Visiting the Evan's

Two weeks ago tomorrow (I am congratulating myself on posting this before the two week mark...I am perpetually two weeks behind) we loaded the kids into the van and drove down to visit my sister, Natalie, and her fabulous family in the warmest and sunniest portion of this state; So-Cal. Seriously, that's no exaggeration...when we headed up the grapevine, the skies were murky/smoggy with a temperature of 57 degrees. On the other side we were greeted by brilliant blue skies and a whopping 83 degrees - in JANUARY no less. Awesome. This was going to be a good trip. :)

So, these first two pics I meant to post last, but I screwed up and am unwilling to mess with rearranging the pictures now that they're all uploaded...the reason I put these on here is because my craft-genius sister had the stuff for us to make these adorable V-day banners. Natalie, I just wanted you to see how it COMPLETES the (simple) Valentine decor in my family room. Thanks a MiLlIoN. (And, sorry the lighting is so bad...I didn't take a picture until the sun had gone down.)

This room really isn't this yellow. Oh well. You get the point. That banner is ADORABLE! Love it. :)
Now, on to the main events!
Along with feeding us like kings and queens, putting us up in their gorgeous guest room (which I TOTALLY forgot to take a picture of. Seriously, Brandon and I want to move in), swimming/soaking in their spool and basking in the So-Cal sun, the Evans Family took us to SEA WORLD. Man, that place is cool...and even cooler if you get in for FREE (say in a high sing-song voice). Ya ya, thank you Military discounts, (and Brandon for serving in the US Air Force). They, of course, have amazing shows. Here's Brandon, Jemma (never looks at the camera) and Kyrie waiting for the Killer Whale show to start.

Carter, Natalie and Brian.

Mr. Gavin.

And, the killer whales! Those guys/gals are AMAZING. It's incredible how much personality and strength they have.

Brian, favoring us with a self-shot. :)

It was amazing to watch these guys lift they're big 'ol bodies clear out of the water...pretty sure my mouth was hanging open.

The shark tanks and tunnel were also impressive. Those guys have the freakiest mouths. Look at the teeth on that first guy!

Here we are waiting for the dolphin show. We got there SUPER early cuz it's a very popular show. We soon found out why. It was unreal.

Carter sporting my shades (Cassettes by my bro-in-law, Jade).

Among the AWESOME dolphins and all their tricks were all these crazy acrobats and divers doing insanely cool stuff.

Jemma loved the (above) Macaw lady. And I just couldn't get enough of the high dives. Made my stomach do flips in a good way.

Dolphins are just AWESOME! On the bucket list: swim with dolphins.

After hitting up four different shows (Two Killer Whale, one Dolphin and one Sea Lion - unpictured because we were inhaling lunch), we hit up some rides. Brian and Brandon took the girls over to the roller coaster (Jemma's FIRST, I might add) and Natalie and I took the boys over to the kid area. Carter is a HUGE fan of rides. He L.O.V.E.D. them.

Gavin, not so much. He looks pleasant enough here cuz the ride hadn't started. As soon as we started moving on all three of the rides we took them on, his famous scowl came out and he slouched down as low as he could in his seat. I tried so hard not to laugh, but it was so darling and funny at the same time, it was darn hard to conceal my urge to laugh.

Unfortunately, since I was riding with the boys, I didn't get a picture of Jemma on her first roller coaster, but apparently she LOVED it. She was, of course a bit apprehensive initially, but when it was said and done, she said it was "AWESOME"!

Funky mirrors.

The group, headed out after a fun and tiring day.

We swam/soaked in their spool a couple days/nights during our stay and I am SOLD on these babies. Jemma was totally uninhibited in that thing and swam all over the place and Carter was pretty brave too. I think the combination of it being smaller than a pool and heated were two big pluses.

On Saturday, while Natalie and I crafted and the kids played "Sea World", the boys went off to the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and had a MarVeLouS time. This was the first pro tournament Brandon has attended and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed himself. :)

Thanks so much, Brian, Natalie and Kyrie, for letting us come crash at your house for a couple nights. We sure had a good time. Love and miss you guys!