Legoland

We have our Legoland passes again this year and Kellan has grown into some of the bigger rides since our last trip there two years ago. We tend to choose between Legoland and Disneyland, and this year, since we know that we'll be back for a few weeks in August, Legoland made more sense. Kel is already looking forward to the water park this summer.

A big favourite on this trip was the Legoland driving school.








He is so proud of having his very own driver's license. I've never seen him light up quite like this!






Kel and Grandma on the KidPower Tower. I don't know why they call it that, since its the adult who powers this ride!






I love Mom's face here. What did you get me in to?!





Another favourite was driving his own boat. He did this over and over and over again. Luckily, there were no lines this day.






Kel and Grandma on the bouncing stomach-in-your-throat ride. I went once. After that, he had to find another sucker to accompany him!






Kel in Miniland. That's San Francisco behind him. Lego San Francisco.





Kel and Grandpa also played a round of mini-golf. I was being lazy and relaxing in the sunshine. This is the only photo that I got.





Here's Kel about to take off on his jeep safari adventure.





Bidding farewell to Legoland on his last ride of the day, but we'll be back again this summer!

Another beautiful day at Balboa Park

There is never enough time to finish our explorations of Balboa Park -- the museums, the zoo, the play areas, the fountains -- it keeps us busy for days, and always wanting another trip back for more.

On our zoo trip this time, Kellan wanted specifically to see all of the aviaries and garden areas. We spent about three hours exploring various birds and plants. Here are a couple of my favourite aviary photos.




This kingfisher is native to Guam, but is now completely extinct in the wild. We were awed by its beauty, and so sad that what must have been a wonderful avian ecosystem at one point has now entirely vanished from Guam. We still love Guam though!













Back to the Science Center for more learning and discovery.







The buildings around Balboa Park are one of its more beautiful aspects. I'd like to take an early morning (or late afternoon) trip over with my camera on an upcoming visit so that I can get some shots without the mid-day light to spoil them. This was the only building shot worth looking at from this visit, the Casa del Prado Theater. And its still all wrong.

SeaWorld

Another fun day at SeaWorld. Another day with minimal photography. We have so many photos of ourselves at these big San Diego attractions that I'm more likely to sit back and enjoy the day now, rather than feverishly looking for photo ops. Its more like vacation this way.

Jungle Bells

I have no idea how we've missed this in the past (is it a long running event???), but we discovered Jungle Bells at the zoo this year. We spent a chilly New Year's Day (night) enjoying the lights, holiday music, and other festive offerings. We'll be making this an annual stop for sure.

The magic was in the lights and displays, but the photos are mainly of the boy -- in the dark. Christmas lights don't make for the most fabulous photos. Apologies. But he's a cute kid.





The bus tour was so much fun. We got to sit right up front on the top deck and enjoy all of the lights around the zoo.






They were also running the Balboa Park Railroad with some fabulous light displays around the track. This was a happy boy.








Wacky mother/son photo. Long day, long week, long year. Oh, wait, it was New Year's Day. I'm anticipating a long year. Good enough?





Couple of random shots. Here are mom and Kel before the symphony, standing in front of the big tree in Copley Symphony Hall. I took this shot with my phone, but I still love it.





And here's the Kel monster in one of the inflatables on a day out with friends.

A day at the zoo and Balboa park

There's nothing better than a day at Balboa Park. We made the most of it. It was a chilly morning, but Kel insisted that we start at the Zoo (rather than the museums). It was a good choice. The zoo was relatively empty and we saw all of our favourite animals before the crowds arrived.

My personal favourite -- the always gorgeous giraffes. Aren't they perfect? The kid standing in front of them is pretty cute too, if I might say so myself.





Kel's happy place: the Skyfari.







That's it for the zoo photos. We're enjoying, rather than snapping. We moved on to the science museum next. I love this shot of Kel examining the movement of sand particles to form dunes and other transient landforms. An image of discovery and learning in action.





And more discovery. This time experimenting with energy transformation.






An annual pass to the science center is an investment in education. Here are some more photos of Kellan learning through play. I adore this museum.







Next stop, the model railway museum!







Where better to stop after the railway museum than the miniature railroad? Kel was still carrying his new stuffed bat, a souvenir from the zoo. He insisted on getting one for his new cousin as well (as yet unborn) and is sleeping with the bat right now, as I type.






Finishing up with a few more shots from around the park.