Author: Darin

Legoland

Had to get a picture after breakfast, since no one was here yet
Getting ready to go inside

Sam and I went on this boat ride while the others went on a roller coaster
Looking at the Lego animals
They finally got through the line for the roller coaster
Getting to drive their own cars
William loved driving a car. There were only a few other kids at the time so it was great
Sam got a little tired and finally took a nap

Jousting

Legoland Hotel

We decided to stay at the Legoland Hotel the night before we went to Legoland. It was a little pricey but not as bad as I thought it would be, and it meant we were literally right next to Legoland the next day (and got to go in 30 minutes early).

The hotel had legos everywhere to play with and had a castle play area in the lobby the kids loved. They have multiple shows you can participate in, which Lucas and McKinley did one of those. The kids loved the disco balls in the elevator, that would turn on and play dance music every time the elevator started. Also had a nice, kid-friendly breakfast buffet in the morning.

Playing with legos as I check-in

Lego Ninjago

Trying out the pool

 

Listening to one of the shows

Mormon Battalion, Old Town, Beach, Temple

After going to the zoo on Tuesday, we had some more time in the day, so we went to the Mormon Battalion exhibit. It was really well done and the kids loved it.

Lucas got to dress up as a soldier
McKinley got to dress up as a laundry woman
Playing some games

Panning for gold

The next day we went back to Old Town San Diego and explored some of the old building they had there. The blacksmith shop was the best, as the people there were really good at doing demonstrations.

Learning about blacksmithing in Old Town

After lunch we headed to the beach. It wasn’t super warm but it was pretty nice and the kids loved playing.

Waiting to jump over waves

Sam loved playing in the sand and mud

It wasn’t super warm but the kids still loved it

After the beach we stopped at the temple on our way to the Legoland hotel. The temple is right next to the freeway, so it’s impossible to miss. It’s a beautiful temple.

Beautiful temple

San Diego Zoo

The first place we went on our vacation was the San Diego Zoo. They were offering kids free during October so it saved us a bunch of money and it was a lot of fun. Lots of walking but lots more to see than at our local zoo.

Getting ready to go in the zoo

Flamingos!
I think the gorillas were the best exhibit. There was a baby gorilla that kept running around, doing flips, coming up to the glass and scaring the kids. It was pretty funny.

Checking out some fish
Lots and lots of walking
Seeing the pandas

On the sky tram

Random September Pictures

We have some new kittens and this is the runt. He’s bigger now but still tinier than the rest
Calico the kids want to keep
How many cats can fit in one bed?

Hazy sun rise
Lucas played flag football again this year, because we didn’t get him signed up in time for grid kid. He loved it though and did great. One game he had two interceptions, one he returned for a touchdown, a long touchdown catch and a kick return for a touchdown. He was pretty excited after the game!
Another sun rise

Puerto Rico

Every year, 10up, the company I work for, brings together all our employees from around the world for a few days, in order to spend time together, face to face, and get to know each other a bit better. We’ve met up in places like Portland, Las Vegas, Boulder, Atlanta and the destination this year was Puerto Rico.

About a month before, one of my managers at 10up reached out to me wanting to know if Kryssi would like to come with me. We figured we couldn’t say no if someone else was paying for it, so we found someone to watch the kids and decided she’d come out a few days after me and we’d stay a few days longer to have some time to ourselves.

We loved our time here and even the things I didn’t think I’d like, like the heat and humidity, you get used to and it’s really not so bad. I joked with Kryssi that maybe we should move here after I retire, move away from the cold and snow of Idaho and be able to relax on a beach year round, and while I doubt we ever would, the thought is tempting after spending a week here.

For one of our team activities, we took these mini boats and drove them out to a few islands, stopping to snorkel a few times and taking a stroll around this island
Enjoying the nice white sand beaches. Some scenes from one of the Pirate of the Caribbean movies was filmed here
Our team at the end of the boat trip
Entire company getting ready for team pictures
The food 10up had for each meal was great. This parsley cream chicken was really good and the cinnamon and clove rice was also great.
The main conference room we used. Had really high ceilings with beautiful murals and stained glass windows.

Overlooking Castillo del Morro, one of the forts on the island we toured. People like to fly kites on the big grassy area in front of it
Watching a shipping boat from the top of the fort

One night we did a kayak trip to see one of the bioluminescent bays. We kayaked through a small waterway, which was pretty much pitch dark with the tree coverage, to this bay. The kayaking part was awesome, the bioluminescent wasn’t as bright as I was thinking, but was still cool to see.
The group of us that went
One of the beaches we went and relaxed on. This beach has more brownish sand, instead of the white sand I saw on our boating trip. The white sand is nicer because it doesn’t heat up nearly as much.

Beautiful sunset over Castillo del Morro. Can see some people flying kites
I wanted to try as much authentic food as possible. I ended up having things like fresh tuna tacos, octopus, empanadas, plantains, and our last meal I got this, Mofongo, which is a plantain based dish.
Getting ready to zip line in the rain forest

We stayed in Old San Juan, which was super busy with cars, but I loved all the colorful buildings and the brick streets.