Go Sea the World!

One of the things you’ve got to do when you go to San Diego is go to Sea World, apparently.  As Paul has always been a big fan of sea creatures, this seemed like a good place for him to go while he was visiting the golden coast.  So Grandpa Bill took the boys to see Shamu, some sting rays, some crabs and all sorts of other things that swim or crawl in the ocean.  They even got to enjoy the shows and get splashed by the jumping whales.  Sounds like a fantastic time!

Off they go, on their Sea World adventure!  I think they're going to need a bigger boat...

Paul seems a little uncertain about feeding the seals... and the pesky seagulls trying to steal the fish only made things worse...

Just let me in there and I'll show those seals how to do tricks... or maybe I'll just starting crying and scream for mom...

Paul James, the Human Sting Ray, a boy superhero!

And what could be better than enjoying a big bowl of popcorn after the shows and the all the fun!  Doesn't get much better than that!

To the Golden Coast...

Grandpa Bill stopped by at the end of May and let Becky and the boys tag along on his way to San Diego.  It was a long drive, especially for Adam, but they made it safely and got to enjoy the sunshine in beautiful Southern California!  They spent some time hanging out with Great Grandma Unbehend around the house, lounged in the pool, at the beach, and of course the playground.  Gotta love summer vacation! 

 Adam made his first trip to the Pacific Coast and the great state of California!

 He spent his time riding this duck.

 Paul, on the other hand, has become quite the accomplished monkey.

Gotta take time to play around, especially on vacation... from his normal... difficult... life...

And as always, Adam found someone willing to carry him around.

Paul cheating in the pool with his water wings!

And even Grandpa took a dive off the board to cool off in the California heat.

Just lounging by the pool on a sunny afternoon... what a life those boys live...

And they made it safely back home in the end, thanks in part to these super heroes they met in Las Vegas on the trip back! 

Short and steep...

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but I’m really, really far behind on blog posts.  It’s been a whirlwind of a few weeks, at least for Becky and the boys.  They’ve spent a lot of hours on the road seeing a lot of people, but now, they’re safe and sound back in Utah and here to stay... at least for a while.  It may take a few days for me to catch up, but I’ll start with this one.  Before they left, all the way back in May, we took another hike, this time up Bell Canyon to a small lake that sits in between the mountains.  Good hike, short and steep, but we did see some cool wildlife.  There were quite a few lizards, some geese, and we came only a few feet from stepping on a snake crossing the path! 

We crossed the bridge over the rushing water about halfway up.  Adam was happy.  But of course, hikes are very easy when you get to ride on shoulders.

Paul and I headed up to a higher spot after Adam fell (again) and scraped his knee up.  Thankfully, we didn't see any rattlesnakes, though I was worried for a minute that we might be in their territory.  We did get a good view of the lake and the valley!  Another good hike here in the Wasatch Mountains!

Here comes another one...

In case you didn’t know, Adam is going to be the next big brother around here.  And who would have guessed that he’s going to get a little brother of his own?  Well, the way things go on my side of the family, this is no surprise.  As of now, Becky is almost 20 weeks along with an official due date of October 8, 2012 for the next Sellers boy!  And his mom is feeling severely outnumbered around here.  Maybe we’ll have to get a girl puppy for her or something.  Anyway, here are a few of the ultrasound pictures we got the other day.

Check out those ripped biceps!  That kid must be pumping some serious iron in there!  I guess he's gotta find something to pass the time.  Looks like he's ready to punch his way out...

And here is the profile picture.  Notice the traditional Sellers boys' abnormally large head.  And notice that the hospital didn't spell our name correctly.  It is pretty difficult. 

And here is the future size 13 foot... just give it some time.  So there you go, another boy around here.  Just what Becky wanted to hear!  Ha!  But thankfully everything looked good in there, and he's already 11oz.  Probably going to be another big one!

Another trail, another waterfall...

We went on another short hike the other day up the Rocky Mouth trail on the east side of the city.  It was a pretty short and easy hike overall, but included a steep climb most of the way up to a waterfall that came down in a rocky ravine.  That’s the thing about most of these hikes around here, most of them climb in elevation pretty quickly.  But then, it is the Rockies.  Adam had to be carried most of the way up of course, but he once again entertained himself by throwing rocks into the water once we got there.    

We've braved gators on hikes before... what's a little cougar going to do?  Run for your life, Paul!!

The rock climber... well, as long as someone will carry him up the rocks.

Made it to the waterfall... that wasn't too difficult.

Paul forged the river in his bare feet.  Don't mind that the water was only 30 degrees probably.

Pause for a photo, just two well behaved, loving brothers.

Adam... you have a spider in your ear...

And then we rode to the hospital to get the sharp stick removed from Paul's body.  Attack!  Attack! Just a little hike and a little hijinks from two rowdy Sellers boys.

We can see for miles!

We went with the other Sellers family on a short hike a week or so ago up above the capitol building.  Some of the early Mormons hiked this hill they named Ensign Peak to get a good view of the valley and the lake.  Apparently, they started laying out the plans for the city from that point, since you can see basically the entire valley from up there.  It was an impressive view, and a pretty easy hike, so the kids didn’t have much trouble running up it.

Just a little bit windy up at the top, not that Izzy cared all that much.

 Mason seemed to be having a good time...

Until we tried to throw him over the edge.

The Utah Sellers family, with the Salt Lake way off in the background.

And us, with the city all over the place in the background.

Here's the view from the top, and this is definitely the difference between the mountain west and the east coast.  It's pretty incredible how far you can see out here.  But even though the wind was pretty intense (as usual), the weather cleared out and it was a good hike on a beautiful day.