Birch Aquarium..or...the fairy and princesses

One park down, 2 to go. We decided to go to the Wild Animal Park, but we got as far as Carl's Jr. for lunch on our way there and decided that it was raining too much to make going out there with kids worthwhile. Don't animals hide when it's raining? We contemplated what to do on a rainy day where everything is located outside because of the mild climate, and decided we'd find a mall to check out the So Cal shopping scene. On our way, Steve called Tash and suggested the Birch Aquarium (UCSD), so we changed plans again and headed over there. I'm glad we did. It was really fun! The most entertaining part of the day were the toy boats in the water tables. I wish I'd gotten pictures of it. We got stuck there quite a while, and I'd bet the adults were more entertained than the kids!

Aquariums are always interesting, and this one even had a booth where you could record a news broadcast and watch yourself afterward. We took a video of it, and though it's hard to hear with background noise and all of us discussing it, it was fun to do, and everyone made an appearance.

We couldn't resist the corny photo ops!

"Say shark attack!"

Here's our little family of 5 now.

Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!

You see? Hyrum's trying to pose Hyatt, but he was getting scared and confused, so Hyrum had to give up. That's why Tilly is always his muse.

Look at my little wippersnappers!

Just a guess, but I wouldn't doubt that these are life-size whales. Can you believe I'm in a picture? (Again, it's for you, Teresa.) Dru is with us, too.

Sisters and cousins.

See? I rarely get a decent picture of Hyrum!

You never realize how heavy 15.5 pounds really feels until you have to sling it around all day for 5 days.

Tilly and I are growing our bangs out together.

Everyone picked out their favorite sea toy to play with.

Dru and Hyatt liked the starfish...

And Tilly was all over the shell action.

Who cares about fish when there are fists to chew on?

"Hey, Dad, my sleeves are rolled up! Can I touch the creatures now?"

Hyrum let Talea crawl up on the rocks to play in the water. (Note the sign on the rocks.)

Hyatt always has to be coaxed into trying something new. I had to force him to touch the thing that looks like an underwater porcupine (it gives your finger a hug!), so I hope I don't scar him for life and make him blame everything wrong in his life on me.

"Look, Daddy! I touched it!"

"I can see my house from here!"

"That was cool!"

"Is it my turn yet?"

"Hang on a second, Hyatt."

"Hey, you took too long. It's not working anymore! I can't see anything!"

"Don't worry about me, guys. I didn't need to see anything anyway. I'll just hang out here and pretend I'm still bundled up in the womb."
Ah Ha! Melanie and I aren't the only Cluffs that are always behind the lens!

Oh, the ocean looks innocent enough, but there was recently a fatal shark attack not too far from here. Wouldn't you know, Cage was brave enough to be back in the water the next day.

There were so many cool things in the tanks.

Ahh, a moment of cooperation instead of fighting over who gets it first!

I love it when Tilly gets to play with cousins close to her age!

You can only see about half of this aquarium in this picture. It's enormous, and the kelp flows back and forth with the waves.



After we were all fished out, we went back to Tasha's and the little girls snuck into Dru's chests of princess dresses. They had a blast playing dress up! Talea ripped the rubber bands out of her hair so her hair could be long and flowing like a princess...or at least a princess having a seriously bad hair day.

Cage (Tasha's oldest who kept having to miss the fun because of school) was amazing with the girls, spending all kinds of time dressing them up in princess dresses.

Well, I don't know how to say it any other way than this: Hyatt's a fairy.

Yep. He was even sporting the wings, heels, and wand. These are going to make excellent blackmail photos when he's a teen!

No, Tilly, you haven't developed a bust to fill out your dress yet.

Child bride...or...robbing the cradle.

Cage even got into the dress up action. I loved her skirt! It looked so fun and full, like a skirt from "7 Brides for 7 Brothers."

Tilly even has the uppity, snooty, nose-in-the-air face to go along with the gown!

Don't they look like Anastasia and Drusilla fighting?

Dru had had enough! Isn't her crying face adorable? I can say that because I'm not her mom having to put up with it. If it was Tilly, I guess it wouldn't look so adorable to me.
And that was the end of a long, rainy, but very fun day.

San Diego Zoo...or...the death of a duckling

During our trip to San Diego, we never arrived at a park before noon because we spent too much time in the mornings just chatting and eating and getting ready, so we didn't get enough time at each park and we need to visit them again, but what time we did have there was a blast! Steve (Tasha's boyfriend/Dru's dad) had to work each day, and Cage (Tasha's-13 year-old daughter, whom I witnessed the birth of) had school each day, so it was usually just Tasha and Dru (her 3-year-old girl) and our family of 5.

The party started at the zoo! Ha ha! The girls outnumber the boys! My ankle had locked up the day before, but luckily it functioned properly here and I was able to walk the entire zoo just fine.

Obviously I'm the odd-man-out since I didn't have a hat. Unfortunately, I don't own one. But look how attractive our tongues are! Okay, maybe not, but we got most everyone to do the same thing in a picture, which is pretty incredible! Hyrum barely got his tongue out of his teeth, and Kiersa... well, she thought that when Tasha said "Stick out your tongue," she really meant "Look at your toes!"

All the little cuties! All we were missing was Cage, but she was in school that day.

We took the double-decker bus ride around the zoo at the beginning so we could see everything before-hand.

Oh! Look quick! It's the elusive Tianapotomus with one of her young!

