Zermatt Resort & Spa

Angie and Chris invited us to spend a night at the Zermatt Resort and Spa in Midway.  They were there for a foster parent seminar and wanted the spend time with us afterwards. So, after convincing Mom to come watch the kidlets (Ava was surprisingly good when we left) we headed off to Midway!  The room was awesome, the view was fabulous and the hotel was amazing!  The pool area was luxurious and I've decided that I could spend all day in a dry sauna.  Angie and I are thinking of a girls weekend;  just us and the stores! 

 

The night we were gone Ava had a small meltdown, but really she did great considering how hard it would've been for her a year ago.  On our way home the next day, we spent some time at a local dairy, tasting cheese samples and browsing the store. 

 

It was seriously such a fun weekend.  Just what we needed to take our minds off taxes!  And we've never had the money or a job where we could just be spontaneous and leave for a night.  It was awesome!

 

San Diego - Day 3

On our final day in San Diego, we checked out of our hotel and headed over to Old Town. San Diego was founded by the Spanish, so this little town had a decidedly Spanish/Mexican flair. It was awesome!

We bought some hand-painted Mexcian tile trivets and some handmade maracas and chowed down on some street tacos that were divine!   We had a little time left before we had to head to the airport, so we headed to the coast;  Cabrillo National Park.

Lyle enjoyed looking in the tide pools for starfish and hermit crabs, and getting his feet wet as the tide came in.

As we traveled home on the planes, it was really neat to look out the window and see the various cities lit up below us;  the highways with moving cars looked like rivers.  Lyle kept track of our flight progress on his phone and the entire time I kept looking at him with a big grin saying, "I'm so excited to see my babies!".    We left San Diego in roughly 68 degree weather, stepped off the plane onto the jetway and we could see our breath.  It was soooo cold!  :(

Ava was asleep when we got home.  We couldn't wake her up for anything.  we tried calling her name, kissing her cheeks and nuzzling her neck...she lay there like a log.  So, after hugging Sean and visiting with him for a few minutes (we got to Mom's house at about 12:15 a.m.), we went to bed.  I woke up the next morning to a cry of, "Mommy!".  It was so awesome!  :)

I was nervous about leaving Ava for so long.  She seems to be more attached to me than Sean ever was.  She screams and freaks out when I leave her with Lyle for a girls night, so I was nervous about leaving her with Lyle's parents over the weekend.  Nervous about how she would behave when we left.  I hoped she would stay asleep since we left so early on Friday morning, but she woke up.  In spite of my fears, as we walked out the door, she simply waved and said, "Bye, Mama, Daddy...love you".  It completely shocked me and Lyle.  And she did great the entire time we were gone too!  I'm so grateful for family close by that we can turn to when we need something and their willingness to serve and help out.

It was a whirlwind vacation, but desperately needed.  The last time Lyle and I got away alone was when Sean was 2!  So, it was time.  It was refreshing, exciting, nerve-wracking, fun, enjoyable and romantic.  Can't wait to do it again soon!

San Diego - Day 2

On our second day in San Diego, we woke up bright and early and headed off to Sea World! Neither Lyle nor I have ever been to Sea World and we were told by numerous people that it was one place we HAD to visit while we were there. So, off we went. I'm still not positive it was worth the admission price, and I'm not sure I would go again any time soon (I mean, how often can you SEE animals do they same thing over and over?), but, like flying, it's good to say that now I've done it!

I love this shot!  The kids were so excited that the whale came so close to them!

The visitors in the front were warned that they would get wet.  I'm guessing they didn't think they would basically take a bath, because they went scurrying at the first splash!

These pirahnas kind of disappointed us at feeding time.  They didn't go into a frenzy at all!  They must be too well fed. 

 These seals were so funny!  You could purchase some fish to feed to them and they knew you were coming!  This one sat on this rock and whenever he saw someone with a container of fish he would start barking furiously until he became so annoying someone finally threw him a fish.

This guy would "stand" on his back flippers and look throught the glass partition at you until you gave him a fish; he would also start nodding his head at you, as if to say, "uh-huh, yes, I'm ready, uh-huh, give me food".  LOL