San Diego Trip: Coronado

One of our favorite spots in San Diego is Coronado Island, a little stretch of land across the bay from downtown San Diego. We decided to spend the day there. We drove over the beautiful Coronado Bridge, took the ferry around the bay, ate lunch, rode 2 surrey bikes around the island, then went to the beach at Hotel Del Coronado. A perfect day!

The Burgoyne clan on the ferry.

Nora looked quite cute with her sunglasses.

Coronado Bridge. You can see the shipbuilding docks on the other side.

Surrey bikes are so much fun, and the views were amazing!

Ethan hauled a least half of the Pacific Ocean in this bucket.
This beach was so beautiful! It had the added bonus of Navy aircraft flying overhead every once in a while...we are airplane fans.

Trevor loves swimming in the waves.

They worked on this sand-channel to the ocean for a long time.

I think Kevin and Nora devised this system for swimming in the ocean to avoid being knocked down everytime a wave came in.

I wanted to get a picture of all of us in front of the Hotel Del, but by the time we left, we were too tired to do anything!

San Diego Trip: Sea World

We spent another fun-filled day at Sea World. I hadn't been to Sea World for a long time, since the boys were much younger. We had a great day...along with about 1.2 million other people!

We loved the dolphin show...

...this dolphin jumped amazingly high!

(I'm sorry to say these dolphins were a little more exciting than our little Minnesota Zoo ones!)

There is a new Sesame Street area for little kids. Kevin loved this Elmo ride!




The Shamu show was amazing!

There's nothing like seeing one of these whales close up.

They even had a baby orca in the show.

After the show, we found this little out-of-the-way area where the whales were swimming. We could have stayed there for hours...way better than any T.V. show! (Kevin couldn't keep his eyes off of the whales, and couldn't be bothered to turn around for the picture.)

You don't realize how big they are until you get very close up.

Everytime the whales would swim by, the kids would scream and laugh!

The whales left quite an impression...Kevin still talks about "Shamu."

Nora is crazy for Shamu, too. She is a frequent visitor at Sea World and carries around a Shamu puppet all of the time (which she has named "dolphin.") Ethan and Kevin decided they needed a Shamu puppet, too. They squeaked their Shamu puppets the rest of the evening!

Kevin really likes flamingos. The minute he saw these, he jumped out of his stroller and stood on one leg.

We had so much fun at Sea World. Thanks for taking us, Grandma!

San Diego Trip: Legoland

I'm trying to catch up on blogging. I thought I would post some fun pictures from our trip to San Diego this year. Of course, we hit Legoland, one of our favorite spots.

Trevor and Kevin rode the train. Kevin loved it!

Our favorite ride this year: the Lego Fire Engine race. We did this at least 6 times! You have to pump up and down on a lever to make the fire engine go. At the other end you have to put out a "fire," then jump back in and pump the lever back. There are 4 fire engines racing...we didn't win this time, much to Ethan's disappointment.

This was a new ride...a sort of robotic arm that twists you and turns you around. It has 5 different levels of intensity. Although Ethan was up for Level 5 (the craziest), he was only allowed to do Level 3 because of his height. Maybe next year!

Ethan LOVES the idea of being the king.

This airplane ride was fun, although it looks like someone is a back-seat driver!

Somehow we all got stuck in a boat traffic jam...and Kevin and I were first at the beginning!

These guys got first place in this race!

Trevor loves driving these cars. He is very good at obeying traffic signs.

The helicopter ride.

(Don't they look like they are plotting something evil?)

Life-sized Star Wars figures made out of Legos...a boy's dream fulfilled!

Our New Nephew/Cousin!

We are so happy to welcome the newest addition to the family:

Ryan Glenn Sallenbach

Ryan was born August 15 and was 6 pound, 8 ounces.

Everyone says he is "very cute" and "loves to eat."

The boys are very excited to have boy cousin!

His big sister Nora is getting used to the idea of having a baby in the house!

We know she will be a great big sister.

