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	<title>Mommy to Three Monkeys! &#187; Local San Diego</title>
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	<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com</link>
	<description>Life in my Crazy House of Boys</description>
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		<title>Wordless Wednesday &#8211; Avast Ye!</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/09/07/wordless-wednesday-avast-ye/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/09/07/wordless-wednesday-avast-ye/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:25:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fun Stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pictures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gabriel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pirate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sam the pirate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wordless wednesday]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/?p=5983</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I took the boys to the Festival of Sail at the San Diego Bay this past weekend.  I&#8217;ll actually have lots of pictures of the day later this week.  It was SO great!  But, today I am sharing these of Sam the Pirate. Sam the Pirate was awesome!  He looked and sounded just like the original Captain Jack Sparrow.  He was great with the boys, but Gabriel was the only one brave enough to pose for a picture. &#8220;Avast ye!&#8221; means: stop and check this out or pay attention in Pirate speak.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>18</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>San Diego&#8217;s 3-Day for the Cure Expo!</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/08/14/san-diegos-3-day-for-the-cure-expo/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/08/14/san-diegos-3-day-for-the-cure-expo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:43:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The 3 Day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[breast cancer walk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[san diego expo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[susan g komen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the 3 day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/?p=5783</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Click to enlarge Today I attended the San Diego Expo for the 3-Day for the Cure ®.  I wasn&#8217;t sure what to expect since this is my first walk and all. But it was fun!  I went alone.  Since my walking partner is prepping for our fund raising rummage sale planned for next weekend.  Being alone though afforded me the opportunity to reach out and talk with new friends. The above photo shows a picture of Monica (bottom left).  She has walked the 60 miles SEVEN times!  Wow.  And, I met another lady who told me she has walked in 33 walks.  No, that&#8217;s not a typo.  Thirty-three. She does several each year.  Monica&#8217;s goal is to complete 10 walks before she&#8217;s done.  She liked my pink hair and is contemplating doing it herself.  I think she should. The bottom middle photo, the ladies in red, that&#8217;s our San Diego medical crew.  The red shirts is who you need to seek out for medical attention.  I made sure to make friends with them! The Expo was held in a large hall with several booths to visit.  The volunteers at the Energizer ® table were passing out very important necessities: sunscreen and tampons!  They offered clinics for what to expect on The 3 Day and blister care.  I attended a demonstration on how/what to pack in our bag.  Walkers are only allowed a 35 pound bag.  Veteran walkers were armed with tips (pack each day&#8217;s worth of clothes in it&#8217;s own zipper bag) and tricks (put your bottles inside your shoes) to manage your space. My shoe sponsor New Balance was on hand with awesome deals on the ever important shoes.  I am lucky to have my New Balance 846&#8216;s but still need to get my second pair. I wish I had remembered to take my debit card&#8230; There was maps to see how the San Diego route will be laid out as well as a picture of camp.  It&#8217;s an impressive production to say the least.  I was told by a veteran crew member that the route in San Diego is such that camp is in the same place each night. I had a great time at the Expo.   I learned a lot and I met some very inspiring Keep Going® kinda people!  I&#8217;m very excited. Only 98 more day&#8217;s to go!]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/08/14/san-diegos-3-day-for-the-cure-expo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>We Hiked the Pacific Crest Trail</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/06/22/we-hiked-the-pacific-crest-trail/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/06/22/we-hiked-the-pacific-crest-trail/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:28:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pictures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hiking in san diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pacific crest trail]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/?p=5070</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We spent the long Father&#8217;s Day weekend camping in the Laguna Mountains.  My family converged on a little campground called Cibbets Flats which is located off of the Kitchen Creek Road near Pine Valley, CA.  