Sunday, August 1, 2010

So. Cal {part 1-Family Reunion}

4 years! It had been that long since my (steph's) family (consisting of my parents, sister (with her husband and son), and my brother (with his wife and 3 boys)) had been together. So this year, my parents were kind enough to treat us all to a wonderful family reunion!!! We started our week of fun with the cousins getting to know each other...it really didn't take too long! The girls LOVED their big cousins!

And then all the real fun began! #1--Sea World! Kassie has declared this is what she would like to do when she grows up! She loves animals and performing...so a Sea World animal trainer and performer would be perfect! We had so much fun feeding the dolphins, watching the shows, and of course, a few of us got drenched by Shamu!!!





The Starfish was the only animal that Laicee wasn't leary of...everything else, she loved from a far...very far!



Kassie, Amberlee, their cousin Eric, and Kevin were brave enough to sit in the soak zone at the Shamu show!!! The rest of us were happy and dry!The 16 of us! (just so you know who we all are. From Left to Right: Dad, Mom, Shae, Eric(top), Amberlee (top), Jerry, Kristin, Jackson (held), Steph, Emma (below), Kevin, Kassie (below), Jody, Jerry, Michael (top), Laicee (held)!)



#2--Disneyland! Usually, going to Disneyland in July is crazy. The lines are long, people are cranky, and the weather is hot! We got completely lucky. We went on a Wednesday, the weather was perfect, and the lines were perfect!!! We had so much fun! We took this picture at the entrance (yay...F for...Family Fun) and then tackled Disneyland in our own ways!




Is it just me...or is Sleeping Beauty's castle not as big as it use to be???


The 3 older boys got to ride all the rides they wanted...many times (it was fun running into them as they dashed from one side of the park to the next). Kristin and her family went where Jackson went. We ran with the girls and my parents to do all the girly things the boys would rather die than go to :)! Pixie Hollow was a huge favorite!!!

Kassie and Fawn had a great conversation about being animal talent fairies...and they even practiced animal sounds together (seriously...adorable)!

and Tinkerbell taught the girls how to pose as fairies!




Laicee, who could care less anyway, couldn't go on the roller-coasters...she and grandma had a great time together waiting for the rest of us! Her favorite thing at Disneyland was Small World...of course! She could have ridden that ALL day!


Emma was even tall enough to go on almost all the rides. Her favorite...Space Mountain!!! I LOVE that my girls are not afraid to go on these things!!!



The *littles* crashed! My mom and dad did, too! So, they took the girls back to the hotel and then Kev and I got to take the *biggles* on the only ride Emma couldn't go on (Indiana Jones) and then we ran around the park trying to get as many rides in as we could before it closed...at midnight!!! It was SO so SO much fun being able to do that with our older girls!


P.S. the tea cups make me sick...and we went really really fast!


#3--San Diego Zoo and Dinner at the Corvette Diner! Our last family adventure was to the San Diego Zoo! The girls were ecstatic and beyond thrilled to go there! They love seeing and learning everything they can about animals and this put them right in their element! The favorites were the panda bears, kookaburra birds, elephants, giraffes and hippos!
We worked really hard for this picture! Sorry to the man that I had to elbow out of my way so that Kass could have a picture with a hippo!



This gorgeous peacock kept trying to follow us...that made you know who very happy!




Can you see the giraffe...that's right...it's Emma!




And then my brother found a great restaurant for our final dinner together, the Corvette Diner! It came with dancing waitresses with huge wigs and a fabulous balloon artist! Emma loved her mermaid hat...and I couldn't resist it either!We truly had a wonderful 5 days together (we also had down time between all these things filled with other activities), and great family pictures, too (thank you Amber Katrina!)! It was so fun seeing everyone again and I especially loved watching the girls hang on their cousins!!! We already miss you all!!!


Up next: Part 2 {L.A. with Kev's family, Kassie's birthday and baptism}!!!

8 comments:

Company EIGHT said...

What a FUN, FUN, trip!! Looks like you guys had a blast, and I can't wait for Part 2!

Anonymous said...

is there anyway you can tell us what type of camera you are using these days for your photos - I love the quality of the pictures - perhaps the lense type(s) as well?

Erica said...

so fun! after seeing all your pics i'm dying to go on all those adventures as well! can't wait to see the rest...

Stephanie Lowe said...

anonymous, can you tell me who you are? I'd be happy to answer your questions...but 1st...

Anonymous said...

Now where is the fun in that - but seriously - someone who has sent you a Facebook invite and emailed you in the past - not a stalker or anything - have a wife and 2 beautiful girls - happily married for 11+ years - just a party who is interested in purchasing a new camera and your pics have great detail to them. I cannot decide between a Canon Rebel and a Nikon D5000 - your turn!

Anonymous said...

nothin huh?

Stephanie Lowe said...

Anonymous, sorry but I still have no idea who you might be. So, assuming that you are not one of the creepy crazies out there--here is some harmless info. I have a nikon D90 with a 1.8 50mm lens.

Anonymous said...

No creepy crazy here - just enjoy the photo quality and have been undecided between a Canon Rebel and a Nikon D5000 - I have heard a lot of great things about Nikon but have parents who swore by Canon in the old days. Anyways - appreciate the info - maybe someday you will accept that Facebook invite but something tells me you don't hang out there much and instead prefer sharing through blogspot. Nothing wrong with that. Site looks great and family definitely looks happy - congrats to you all and thanks for the info.