Jeannette and Glen's Family: Family Vacation Part III

Since the baby hasn't come yet (yes, I am 2 days past my due date, but I still feel pretty good) I figured I should finish up our family vacation. Disneyland was great, but I think everyone was happy to spend a day up in Big Bear on Saturday relaxing. Glen and I took the kids to visit his long time friends, the Mandolini's. We had a yummy lunch and really enjoyed chatting while the kids played.

After the visit we rushed back to the time share to surprise Jenny (Bill's wife) with a birthday cake and mini party. Then Glen and I got ready to head back down the mountain to Victorville. I was glad the kids didn't have to make the trip again and I'm sure they were too. We stopped by a wedding reception for a family Glen knew years ago and then it was off to his 20 year class reunion. As soon as we got inside, Glen's friend Lori Preston spotted us and came over to give us big hugs. The baby is actually being named after her and a couple of Glen's other friends from high school (Preston Michael). Lori, in my opinion hasn't changed a bit since high school except maybe a better hair style. She still looks great. Glen was probably one of the most changed. People kept giving him weird looks and when their curiosity would finally get the better of them they would come over and gasp at Glen's high school picture on his name tag. "Glen Black! No way!" Yep, a few pounds more and a few hairs less, but the same guy. There weren't a lot of people there, but it was interesting to meet some of the people that Glen had grown up with. It makes me wonder who will show up to my 20 year reunion and what they'll look like. Of course, after 20 years some things never change. The cheerleaders were still clumped together in a group on the dance floor, the quiet folks stayed mostly at their tables, and the guy who said he'd be successful really is.

It was back up the mountain to find the kids were just fine and Grandma didn't have too much trouble with them. Sunday we went to the ward in Big Bear along with quite a few other vacationing families and then it was time to pack up and head out. Grandma, Grandpa, Mike, Brittany, Bill, Jenny, and Grace all headed back to Utah and we made our way back to Victorville for a picnic and get together at the Mojave Narrows park with more of Glen's friends from High School. We all got a kick out of the camels at the park and the crazy wind reminded us of being back home in Eagle Mountain.

We stopped for a quick visit at Glen's friend, Travis's house, and then we were off to San Diego. We checked in to the time share and after Glen made a great dinner, we were all plenty eager to get some rest. Monday we decided to go into phase two of the vacation - relax more than run around. I hung out in the condo while Ammon took a very long and very needed nap and Glen took Isaac and Ella to the pool. We decided after lunch to go to the San Diego Zoo and it was a lot of fun. It was only five minutes from the time share which was just perfect. The kids loved seeing all the animals and we enjoyed not being rushed, just taking our time and seeing what we wanted. The San Diego zoo is beautifully done and all the shade made it very nice and cool. The coolest part for me, seeing some of the last panda's in the world, very cute. Isaac liked the hyena, which was staring at us like we were lunch. The hippos in the water were absolutely fascinating as they glided around without a care in the world.

Tuesday we went to Sea World and again had a lot of fun. We enjoyed seeing the penguins, the sea lions, the dolphin show, and many other things, but our favorite thing by far and completely worth the money was our lunch with Shamu. We reserved our places as soon as we got in the park and we were excited to see exactly what it entailed. It was fabulous to say the least. They had tables set up on a covered patio right next to the killer whale's "play pool". This is where they go after they do their shows and they are allowed to do whatever they want. While they were swimming in, we loaded up from an incredible buffet. There were seafood dishes, pasta, soup, chicken, kid friendly food, salad, fruit, and delicious desserts. Then as we ate the trainers helped show us where the whales were going to "pose" for pictures. The only rule was that since this was the whales play time, there was no guarantee they wouldn't splash us and those on the bottom tier were in a complete soak zone. We were fine, but you could tell the whales were having a great time as they flipped and jumped and spun for us. The kids loved it and even after we left the lunch we went down to watch the whales some more from the viewing area where you could see them under the water. It was truly amazing to see these huge creatures be so graceful in the water. As Isaac puts it, we had a great time at Sea World.

Wednesday we went to the beach for the morning. Isaac and Ella loved playing in the water, but Ammon preferred playing in the sand. Then we were on the road again and headed to Arizona. We made it into Scottsdale at about dinner time and stayed at Glen's friend, Mike's house. Glen and Mike were able to go play tennis the next the morning and the kids played in a little pool we bought. We relaxed and slept and that night we all went out to dinner. Friday morning we headed out early to finally go home to Utah. I was so excited to be back in Utah I could have kissed the ground. It's always a great feeling to come home. Even with some longer stops along the way, we made good time and were back home in Eagle Mountain by bedtime.