We had a great weekend! A year ago, you could not have paid me to actually go hiking.  I preferred to hang out at camp drinking beer and socializing.  But since I&#8217;m in training for the 60 mile Susan G. Komen for the Cure 3-Day walk, I decided to head out with the group.  My Aunt and Uncle are avid hikers and so we followed them out to where we could meet a trail. We bribed the little people with visions of waterfalls to play in, so they happily came along, too. Upon arriving at the trail, my Uncle happily announced how we were to be walking along history&#8230;the Pacific Crest Trail.  I didn&#8217;t think much of it at the time.  My Uncle gets excited about a lot of weird things.  But when I got home and started preparing to blog about our weekend, I looked up the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).  It really has a lot of history and was interesting to read about. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) spans 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada through three western states . It reveals the beauty of the desert, unfolds the glaciated expanses of the Sierra Nevada, and provides commanding vistas of volcanic peaks and glaciers in the Cascade Range. The trail also passes through historic mining sites and evidence of man’s endless quest for natural resources. Thousands of hikers and equestrians enjoy this national treasure each year. Some only travel a few miles, while others complete every mile in a single season! The route was first explored in the late 1930s by teams of young men from the YMCA. Once proven feasible, trail pioneers Clinton Clarke and Warren Rogers lobbied the federal government to secure a border-to-border trail corridor. They had to settle, however, for several disconnected trails along the crest of each state. Largely through the efforts of hikers and equestrians, the PCT was eventually designated one of the first scenic trails in the National Trails System authorized by Congress in 1968, and was dedicated in 1993. Click to enlarge.  Photo credit:  www.pcta.org It was a hot day.  We really should have started out earlier.  But we were hoping to find some waterfalls so we endured the heat to have some water fun.  The hike really was beautiful.  I forget just how pretty our local mountains can be. We found some local wildlife! We hiked about 2 miles up the trail looking for the waterfalls that my Uncle had remembered seeing before.  We never did find them.  That was a darn shame, too because Gabe was MAD.  As only a disappointed and hot 4 year old can be mad.  So we heard about it all the way back down the mountain, if you know what I mean. To reward the boys, we took...]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/06/22/we-hiked-the-pacific-crest-trail/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<title>Our Visit to the USS Midway Museum</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/06/08/our-visit-to-the-uss-midway-museum/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/06/08/our-visit-to-the-uss-midway-museum/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:04:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[uss midway museum]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/?p=5013</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Memorial Day weekend my family took a trip down to the bay to visit the USS Midway Museum.  It was very cool! About the USS Midway: Commissioned a week after the end of World War II, the USS Midway embarked on an unprecedented 47-year odyssey that set new standards in naval aviation. More than 225,000 Americans took part in the odyssey that ended after Midway served as the Persian Gulf flagship in Desert Storm. Longest-serving U.S. Navy carrier of the 20th century and largest ship in the world, 1945-1955. In 2004 the Aircraft Carrier was opened as a public museum for everyone to explore and learn from. This was my first visit. The boys were fascinated. The ship was HUGE.  It was kinda funny because we told Gabe we were going to be on a ship.  While we were there, I don&#8217;t think he believed we were actually on the ship.  He kept asking to go up into the bridge area (is that what it&#8217;s called?).  He thought that was the ship.  Actually, he thought that was the &#8220;pirate ship.&#8221; See, doesn&#8217;t that on the left look like it&#8217;s own little ship?  It does to a 4 year old! Anyhow, there were tons of cool things to see and do on the ship.  Many interactive, hands on learning tools.  There was even flight simulators that Bob and Anthony had a try at. This simulator did cost extra (above the cost of admission) but it was totally worth it.  Not too often a 5 year old gets to experience flying a jet fighter. They had lots of aircraft cockpits to explore and there was even active duty personnel on hand at the exhibits.  We were able to go down into the ship and look through the Admiral&#8217;s quarters as well as the radio room (which was exciting for Bob since he was a radio operator during his time in the Navy).  Bob and Anthony also got to go up into the bridge (the twins were too short). I really enjoyed taking the boys.  It&#8217;s a perfect &#8220;boy activity.&#8221;  Planes and ships and military&#8230;oh my! Tickets are pretty reasonable, too and you can purchase them at the gate or online. General Admission $18 adults $15 seniors (62+) and students (with valid ID) $10 retired military (with valid ID) $10 youth (ages 6-17) Complimentary Admission Children 5 years old or younger Active-duty military personnel (including Reservists) with valid ID (daytime admission only) So go, take your kids.  