Oceanside Beach

I didn't get my camera out at the beach until everyone was safely buckled in their car seats, so don't look too hard for my family in these pictures!  My hands were full helping kids play in the sand, build a huge sand castle, and boogie boarding.  And eating a sandy picnic.  Mike's hands were full of his cell phone as he juggled orders and quotes for his new business that was CrAzY busy this week we were in California.

Poor Mike might count this as one of his worst vacations because he worked more than he vacationed, but the rest of us loved the trip and were happy when Mike could get away from urgent calls and emails to spend time with us.  The week the reunion happened was also the week that Avizia, his new company, began selling their products and his business partners were also traveling that same week so it was crazy timing that we couldn't do anything about.  We made the best of it and still had a great trip.

Oceanside beach was beautiful and it was fun to watch the surfers.  Dan and the other dads helped the kids build a huge sand castle that they were all proud of.  We rented boogie boards (interesting that in CA they are called boogie boards and back East we call them body boards) and had a great time body boarding in the ocean.  The water was COLD but still got in and the waves were huge and very fun for the older kids and adults to catch.

 

Legoland

We went to Legoland with the family and the little boys were in heaven.  We loved all the Lego creations.  Truly amazing Lego designs!

 

The rides were perfect if you were between the ages of 4-10.  The "big" rides were VERY tame and Brooke and Megan were good sports to enjoy the day.  Evan thought some the rides were perfect!  Natalie was one week shy of her 4th birthday and many rides had not only a height limit (no problem for this tall girl), but an AGE limit.  After we discovered this, we reminded Natalie we were at Legoland celebrating her birthday and she was FOUR now.  Made for a better afternoon to let her ride a few things, but there wasn't much Michael could do.

Michael did love sitting in this stationary cars and letting me take pictures of him.  Had a hard time getting him out of these cars!

My favorite part was mini land, which was filled with amazing Lego structures of great buildings.  We saw the Sydney Opera House, a mini Washington D.C., the Las Vegas strip, Times Square in NYC, California, and much more.  It was amazing and we loved walking through and enjoying all the creations, moving cars and trucks, etc.

In the evening we found a playground for the little ones to play, sent the older kids off with a cell phone to find the best rides for them, and let the under 4 crowd enough the playground and this little train while the adults visited.  I have to say the food was ate in the park was delicious!  The park worked out fine for everyone in the end but wasn't my favorite amusement park.  Evan might beg to differ.

Family Reunion!

The Costco trip spoils BARELY fit in Mom's car.  Packed truck and food falling onto my lap as we rode back up the mountain with food for the week.

Monday morning we went to Sea World for a few hours before heading to the Hidden Valley Retreat and Spa, which we had rented for our vacation.  Mike had to work Monday morning and had rented a separate car, so I took the kids to Sea World with my parents while Mike went to work.  Then everyone went to the reunion rental home while the kids and I picked Mike up.  By then it was time to grocery shop so I was the last one to arrive at our vacation rental.  Let's just say that it was not quite the "retreat and spa" center that it had been advertised.  Mom kindly described it as "rustic" and the rest of us probably thought of it as old and outdated, but we made the best of it and had a great week.

The event center.  We cooked in here and had two main bedrooms in this home.  We loved the big open space for setting up tables to eat at the same time.  But a kitchen without a dishwasher or any large bowls left plenty to be desired.  We made do, but it wasn't luxury!  

The views on the beautiful property made up for what the home lacked.  The mountains were beautiful and we were alone on our 10 acres.  The boys ran all around and thought they were in heaven.  Even though we had to warn them to stay out of the grasses because there were rattlesnakes.  And tarantulas, and scorpions, and black widows . . . we found black widows under a couch in the one house, and killed two tarantulas right outside the house door our last night there.  We found a baby rattlesnake in the wood pile our last night there and I think we were all ready to be done with the "mountain retreat" by then.  :)

Dinner on the patio in the cool mountain air was really spectacular though!

And the kids loved having a pool at the house, even though the water was nippy in the mountains.  The older kids still spent a lot of time here and we were glad for a pool to play in.

 

The event center worked well for eating except for the breaking chairs that everyone kept falling over on.  And the dinosaur TVs gave us a good laugh but worked when we needed them to.  Thankfully, this was an active trip and we were gone enough that other than the very HARD beds, we weren't too bothered by what this property lacked.  I did think was pretty good at finding vacation rentals, but I was reminded again to ask even more questions.  Dishwasher on site??  However, this was the ONLY place we could find that our family of 33 could stay together and afford in San Diego and we were glad to have it.

Kara in the kitchen.

I felt better about the house on the last day when we were all packed up and ready to leave and Evan threw a screaming fit because he didn't want to leave this awesome house that was the best place he had ever stayed in his life!  He loved being with all his cousins and running around exploring the beautiful grounds.

Despite it's shortcomings, we LOVED, loved, loved being together and everything worked out.  San Diego is a great place for a family reunion if you can find somewhere you can afford to stay!

