San Diego Trip!

John and I decided since he was required to take some Vacation time before September that we would go on an actual vacation. Generally speaking we use all of our vacation time to go up to Idaho to visit and hang out with Family. And since we won't be going home for Christmas this year that we would go hang out in Paradise...aka San Diego California. I hadn't been to San Diego since my cousin Maren was married there 16 years ago and it had been about that long for John too. So we packed up and brought Katelyn and Garrett along with us too. We had so much fun.

WARNING!!! LOTS OF PICTURES!!! Here is the breakdown of what we did!

When we first drove there we went straight to the Wild Animal Park. It was really nice and had so many different kinds of plants and trees. We spent about 3 hours there which was enough for us. It was a lot of walking. While were were there we went to the petting zoo part for Lucas. He loved touching the baby deer. Although we had to tell him that he couldn't climb on the deer like he does the dog.

Lucas really enjoyed seeing all of the different kinds of birds. We saw pelicans, flamingos, parrots, and so many more. Everytime Lucas would see them he'd say..."birdee" with a huge grin on his face.

Lucas especially loved the Gorillas. He was so facinated by them. Later he kept saying "koallas" and we were thinking it was because he wanted to go see the Koala Bears....until we saw the Gorillas again later and and he got all excited and pointed at the gorillas and yelling "Koallas".

John always has a toothpick in his mouth. Well, Lucas decided to steal it so he could look like his daddy.

This is on the little train thing we went on to see the giraffes, rhino's, zebras, and elephants at the park. Lucas had fun but it was just a little long for a 2 year old's attention span.

Lucas did enjoy getting his picture taken while sitting atop a bronze Rhino though.

Here's our whole family on the Rhino.....CUTE!

After the Park we went and stayed with my cute cousin and her adorable little girls in San Jacinto California. They were so nice to let us crash there for the first two night. The next day after a good nights sleep we went to the San Diego Zoo. Can I just say that this was my FAVORITE part. I could have spent two days there. LOVED IT!!!

They had this bench at the zoo and Lucas thought it was so cool. I think this picture is adorable. Lucas loved spending time with his uncle "geeret" and aunt Kate and we loved that we had someone else to help us chase him down :).

Lucas did find time while we were there to take a little cat nap. What is funny is about 2 minutes before this picture was taken he leaned his head back to laugh at John and then just fell asleep. Silly boy.

We really enjoyed the elephant habitat too. They had 2 different kinds of elephants to look at and they were all out so we could see them.

We did stay at a hotel for two nights thanks to Katelyn and her employment. She works at the Hampton Inn in Provo and hooked us up with the employee rate for a hotel close to San Diego. The hotel had a really nice pool so we thought it would be fun to go swimming. Lucas LOVES to swim. He is like a little fish.

Aren't they cute!

This was Lucas' favorite part about the pool. He kept saying he was "flyingng". He was not so happy when we told him he had to get out so we could eat some dinner.

Here's my little fish again. He really loves swimming.

The next day we went to Sea World. While we were there John had this super brilliant idea that we should sit on the very front row of the Dolphin show. SPLASH ZONE!!! Ya, let's just say that we got wet in the first 30 seconds and John took Lucas up to the top cause he didn't like getting splashed when he wasn't ready. So Katelyn, Garrett, and I stayed on the front row and got completely drenched by the dolphin. John said he thought it was funny.

We also got to see the sea lions getting fed by people. Lucas really enjoyed this part. He had so much fun watching those sea lions barking at people who had purchased food to feed them.

We of course had to go to the Shamu show. We didn't sit in the splash zone for this show and we all enjoyed it a little better. Lucas thinks the whales are so cool.

We also saw same big sea turtles and some baby turtles. Lucas really like those too.

Here is the group at the Shamu show after it was over. It was really cool to see...kind of cheesy but still pretty cool.

The next day we went to the Padres vs Mets game at PETCO stadium. That was so much fun. The stadium is so family friendly. Lucas even got a button pin that said "First Time to Petco Park" along with a baseball. It was really fun.

Here's the whole gang. Garrett had such a good time. He even almost caught a fly ball. It ended up landing about a row or so in front of us but he was ready and prepared with his mit.

After the game we stopped by the beach for a little while. Lucas loved playing in the "dirt" as he called it. He was so dirty when we were done.

Here's daddy and Lucas at the beach. He wasn't so sure of the waves at first but warmed up to it as long as he could hold his daddy's hand really tight.

Again with the sand. He thought it was funny when he got out of the water to lay down on his tummy in the sand. Ya....good thing we brought dry clothes otherwise it would have been a long ride back to the hotel.

All in all we had a great time. The weather was perfect and we were able to see all of the things we wanted to see. Hopefully we will be able to do it again in the future.