You&#8217;ll have a blast, I know we did! BTW &#8211; this is not a sponsored review.  My mom bought us all tickets to go down on Memorial Day weekend.  I just had a great time and wanted to share it with you.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/06/08/our-visit-to-the-uss-midway-museum/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Star Wars in Concert, A Little Jedi Must See!</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/05/30/sar-wars-in-concert/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/05/30/sar-wars-in-concert/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 18:33:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anthony]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gabriel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nathan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[star wars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[star wars in concert]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/?p=4912</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My little Jedi Knight&#8217;s were so excited to get the opportunity to go see Star Wars in Concert at the San Diego Sports Arena Friday night and I can use one sentence to sum up the experience&#8230; Coolest Show Ever! If you are asking yourself &#8220;what the heck is this Star Wars in Concert,&#8221; then read this post first.  But basically, an original movie montage was created specially by LucasFilms which combines all Star Wars movies and plays along to the epic John Williams movie soundtrack which is being performed live by the Star Wars Symphony Orchestra. See, cool. Along with the amazing orchestra and memorable movie clips, you get special narration by none other than C3PO himself, Anthony Daniels. All the various story lines are broken down and explained individually with music and movie clips.  This was actually pretty neat for me and the boys and helped our little minds actually understand the story.  The boys sang along and cheered at all the right moments.  The orchestra was fantastic!  I was able to use the experience to explain to the boys how music is used in movies and how important it is. In addition to the concert, there are exhibits.  Many items from the Star Wars vaults that have never been on display before now.  Costumes and props all available to be seen and admired.  I was a little disappointed that I was not allowed to bring my camera in (because it is a DSLR with a detachable lens, it was considered &#8220;professional&#8221; equipment), so I&#8217;ve only got pictures that I was able to take with my iPhone.  Not that great in low light.  But you can still see some of what is available in the exhibit. Of course, there were light sabers&#8230; In hindsight, I wish I had let Anthony wear his Darth Vader costume.  There were lots of children dressed up, and even some adults.  Though, not as many as I expected.  The highlight of the costumes was actually seeing the boys&#8217; pediatrician&#8230;.dressed as Obi Wan Kenobi!  LOL!  He scored major credibility points with the boys from being so darn cool. Gabe made it until the last 15 minutes of the show before passing out&#8230;.but even then, he was still awake, just enough, to applause at the end.  And the sure fire sign of a good time?  Putting Anthony to bed after the hour long drive home and him busting out the Star Wars theme song in his sleep. FTC Disclosure:  I was provided 5 passes to see Star Wars in Concert so that I could tell you about the show.  All opinions are always my own.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Star Wars in Concert &#8211; I&#8217;m Going!</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/05/27/star-wars-in-concert-im-going/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/05/27/star-wars-in-concert-im-going/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 May 2010 04:13:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[star wars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[star wars in concert]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/?p=4908</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[OH MY GOSH!!!!!!! I really wish I had a cool Yoda-ish title, but honestly, I&#8217;m just not that creative.  But I got the call tonight that I will be taking my boys (all FOUR of them) to see Star Wars in Concert tomorrow night at the San Diego Sports Arena.  How cool is that? I requested passes several weeks ago and just got the call today that I would have tickets waiting.  I got off the phone and told the boys the good news.  They were ecstatic!  They started asking if they would see &#8220;Snips&#8221; and if they could take their light sabers.  LOL  I was so happy to see their faces. Ten years ago, before I ever met my Sci-Fi husband, I would never have dreamed that I would be excited about seeing a Star Wars concert.  But I am!  I am because my children love it&#8230;and I love everything that they do. Star Wars in Concert is a unique event that combines John Williams&#8217; unforgettable music, performed by a live symphony orchestra and chorus, with specially edited footage from all six Star Wars films.  Through each musical piece, audiences will experience the key themes, characters and story elements of the epic Star Wars saga from a new perspective.  Taking a remarkable excursion into the heart of a galaxy far, far away. Along with the concert, there is an exhibit of Star Wars props and costumes, many of which have never been seen by the public. Star Wars in Concert is playing at the San Diego Sports Arena Friday the 28th at 7pm and in many more arenas globally.  You can find out ticket information on their website as well as Ticketmaster.  I&#8217;ll be back sometime this weekend to tell you how much FUN we had!]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
