I have to start the blogging of our trip to San Diego with an experience the girls had that I think is absolutely incredible. Maybe it's because it would have been my dream come true when I was their age, too : ) We spent the day at Sea World with my family which was so fun. Towards the end of the day we were at the dolphin area and some of the trainers were working with the dolphins and had them come over to the edge of the enclosure and were letting people pet them. Katie and Anna were waiting patiently behind some adults for their turn, only to watch the adults pet the dolphin and hear the trainer announce, "That's all folks. Thanks for coming!" and watch the dolphins swim away. I think they didn't see little Katie standing behind the big people. She was devastated. I felt so bad for her, she was right there so excited, only to have her dream ripped away. Heartbreaking!!

I noticed that they had a "dolphin interaction" happening in 10 minutes, so I went over to the booth to ask what it was. Basically, a small group of people get to go to a private area with a couple of trainers to interact with the dolphins. She said that they still had some space in the one coming right up, so I asked if my sobbing girl would be able to do it. Kate was an inch under their height requirement so we had to ask a trainer if she could still do it, but she said it was fine. They only had it so that they would be able to reach over the side of the pool to actually interact with the dolphins. Hooray! But then, it turned out, that there was only one spot left and it was the last one of the day. How on earth could I let just one girl do it? No way. So I asked if they could make an exception and let my girls go together. The girl in the booth told me I'd have to ask the trainers. So I headed over and asked a trainer if they would be willing to open an extra spot for us. She had to ask her manager, so we waited a few more minutes, and then the manager came over and said that they could take both the girls. Hallelujah! I quickly ran over and paid, just in time for the girls to get in the group.

I wasn't able to go with the girls since they didn't have space, so they just went with a darling trainer. I think it ended up working out way better for them that way. They had the most incredible time with their trainer, Chris, and definitely got some special treatment. I was totally living out a childhood dream through my girls ; ) Please excuse the large amount of pictures!

The girls meeting one of their dolphins, Gracie. This is right after Gracie splashed them hello : ) I love that Katie is laughing and is ready for more splashing and Anna is backing away ; )

The girls got to learn all kinds of commands and believe that they are now dolphin trainers : ) They "taught" Deke to spin...

Wave hello, and sing...

and gave Gracie commands to go and jump! : )

They got to feed both of "their" dolphins fish and ice for a job well done.

And give them lots of love.

I think Kate's favorite was when she touched their blowhole it made them squeak really loud : )

Afterwards Kate told me, "I couldn't really reach her fin." I can see why they have the height requirement! Haha. But Katie was more than able to do everything and I'm so glad they let her.

I can't say enough great things about their trainer, Chris. After they were finished the girls wanted a picture with Chris. She was like, "Wait! Let's see if we can get Gracie in the picture." So we went over to the glass and she tapped on the window and Gracie came swimming right over and posed for the picture. Isn't that so cool? Apparently the dolphins know their trainers and totally recognize them, which is why Gracie came swimming right on over. How fun!

The best part, though, was that she also totally remembered the girls. Here's Katie saying goodbye to Gracie.

I love that they got to do this so much!! They are still telling me random facts that they learned about dolphins at random times. Like I'll be doing Katie's hair and she'll tell me, "A dolphin's skin doesn't really feel like you think it would. It's soft and kind of squishy. But I didn't squish it because that would hurt them."

Totally living through my kids. I love it : )

I can't believe that it was 3 years ago today that I held this little baby boy in my arms for the very first time. It feels like yesterday.

It took us so long to find a name for this little guy. I still remember when we realized that his name was Blaine. I didn't love the name, but it was just who he was and I could picture it on a bleach blonde surfer guy, and that picture seemed to fit this little faux-hawked baby : ) More on how he got his name HERE

Little did I know how soon that picture would come to life : )

He is my Blaine, and I love him so much. Our lives changed so much for the better when he joined our family. He is so much fun and I am so grateful to be his mom. I can't think of a better way to celebrate mother's day than by celebrating this boy. Happy 3rd birthday little man!!

This is one of my favorite instagrams of this little boy. We were at Sea World and he was saving his favorite shark shirt to wear to go and see the sharks. We found this pair of sunglasses that was just like the ones the shark is wearing on his shirt. He thought it was hilarious. "Look! I'm wearing sunglasses just like the shark on my shirt!" Every day is so much fun with this guy. I love him. Also, instagram is the bomb.

We just got back from a fabulous trip to San Diego Thursday night (which I'll post about hopefully soon) and I have a million things to do to get ready for my boy's 3rd birthday and Mother's Day tomorrow. But I just saw these pictures that Christian took at Fathers and Sons last night and I had to post them. These just melted my heart.

Can you tell how excited Blaine was to be camping with his daddy and get to sleep in his very own sleeping bag in a tent? : )

Happiest boy ever. But I'm not sure if it was Christian or Blaine who was more excited about going… : )

Exploring, all the dirt, rocks and sticks a boy could dream of, playing with flashlights and running around with other little boys… what could possibly be better?

I am so happy these boys could go together : )

On a side note, Kate was devastated that she didn't get to go. She is her daddy's girl and was so upset that she didn't get to go on a special camping trip with just her dad. "I bet they're even going to have s'mores!!! Waaaail!" I thought I could make it up to her by going to TGIFriday's with the girls because they have always wanted to go to the one by our house but we have never taken them. So I loaded up two very excited little girls, only to get there and discover the signs were taken down, the awnings gone and the building totally empty. Kate was beside herself. We finally decided to go to another place but it took Kate a good half an hour to be okay with the idea. She kept wanting to go back to the abandoned TGIFriday building to see if they had come back. I felt so bad for the girl; talk about salt in the wounds! But we ended up having a great time together and Kate is now completely sold with Applebee's because they put whipped cream and a cherry on top of her ice cream. Thank goodness! ; )

I love this picture of my Katie girl. This was taken after Anna's baptism when we were outside taking some quick pictures. She was running around and stopped to make a wish on this dandelion… which she does with all dandelions. I love her wishful, whimsical, sincere, believing heart and the sweet wishes that she blows away on the tails of the dandelion fluff.