Funny Lucas Videos

Here is a HILARIOUS video we took of Lucas today. You all know how much baseball we watch in our house. Well, Apparently it has rubbed off on Lucas. Make sure you go potty before you watch...I'd hate for you to pee your pants! :)

Softball

So as many of you know...softball pretty much runs our life. We have Co-Ed on Friday nights, Mens league on Saturday and then the various tournaments we play in. We pretty much love it. So does Lucas. This last weekend we had the opportunity to go up to Nellis Air Force base to play in a benefit tournament. We were the only civilian team to be invited. It was a lot of fun but a LONG day. We left our house at 6:30 am and returned home at 10pm. Luckily it was only like 85 degrees that day instead of like 95 (which it has been this week). The Varian team played very well. They ended up taking 3rd place after 7 long games. They had to play so many games because they had to work themselves up the loser's bracket due to a loss their second game.

Here is a picture of the team. The two guys in orange shirts were from the sponsering teams. We were a couple of players short so they filled in. The team even won another trophy. It was really cool.

I think Lucas liked being there for another reason. He LOVED playing in the dirt. Basically he played in the dirt for 12 hours. We went through a whole package of wipes trying to keep him at least presentable....it didn't help. If you look at the picture above at his socks or his little but....you can see dirt...EVERYWHERE.

Here is another one---this is how Lucas watched the game when he wasn't playing in the dirt.

This is a little picture I snapped while Lukey and Daddy were playing in the grass between games. I just love these boys!

Happy Easter...plus some.

Happy Easter to everyone. Easter this year took on a whole new meaning for our family. With Garrett's cancer diagnosis the reality of the Savior's love has never been more apparent in our lives. As John and I celebrated Easter here in Vegas while G-baby was still in the hospital we took some time to reflect on what Easter really means. It means that we will live again. It means that because the Savior loved us so much he broke the bands of death so that we can be together forever. At this time in our lives that knowledge has brought so much comfort and peace. I am grateful for the knowledge we have of the gospel and the knowledge that Families are Together Forever!

Here is a picture of our little family on Easter morning before church. We missed everyone up home but we had a really great Easter with some friends and some family. We had Emily and Jeremy Monroe with their two cute little girls and some friends from our ward, Jared and Valerie Christensen with their two kids over for dinner. We definately had a full house but it was so much fun.

I wanted to post this picture because it makes me laugh. Every day when John gets home from work Lucas yells, "Dadda....dadda!!! yaaaaaaaa Dadda!" and then he runs to the door so we can meet him. Personally I think he just gets so excited cause daddy lets Lukey "dive" the truck. He holds out his hands like he is holding on the wheel and says, "dive...dadda...dive" and John puts him on his lap and lets him pretend like he is driving. I think it is the highlight of his day.

My little brother...

As some of you already know my baby brother was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer on monday. It was a really tough thing to swallow because I think of my baby bro as invinceable. He is one of my hero's. The kid's got a heart of gold and a spirit to match. This week has been a very long one but we have truely been blessed by the power of our Heavenly Father's love. Despite the diagnosis our family has banded together to support Garrett in his battle. We have truely felt the power of prayer influencing our lives this week.

Thank you to all of our family and friends for the words of concern and hope. While I have been able to be here this week while we are learning what will be happening as we progress through this battle...I won't be able to stay here in Utah/Idaho. I will be back in Vegas on Saturday. In order to keep connected and to keep everyone else connected we have created a blog. Please feel free to follow Garrett through this long and arduous journey he is on. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions. The blog is: gbabybattleback.blogspot.com

The goings on for the last...oh Month!

I know, I know...it's been a LONG time since I updated my blog. Well, now this one is going to be LONG!!! I will give a brief update on what our little family has been up to for the last two months.

Melissa got married...in Idaho. So we made the 10 hour trek up for the wedding. We wouldn't have missed it for the world. Melissa looked gorgeous, as always. The wedding was so nice. The temple sealer gave such great advice to them...and to all those who were present. It was really nice to see everyone. We went snowboarding while were there....and I went on all of 4 runs before I started puking right in front of the lodge at Pomerelle. Yep....right there in the front (well, sort of the side by where you buy your tickets) I sat down and lost it...it was super embarrasing. This kid standing there talking to his friends says, "oh yuck!" Yep, that is me...I have to get the flu the day we all decide to go snowboading for the last time of the season. Luckily it was only a 24 hour bug...the bad thing is that I gave it to Jacob, Garrett, and I think Travis. Sorry boys :)


Well as you can imagine a 10 hour drive with a toddler can be an interesting thing....Luckily we went prepared....with the Wiggles. Lucas totally loves the Wiggles. They are this group of 4 guys who have a show on the Disney Channel and it is all fun and music. Well, John stopped at Wal-Mart on his way home from work and purchased a Wiggles DVD. This is a picture of Lucas sitting in his car seat, eating a snack, totally entertained by the Wiggles. We got a good HOUR with nothing but Lucas watching the "Wiggies" as he calles them every time we popped in the DVD.