Here's our E3 double stroller acting as a triple stroller since we didn't want to pack our umbrella stroller also. I can't tell you how much I love this jogger!!! I've already written an ode to it in an earlier blog, so I won't go off about it again, but I did see them everywhere in San Diego, and even the more updated Vibe, which I'm having a hard time not coveting. (Kiersa's in the back, you just can't see her very well.)

Tasha's single jogger's foot rest acted as a double seat when Talea wanted to ride with Dru.

It rained briefly during our visit to the zoo.

The San Diego zoo is one of the only places you'll see a panda bear. Shh! You have to whisper around the pandas.

Think hippos are cute? Want one for a pet? You'll need a litter box on your wall! They stick their hind ends out of the water and use their tail as a manure spreader to splatter their poo on the rocks! It's foul! Hyrum caught one in the act. The discoloration on the rock is the poo!!

"Nice one, Larry!"
"Yep. I know. I'd say I got it 3 feet wide that time."

It's a hippo attack! Talea's always willing to do funny poses that her dad puts her in. Hyatt just gets confused, so he's never a good candidate for the pictures.



This is what happens when I'm not around. Tilly asks Hyrum if she can "suck on the monkey's boobie" and he says "sure". Leave it to a dad! What about germs? What about people's reactions? Nothing embarrasses Hyrum! Apparently that's rubbed off on Talea.


Talearilla and Hyrumzee.

There was a baby gorilla there! Spring seems to be a great time for viewing babies at the zoo!

When we got to the zoo, there were 7 ducklings swimming around. SO adorable! When we were leaving, we noticed there were only 5. Hmmm. Strange. As we were adoring them, we witnessed a most cruel and uncalled for act of nature. A Great Blue Heron, normally a fish eater, maliciously stomped it's way over to the ducklings, plucked one out of the water after it futilely dove underwater for cover, and took off with it. The mother duck was furiously chasing it, and the flamingos even got ticked off and tried to attack it, but it just flew off with the poor duckling crying out for help. I just about jumped in the water to save it and would have thrown a rock if I could have found one. I know it's nature, but it was as horrifying to witness as watching a horse snatch up a baby kitten and eat it. Cranes eat fish, not fowl! Isn't that cannibalism? I'm still upset. I saw one fly by me today while I was jogging and I thought evil thoughts towards it because I also happened to be jogging by a mother duck and her 5 ducklings at the time. Vicious little piranha with wings!

Dru and Talea were all over the face-painting action, but Hyatt wanted nothing to do with it.

Decked out in face paint and holding the souvenir cup...is she a tourist or what!?

I love this little girl!

Running down the aviary ramps.
I love being the mother to such a sweet little boy!

The kids kept running too far away from us, so we started playing "Red light, green light" to keep the kids close. Tasha joined in the fun and froze in funny positions, and then Hyrum joined too.


There was a great animal show at the zoo!


Tilly was feigning sleep to have a good excuse to cuddle in Tasha's arms, as though she needed an excuse! Tasha's a great aunt!

My brother-in-law, Edward (Daisha's British hubby), has a fetish with all things badger, so when we went to the animal show and they had a badger, Tasha, Hyrum and I all had a good laugh thinking about Edward, and we took pictures for him. Yes, Edward, we did this just for you, but did you know badgers can dig faster than a person can dig with a shovel, or are you just a pseudo-enthusiast?

Teresa (one of Hyrum's little sisters) has been threatening that if I don't post more pictures of myself, she's going to do vile, unmentionable things to me. Okay, fine, that's a slight exaggeration. But I'll have you know that it is for her only that I'm posting so many pictures of myself. Hyrum went on a photos-of-Tiana spree for Teresa, so here you go. Get your fill!!!! It's likely that a drought is coming soon. I prefer to be behind the camera because I still look 5 months pregnant!! (I've been asked if I'm expecting again already.) Having a third baby and having it in my thirties is proving to be more than my body wanted to handle. It won't let go of the excess weight! (Thus the jogging, and most of you know I hate to run.) Just so you're aware, it's difficult to find a picture of my face, because when Hyrum takes the camera from me, this is what happens. Remember the shower tiling photo? Mmhhm. I told you!!
Now, I don't think my hind end is attractive, but I have to show you how often I'm surprised with these pictures when I download.
At the zoo...
Memorial Day Weekend '07...

A couple weekends ago (he told me he was getting me, so I covered)...

A year and a half ago...

Last month (I wanted a picture of the tile, but I had the feeling he'd be putting me in it too)...

During our last house remodel...

See what I mean? Anyway, on to faces.



The worst of worst things happened! I forgot my sling in the truck at the Medford airport! I had to make a makeshift one out of a blanket that luckily was big enough. (It's not near as good, by-the-way.)

Okay, that's enough.

No really, that's enough.

Now this is the way nature is meant to be. The males do all the strutting and fancying up, and the girls are allowed to look plain and normal. Now, why is it that human females wear the makeup and high heels and low cut shirts while the guys are wash and wear creatures? I'm still confused about that.

Yet another fancy male with a plain female. Hmmm.

At the end of a long day, Dru was not up to a silly photo session. "Can someone please get me out of here!"

"Look at how ridiculous he looks!"

"Oh, come on! Not you, too! Ugh. I'm surrounded by fools."

The San Diego Temple, in my opinion, is the most beautiful of the temples. It's only a couple of exits from Tasha's house. This was taken from the freeway on our way home from the zoo.