Vacation Day 10 & 11:The Trip Home

Hallelujah!!! I have come to the end of my never-ending posts from our trip that was FOREVER ago! I am so happy to be done with these, and to relive some fun memories...and dream about the SUN and a VACATION!!! I think I need one!!!

We got up Saturday morning (July 24) and packed up all our stuff...which was a LARGE task since we had been in the hotel for a whole week! The kids were dying for one last swim, so we went to the pool with the whole family (minus Kim's family because they left the day before). So much fun!!!
For some reason, the Webber's really like to all jump in the pool at the same time when we get together. Here they are getting ready....

And after they jumped in! I'm surprised there is still any water left in the pool!!! Haha!

Rylee getting a ride from Uncle Matt...and Parker...I don't know what he is doing...

My handsome hubby.... Sorry ladies! He is TAKEN!

All my favorite people hanging by the hot tub

Avery being entertained by her cousin Lauren. She was a family favorite during the trip since she was the baby and she loved everyone entertaining her...as long as they didn't take her away from her mommy.

COUSINS!!! (Minus the 6 McCann's and Rae who couldn't come...) My kids are so lucky to have so many fun cousins that they love! Some of their bestest friends are their cousins. My cousins were all way younger than me growing up, so I didn't have that as much, although I did babysit them a lot and stuff. I think it is so fun for them to have each other! What a cute bunch!!!

Avery hanging out with Madi - She is the best to help with all the little ones! All the kids love Madi!

Logan loves the pool

My little swimmer baby! She was so happy at the pool.... Too bad that didn't last in the car!!!

Rylee and her cute cousin, Haley - She is the sweetest girl ever! We love her!!!

The hot hubby trying to get a tan... Notice I said TRYING....it never really happens!

After we finished swimming and got everything packed up (which involved a LOT of stress for mom), we headed to Downtown Disney. The plan was for us to meet everyone there, but of course, it took us longer to pack up and then I had to feed Avery, so by the time we got there, everyone else was headed out. We thought about skipping, but the kids were so excited to go there and wanted to pick out their souvenirs, so we went and did a little shopping...Daddy's favorite (wink, wink...). He should be glad that that was all we did! What I REALLY wanted to do was go back to Disneyland for another day since he still had another day on his pass. I really wanted to upgrade our passes and play for one more day and do some things we missed. I think we were all too tired to make it though. I really tried to talk Darren into using his pass and sneaking Rylee in for free (she is barely over the age requirement) just to take her on the Matterhorn before we left, but he wouldn't do it. Silly, I know, but I really wanted Ry to try it!

While the kids did some of their shopping, I went to check the lost and found one more time for Avery's cute ears. I really didn't want them to be lost, but they still didn't have them. On the way back, I made the girls pose with their letters since we had missed that on our other days. Avery and her A - I am standing behind her...Don't worry!

The girl that took these for me thought it was so cute that she said she is going to name her first baby an A name so she can do the same thing. Haha! The funny thing is I now feel pressure to name the rest of our children something that starts with one of the letters in California, so they are not left out when Logan, Avery and Rylee do their letter pictures. Weird, I know...

Rylee and her R...with some Rylee attitude!

We had told the kids they could each pick one thing while we were there. Then Grandpa gave them each $20, so they felt like they should get something else from him, too, so we gave in. I would feel bad spending their money anyway. We got Avery her little ears (which didn't make it home...) and then she got this little Princess Minnie with her money.

Rylee picked her Ariel Bear at the beginning of the trip and then she picked out these Princesses with her money. I really picked these out for Avery, but then Ry became obsessed with them and had to have them, so I told her they have to share them. They do love them and Rylee played with them all the way home, so they were a good choice!

Logan picked out his lightsaber he built himself and then he used his money for a Star Wars Lego set at the Lego store. He loved that place!

Logan posing with Woody at the Lego store.

Then it was time for our LONG drive home... The worst part of the vacation!!! Rylee loved this Princess sticker book from my bag of treats. It kept her busy for quite awhile.