We are so happy for Todd and Denise and Nora, and we can't wait to meet the little guy in person! Congratulations!

Ethan's Basketball Hoop

On Friday, Ethan bought his very own basketball hoop! He's been saving up ever since Christmas, and we finally went down to pick it out.


Next came the fun part...putting it together!

(Of course, the fun part for some was playing in the box.)

There were a lot more parts than we thought there would be.

We had to improvise one or two of the steps!

Kevin was eager to "help."

The final touch...only after a trip to Home Depot to buy a part or two.

We had barely stood it up and Ethan was already shooting a basket (and he made it!). The other thing I like about this picture is the stormy-looking clouds...we did get rained on a bit.

And, yes, it was dark by the time we finished.
Here's Trevor going for a shot (and almost getting hit in the head by Ethan's shot).

Here's Ethan going for a shot. The smile on his face was priceless, and he's been telling everyone ever since, "I bought it with my own money!"

B-17 Surprise!

About a week ago, Robert's mom was visiting and we were driving in St. Paul. Robert just about jumped out of his skin when he saw this old airplane flying right over the capitol building. He got very excited as he explained that it was a B-17, a bomber from World War II (if you've ever seen the movie "Memphis Belle," it's the same type of plane), and that you just don't see those flying very often. In fact, it was the first time he has seen one in the air. (As a pilot and a World War II buff, you can imagine how excited he was.)

Robert decided it had to have taken off from the St. Paul airport, so off we went in hunt of an explanation for why B-17 was flying over St. Paul on a Saturday. It turns out that this particular B-17 is the only one that flies all over the country. You can even take a flight in it (a mere $450 per person for a 25-minute flight), or take a look at it for free once it's on the ground. Needless to say, we opted for the free option.

Here's the plane coming in to park after landing.

The plane is called the "Liberty Belle." You can see the pilots in this one (as well as the scantily clad woman painted on the side).

The boys were very excited to go inside.
(Except Kevin--he was scared the plane would start up. He's not a fan of loud noises.)

Trevor was amazed at how big the propellers were close up.

Robert loved that the cockpit wasn't "behind glass," like in a museum. There was just a rope that separated you from it. He got a good look at it!


Here's Ethan at the bomardier's station. It has the best view from the plane.

Here's Ethan at one of the machine guns...he thought this was very cool.

Robert and Trevor with their game faces on.


We met a lady there whose father flew in the ball turret of the B-17 during the war. They opened up the ball turret and let her get inside to see what it was like. Luckily for us, they let the boys climb in, too. They said they don't usually allow that.

Trevor could barely fit in there! He got to see how they would control the position of the ball turret and fire the guns at the same time. I can't imagine sitting in there during a mission. We met a man whose father flew 30 missions in the ball turret during the war...that's amazing! Robert says it was probably one of the least safe places to be.


This man flew in a B-17 during the war. He was a tail gunner.

Here he is checking out the tail gun. He's looking for the entrance to the tail gunner's position. You couldn't access it from the inside of the plane. You had to crawl in through a door just under the wing before take-off. Unbelievable!

We had a great time experiencing this amazing plane and getting an in-person history lesson. I loved how much the people there respected and revered the men who flew in these planes or served in other ways during the war. We owe a lot to those brave men and women!

Upcoming Garage Sale

So, my neighborhood has a big garage sale every year. I am participating this year: I am finally getting rid of the baby stuff...it took a while to come to this decision, but I am ready!

My friend Stacey will be selling some of her hair clips and jewelry (and delicious baked goods). She is also giving me garage sale advice...she is a pro! She's going to put a post on Craigslist and told me pictures would be helpful. The only pictures I could find of the crib and toddler bed have a child in them...

I love this pic of Trevor...I came in to get him from his nap and he had flipped himself over! Also, the teddy bear in the background is still an important thing in his life..."Boose" looks nothing like that now!


Robert had a hard time determining if this is Trevor and Kevin...they really look alike at this age!This is Trevor, by the way.

I suggested to Stacey add "Baby not included" under the picture of the crib!