Seriously, I think I have watched this video about a hundred times and it just gets better and better. So I have officially "YouTubed" my kids, hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Summer Stories Part 1

We are already into week 4 of the new school year, but I have not managed to post details of our final summer "trip". For our last hurrah we took the kids to a day at SeaWorld followed by a day at the beach. We all had a great time at SeaWorld. It was hot and fairly busy, but not overly crowded (unlike our experience at Disneyland). We were brave and took our $30 double stroller we bought on craigslist with us--and no one took it (also unlike Disneyland... as you can tell I'm not at all bitter about our trip to Disneyland :p).

Plus I now have a funny story to tell about our trip to SeaWorld. Ira was dying to ride the "roller coaster" at SeaWorld (also known as Journey to Atlantis). I took the kids over to the area to scope out the line, and it wasn't too bad, so Mark and I decided to have him take Ira on the ride while Emma, Sean and I watched the Pet's Rule show at a nearby stadium. After collecting the kids and finding a decent seat, I got prepared for the show. I pulled out water and fish crackers for Emma and I, and then settled Sean down under a blanket for nursing. All seemed to be going well until--I'm not kidding--exactly 1 minute before the start of the show I noticed Emma bobbing around and saying something. What's that Emma? Then, the dreaded words from a newly potty-trained little girl: I have to go potty!

So I begin rounding up the snacks with one hand, trying to calm my upset baby with the other, and direct my daughter to start heading through the row (because of course we were sitting in the center of the row) just as the announcer announces the start of the show. As we are walking down the stairs, I lost my grip on the diaper bag and had much of it's contents fall on the stairs. Again, trying to balance a baby with one hand, I shoveled the items back into the diaper bag and directed my daughter to the exit.

As we were walking to the bathroom I realized that my daughter was sobbing. I slowed down to hear what she was saying. Poor thing was saying, "Mommy, are we going to miss it?" I'm honest, "Yes, we will miss the show, but I am so proud of you for telling mommy that you had to go potty. We will do something else." Of course, she does not want to do something else and starts to pout. I suggest the dolphin show, which she adamantly refuses to go see. So I suggest we get to the restroom and then figure out what to do.

After the restroom we still have to go back to the stadium for the stroller. My daughter asks where we are going and I just say to her, get in and we'll see where we end up. Of course, we end up at the dolphin show. My daughter asks where we are at and I say, "The dolphin show." "But I don't WANT to go to the dolphin show!" I convince her to keep walking. To appease her we sit just inside the splash zone.

I once again get out the water and snacks, the blanket for Sean who happily resumes nursing, and we wait for the show to begin. It was hot so I was hoping for a little spray of water from the dolphins and during the course of the show we got a light spray here or there.

And then the trainers sent out the beluga whales. Still, all was well, until I saw the tale of the whale emerge from the water directly in front of where we were sitting. The first wave was a bit of a shock--salty and very, very cold. The blanket covering Sean was very thin and no match for the freezing water. Sean was jolted from his sleepy bliss. Then came a second wave. Sean began to cry and I began to move for the stairs (thankfully I learned my lesson at the Pet's Rule Show and sat next to the stairs this time). A third wave hit before I made it out of the splash zone. I think Emma got hit with a fourth wave before she made it to the new seat I found about 8 rows up from our original seats.

I was able to get Sean quiet (despite the wet blanket and all). And it was refreshing to be cool in the afternoon heat. By the time Emma, Sean and I made it to the Penguin Encounter to meet Ira and Mark, I was exhausted. Mark gave me a look and asked where I had been. My response? Don't ask! At which point I begin to laugh and shake my head. It was just too much!

But, all in all, a great time was had at SeaWorld and I look forward to going back. Besides, Mark has promised that I get to ride on the roller coaster while he watches the little ones next time.