Also this past couple of months we were able to go to a Chicago Cubs vs Chicago White Sox game out at Cashmen field. It was so much fun. They have Major League week here in Vegas towards the end of Spring Training. This year was so much fun. We were surrounded by all these people who's Chicago accents starting getting thicker and thicker the more beer they drank. Lucas absolutely loved it. He sat on my lap the first 4 innings clapping and cheering, so excited to be watching "ball". This kid loves baseball. Which shouldn't suprise me considering we play 4 games a week of softball and watch baseball on TV several times a week, when the Red Sox play. I have never seen him so happy. All the people around us started watching Lucas more than the game because he was so into the game. If the person made a hit...he'd throw his arms in the air and scream 'Yaaaaay". If the batter struck out he go, "ooohhh man". I wish I had the video for it. If I find it I'll upload it for you all to see. It was hilarious.

We have been trying to get Lucas weened off of his "mi-mi". I think we are getting close. He went to bed last night with out asking for it and went right down. He didn't have it all day for the last week except for bedtime. Hopefully...we can get him off of it. I got to say though, it will be weird not to see it in his mouth when he is sleeping. He always looks so cute.

Early in March John and I went up to Brian Head Ski Resort in Utah to do some Spring Snowboarding. We had so much fun. We went with the Dayhoff's and Brian and Amy. (Some friends of ours from Softball). We went up on a Thursday after work to stay in the Dayhoff's time share. We watched Ruby and Levi on Friday so that Steve and Diana could ski and then they watched Lucas on Saturday so we could snowboard. One downside to the whole trip...THE SUN is really bright in the spring. SUNSCREEN!!! Yep, makes sense right....nope, the thought of sunscreen totally eluded me and this is what we looked like the next day. My face felt like it was on FIRE!! It peeled and I looked like a snake trading skin. Let's just say that next time I will definately take sunscreen. We got teased soooo much at church. Even the stake president was in our ward for something and he even came up and shook our hands and said, "At least you were together." It was totally worth it though. Brian Head will now become an annual trip for the Turner's We had so much fun!

Finally...

Okay everyone I am finally taking the time to share with you all what has been going on the last month at our house. Where to begin....

Lucas-

Lucas is growing and learning at a rate so fast I am having a hard time keeping up. The kid is waaaay to smart for his own good. His vocabulary this last month went from like 10 words to like 100 words. He basically repeats the last thing you say every time you talk to him. Example:

Mommy- Lukey do you want some Yogurt?

Lucas- Ogert, peeese

My favorite thing that just melts my heart every morning is he says, "Hi Mommy" or "Hi Daddy" or my favorite "Hi Teetee" as soon as he sees us. It is so fun to hear him talking. Today John was playing with him and they were playing with the big lego like blocks and he would pull two blocks apart and John would say, "Uh oh, you broke it" and Lukey would answer back, "uh oh i boke it" and then they would put them back together and John would say, "yeah you fixed it" and Lucas would clap his hands all proud and say, "i fix it". HILARIOUS!! It is so much fun to see him progress.

Another story for today, Lucas learned to climb into the dryer when he helps mommy fold laundry. Here are a couple of pictures. He was having a grand old time just hanging out in there after he dumped all of the clothes on the floor.

The funny thing is later after he had dinner and went to bed I came back upstairs to check on him and this is what I see in the crib:

This Lucas laying on top of the pillow with his blanket bunched on top of him, with his foot hanging out the side of the crib. Oh, and he was snoring! Man I just love this kid!

John-

John is back in school for the semester taking two classes again. He is retaking his upper division Calculous class because his teacher last semester was not very pleasant (that is being kind) and then he is taking a super hard programing class. Which is kind of funny because he was all excited about his programing class because he really enjoys that type of thing but this class requires way more homework and time than he had thought. Good news is he had his first exams this week and he got a 92 on his Calc test and he's not sure on the programing exam but he said he felt like he did really well.

Robyn-

Me...I am going part time at work!! YEAH!! We decided that Lucas is to the point where he needs to have me around more. So my gracious boss is allowing me to work two days at the office and one day from home! That means 3 days of being home with my favorite little guy in the whole world. I am so excited. We are going to go to the park and have so much fun. My house will definately stay alot cleaner and I don't think we'll run out of underwear again :) This is hopefully going to be such a blessing for our family.

Softball starts again tomorrow so I'll try to get a few photo's of us in action. The good news about going part time at work too is that now I will actually have some time to do things like update my blog and keep up on all of my friends.