Mormon Battalion Historical Site

Sunday afternoon we visited the Mormon Battalion Historical Site, run by LDS missionaries in Old Town San Diego.  It is one of the coolest church history sites I have been to and my kids loved it.

We entered and were guided through about a 45-minute living history exhibit that moved us throughout the visitor's center telling the story of the nearly 500 men who joined the Mormon Battalion and marched from Winter Quarters to San Diego at the request of the U.S. Army.  My kids were enthralled by the interactive story and everyone paid attention and learned a lot.  

At the end, we got to touch cannons, take an old-fashioned picture, and pan for gold.  Each child got to find and take home two pieces of "gold."  Michael spilled water all over himself but everyone loved it.  

 

 

 

Anyone with an hour in San Diego should learn about these good men who did so much to help settle San Diego after they arrived.  They brought their brick-making skills with them and taught locals how to fire bricks.  

 

 

Memory Lane

Jamul home they built and put their handprints in the concrete.

We took a trip down Memory Lane while we were in San Diego and visited all six of the homes Mike lived in during his youth in San Diego.  Four rentals and two homes they owned.  It was so fun to hear him tell stories about the homes and the yards, see where he rode his bike, his bus stop, his high school, etc.  No, we didn't knock on any doors or talk to anyone there, but it was great to see the neighborhoods and the outside of their homes.

The home they built in Jamul.

The rental home in Bonita.

The home they built in Fallbrook.

Rental home in Fallbrook.  This yard was beautiful when they lived there but now the yard and home are in total disrepair.  

San Diego here we come!

We flew to San Diego for our summer vacation this year.  The first hour of the flight was perfect as Natalie and Michael watched TV!  After that, Michael had no interest in putting his headphones on but he was still pretty darn good.  I'm trying not to count my chickens before they hatch but I THINK my worst flying years with babies and toddlers is BEHIND ME.  I can't even tell you how happy that makes me.  Maybe I will take the kids home to visit their grandparents again.  Few things give me anxiety but flying with lots of little ones stresses me out and I am SO GLAD to have Michael growing up for that reason alone!  The kids were really quite wonderful on the long flight, even with a layover!

We celebrated arriving in San Diego by checking in to our hotel and riding the mini train at Balboa Park.  Fun to see the huge park in the middle of downtown San Diego and enjoy the cool evening breeze!

The best part of coming to San Diego two days before the family reunion started was convincing Mom and Dad to come spend some extra time with us.  We loved having them all to ourselves and also loved letting Brooke and Megan sleep in their hotel room so I didn't have to get two rooms for my large family.  :)

We had dinner on Saturday night at Seaport Village on the harbor.  We loved looking at the ocean and eating pizza, but I should have brought all our sweatshirts because we thought we were going to freeze!  Seaport Village had darling shops and fun treats.  Great place to visit on Saturday night.

These three kids slept so well together in the pullout sofa bed.  Good thing they've been sharing a room all summer because they were prepared for sharing a bed no problem and got a decent amount of sleep.

 

 Had to get a burger and a shake at In-N-Out.

Sunday morning we went to church in Jamul in a ward Mike attended when he was young.  It was so fun to see his church building and the home he lived in when he was 12.

Sunday after church we visited the San Diego LDS Temple, which was beautiful.

The kids enjoyed exploring the temple grounds and looking at the beautiful flowers.

 

Raccoons!

I left a garbage bag with pizza outside after a pool party one evening, and we had visitors that night and many nights that followed.  One night I heard scratching and pushing on my front door, and peeked out the windown to find these two raccoons trying to get inside!  

Jennica came and woke us up one night at 1:30 to say she heard loud noises outside her bedroom window. When she and I checked it out, we found four raccoons banging around in the pool area trying to get into the garbage can to get at the pizza leftovers.  I realized we needed to promptly lock up and dispose of all our trash so these mean critters won't be back to visit.  We cleaned things out and left on vacation and haven't seen them since so I hope they've moved on.

Sky Meadows State Park Hike

The last thing I felt like Jennica must do in D.C. was see some of the beautiful countryside.  We accomplished this by an early morning hike in Sky Meadows State Park, about an hour away.  This was the hike we were supposed to do at Girls Camp but got rained out of, so I had a good map and set off with my family in tow to do the hike.  We had to shorten our hike for the little legs we had with us, but still enjoyed a beautiful hour and half outside before running home so Jennica could get to work on time.

Michael was an amazing hiker the first half of the trip.  Evan LOVES hiking and was delighted to carry water and climb all over.  Natalie needed some encouragement at the beginning but then got her walking legs on and we had a great time.

Viriginia is so green and beautiful everywhere!

Brooke took a picture of the thistle to show Grandma and Granda I. that they can find thistle outside of Scotland.

The trail is well signposted, which was nice since we were alone on the peaceful trail.  This park looks like it is visited infrequently, and we enjoyed just listening to the woods and the sounds of the meadow.  This picture also shows how dense and green much of Virginia is.

By the end of the hike, Jennica and I were each carrying a child.  :)

We enjoyed picking wild raspberries along the way.  There were plenty and they were a tasty treat.  So glad we made time to do this morning hike.