Back to Reality

Well, the fun has ended officially. It's always kinda depressing coming home from a fun vacation and getting back into the swing of things. No more lazy mornings, hanging out, on-the-go, eating out, strolling, shopping, jumping on hotel beds, hangin out at the pool. Guess the fun had to end sometime huh? We had lots of fun and even decided to stay one extra day. So, now we'll try to fill ya in on all the fun details......

Friday morning we hit the road. We made good time and arrived in San Diego around 4:30pm. After we got settled at our hotel we headed out for some grub. We ate at a place called King's Fish House...it was pretty yummy. Mariah loved it because she got to eat one of her favorites, shrimp cocktail. Jaden loved the yummy french bread they served. That evening the weather was so nice we were able to eat out on the patio of the restaurant. As we were leaving dinner, this older couple that sat at the table behind us stopped me and complimented us on how well behaved our children were. How nice was that?! And really (for once!) they actually were through all of dinner. It was quite amazing. Proud parent moment. The woman had commented that when she first saw us coming in she thought to herself, good luck with those kiddos during dinner, seeing as how she had at one point 5 little ones herself. But to her surprise, she and her hubby were quite amazed how behaved they were! Yeehaw. Made our night! After dinner we strolled on over to 2-story, YES, I said 2-story Target!!! Got a few needed items and headed back to our hotel and let the kids swim.

Saturday morning we got up and going and headed over to the San Diego Zoo. Well, let me just tell you that San Diego had a heat wave this past weekend we were there, so the Zoo was fun....but VERY hot! I will admit it made me very grumpy. If you've never been, this zoo is quite large. We did the tour bus and were dummies and sat on the upper level which was NOT shaded and sweated like pigs. We got to see the sea lion show which is always cute, and while at that show, a guy surprised his unsuspecting girlfriend and proposed! It was very sweet. The polar bears were probably my favorite. Although the 1 month old baby giraffe was quite adorable. As well as the panda bears too. Next time we go back to the zoo we will make sure it's not quite as hot! We ended up leaving the zoo in the later afternoon and headed back to the hotel for a refreshing dip in the pool.

Saturday evening we headed over to Seaport Village. We all loved this place. It's very quaint. Lots of little souvenir shops and places for grub all along the waterfront. We walked out on the peir as the sun was setting and it was beautiful. Jaden was in awe at all the big ships! We were pooped by the time we got back to our hotel and, needless to say, none of the kids put up a fight to go to sleep!

Sunday morning we took our time getting up and got ready for the beach. Before hitting the beach we stopped for some breakfast at IHOP. Ever had their stuffed french toast? Mmmmm, sooo good. The parking near Mission beach was crazy, crazy but we actually lucked out and got a great spot, thank goodness since we had our arms full of stuff to carry down. Sunday ended up being another VERY warm day! In fact, as soon as we hit the sand it was burning our feet. Jaden didn't like the "squishy" sand! He wasn't too sure even though he had built up soooo much anticipation for building sandcastles! And Easton, wow, well let's just say we almost packed up right after we got there. He was NOT having it! It took some patience and lots of holding with him. I have come to the conclusion that sand and babies or small children don't really mix! He had sand up his nose, in his mouth, in his eyes. But we managed. Mariah and Will had rented a boogie board and Mariah LOVED LOVED loved it! The water was great and she was a fish of the sea! She had so much fun boogie boarding and body surfing which Will showed her how to do. She was the only one who wasn't really ready to leave after 3 hours at the beach. But parents always get the last say. We went back to the hotel and all of us showered all the sand off of us. Yuck, I don't like sand.

Sunday evening we had planned on taking the kids down to one of our favorite spots at Mission beach called Belmont Park. Well, since it was Labor day weekend and apparently some concert going on there this night, we drove around for 1.5 hours just trying to find a single parking space. NO SUCH LUCK. We were totally bummed. So instead we headed over to Horton plaza downtown just in time to get a quick bite to eat, and have the mall close on us. Ugh. This is what sparked our decision to stay one more day. We felt jipped.

Monday morning we decided to go over and see the gorgeous San Diego temple. It is so beautiful. I think it is one of my favorites! We didn't stay too long though because the heat was blistering. I think it was the hottest day yet. We then set over to the Birch aquarium over in La Jolla where the kids had fun seeing all the sea creatures. It was a neat place and fairly inexpensive. After that we headed on over to another of our favorite spots on Coronado island. Such a cute place. We rented a family bike and Will and I peddled our butts off, but it was very worth it. We peddled the kids around the island and saw many, many very LARGE gorgeous homes there! Holy cow, they must go for at least half a million! Someday when we're rich *wink, wink* we'd like to have a home there on Coronado island! This town is so dang cute.

Monday night we finally got to go to Belmont park. No large crowds this night, thank goodness. Will had pumped Jaden up for the rollercoaster ride, but much to his dismay he wasn't tall enough to ride and was kinda heartbroken. It was quite sad. But Mariah was finally brave enough to go on it with Will! She actually liked it too. The boys got to ride some of the kiddie rides which was fun. Mariah and Jaden both tried to climb a palm tree, similar to rock climbing, for a prize. That was fun to watch. Mariah almost made it to the top. Once Jaden got hooked up and tried to climb up he wasn't having it. Guess it looked easier than it really was. Belmont park is always a fun, fun place for the family! After the fun ended there we went to go eat at Olive Garden (Melanie's choice) for her birthday dinner. Yum, I love that place! Then it was back to the hotel where we spent our last night. It was a great trip. Lots of fun and good memories. Tons of pictures too which are soon to come....now for some catching up to do!