A Day at the Park

A friend mentioned that there is a *free* water park nearby, so today we took our kids to explore this marvel. It was nice to do something different for the kids, especially when what we can do is so limited in the Summer heat. 


Swing time was short, but thoroughly enjoyed.

When the water came on at 10am, Rachel seemed interested in the water and the splashing that the other kids were doing but would not get near it.

 I figured she just needed some time to develop the courage, but all she wanted to do was run on the grassy knolls the whole time. Here is my kid again just doing her own thing. She doesn't care that other kids are having the time of their lives and that she could too. There is no convincing her to follow the herd. 


A couple of hours passed and Rachel still wanted nothing to do with the water until some kid shot her with his squirt gun. She loved it and it made her more willing to get closer to the water, albeit the rinse fountain!

After this, she was more willing to try the actual water play area, though she remained leery and still didn't go in all the way.

Unfortunately, by the time we reached this milestone we had been there for nearly 3 hours and I was ready to go. So I got her all changed and we made our way home. After her initial tantrum for not wanting to leave, she quickly crashed and slept the whole way home.

Rachel's First Trip to the Zoo

Ben and I decided that we wanted to spend our 6th wedding anniversary on July 2 with family at the San Diego Zoo. We knew Rachel would love it, and she did. It was a much more pleasant experience than what we had at Disneyland back in March. 

Among her favorite moments was the gorilla exhibit. Those apes were hamming it up for the crowd and Rachel had front row seats for it. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of that, but here she is with the gorilla statues, which she loved!

At almost 6 months pregnant and in 90+ degree heat, I was dying, but it was all worth it to see my baby girl enjoying herself with the people she loves most: me (at the top of the list), her daddy, her grandma (Bubbie), and grandpa (Abba, seen below).

I have to add that my favorite part of the zoo was the foot massager. It's a really intense machine that vibrates so hard on your feet that for the next half hour you feel like you are walking on pillows. I need one of these at home to soothe my swollen prego feet! Notice the look of ecstasy on my face!

After the zoo, the in-laws were kind enough to treat us to a great anniversary dinner at Claim Jumper. Rachel had a blast there too. :)