Logan checking out his Dino sticker book. Rylee and Logan were the best travelers! They were great and stayed pretty entertained and would play with toys or watch a movie or whatever. They were SO good!

This one....not so much! Poor Avery HATES the car! No matter what we tried, she would usually just cry until she finally fell asleep! And she got used to our roll down the window trick, so it didn't help much either. Driving with a screaming baby is NOT fun for anyone! I think she cried a good hour or so before she fell asleep and then woke up and cried some more!

We made a quick stop in Barstow for some In-N-Out, since that is a Webber family tradition, and then it was back on the road. We were trying to decide if we were going to stop and stay in Vegas with some friends, or drive back to St George to stay at Darren's parent's house with the rest of the family. After listening to Avery scream, we had pretty much decided on Las Vegas, but then she fell asleep, so we just kept going and made it to St George. We got there pretty late, but it made for a shorter drive the next day.

We got up the next day and went to church and then headed for home. I think I must have been tired out because there are no pictures from our drive, which doesn't really happen with me. We stopped at my parent's house for Sunday dinner. The kids were so excited to tell everyone about their trip!

Since we missed the 24th of July celebrations, my cute little brother Kyle wanted the kids to get to do some fireworks, so he saved one for Rylee and one for Logan and we lit them before we left. The kids were thrilled! Here is our little belated Pioneer Day celebration for this year. Kind of sad - Just one sparkler! Kyle was so sweet to think of them though.

Phew!!! That is it!! I am done with these posts - Yeah! I think that is about how I was feeling by the end of the trip, too - DONE! Maybe that is part of the reason it took me so long to get it blogged. But, now I am ready for another vacation!!!

Vacation Day 9: Sea World

Friday (July 23) we went to Sea World. I usually try and schedule all the theme park stuff early in the trip so we aren't so tired on those days, but with the family schedule and Darren being sick, it didn't work out that way. By this point in the trip, we were all dragging a little and were physically and emotionally exhausted, so it was a rough morning and we got off for San Diego much later than planned. We hit some nasty traffic as well and I think it was close to noon before we got there. Some of Darren's family also went to Sea World the same day - Cory and Katie and Kevin and April and Haley. Luckily, Cory and Katie got there very early and saved us a spot in line to feed the dolphins. We got in just in time! We had to pay more for closer parking so we could run there before they closed the feeding and it was the last one of the day, so we were so glad they hooked us up, although the people behind us were not! Feeding the dolphins was definitely one of our favorite things of the whole day!
They changed the way that you feed the dolphins since the last time you went. I didn't like it! You have to pay per person, instead of just per thing of fish you buy, which we used to be able to split between all of us, and a Sea World worker helps you feed them, so you get a limited amount of time to do it, where before we could make our fish tray last much longer. Kind of a bummer, but it wasn't as crowded, so that was nice. Logan was SO excited to feed them!

Rylee's turn

Daddy's turn

Mommy and Avery's turn...

Avery really liked the Dolphin, too.

After the dolphins, we rushed off to see the Sea Lion show with Cory and Katie. The kids loved this show! It was hilarious and they were laughing the whole time!

They were looking pretty tired all day long. Poor kiddos!

The funny Sea Lions dancing

Next, we went to see the Sea Lions and the kids really wanted to feed them, too. So, we bought some more fish... I think we ended up spending like $50 on RAW FISH for the day! YIKES!!! They loved feeding them through this little tube and it kept the crazy birds away!

This Sea Lion is checking Rylee out. Too funny!

The Sea Lions are always a favorite with our kids. They think they are so funny they way they bark at everyone and fight over the fish. Avery was really into them and she was about to jump into their tank. We had to keep a tight grip on her!

Next, we went to check out the Sting Rays. Avery was ready to jump into this pool, too.

She is mad that we won't let her splash and jump in!

