Spring Break Day 2

 After we left Malibu we drove to Santa Barbara. We started with the Santa Barbara mission. It was very cool to see. They were doing some work on the chapel so I didn't get any pics of the alter.

 all dressed up for Easter.

 If you ever read "Island of the Blue Dolphins" then you'll know about this. The book was based on an actual woman who was left on the island and survived there for 18 years before being rescued. Unfortunately she died a couple of weeks after that due to not having an immunization built up for  foreign diseases. She was buried at the Santa Barbara mission. I read that book in 4th grade and have always loved it.

 my pious family, kneeling in church.

 We drove by an LDS chapel just down the street from the Mission and had to get a picture.

 The back of the court house in Santa Barbara. We are huge fans of Psych and we were so excited to see this. They film the show in Vancouver, but they show aerial views of Santa Barbara and they always show the court house.

 My kids have never seen a phone booth. In fact, Scott couldn't figure out how it was supposed to work.

 In front of the court house.

 Just how it looks in Psych. We googled to see where we could get JapaDogs, but apparently they are a Vancouver thing.

 This was my favorite thing we did during the whole trip. We rented this "bike" that seats 6 and has peddles for 4. We biked up and down the boardwalk and it was so much fun. We laughed the whole time.

 A view from the pier.

 We had lunch on the pier and went for fried seafood. We didn't realize how much food came on one plate so Samantha and Amy got one to share and Marshall and I got one. It was enough food for 4 on one plate. Scott actually tried the baby octopus and the calamari and liked both.

 It was a little windy on the pier,

 but it was still beautiful.

Spring Break; Day 1 continued

After leaving Vegas we drove to Malibu to start our trip up the Pacific Coast Highway. There wasn't a lot of sun and it was chilly, but it was fun to see the ocean again.

 This wave caught the kids off guard and they got a little wet.

 The water was really cold. Nothing like Texas.

 Scott didn't like to stand in the water.

 Marshall was a little shocked at how cold the water was.

 A beautiful view.

 Samantha and Amy.

 Look at their faces. Priceless. They didn't see that one coming.

 Marshall and I.

 I wasn't going to stand there for the pic knowing a wave was coming so I ran, pushing the kids out of the way. No sacrifice too great.

Swim Meet and Spring Break 2013;Day 1

We started our Spring Break by traveling to Cedar City for the first Long Course swim meet of the season. About 2 miles outside of Beaver my good friend and fellow coach Celeste called and asked where we were. They had run out of gas and were hoping we were close. Luckily we were!! We stopped in Beaver and got some gas for them, and then met them about 15 miles away from there and got them going again. The meet was long and everyone was tired so there weren't that many great swims. Marshall got the swimmers together to play cards during the meet. 

 This pic is of Scott swimming one of the freestyle events.

 He did well and brought home a few medals.

 Amy diving,

 And finishing. She had a rough meet, but swam the 400 IM for the first time and actually did quite well finishing 3rd.

 Samantha swimming the 400 free. She had a pretty strong race and finished 2nd.

 The 10 & Under kids doing an Easter Egg Hunt.

 Scott is in the middle holding the bag. He got quite a few eggs.

 Amy reaching for some eggs. She won a basket that had everything needed for a manicure. Perfect!

 Samantha gave up on trying to use a bag and stuffed the eggs into her suit. She also won a basket that contained lotion and other skin care items. She was excited.

 After the meet we drove to Las Vegas for the night. We spent 4 hours walking the strip and checking out the hotels. Everyone was exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel. Marshall decided that he would make pancakes in our room to save money so we wouldn't have to buy breakfast. I had to get a picture of it. We had some nice views of Vegas outside our window.

 Since it was a Sunday, and Easter, we found a ward by the temple and attended sacrament meeting. Then we drove to the temple and took some pictures.

 Marshall with Samantha and Amy.

 My sweet little boy giving me a kiss. See how I hardly have to bend down?  They are all getting way too tall. Amy is now 1 1/2 inches taller than I am. It's not very fun.

 In case you can't tell, I am the one in the brown dress. Luckily I have another year or two before Scott is taller than I am.