I so wish this age could last just a little bit longer. Little girls are the best : )

I can't believe that it was an entire year ago today that we were standing at Buckingham Palace for the Wedding of the Century. Part of me feels like it was only a coupe of months ago, and then another part of me isn't sure it even really happened. Were we really there? Are you kidding me? It all just feels like a really incredible dream. Except if it was a dream, I probably would have imagined myself looking a little more glamorous : )

We had just flown in the afternoon before and had probably only slept for about 4 hours in the previous 48. But I would do it again in a heartbeat! It was one of the most incredible days ever. I am so happy we were able to go and only wish I could somehow transport myself there again. Oh, London, I miss you!

Happy Anniversary Wills and Kate!

We were this close to the newlyweds… can you believe it?? Sometimes I can't! ; )

Post about our time at the wedding found HERE

My kids counted down to my dad's visit for weeks : ) They had a whole list of things that they were excited about doing with my dad while he was here. The reason for his trip was, of course, Anna's baptism. I was so happy that my dad could be here. He did a great job representing the grandparents on Anna's big day : )

I love this picture.

My dad flew in a few days before Anna's baptism, in large part so that he could attend Google's first ever Parent's Day. My dad was able to go to Google with Christian and over 4,000 other parents and enjoy a presentation in the packed Shoreline Amphitheater on the history of Google, attend different workshops, and of course, eat some of the Google cuisine : ) My dad loved it, and it was so fun that we actually had a parent here to attend with Christian.

My dad was here for a few days before and after spring break. He was a good sport coming to watch the girl's do soccer and gymnastics and Blaine had the BEST time playing with grandpa while the girls were at school. My dad told me that he thought about bringing a book, but didn't because he wanted to spend every minute he could playing with his grandkids. Can you see why my kids had been looking forward to his visit for so long? : )

Krista was here the week of spring break, too, which made for even more fun! We only had one day of sunshine before it started raining the rest of the week, so we made sure to make the most of it. We had never been out to the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz so we thought it would be fun to check it out.

We walked around and explored the boardwalk...

Got some yummy lunch to enjoy for a picnic on the beach…

And enjoyed playing on the beach!

The girls and their masterpiece. Katie spent forever searching the beach for all of the fun shells to decorate their castle.

One of the top items on the list of must-dos with Grandpa was have a wiener roast in the backyard. Hot dogs, chips, pop and s'mores… no wonder the kids couldn't wait : )

And then it rained the rest of our spring break! We went to see Mirror, Mirror, jumped at Rockin' Jump and enjoyed lots of games, hide and go seek and we watched so many Psych episodes when the kids went to bed. It was so fun having family here. We can not wait for the next visit!

Last Saturday was one of the most wonderful days, and an even more important and wonderful day for my little girl. I smiled and cried (tears of joy) throughout the entire day. My heart could not have been more full of love, pride, joy, and gratitude. Overwhelming love and gratitude. I loved every minute : )

Our Anna Jane was baptized by immersion by her dad, who was a little emotional that day as well : )

There was a moment when we were sitting in the chapel with Anna, sitting in her white dress between Christian and I. Christian was wearing the same tie that he wore the Sunday he blessed Anna as a newborn baby. I was flooded with emotion, looking at this sweet girl who is still so innocent, sweet and our baby girl. It was a reminder of how quickly this time is passing and I wanted to scoop that girl up and cradle her in my arms, even though she barely fits. Christian caught my eye, and we shared a look where I knew exactly what he was thinking and knew that he knew what I was as well. We could not be more blessed to have our Anna as our daughter. I am so, so proud of her.

My dad, Krista and TJ all came out for Anna's baptism. I loved having my sister here to help me with everything, and it meant so much to have my dad and TJ here to participate. Anna especially loved that her Grandpa gave a talk on baptism : ) Thank you so much for coming, guys!! PS - check out Krista's cutest baby bump! We can't wait for baby boy Emrich to arrive this July : )

And more pictures of miss Anna Jane, just because : )

Congratulations, Anna! We are so proud of you!

The best part of Easter this year was definitely that we got to share it with family! That is such a treat for us : ) My dad, Krista and TJ were all in town and we loved being with them. I thought I'd share one of our favorite Easter traditions that our family does. It's kind of weird, but we love it : )

We start out by doing the normal, traditional Easter egg dyeing...

And then after Easter, usually on Easter Monday (which is a holiday in Canada), we pack a picnic and head to the park by our house to roll our Easter eggs down the hill. It's hilarious to watch everyone throw their egg as hard as they can down the hill and then run down chasing after it. Then we peel the cracked eggs and eat them as part of our picnic.

Some years there is still snow on the ground at Easter time in Canada. Those years we would put an ironing board on our stairs to roll the eggs down. It was raining here so we put a giant board on our stairs for the Easter Egg Roll this year. The kids loved it : )

Our smashed eggs : )

It was really fun to do this with some of my family here. Have you ever heard of this tradition? I have no idea where this came from, but we've been doing it for as long as I can remember. It's a great way to get those eggs ready for egg salad! haha.