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		<title>Blogger Brunch at the Brockton Villa</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/05/27/blogger-brunch-at-the-brockton-villa/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/05/27/blogger-brunch-at-the-brockton-villa/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 May 2010 17:45:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogger brunch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brockton villa]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/?p=4899</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Tuesday I had the extreme pleasure of being invited to brunch at the Brockton Villa in La Jolla, CA.  I had never been to the Brockton Villa, but it was a blogger get together and it sounded like fun, so I made plans to attend. The Brockton Villa enjoys some serious prime real estate!  This was my view as I dined on deliciousness: Yeah, that&#8217;s the famous La Jolla Cove.  Alongside other local bloggers, we dined, visited and watched the seals playing in the surf.  It was gorgeous!  If I didn&#8217;t have to pick Anthony up from school, I would have stayed all day. Here is a little bit about the Brockton Villa: The Brockton Villa is a charming La Jolla beach cottage, circa 1894, which was converted into a restaurant in 1990. Our seaside location offers a spectacular view of the world-famous La Jolla Cove, and has become a favorite &#8220;show off&#8221; spot for locals and visitors alike. If you love old buildings and history, then check out the Brockton Villa&#8217;s history.  Very interesting and neat! So a bunch of us local bloggers (I had NO idea there were so many!!  I need to get out more!) arrived to a beautiful brunch display.  There was delicious coffee, various juices (Tangerine that was new to me and oh-so wonderful), fresh seasonal fruit and their World famous &#8220;Coast Toast.&#8221;  Everything was amazing!  A small group of us sat out on the veranda and enjoyed the spectacular ocean view and talked it up.  I met some great gals! In this photo (L-R):  Ondine Brooks Kuraoka, Lucy Hargett, ME, Jennifer Boyd and Jacqueline Butler. This group of ladies was so fun to hang out with, and I loved getting to spend my &#8220;grown up&#8221; time with them!  If you want to see more pictures, Cathy Nguyen posted a bunch of great ones on her Whrrl page, too. Right now, the Brockton Villa is having a contest to win table reservations for two to their famous Forth of July party.  Because of their fabulous location, they have the best possible seats to La Jolla&#8217;s July 4th fireworks celebration.  The jist of it is, you visit their restaurant, take a picture of your server and post a &#8220;shout out&#8221; on the Brockton Villa Facebook page.  Official details are on their Facebook page under the &#8220;Notes&#8221; tab! So, THANK YOU Brockton Villa for allowing me to get out of the house and enjoy some girl time.  I can&#8217;t wait to take my mom back and share the beautiful seaside restaurant with her and I&#8217;ve already told my hubby that he must take me there in July for our anniversary.  It was truly beautiful and delicious! FTC Disclosure:  I was invited and provided brunch as to be introduced to the restaurant.  The opinions are always my own!]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<title>Head Out to the Queen Bee Market this Saturday</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/04/28/head-out-to-the-queen-bee-market-this-saturday/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/04/28/head-out-to-the-queen-bee-market-this-saturday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:43:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pennies4penny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[queen bee market]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/04/28/head-out-to-the-queen-bee-market-this-saturday/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Are you in San Diego?  Do you LOVE handmade goodies?  Do you have a giant amount of change laying around your house? Of course you do! Then head out to the Queen Bee Market this Saturday, May 1st from 10am to 6pm. What is the Queen Bee Market, you ask? The Queen Bee Market- a hip, modern, and fresh handmade art and gift show in the San Diego area. Held on Saturday, May 1st, perfectly timed for the week before Mother&#8217;s Day and beautiful San Diego weather (but really, when isn&#8217;t it beautiful weather in San Diego?). Unlike any other craft fair or boutique, Queen Bee will feature vendors from all over the handmade scene. With purses, jewelry, home decor, children&#8217;s items, accessories, baby products and more- you won&#8217;t want to miss out. There&#8217;s sure to be something for everyone. In addition to unique product, we&#8217;ll also be focusing our attention on giving back to the San Diego area. Pennies4Penny.org is one of the local San Diego charities that will be benefiting from this years market.  