[Continued; check out part one.]

Our third day was (what else) bright and sunny, and our plans included a visit to LEGOLAND. (Yes, it’s always capitalized like that.)

This is our third year in a row visiting, and the kids have changed quite a bit since our first visit, and even since last year. Of course, a good portion of our time was spent waiting in line.

We managed to find a restaurant with an all-you-can-eat buffet for kids for about $6 each! Best. Deal. Ever. Will and Lucy both ate two plates full of meat and veg.

This was the first year Lucy was tall enough for junior driving school. The cars only go about 2MPH, but they’re not on tracks at all.

Will graduated to the full driving school, with stop lights and intersections and cross traffic. And the cars go a bit faster.

Junior driving school has a shorter line, and only lasts a couple of minutes. So while Will and I were finishing up his driving experience, Lucy and Becky found something else to drive:

There’s a fun team-oriented ride; our whole family had to work together to put out a fire faster than the other teams.

This show hasn’t changed a bit in the three years we’ve been coming here, and the kids still love it.

The rides with longer lines have areas with Lego bricks for kids to keep their hands busy. And yes, Will packed that shirt all the way from Portland to wear to LEGOLAND.

Another driving ride, this one on the water. Again, no tracks; each boat has a little teeny-tiny motor, and the kids wouldn’t let us touch the steering wheels.

Our “surprise” gifts from LEGOLAND were – what else? Lego kits! Will and Lucy got up early the next day to start putting them together while Becky and I made breakfast.

…which was hearty, because day 4 was for the San Diego Zoo!

We always try to hit the things with potentially long lines first thing in the morning before they get too crowded; at this park, it’s the guided bus tour.

Shows at animal parks are great, because petting.

The zoo is set up on a hill, so after seeing all the exhibits at the bottom, we rode the sky tram up to the top.

When you’re 4 and 6, just walking around and looking at things isn’t quite enough. There have to be things to climb on.

And things to touch. I think this is meant for the petting-zoo goats to scratch themselves with, but apparently it’s available for all species.

Stay tuned, part 3 is still to come!