The boys and I all snuggled up on our flight out!!! We had a direct flight and everyone did great. I was a little nervous about the thought of Owen sitting in one spot for so long! Amazingly, Owen didn't fall asleep until the last half hour of the flight (which was about 11:30 pm our time!!!)
The lobby of our hotel had a scooter for decoration. It was quite a hit with Mr. Owen, as you can imagine. Here he is with his cousin Olivia.
Our first morning in San Diego, we walked around and explored Balboa Park. The weather was beautiful and the kids had so much fun playing outside!
Aunt Rosie treated Owen and Olivia each to a new monkey. Didn't she know we already have a monkey surplus at our house :o)
Our second morning, we visited the park across the street from our hotel. Owen had a blast playing in the sand and even took his shoes off! It has been quite awhile since we got to play outside barefoot!
At the park, I checked out the San Diego guidebook I had picked up at our library, I realized there was a fire engine museum just a couple of blocks away from our hotel! How lucky for Owen!
He got to ride on several old time fire trucks...
check out the fire pole,
And even dress up like a real fireman!!! So much fun!!!
Ben loved it, too, obviously!
After a nice nap and lunch, we walked down to the port with Aunt Katie, Uncle Carl, and Olivia for a boat tour. On our way, we met a "girl" Pirate. When Owen woke up that morning, I asked him what he wanted to do that day. He told me he wanted to go on a boat ride and see some pirates. I guess we did pretty well!
It was a little windy, but we all had a great time! We even got to see some sea lions (seals???) I never can remember the difference!
When we got back to the hotel, Ben had a sink bath. It was just his size :o) I think despite the firetrucks and pirates, I think it was Ben's highlight of the day!
Owen's last night as a 2 year old!
Maybe it was all of the breastfeeding/ post-pregnancy hormones still circulating in my body, but Owen turning 3 was a little hard!!! I can't believe what a big boy he is! He continues to amaze us everyday with his wild imagination, vast vocabluary, terrific memory, boundless energy, infectious excitement, kind heart and sweet dispositon! We are so proud of what a wonderful big brother he is to his little "Benjamin Button!" We are truly blessed to be his parents.
Truthfully, this is where Owen spent the better half of his his birthday. Not actually in 7-11, but in the stroller, passed out! There was a Farmer's Market near our hotel, so we walked around there in the morning. We came back and played at the hotel for a little while before heading back to the Farmer's Market to pick up some lunch. About 2 minutes into our walk, Owen passed out and we had to wake him up 3 and a half hours later to change his clothes for the wedding. So much for the 2 dozen cupcakes we bought at the farmer's market. They were organic and looked super delicious! Oh, well! We ate cake at the wedding and the real birthday celebration was to come the next day...
We did manage to find the time to open one gift before the wedding, though!
Uncle Manolis, Aunt Rose, and Uncle Danny
Aunt Katie and Uncle Carl
Cousin Joey and Aunt Mary
.
Grandpa and Mimi
Handsome Ben
The whole gang
Ben had to change into his black-tie attire! It was a little chilly. I wish I would have had a tuxedo sleeper to change into :o)
Owen got to dance with lots of pretty girls!
He looks like he had a little too much fun, huh?!
I guess it was his birthday!!!
What was Ben's excuse? Too much milk?!
It's a good thing they both crashed hard. The next day would be a long and very fun one!!!
Disneyland
We started out the day with a character breakfast. It was so much fun to see how excited Owen was! He had a pin that said "It's my birthday" and everyone made sure he felt special the entire day.
Mimi and Grandpa Jimmy got Owen an autograph book so we could get an autograph from each character. Owen was very excited to meet Minnie...
This guy is Max... apparently Goofy's son
Even Ben got in on the fun
Olivia and her Fairy Godmother
Grandpa, Eyeore, and Owen
Mike and Ben, avoiding the spinny rides
The "rocketship men" and woman
Star Tours line
Buzzlightyear line
Owen and Uncle Carl trying to catch Zurg with their laserbeams
Thunder Mountain Railroad... Owen cried at the end... because we had to get off!
Splash Mountain
The Walsh women
Cinderella's castle
Owen found a firetruck to drive in Toontown
Pluto's bed in Mickey Mouse's house
Owen the Entertainer
The mouse we'd been waiting to see!!!
Mike and Owen on the teacups
We hit the gift shop after Owen crashed so the boys didn't get to model their ears until the next morning.
LegolandThere are some more Legoland pics on the previous post... This was Owen in the parking lot upon arriving at Legoland. At this point, we were wondering if this was a good way to spend the day after Disneyland...
They said they built everything using standard legos so you could duplicate the creations at home in your spare time...
New York City
The Mall in Washington DC
The Dragon roller coaster... one of Owen's favorites of the trip!
Mike's Aunt Katie, Cousin Kasey and mom with their new friend
Mike and Owen with Uncle Carl and cousin Olivia on the firetruck ride
Owen and Mimi
A ride that both Owen and his dad could enjoy
Owen was so excited about driving the car! Unfortunately, he needs to practice his driving skills a little bit :o) He only made it about a quarter of the way around the track! He had a great time, though!
We talked Grammy into staying a few extra days in Evanston (we had to twist her arm) and she took Owen to Toys 'r Us on Monday for a little birthday shopping trip. In this picture, Owen was pretending to be in a "great big jungle cage." He kept asking me if we could get him a really big cage to go in... Very interesting concept...
(which were quite yummy!)
