Breaking News

So I still have some other blogging to get caught up on (surprise, surprise) but I had to share the latest development. We set aside part of this weekend for planning the kitchen remodel, seeing what would work and what wouldn't. At the end of the day Saturday, we'd decided it was too risky to try to remove the cabinets as we feared too much plaster would come with it. And the thought of re-sheetrocking the entire kitchen somehow isn't appealing. We figured out how to make it work.

Then, "Daddy's Work Friend", fellow enginerd Bryan, stopped by to help with some brewing projects (apparently the goal was to clog the drain spout with hops). He gave the kitchen a look, made some helpful suggestions and encouraged the removal of the cupboards - just one, to see what would happen.

Then he left.

Travis, however, was ready to get to work. We hastily cleared the selected cupboard of its contents and set to work. Here's a little before:



And here's Travis, having a go at the little side shelves he's apparently always disliked:



And, I even got a turn (tho I was well supervised):



Then, just for all of you who might have been lectured about load-bearing walls, I offer this as ammunition against future discussions:



It wasn't long until the before became the after:





Then I got the boys ready for bed, read a couple of chapters in the book about the chicken that laid a triceratops egg, listened to the noise in the kitchen and came out to find this:



When it was all said and done, this is what a few destructive, exciting, long-awaited hours looks like:



Maybe next weekend we'll actually plan the kitchen remodel.

San Diego Road Trip - Day Nine

Part Two - San Diego Zoo

This stop really highlighted the differences between the boys. Ben has always loved animals - anything to do with animals, he's there. Ry, he has an interest in animals but not in the same all consuming way. He's more about things that move, things that hold up other things and the things that make these things do those things.

Ben was eager to see all the different animals and Ry was eager to ride on the double decker bus and please, oh please, the moving sidewalk. While it was a little busy at first with the summer camps (how cool is that?) it was downright crazy at the end of the day. Nonetheless, we persevered and saw almost everything. We didn't ride the tram, much to Ry's disappointment, and we couldn't find the hummingbird or insect exhibits, much to Ben's disappointment.

We saw lots of cool critters from the top deck of the bus (where else would Ry want to sit?)









They have recently redone the elephant exhibit, and it's stunning. Gives me hope for the plans they have at our own zoo. Nestled into this section was a terrific snake exhibit. It was very exciting for Ben but a little creepy for me. Ick.





They also have a really spectacular giraffe exhibit. The fence is really low (especially if you're a giraffe) and I'm pretty sure they could have reached over and said "Hi" or "Gee, that looks yummy!". Ry really liked them.









There are tons of cool snakes and reptiles, too. Both boys seemed to enjoy these. It might be the lack of crowds that made them feel this way.







I got a few pics of the boys:









Now for the cool stuff. Our zoo is great. But we do not have pandas, koalas, camels, Galapagos tortoises or a scary secretary bird. For your viewing pleasure, here you go.



















And so concludes the vacation photos. From the zoo, we drove north to Fresno. It does not smell good there. Nice hotel tho.

San Diego Road Trip - Day Nine

Part One - La Jolla Cove

It was our second (third?) attempt to visit these guys. We even found parking! We stopped here before our visit to the zoo. Nothing like seeing the real deal.

San Diego Road Trip - Day Eight

So I know it's super commercialized and everything has a logo, but I still think SeaWorld is cool. It's the "I always wanted to be a marine biologist" in me that makes this so much fun. The crowds are not my favorite, but the exhibits and especially Shamu are still fantastic. So, now I present too many pictures of an orca and too many pictures of dolphins (the cute kind you can feed, not the killer-take-over-the-world kind from The Simpsons).

Since we knew it would get busy, we started at the dolphin section, where I waited in line while the boys checked out some other exhibits. These guys were entertaining while we waited.



The dolphins got ready for their visitors as well.



When they opened, we got two trays of fish so both boys could have the chance to drop some fish in the sharp tooth filled jaws of the friendly dolphins. You're instructed to pet their noses and drop fish into their mouths.









Since the feeding of the dolphins is an all day occurrence, the local winged residents have figured out it's a good place for a meal. Ben had to fight this guy for a fish. Although he was aggressive, Ben won out, as did the dolphin.





The experience of petting a dolphin is one we all enjoyed.







After this, we headed to another favorite part - the ray exhibit. Here, too, you can get up close with rays and pet them gently as they swim circles around their enclosure. Ben enjoyed this a little more than Ry.







The rays are really graceful as they glide around. It's quite beautiful.







This part of the park is also home to the frightening moray eel. They are just plain creepy.



From here, we waited in line to see the Shamu show. It was hot and crowded and Ry really was wondering why we weren't exploring other parts of the park. Ben, however, knew what was coming and sat on the edge of his seat as we waited for the show to begin. My apologies, but I had the cool lens, and the subject matter is most impressive.

















Having accomplished our checklist of tasks, we spent the rest of the time exploring the park and the various exhibits. Here's a sampling of what we saw.













We stopped to feed the flamingos, which Ry had been anticipating thanks to Ben's stories about what we'd find on our visit.









Ry was pretty impressed with the Arctic exhibit and props, including the helicopter, boat frame and polar bear caves (complete with scary growls).







Always helpful, Ry pointed out the repeated occurrences of beer vendors. Sadly, as SeaWorld is owned by Anheuser Busch, there's boatloads of undrinkable beer, all duly noted by my youngest.