Friday, November 16, 2012

Oma & Gpa came to town

My parents came to visit October 16-23. It was such a wonderful week! I was so happy to introduce them to their grand-daughter, E, and they were amazed at how much CJ had changed since they saw him last at Christmas! 

My dad is an avid outdoorsman, and really enjoys going fishing. It's something fun that so far he and JT have been able to go do wherever we live (even in MI they went fishing in Lake Michigan!) They did "3/4 day" offshore fishing trip down into Mexican waters. They didn't catch anything, but they had fun, and the pictures of their day were so pretty! 
My dad in his element!
Self portrait on the boat! 
Pelicans and seagulls!
JT said there was a GIANT school of dolphins swimming with the boat. To which I replied "just like in Titanic!!" Ha!
On their way back to the dock, there was a submarine headed out to sea...
Beautiful sunset!!
I can't really remember what my Mom and I did with the kids that day....probably just played at the house.

The next day, we went to the Aquarium. Oma & Gpa enjoyed getting to see different species of fish than they typically see at aquariums on the east coast
CJ enjoyed running around, pushing buttons.
E gave a big smile for her Grandpa!
And I LOVE this picture of E with my mom!!
CJ's favorite activity at the aquarium. It was a running joke because the whole time we were at the aquarium he kept saying he wanted to "play boats". We must have heard it 100 times. HA!
The next day we all went to the San Diego Zoo. I wanted to go on a weekday since October was "children free" month and I knew on the weekend the zoo would be a...zoo (yes I'm a nerd). Grandpa helping push the kiddos!
Checking out the TIGERS! We got to see them playing which was so neat since they are usually being typical lazy cats.
CJ and Oma watching the bear!
Snack break!
Oma & Grandpa with a Rhino!!
One of the cheetah and dog ambassador pairs walked RIGHT by us!!
I'm talking like 5 feet away from a CHEETAH! Super cool!!!
Giraffes!
The obligatory picture in front of the sign! I love that both kids have their hands in their mouths, ha ha!
On Saturday we watched our football games, and played other games like horsey...
...and Candy Land. Gotta play by CJ's rules, Ha ha!
One of the things that Oma really wanted to do, and JT and I were excited to do too since we hadn't been yet was to go to Old Town!
They had all their decorations for Dia de los Muertos out which were so neat!
I loved all the details and colors!
Creepy bride and groom.
Picture frame. :)
Self portrait with our girl.
Standing in front of the first Print Shop in San Diego (my former career before full time Mommying was the printing industry).
With our boy.
One of the alters for the dead.
We went by the train yard to visit the "sleeping" trains. CJ was too busy looking at them to turn around for the picture!
Lots of fun at home! The WM garbage truck my dad got for CJ was a TOTAL hit!
Oma and her littlest girl!
My Mom was holding E and I said "watch this" CJ won't sit with you because you have E...and she definitely proved me wrong. Guess CJ only gets jealous when Mommy or Daddy are holding E?
Group shot!
New Thomas the Train puzzle from Oma & Grandpa.
More Horsey rides!
E gets a turn with the garbage truck! HA!
CJ is probably one of the worst eaters on the planet, my mom tried REALLY hard while they were here to get him to try new foods. One morning they made eggs together.
He did eat some. I guess I just don't have the magic touch because he won't eat them for me. :(
The last big activity we did was go to the Safari Park or "Fari Park" as CJ calls it!
The purple princesses checking out the gorillas.
The boys waiting for the "train"!
On the "train" Safari!
E was so happy sitting with her Oma!
It was such a beautiful day!
At one point E was kicking CJ and pulling his hair and he tolerated it surprisingly well!
Do you see the giraffe under the tree? The spots on a giraffe help them blend into the spotty shady patterns under trees. Additionally, most animals are red/green colorblind which helps even more!
I think the Safari Park is one of the most beautiful places on earth!
This little baby was less than an hour old!!
CJ wanted to feed the lorikeets.
Having fun!
Oma had fun too...
...until they started landing in her hair. ;)
We got to see the elephant getting checked.
Both kids were melting down by the time we left, but I'm sure they were only crying because they didn't want the fun to end.
That afternoon we went to feed the duckies at Lake Poway.
E enjoyed watching the ducks!
So much fun! 
 
My mom and I got a chance to sneak out of the house for a bit one night when the kids were asleep. We went to Target and had a fun time shopping! We got the kids Halloween costumes and CJ was SOOOO excited about his that he started wearing it immediately, calling himself "firefighter CJ". HA HA! I love this picture of him putting the helmet on my mom. 
We had such a great visit with Oma & Grandpa; I can't wait until the next time we get to be together!