Santa Anita Horse Races

We met Auntie Karen at the Santa Anita Tracks for some horse races and the last food truck fest of the season.  They had a kid zone filled with games and a fun bounce house with a slide. Santa Anita also has a permanent playground in the infield which made the experience so kid friendly. We had such a great time!

He's learning to overcome his fear of slides

The huge bandage on his right leg covers up a gash that I accidentally inflicted on him. Sorry Michael. =(

Jason and Michael make a good team! Jason won two boxed-trifectas (that's when you pick the top 3 horses to finish in any order), and won about $160! Not too bad on a $6 bet don't you think?

Michael picked 2 winning horses. He would look at the racing program and choose the horses by color. He can read the word blue, and that's how he chose them. On one race he picked the horse with 13 to 1 odds and won $26!

 We had so much fun that we planned another race date...next month!

Our Last Visit to Giggles

We had one last playdate with Luke and Abbie at My Giggle Place. Our 10-visit pass expired a month ago, but they were kind enough to let us use our last visit. It was just an okay indoor playground for Michael because he was scared of climbing the play structures. All he wanted to play with were the "punching bags", and balls...and with those things comes lots of trouble.

His shirt says it all.

Sea World

I don't remember Sea World being all that fun when I was a kid, but it's actually pretty neat when you visit the hands-on exhibits and not just sit through their shows. Michael is a little bit like me in that aspect. He's not easily entertained, and will yawn during a show unless he's distracted with snacks. Today we skipped all the shows; but thankfully, we can go again anytime during the year.

Ethan and Michael were in control of the map. Their first stop was the tide pools where they touched sea stars. Michael had a lot of fun and splashed around a bit; it was like a huge water table to him.

Then we rode the Skyride. They sure were having fun, but I was scared out of my mind!! My stomach was in a knot the entire time.

We also fed the hungry sea lions. This funny picture was post-feeding. I didn't snap pictures with my fishy smelling hands.

The boys enjoyed touching the slippery fish and feeding them to the sea lions. Michael freaked out when the long-beaked birds tried to snatch the fish away. At that point, he was done.

Shark Encounter!

And...they didn't even notice the few above their heads!

At the Turtle Reef, they played a video game where they went on a mission to get the turtles back to the beach.

And lastly, it was penguin time. After wrestling with a very expensive penguin, they each came home with a cute, little fluffy penguin. Thanks, Auntie Kathy!

This penguin is one of Michael's must-haves to go to bed. He loves "Mr. Penguin" so much that he gives him kisses and cuddles everynight. He is so sentimental.

Discovery Cube

We had a fun play date with Ethan, Emily and Kathy at the Discovery Science Center. Right now they have a Dora the Explorer exhibit that is very little kid friendly. The entire museum kept the boys entertained for hours, and they didn't want to leave when it was time to go.

Upstairs they had this recycling racing game where you sort hazardous waste, trash, recyclables and more.

Michael was in heaven with all the sports exhibits - especially pitching baseballs

Lastly we played a shopping game in the market. The boys had a blast searching for items and scanning their barcodes.

Kathy, Ethan and Emily got all their answers right! Their photo made it on the board of winners!

Santa Ana Zoo

The Santa Ana Zoo was celebrating it's 60th birthday today. For our first ever visit to this zoo, it was pretty lively and entertaining. After we visited all the animal exhibits (mostly monkeys), Michael played at a few carnival game booths and made a craft.

He has turned into such a poser!

Michael was amazed that these birds could say "hi."

We took a stroll inside the Amazon where the birds could fly around freely.

He made a goodie bag that he filled with candy and prizes from the game booths.

Post Zoo Interview:
1. What was your favorite animal at the zoo? The monkeys!
2. Why were they your favorite? Because they have cool tricks.
3. What kinds of tricks? They can hang from their tails.
4. Would you like to visit again? Now? We forgot to ride the train. =(

Yes, we forgot to ride the train. He has such a good memory.