Logan feeding a sting ray. We told the kids we were done buying fish for the day, and they could just touch the sting ray as they swam by, but they weren't coming if you didn't have food. Ry started crying and the little girl next to us shared her fish with them. How nice is that? I felt awful but the mom insisted, so the kids were thrilled!

Love that smile!

Not the best picture of Ry, but I had to get one of her tears and her very determined face with her tongue out. Her mood changed very quickly. It was kind of a rough day with the kids. They were all on the verge of major meltdowns!

Next, we were off to the Shamu show! Yeah!!! Avery is looking pretty hot and tired! Poor baby!!! I think she was DONE with the vacation thing!

She was much better once she saw Shamu though! She really liked the BIG whales!

Logan with Uncle Cory...and Uncle Cory's thumb! Such a nice uncle to share his thumb!!!

Rylee watching the whales. When we took her to Sea World last time, she was barely one and the Shamu show was her favorite. She kept doing the sign for "Beautiful" during the show and actually sat still the whole time. It was the cutest thing! She liked it this time, too!

The kids were getting a little grumpy, so we took a lunch break. We had a fun lunch with Cory, Katie, Kevin, April and Haley. I do have to say that Sea World's food is a RIP OFF! I know that food is expensive at Disneyland, but at least you get a LOT of food for your money. Sea World cost more and you got much less food. I think my 1/2 sandwich was close to $10!

After our lunch break, we headed to Sesame Street Bay of Play. The kids had been dying to go there all day! Logan couldn't wait to try out the jungle gym and climb around and play! He chose that over the rides and had a great time playing. I wish we would have had more time for them to play and do the rides and stuff.

Rylee REALLY wanted to meet Abby Cadabby, but we found out she wouldn't be there for the rest of the day and we had already missed her. So, we settled for the next best thing! A ride on Abby's Sea Star Spin! The lines for the rides didn't look too bad, but they were so slow moving! We finally got to the front and Rylee was so excited! We also ended up riding with some other little girl whose mom didn't want to go, and she couldn't go alone. It was a little odd, but Rylee loved having a friend.

Ready to spin us!

Avery also had fun in a little baby playland, but there are no pictures. As we were getting ready to leave, we spotted ELMO! There was only 2 people in line, so we decided to let the kids meet him and Grover. They were thrilled!!! If Ry couldn't meet Abby, Elmo was the next best thing!

I wasn't sure if Logan would want to meet Sesame Street guys, but he loved them, too!

Avery LOVED them and just kept staring!

We LOVE ELMO!

This is Avery giving Elmo a big kiss. They wouldn't take any pictures for you, so I tried to take it myself while I was holding her. Not so great... But she LOVED them!!!

Next, we made a mad rush to the Dolphin show. Cory and Katie were already inside and saved us seats, but the stadium filled and they wouldn't just let people in. They had a small line for people who had family and seats inside and it was CRAZINESS to get in. All these Japanese people just kept pusing ahead of everyone thinking they could go in. Once we got to the front, we had to have a Sea World employee escort us to our family. The only problem was Cory and Katie couldn't hear their phones and we couldn't find where they were sitting! They were about to tell us we had to leave when we spotted them. I am so glad we did! This was our Favorite show!!! It was amazing! Not only did they have the dolphins, but lots of divers and Cirque type performers. It was so great! Poor Avery finally crashed and slept during the whole thing. Doesn't she look sweet???

Watching the dolpins and divers

A BIG pilot whale! I didn't get very many good pictures of this show because I was holding Avery and because it all moved so fast!

We went to the Shark Encounter next. Logan was pretty worried about it, but we got him in there and he really liked seeing the sharks swim all around him. It was so dark that my camera didn't work very well, so you can't see the cool sharks all around us...

Logan survived the Shark Encounter!

Then, we went to the Wild Arctic. We skipped the ride because Rylee wasn't tall enough and the line was kind of long. The kids loved this exhibit! First, we checked out the Polar bears!

