Interesting Conversation

While riding Splash Mountain with Aunt Chelle at Disneyland, the ride stopped for about fifteen minutes. They were in the spot where the music changes from happy to dark and scary. The experience has seemed to left an impact on Tatum, as reflected in the following conversation:

Tatum: Mom, What is the savage place?
Me: Um, hmm??? Where did you hear about the savage place?
T: On Splash Mountain.
M: Really?
T: They sing, don't go to the savage place, for the huntsman will surely get you.
M: Maybe the animals think the savage place is where the hunter might hunt them.
T: What does hunt mean?
M: Well, it means to catch an animal, and kill it, and use it for food.
T: No comment, big eyes.
M: Most people eat animals for protein. The scriptures say that this is OK in moderation. When you eat a hamburger, you are eating parts of what once was a cow.
T: No comment eyes still big.
M: I think we should try to treat animals kindly and fairly. Some people don't eat any animals, they are called vegetarians.
T: No, mom vegetarians are people who don't eat meat!
M: Meat is from animals.
T: Aunt Whitney is vegetarian. I want to be a vegetarian... but sometimes I want to eat cheese hamburgers.
M: Sounds good.
T: So, where is the savage place?
M: Go ask daddy.

Baby Luke Visits

My sister Michelle, her husband Rob, and baby Luke came out for a So-Cal visit. We had fun with them, and the kids couldn't get enough of Luke. I also have Rob to thank for the "I'm a wide mouth frog" joke he taught my kids. I get to hear different versions of it at least twenty times a day. We packed in all sorts of festivities in three days and had an exhaustively awesome time!
In celebration of Rob's birthday, we went to Disneyland from sun-up to sundown. Ryan wasn't able to make it, so it was a little crazy. Davis has become our brave little boy... he went on Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and Thunder Railroad. I think he enjoyed the rides, he kept a nervous smile on his face the whole time. Tatum couldn't let her brother out-brave her so she went on some scary rides, too.

10pm and still smiling.
We also went to the San Diego Zoo... this was my favorite little animal, by far...
Are we starting to look worn down yet???
Next stop Mission Beach. It was a little chilly... but not for the sand man. Davis instantly ran into the water and rolled around.
Tatum, concocting wet sand for the always important sand castle.
Lyric managed to keep the sand out of her mouth for the most part.

All aboard the potty train!

After our first failed attempted back in November, I have been procrastinating potting training Davis. I thought we would give it another go a couple of weeks ago and he instantly picked it up. He quit diapers cold turkey and things couldn't be better. We are so proud of our little guy and congratulated him on being a big boy, he replied: "I am not a big boy, I am a medium sized kid!"

San Diego Zoo and Silver Strand Beach

Saturday we went to the San Diego Zoo, along with half of California. It was warmer than expected and pretty busy, but we manged to have a fun time. It was Lyric's first coherent trip to the zoo and she had so much fun searching the exhibits, then excitingly pointing to the animal, once she found it. Davis loved the reptile house... pythons, vipers, corn snakes, boa constrictors, and cobras... he loved them all and played tour guide, informing us whether or not they were venomous. Tatum was the map girl, she planned out our directions and kept us on the appropriate path.
Flamingos are Tatum's all time favorite, due to their pinkish hue. Davis on the other hand was dramatically dry heaving because of their smell... he reminded me of their daddy changing a diaper.
They may not resemble chimps in appearance, but I am pretty sure we have a couple of monkeys on our hands.

We even encountered some hostile aborigines along the way.
This peacock like bird was the hit of the day, my kids are still imitating him on a daily basis.


Silver Strand Beach
We decided to stop and play at Silver Strand Beach in Coronado. It was an awesome beach... great sand, long, gradual shelf, and tons of sea treasures waiting to be discovered. I didn't bring swimsuits, because I thought it would be freezing, on the contrary, it was about 79 degrees, so we let the kids soak themselves, clothes and all. Davis has gotten over his fear of the ocean and had so much fun chasing the waves. Unfortunately we left in hysteria, after Davis got a mysterious sting on top of his foot. The kids were quite convinced they found a shark tooth... the prized treasure of the day.Lyric took quite nicely to beach combing. She walked around with a little cup and proudly plopped in choice seashells, rocks, and a sand dollar. She offically has mothers hair, she broke out in wild baby curls within the first five minutes on the beach.

Bear Watching

Bear Grylls that is. The kids have found a new obsession... Man vs. Wild. They love watching the Discovery Channel show and seem to talk their daddy into it a little too often. Hopefully they come away with some mad survival skills... like how to use a hollowed out camel carcass for shelter.