A Special Trip

My brother Mike passed away this past weekend.  He suffered a massive heart attack almost 2 weeks ago but was never able to recover from it.  It was quite shocking when we first heard and it was a long 2 weeks as we waited to see how he would do.  I am thankful that my parents we able to come home from their mission in Spain to be with him his last few days.

We headed down to San Diego Friday night to be there for his services.  It was a very special time for my family as all my siblings and almost all of their families were able to be together for this special time. 

We spent so much time together just talking.  It was fun to remenice about his life and tell "Mike" stories.  He was definitely our colorful brother.  There was never a dull moment with him.  He definitely taught us a lot and brought us together.  We love him and will miss him.

Settling in for a long road trip.

Bryce was awesome with my kids.  They love him and always wanted him to be doing something with them.

All the brother out doing what they do best.  Playing sports and talkin' smack.  Seth fit right in! :)

It was quite a busy weekend and Sam decided to catch up on some much needed sleep during Sacrament Meeting!

Mike's services were Monday morning.  It was a very wonderful funeral full of family, friends, the Spirit, and happy memories of Mike.  This is Mike's beautiful slide show of his life.  My dad put together a very touching presentation.

This beautiful quilt was made by some members of the local Methodist church for Mike.  The ties are extra long.  Each time someone tied one they would say a prayer for him.  A lot of tender prayers made this blanket for him.

Liz and Laura practicing for their approaching "Grandma" days (don't worry, we know they are still years away!) :)

Nate helping to keep spirits high at the luncheon.  (Hey, you photo bomb me, I'll share it with everyone!) :)

Our family's California ward we all grew up in put on a beautiful family luncheon for us where we were able to gather together and enjoy Mike's beautiful day.  Many more memories and stories were shared.  It was wonderful.

Clay and Logan, Mike's 2 youngest with my kids.  We love them so much and can't wait until they can come visit.

Seth had to pay a visit to Kristy.  Kristy's Donuts that is.  He made her day with how many dozens of donuts he bought.  I laughed at him thinking he bought way too much, but my family downed them that night as we were together again recovering from such a long day.

After such a long and emotional day Joy and I took Mom and Laura out for Chinese Foot Massages.  A little something I learned about in Xian.  It was much needed and helped us all relax.

We had so much fun being able to spend so much time with Andy.  We don't get to see him or his family enough.  He always had something to say, even when brushing his teeth he couldn't stop! :)

Laura and Dave were so amazing.  They had so much family going in and out of their home for the past 2 weeks and this weekend they hosted over 20 at the same time!  We sure love them and are thankful for all they do for us and our families!

After a long weekend we decided to stop and stay at a hotel.  We stayed at the Rio and loved it.  The kids loved looking out the wall of windows at the lights and look down to see how high we were.  I just had to snap a shot of my boys having a late night snack in the room.  Our kids sure do love hotels and it was fun to them so excited to stay in one.

For some reason I had wanted a peppermint hot chocolate our whole trip and never seemed to get it.  Well, Seth, who always takes such good care of me, made sure I got it on our way home.  It was so yummy!

We came home to a beautiful surprize.  Our Primary had put together some sweet notes of comfort for me and some beautiful flowers.  It was touching to find and read through.  I am so thankful for all my friends and loved ones here in my neighborhood.  They are wonderful.  Many others from my ward wrote cards of comfort, brought meals, and one of my good friends was even out doing my yard work for me when we got home!  We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people!

These beautiful flowers were made by my cousin, Norah, for Mike's.  Mike was brought up to Utah to be buried.  It's nice to have him close so that we can visit him.

 

A Little Family Time

We decided that after so much "serious" time our kids needed a brake to be kids.  They handled all of the services and everything so well and we felt it was time to make sure that they remembered "Mike's Trip" as a positive one.

We grabbed some of their cousins (Tauna and Bryce) and my sister-in-law, Laura, and headed to Sea World for the day.  They were so excited when we told them where we were going.  They were so excited to see all the sea animals.

Sam of course took charge of the map and I must say his navigation skills have greatly improved with his ability to read now.

We started at the seals.  They were HILARIOUS!  We got some fish to feed them and there were these two crazies who were barking and waving and clapping trying to earn our fish.

 It was so fun to feed them.  I seriously had a bird attack me and steal a fish right out of the container (that's the scream you hear).  Psycho bird!

Then it was off to Sam's favorite part.  The Shark Encounter.  We love that you can see the sharks from up above....

...and then from down below.  You can't really see it in the picture, but that's my crew in the shark tunnel below.

Next we visited Manta Ray Bay.  This was under construction when we were here last, so it was fun to see what they were working on.  Sam and Chloe had NO intention of petting them, but James was all over it. 

They have a great tunnel you can walk under as well.  It was fun to see the underside of the rays as well.

The roller coaster they built is awesome.  There was no line so you could just get right back on.  It was a great way to see the flamingos as the flashes of pink streamed by as you went flying on the coaster.

Our favorite show by far is always the Clyde and Seamore show.  It is the Seal/Sea Lion/Otter show.  It is always so funny.  I love that Sam and James get the humor now and giggle at the jokes and tricks.

As much as Sam and James smiled and enjoyed it, Chloe scowled and frowned.  The poor girl was so tired and tried her best to stay wake!

Next it was off to the Dolphin and Piolt Whale show where Seth introduced us to the best funnel cakes ever.

The dolphins were amazing.  They were jumping all over the place.

I love piolt whales.  I just love how dark and sleek they look.

I surprised myself with some of the great shots I was able to get with my little phone camera.  Not bad if I do say so myself.

The finally was amazing.  There were a total of 12 dolphins jumping, fliping and spinning all over the place.  This is them waving good-bye.

After the show we all needed a breather to overcome the huge sugar rush we all got from the many funnel cakes we were trying to down.

Sam then read the map again and got us to Turtle Reef.  This is one of my favorites.  There is just something so calming about turtles swimming in the water.

Sam bonded with one that was chilin' on the ground.

He was then super excited to find so many "Dory's" in the tank with them.

Next off to the Penguins, which is one of James' favorites.

 Chloe and Laura we quite the buddies throughout the whole day.  It was cute to watch them together.

 Next we headed to the arctic to visit the Polar Bears, Walruses and Beluga Whales.

 Chloe and Sam were facinated with the ice wall.

 Sam was a little too facinated and we had to stop him from trying to continually lick it.

 Chloe got a little show fromt he walrus as he was looking around for some yummy treats.

 They had fun in the polar bear caves until the sound kicked in.  Chloe freaked as the roars and moans of polar bears played on the speakers.  I've never seen her move so fast to get out of somewhere!

 We ended the day in playland.  This is always the best way to end a great day at Sea World.

 We were impressed with Chloe as she managed to climb all the way up the rope ladder to be able to play on the bridges above.  I can't believe how big she is getting!

 Elmo and Cookie Monster were there for pictures, and since the line wasn't long, and James LOVES to meet characters, we went and said our "hellos".

 Chloe was a little more shy.  She definitely loved them from afar and then got very shy when it was up close and personal.

We are so grateful that we were able stay another day in California and let our kids have a great, fun day.  They mean the world to us and that is just what we want to give them...the world!