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.

Driving Balls at the Range

Michael loves sports. He's loved sports since he was a little baby; hence the baseball theme for his first birthday party and golf theme for his second birthday party. To this day, he loves anything that involves throwing or hitting balls. For his second birthday, Lolo and Lola bought him a real set of golf clubs, and Michael loves them! He collects golf balls and stuffs them in his golf bag. He has so many that when he wears the bag like a backpack, it's so heavy he has to lean all the way forward. I have to tell him to take it off because it probably isn't good for his back. He's one tough kid who knows what he likes to do...and can do it.

Lolo picked him up for some grandpa-grandson bonding at the driving range one day, and now he's hooked!

On this visit, he knew exactly where to get a bucket of balls. He can hit 1.5 buckets-full of balls before getting tired. Trust me, that's a lot!

When you give him tips on how to swing, he's adamant about doing it his way. He tells you, "Let me do it all by myself."

His golf balls land consistently just before the bunker...about 20-25 yards away.

Time to practice putting...with a driver? lol. After a few swings, he damaged the putting green. It was time to go. lol

Good job, Michael! My little Tiger Woods.

Fishing

Jason and Michael took a spontaneous fishing trip down in Newport Beach for some manly bonding. Michael has yet to understand the concept of patience and waiting for the fish to bite. After 5 minutes of no action, he was over it so he picked up his fishing rod and swung it around in circles. And it is safe to say that they came home empty handed.

Happy Valentines Day!

In honor of Valentine's Day, we baked some cake bonbons (which are like cake pops without the stick) for Michael's grandparents, Daddy and his coworkers. They were so hard to make that next time we'll just go with the cake pop idea.

Another Great Disney Day

We're not sure these days if Michael needs a daytime nap anymore. He has always been a bad sleeper and now that it's even harder to put him down for naps or for bedtime, I have no clue as to how his moods will be. Keri invited us to Disneyland and I wasn't sure if Michael was going to be up for it since he was up all day yesterday and went to bed late. But as soon as I mentioned that Abbie and Luke were going, he was so excited to go. He also said that Keri was going to give him an M&M cookie. I asked him how he got that idea, and he said that she gave him one at the park. I was so confused because I couldn't recall that ever happening, but it did! He remembered from our Christmas Party at the park over a month ago. He has such an incredible memory.

Toy Story is a MUST everytime we go to DCA. Michael will stand in line for as long as it takes to get on that ride. He doesn't even ask you to carry him in line.

He actually aims at his targets. You can tell because his accuracy isn't too far off from mine.

Abbie, Luke, and Michael wanting to get their picture taken.

These two are serious troublemakers.

Just another fun Disney date with our friends! =)