San Diego - part 2

Day 3 - Sunday March 31st
 Easter Sunday was a very special day, and busy too!
First we went to the Mormon Battalion visitors center.  If you are ever in Old Town San Diego, I highly recommend visiting this place.

The girl doing the tour did such a wonderful job.  It was neat to learn more about these pioneer men.

Here's our family in the old west.                                       And Jeff even volunteered to be a soldier!

Outside there were other activities.  The kids loved panning for gold.

Here's our whole group out front with a covered wagon.

Afterwards, we walked around the rest of old town.

There was a lot to see and it was a very hot day.  I didn't even think about sun block, so we got a little burned.

The cousins in front of the Cousin's Candy Shop.

We had reservations at noon at a very cute Mexican restaurant in Old Town.  The food was good and so was Sophie.  I think she got used to the wait at restaurants as the trip went on.

After lunch we headed back to Oceanside.  But not without stopping at the Strawberry Patch in Carlsbad.  Some kids get to hunt eggs on Easter, but ours got to hunt strawberries!

They were so good!  And although we got pretty muddy and paid more to do it, the adventure of picking them ourselves is one the kids will remember for years.

When we got back to the condo Sophie and I did some laundry (we had some wet bedding from a certain child) and Tom took the other kids to the beach.

This is what the kids were so excited about before the trip.  The beach!

Cedric was not afraid of the water at all!  Those watching him were afraid for him :)

And for good reason.  Look out, Cedric!

Tom spent most of the time boogie boarding with the older nieces and nephews.

That night we just ordered a pizza, got some ice cream to go with our strawberries, and just hung out in our condo.

It was one of our best days on the trip!  

San Diego - part 1

The Christmas after my mom passed away, 2011, my dad announced that we were going to go on a trip to San Diego for our Christmas presents that year and the next.  At the time, a vacation 15 months away seemed so far, but soon the time was at hand.  And we were excited!  

There were 22 of us in our group: My dad, Kent; my sister, Aimee and her family, Matt, Tyler, Aubree, Marcus & Caleb; my brother, Mike and his family, Karyn, Jessica, Michael, John & Grace; my brother, Isaac and his family, Candalyn & Adair; and my family, me, Tom, Lily, Jeff, Cedric & Sophie.

Day 1 - Friday, March 29th
We loaded out at 9:00am for the drive.  The kids were good, other than the "are we there yet?" coming often from a certain child.

Sophie had her own DVD player which was often showing "Yo Gabba Gabba" and "Blue's Clues", her two favorite shows.  With that, snacks and Ipods, she was good too.

We stopped in Beaver for lunch, where Jeff lost his first tooth!

We made it to Las Vegas, where we stayed in a hotel for the night.  It was in the mid-80's when we got there and it felt so hot!  So the first thing we did was go swimming in the pool.

These three loved it!

And Sophie loved it too... until she actually touched the water.

That night we ate at a buffet.

Sophie enjoyed hugging her cousin, Adair while the three of us sat and watched the tables and everyone else got their food.

That night, Lily got to sleep over with her cousin, Grace in her parents room.

While in our room it was Sophie, Cedric, Jeff, Tom and I.

Day 2 - Saturday, March 30th
The next morning we got up and headed out.  We stopped at Barstow Station for lunch.  Sophie kept going up to a stranger close by and giving her hugs.  This is so not like Sophie, but it totally  made the lady's day!

Then arrived in Oceanside, where our home-away-from-home was located.  We stayed in some really cute condos, each family had their own unit.  And we were right on the beach!  

Here is the back of our unit.

And the front went out to a gorgeous complex.

This was the view from our backyard.

And this was our front yard.  A little golf course.  The kids had fun playing golf and ping pong a lot on the trip.

Inside, the three oldest shared a room.  The boys in one bed, and Lily in the other.  They thought it was neat to have a TV in their room too.

Sophie slept in an antique playpen in the master bedroom with Tom and I.

The condo had a nice family room, dining and kitchen area too.

That night, we walked over to a seafood restaurant.  We ate out on the deck. Although it was a bit cold, the food was good.  I, of course, didn't get any seafood, but Sophie had her first taste of fish and liked it.

Easter Egg Hunt and Curls

Easter this year was a little different for us.  We were in San Diego, California that day and so Easter didn't feel like Easter (our trip post is coming soon).  No fancy dresses, and no Easter eggs, baskets or bunny that day.

However, when we got back the following Sunday we discovered that the Easter Bunny had still come!  Silly Mom and Dad forgot to tell the Easter Bunny we'd be out of town, so the delivery was still made.  First the kids found their baskets.

They were thrilled to discover the new Skylander characters for the Wii game in their baskets!  Even Mom and Dad got one.

 Sophie was asleep in the car, not feeling well that day, but soon she awoke and took part in the fun.  She got a cuddly lamb instead of a Skylander.

 Sophie was a pro at knowing just what to do with the eggs.

 The kids found tons of eggs, but to make it fair, they had to only find so many at a time, then wait until everyone had that many before they could find more.  It worked out good and they had fun.

 Happy Late Easter!

Today I decided to try scrunching and curling Sophie's hair.  When we were in humid Southern Cal., her hair had more curl to it than it normally does at home.  So I thought I'd see just how curly I could get it.  I always wanted a kid with curly hair and I am thrilled with the results!

Here's what her hair naturally looks like.  Hardly any curl at all...

But with a little water and gel, this is what happened... 

It doesn't stay good for too long, but it's a way cute look on Sophie.  I'm so excited some curly hair genes came through to one of our kids (most of Tom's family has wavy/curly hair, none of mine do).  Even if it's just  her baby hair.  Who knows, maybe it will last as she gets older?  If not, it's fun for now.