Weekend Without Kids

On the last day of school, it was a busy day for Marci as well. She went in first thing in the morning to get Lasik surgery on both eyes, then spent several hours resting before heading out on a fun weekend without kids- planned by Caleb. 

We stayed downtown Salt Lake near the Capital in a great little B&B called Inn on the Hill. It was beautiful and the breakfasts were very good as well. We went to a movie and went shopping and wandered around downtown. We ate at our favorite fancy place- Eva. 

 On Saturday, after a lasik check up, we decided to hike Mount Olympus. A first for Marci, up this steep and monstrous climb. Sunglasses were worn at all time, and we definetely earned some rest and relaxation. The weather was perfect and the views were amazing.

 We spent our last morning going to Music and The Spoken Word with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and then going up to the roof of the conference center to enjoy the beautiful day.

Last Day of School 2015

We got back from San Diego just in time to finish out the school year. Nothing like a party week after a vacation. 

Gavin has had a great time in 4th grade and made some new friends and had a great year. He has always really loved all of his teacher, and this was the first year he had a teacher that wasn't his favorite. It was a good lesson in how to try and be positive in circumstances you don't like.

Second grade was a year for Henry to start to come into his element. He had the best tandem of teachers that really brought out all of the great things about him. He was even able to overcome some of his quiet personality and start to speak up and lighten up a little more.

Last Day in San Diego- Just Us

By the end of the week, some people had gone home and other people had gone to Legoland, so we were on our own. The kids seemed a bit lonely at first not to be with cousins, but as soon as we got to the warm and sunny beach, they changed their minds. We had such a great time. We found a great spot that had a playground for the guy who doesn't like the ocean, and also lots of great sand and waves.

The boys set to work with Caleb to build an awesome sand castle before they got wet boogie boarding.

Finn took some breaks on the playground and had his best beach day yet.

Pretty impressive.

We ended our time on the beach with a walk down the pier to Ruby's Shake Shack, and by trying not to think about having to go home.

Marshall Reunion- Sea World

We spent almost one entire day at Sea World and all of the kids loved it. It was also a favorite with most of the adults too. There was just enough to do for the day, and it started out overcast and the temperature was perfect. All of the kids wanted to start out at the play areas, so Sesame Street rides were a must for these guys. 

Finn was super brave on the Elmo ride.

Lincoln and Wyatt on spinning ride.

Our favorite thing was probably all of the shows that we went to. We saw the sea lion show, the Shamu Show and the dolphin show, which also had pilot whales that were very cool.

The kids were all very anxious to get splashed at the Shamu show, though they ended up having to move right to the front to really get wet.

We took the closest seats we could get in the dolphin show and we definetely got soaked in the soak zone. Most of us loved it, but the younger kids were especially proud of themselves.

We also rode on a lot of small rides, and got to touch manta rays and some sucking fish that were kind of freaky. The Atlantis roller coaster was the last stop before the gift shop, but was so wet that no electronics could be used and get any pictures. We did end up with a very long wait for that, because a swarm of bees made it's way through the ride and it had to be stopped while they were cleared out.

We ended the day at a tasty seafood place and with some huge ice cream cones.

Wyatt loved his souvenir so much that we found him totally asleep with it on that night.

Marshall Reunion- Carlsbad Beach

We were lucky enough to get some sun and some warmer temperatures for some time at the beach. This was the first trip of the year that we were reminded that Finn does not like the ocean. He does like to sit on the beach in the dryer sand with a bucket and shovel and stay far from the water.

Sarah headed straight in to start jumping waves.

Wyatt had no problem with getting very wet, followed by playing the sand... and turning into this sand monster, over and over.

Morgan and his giant seaweed prize.

Cute photobombed behind us.

Sassy Sisters on the Beach.

It wasn't long before having Schatzy bury you in the sand became a favorite thing for all of the small boys.

Jaxson was too fast to get buried in sand for long.

Finn was so super happy to be turned into a sand octopus. He talked about being buried like this for the rest of the trip.

Marshall Reunion- Swimming and Point Loma

This May brought the Marshall clan on a trip to San Diego and Escondido to the Welk Resort. It only took 3 suites to fit all of our crew and everyone was there except for Cheyenne who was on her mission in Nicaragua, and Alaina stopped in for a couple of hours.

We were all super excited to arrive and head to the pool, even though May weather in that area didn't prove to be very warm. That didn't stop all of the kids from swimming, even though it did stop some of the adults.

These 4 little guys had such a great time splashing and playing and being silly together all week. It didn't take long for them, even though they hadn't seen each other in a while.

Wyatt, Finn, Jaxson and Lincoln

The crazy floaters- Wyatt, Rachel, Kaylee, Gavin, Henry and Miran

Wyatt and Lincoln had to ride and go everywhere together. They would walk around holding onto each other and saying that they were going to "Stick Together." So funny to see how different in size they are when they are just 7 months apart in age.

We made a stop at the San Diego temple grounds. Such a beautiful spot to remind us of the blessings of family.

"Sticking together" again while the older kids look on and laugh.

We spent the rest of the day at Point Loma. A beautiful spot that overlooks San Diego and Coronado Island. It also has a very large military cemetery and some great tide pools and rocks to check out.

Gavin enjoying the view.

Vatti watching the sailboats and always keeping an eye on little kids.

My adorable men.

Hiking down to the tide pools.

It wasn't long before all of these cousins had to head back up, one missing a sandal, and all a bit more wet than when we started out.

Right before a big wave came up and splashed us a little.

Jaxson and Finn in their under-coffee table fort made of pillows. Too Cute.

We also used Sunday night to put on our new reunion shirts and take some photos for Cheyenne. We had to ask a random stranger to come over and take the photos since the camera with a timer ended up being dead once we all got into place. I think they were a bit overwhelmed by our crowd, but still helped us out.