Then, we saw the walrus! This guy was our favorite! We spent a good 20 minutes here. This walrus was being so funny. He would swim right up to the glass and then turn in circles and hit his head up against the glass over and over again. He seemed to be entertaining us...or trying to break out! The kids loved him and couldn't stop laughing!

Up close and personal with Mr Walrus

Avery was pretty entertained by him, too...and a little nervous!

That is a BIG dude!

Logan was SO Excited to see the Baluga Whales for some reason. They were one of his favorites! Wish you could see his face, but the lighting wasn't too good...

Watching the Balugas - Love this!

Avery was really into watching them, too.

Then, we walked over to see Journey to Atlantis and these cool Commerson's dolphins Logan was watching the Journey to Atlantis ride and got splashed! He thought that was so funny! We tried and tried to talk him into going on the ride, but he wanted nothing to do with it. He refused to get wet!

Avery at the Pets Rule! show. We tried to talk the kids out of going to this show because there were lots of things we still wanted to do, but they really wanted to go and Cory and Katie were going, so we went and I'm glad we did. The kids loved it! The pets did pretty neat things and the show was pretty funny, too.

Ry watching the Pets show - She looks pretty serious

After the Pets show, we saw the Penguins and then stopped for a family picture, since we hadn't really had one all day. Avery wasn't really interested in cooperating...

We tried just the kids, and that didn't go so well either...

Then, Avery did better and Rylee stuck out her tongue...What can you do?

Finally! Kind of...Avery is happy, but not looking! Oh well! You can't have everything, right?

We went to see the manatees, only to find out that they don't have them anymore! BUMMER!! We walked through a couple other aquariums and stopped for another family picture. This one turned out much better. In fact, it is one of my favorites from the whole trip!

The kids begged for cotton candy all day long and we decided that they had been really good, especially for being so tired, and deserved a treat. Rylee was SO happy!

Thumbs up for cotton candy and Sea World!

We walked by the Flamingos. The girls loved them!

Ry and the PINK Flamingos! This was yet another place that Avery was ready to jump right into. I think she was actually more interested in the ducks than the Flamingos, but she really wanted in there and we had to drag her away kicking and screaming! She did NOT want to let go of that fence! Daddy and Logan LOVED the sea turtles! They were really fun to watch swim around.

One of our last stops was the tide pools. The kids had a great time! They really liked touching all the different sea stars. We almost lost Rylee into the pool several times. She had no fear at all and didn't realize how deep some of the spots were to reach!

It was so neat to get to touch and pick up this stuff! The kids were really into it!

Showing Avery some sea stars. Yep...she wanted to jump in this water, too!

Logan reaching for some. He was a little unsure at first, but after watching Rylee, he got into it, too.

We had to remind Ry to leave them IN the water...

I love those BIG eyes! She is definitely interested in something!

Ry by the tide pool. Too bad it was so dark! We have never been to Sea World when it was open so late, so it was weird to be there after dark. I think it was around 8 when we were getting ready to leave... She loved these tide pools!

Rylee begging to stay a little longer...

Logan and Avery

We did one last walk-by of Shamu, and we were on our way out. I kind of wanted to stay for the fireworks, but I was outvoted by a tired Daddy who had lots of driving ahead of him that night and the whole next day and some very tired, grumpy, hungry kiddos! So, we headed for home! And we refused to pay for another meal there!

We had a fun day at Sea World. I think Darren and I were a little overly tired and didn't love Sea World as much as we have in the past, but the kids had a great time. They still talk about it all the time and Logan came home and played orcas and whale trainer at the pool with his buddy. He also decided he wanted to be a orca trainer for a while, but I think he is back to his paleontologist plan now.

After we left, we tried to find a quick drive-thru to grab some dinner at. There weren't a lot of choices close to Sea World and we ended up in a pretty scary neigborhood! I was scared to get out of the car to get the kids' pjs! Luckily, we made it out of there and back to the hotel and started packing up to go home! Another fun-filled, exhausting day!!!