They will have collection jars set up around the market where you can quite literally leave your Pennies for Penny. So head on out and spend a beautiful day in Carlsbad, CA.  Take your change jars for Penny and find some handmade goodies for yourself!]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>Shark&#8217;s Revealed at the Sea Life Aquarium</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/04/17/sharks-revealed-at-the-sea-life-aquarium/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/04/17/sharks-revealed-at-the-sea-life-aquarium/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:46:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[legoland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sea life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sea life aquarium]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/04/17/sharks-revealed-at-the-sea-life-aquarium/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The boys and I were recently invited to the Sea Life Aquarium in Carlsbad, CA.  It’s conveniently located right next door to Legoland and makes for a great family fun activity.  We were invited down to get a look at their Shark’s Revealed exhibit and some new shows.  Since Anthony was in school, it was a great little outing for me and the twins. While I had been to Legoland before, I had never actually made it into the aquarium. SEA LIFETM is designed to be a child’s first interactive guide to the life of the sea, combining active, hands-on learning with fascinating educational talks, and opportunities to have up close and personal encounters with a variety of sea creatures. A visit to SEA LIFE is an experience like no other! View Full Album SEA LIFE has recently added a 3.5 foot long scalloped hammerhead shark to their display along with three new shark shows.  The scalloped hammerhead shark is not on display at any other Southern California aquarium!  I was really excited to see this creature, but it eluded us.  I kept hearing people say “oh, look!  There it is!”  But, I was always too late in turning my head.  I think the two enthusiastic three year olds were diverting my attention. The new shows include: Shark Talk which (I hear) is a fun and interactive puppet show appearing daily at noon and 3pm.  Again, I missed this one.  I actually got lost (haha) and couldn’t figure out how to get back to the staging area.  It was at the end of our time there and this big ole preggo girl was tired.  I didn’t have the energy to make another circle around.  The little ones were disappointed about missing the puppet show, but they got over it with some soda. The Daily Dive Help our exploration diver and Professor Proof uncover the secrets of the Lost City of Atlantis. The show uses a special dive mask that allows the diver to talk to guests for a fun, interactive and educational experience. Daily @ 11am. Shark and Ray Adventure Do you think you have what it takes to become a Shark Biologist? Give it a try with help from Johannes Thunder as you take field notes while observing the sharks and rays of the Ray Lagoon.  Thursday – Tuesday @1pm/Wednesday @ 2pm. The little brothers and I had a great time exploring the Sea Life Aquarium. I loved the kid friendly, hands-on activities.  It’s a very affordable adventure for the family, and paired with a trip to Legoland, it’s awesome. FTC Disclosure:  Thank you, Sea Life Aquarium for inviting us into your facility.  They provided complimentary passes as well as breakfast and shark puppets for the boys.  The opinions on the park are always my own.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>Date Night at Cirque du Soleil &#8211; KOOZA!</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/02/25/date-night-at-cirque-du-soleil-kooza/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/02/25/date-night-at-cirque-du-soleil-kooza/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:58:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Product Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anthony]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[circue du soleil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kooza]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/?p=4379</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last night, I had the best time ever with my son, Anthony.  We went to see Cirque du Soleil &#8211; KOOZA.  It was the first time seeing a Cirque du Soleil show for both of us, and it was amazing! It wasn&#8217;t just amazing though.  It was terrifying, exciting, electrifying, heart-stopping, vertigo inducing, wild and FANTASTIC!  Oh, and Funny, too. Is that enough adjectives for you? KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil: It combines two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor. Anthony and I arrived at the Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) at 7pm for the 7:30 show.  I was worried about being &#8220;too&#8221; early, but we could have gotten their sooner since there was plenty to see and do once inside.  This is the only picture I managed to get.  I was told no camera&#8217;s inside so I didn&#8217;t even bring one.  A decision I regret since we could have taken photos outside of the stilt performers and scenery.  I probably could have gotten someone to take our picture, too.  We were greeted by performers on stilts and other clowns passing out Gerber daisies and doing street performance acts.  