seaworld

today we had a great day at seaworld.

Ava was so tired by the end... we barely made it to the freeway and she fell asleep with her Gerber grabber in her mouth.

pumpkin patch. (take one)

last sunday, we went to the pumpkin patch with Linda and Kiera. we went to this same patch last year and it was so fun... it was little on the crowded side this year, but it was still fun to let Ava visit the animals.

fishies.

we took Ava to the Aquarium of the Pacific today. she LOVED it.

at the aquarium of the pacific

on wednesday, mom, Janica, Emily, Allyson, Ava and I ventured to Long Beach to visit the Aquarium. We had so much fun visiting the fishies. we even got to touch some of them! the girls were too scared to pet the sharks or the eels, but they touched another kind of fish... (i don't remember what. i keep thinking jellyfish, but that can't be right... right?)

anyway, the girls loved it. Ava was mesmorized by the fish tanks - especially the ones with vibrantly colored fish. At one point, my mom repositioned Ava on her shoulder so she was facing away from the tanks. Ava did not think kindly of that! she wanted to see and explore!

here are some fun pictures:

jaws!!

checkin' things out.

lovely ladies.

look!

i found him.

by the way, Gabe and I took Emily to the aquarium two years ago. Ahhh, memories. :)

San Diego Zoo

Saturday, March 31st, we headed down for our first BIG family outing - the San Diego Zoo. I was nervous about taking Ava on such a long car ride and being so far away from home should anything go wrong, but she was great and we had a fun time seeing the animals. We went with all the Johnsons and all the kids had a great time. I forgot my camera, so I only got a few pictures on my phone...

she explained it all on "wake up seattle."

weekend before last, the Johnson clan met up in Seattle, WA and Bellingham, WA to celebrate baby Natalie's addition to our family. Eric and Michelle welcomed Natalie Lauren into their home on 2/5/2011. My parents had already been up to meet the little girl, but for the rest of us this was our first time meeting her. She is a sweet little girl and was very tired the whole time, so i didn't get many pictures of her.

after we arrived in Seattle, we all met up at the Woodland Park Zoo. the kids LOVED it!

Emily and Matthew checking out the penguins.

Eric and Matthew (love their matching outfits.)

the scenery was beautiful. who's that handsome guy??

i couldn't quite get them to pose (they were irritated that i got in their way and demanded a picture.) but it was sweet how they were all walking together and holding hands together.


saturday was a bit chillier, but we enjoyed a lovely trail walk on one of Bellingham's many trails.

i liked this cool bridge over the trail. (gabe's keeping his hands in his sweatshirt because he's so cold!)

matthew kept finding walking sticks along the trail.

saturday afternoon we went swimming at the hotel. the kids were hilarious in the pool. (sorry, no pictures...) saturday night we had dinner and made crafts. again - no pics!

Sunday, we went to church. Gabe, Elizabeth and I explored the downtown area. then we all met up for some food/games.

all the Johnson grandchildren....

after we got back to the hotel, emily visited our room and we played make-up... (oh, how she loves to play make-up!)

look at that beautiful niece!

we had a great trip and we can't wait to see Eric & Michelle's family again!

Wild Animal Park (san diego - part 3)

the last day of our San Diego adventure was spent at the Wild Animal Park and the beach. It was a perfectly beautiful day. Clear blue sky, puffy white clouds, and sunshine galore.

Lion napping in the sunshine