There were lots of children present which surprised me being it was late on a school night.  I guess I don&#8217;t corner the market on &#8220;cool mommy-ness.&#8221;  Inside the tent we were treated to complimentary popcorn and soda&#8217;s.  I don&#8217;t know if this was free because it was a &#8220;press preview&#8221; showing or if that&#8217;s the norm, but I certainly appreciated it. We made our way to our seats.  I was shocked to discover that we were in the FRONT ROW!  How exciting is that?  We were to the far right of the stage, in the front row.  These were very exciting seats because we were right underneath all the crazy acrobatics.  It was a nausea inducing perspective for sure. If you want a very tiny taste of what we got to see at KOOZA, watch this video trailer.  It&#8217;s cool! KOOZA Trailer It would be really hard to narrow down a favorite act for me since they were all spectacular.  But the &#8220;Wheel of Death&#8221; (how&#8217;s that for a name?) was particularly exciting.  These certifiable crazy people were running and flipping and jumping rope on the outside of these &#8220;wheels&#8221; while it spun through the air and breakneck speed. Anthony could tell I was scared to death and he kept reassuring me, &#8220;mommy, these people train for a really long time.&#8221;  Yeah, I hope he remembers that this morning when he starts trying to do the stunts himself&#8230;which I have no doubt he will try! Anthony seemed the most impressed with the &#8220;Chinese Chairs.&#8221;  It was truly amazing to see the strength of this man as he did head and hand stands atop the chairs. I&#8217;m...]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
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		<title>Cirque du Soleil &#8211; KOOZA in San Diego!</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/02/22/cirque-du-soleil-kooza-in-san-diego/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2010/02/22/cirque-du-soleil-kooza-in-san-diego/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:33:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cirque du soleil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KOOAZ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kooza in san diego]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/?p=4359</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I am SO excited! Anthony is a &#8220;cool trick&#8221; freak.  He loves to watch juggling, tumbling, flipping, martial arts, dancing, etc. etc.  He loves it all.  Whenever performance artists are on the TV he comes to watch and you can just see the happiness across his face and the wheels turning in his head as he wonders how he can do it, too.  It&#8217;s one of the things I find amazing about children in general.  Their wonder at the things that are wonderful. The Ellen Show is good for having these types of artists on and recently she actually had a Cirque du Soleil Juggling artist on.  It also happened to be that this man&#8217;s name was Anthony.  Boy, my Mr. A. was in heaven!  We had to rewind and watch it several times.  It was this day that I thought, &#8220;I should take Anthony to see a Cirque du Soleil show.&#8221; Low and behold, KOOZA. KOOZA will be in San Diego from February 25th to March 21st at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. WOOT! Cirque du Soleil is proud to return to San Diego with its critically acclaimed big top production KOOZA. Proudly presented by iShares, KOOZA will premiere on Thursday, February 25 for a limited engagement under the trademark blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau (big top) at Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego. KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil that combines two circus traditions &#8211; acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor. I was provided two passes to the press preview (ooh, fancy) this coming Wednesday.  I am so excited to take Anthony.  It&#8217;s going to be a big deal for him considering that the show starts right at his normal bedtime, 7:30PM.  I&#8217;ve decided to keep him home from school on Thursday seeing as it&#8217;s going to be a really late night for us.  Does that make me a bad mom?  Oh well.  I don&#8217;t care.  I think this will be something really special for him and I can&#8217;t wait to just watch his face! KOOZA Tickets are still available online or by calling 1-800-450-1480 I&#8217;ll be back on Thursday to tell you all about it! Has anyone been to a Cirque du Soleil show before?  This will be my first.  If you&#8217;ve been, tell me what you thought. Click here for my thoughts on the show.  It was AWESOME! FTC Disclosure:  I was provided two passes to the press preview showing of KOOZA.  The opinions expressed are always my own.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<title>My Baby Turned 5 Years Old at Legoland!  (Giveaway!) CLOSED</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2009/09/29/legoland-giveaway/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2009/09/29/legoland-giveaway/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:57:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giveaways]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anthonys birthday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birthday at legoland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[legoland]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/?p=3196</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My sweet (HA) boy turned 5 years old on Saturday.  I have no idea where the time has gone and I just can not fathom how my screaming, colicky baby turned into this handsome and very bright young man. I asked Mr. A. the all important question of &#8220;what do you want to do for your birthday?&#8221;  He usually picks to go somewhere (as opposed to having a party at home).  We have done both Sea World and Disneyland,  so this year I suggested Legoland California and he eagerly agreed. The wonderful people at Legoland California were nice enough to set me up with a family 4 pack of passes so we could check it out. One bummer thing right from the beginning was the short operating hours.  We went on a Saturday (although, I think it&#8217;s the &#8220;off&#8221; season) and they were only open 10am to 5pm.  Not nearly enough time to fully enjoy the park.  We felt like we were in a hurry to see it all and were disappointed when it was time to go.  Poor BoBo had the major of all melt downs because we had to go and he was having so much fun!  I wish it was open longer!! Legoland is awesome!  They are targeted to the younger kids so there are lots of rides that are perfect for 3 and 5 year olds.  There was never a ride (until the end) that the twins had to sit out, and that was nice.  Of course, there is a section of more exciting fare that Anthony got to enjoy, but the babies didn&#8217;t&#8230;so I fed them ice cream instead. While I&#8217;m sure the food at the park is great, they didn&#8217;t bat an eye at our collapsible cooler full of drinks and lunch.  I can&#8217;t tell you what a money saver bringing your own picnic lunch can be with a large family.  I really appreciated being able to bring it. Something else I noticed about the park, was all the greenery.  There were so many trees and lush vegetation.  There was always a shady spot to sit and it made it very beautiful. The Grandparents Lego Darth Vader!  He was very cool.  NayNay did not like the sound effects! Lego Pumpkin.  Our attempt at a family picture.  Never works so well with 5 of us&#8230; The play area with lego stations and play houses. Pirate Shores was our favorite!  The boys loved getting wet on the hot day.  I was SOAKED. There is a section called Miniland USA.  They have just about every major US city constructed out of legos.  We had a great time strolling through and looking at everything.  The detail was amazing.  I imagine this would be a little kids dream job &#8211; just building cool stuff out of legos! Miniland USA is all set with Trick or Treaters. Now this was in &#8220;Las Vegas.&#8221;  Do you think it&#8217;s a tourist taking a photo or a hold up?? Our passes included admittance...]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>92</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Elephant Odyssey at the San Diego Zoo</title>
		<link>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2009/08/17/elephant-odyssey-at-the-san-diego-zoo/</link>
		<comments>http://mommy23monkeys.com/2009/08/17/elephant-odyssey-at-the-san-diego-zoo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:45:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mommy23monkeys</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local San Diego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Product Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elephant odyssey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[san diego zoo]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mommy23monkeys.com/?p=2794</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We have passes to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park.  It&#8217;s nice, especially since we only live 15 minutes away from the WAP.  We can just go whenever.  My mom usually buys us the passes every year for the brothers&#8217; birthday. This week, I took Mr. A. and NayNay to see the new Elephant Odyssey exhibit at the Zoo (BoBo wanted to stay home&#8230;weirdo).  We had quite the adventure just getting to and from the Zoo!  The Elephant Odyssey is my new favorite exhibit! They had it set up really cool.  We took a moving sidewalk up to the top where the exhibit started.  I loved all the Elephant Foot trees (or whatever they are called).  There were &#8220;fossils&#8221; to be found in the walls and a replica tar pit.  Mr. A. loved listening to the teachers talking about fossils. It was really relaxing walking along the winding sidewalks.  They had the African Lion on exhibit that was really cool.  Here is a shot I got of him up close.  I missed him letting out a giant ROAR right before leaping up onto the rocks.  He was beautiful.  I especially liked the sign that said &#8220;Spray Area &#8211; Keep Back.&#8221;  I don&#8217;t know why I didn&#8217;t get a picture of that!  Could you imagine getting sprayed by an adult African Lion?  EEEWWWW!  LOL ! There really were a lot of learning opportunities along the way.  Places to see fossils, the elephant care center, condors, and play.  We spent our entire Zoo visit in this exhibit..there was so much to do.  We even ate at the restaurant that gave us a beautiful view of the elephants playing. So if you are in the San Diego area, definitely check it out.  They put a lot of effort into this new exhibit and it&#8217;s really cool.  We had a great time. **I own my own Zoo passes.  This review was not requested by the San Diego Zoo.**]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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