San Diego

Our family just returned from a sunny, fun trip to California. We had so much fun I didn't really want to come home. I hadn't been in San Diego area since I was around 10 years old, and I hadn't been to L.A.(Anaheim) since I was in high school (LAX doesn't count). I loved California! Driving around the beautiful coast was a quick reminder of why a gazillion people live there, and minus the traffic and cost of living, I can hardly blame them.

We met up with my sister Jen and her family, making it even better. We stayed at a perfect little place nestled in the hills of Escondido, thanks to Josh's mom and her time-share. We had tons of space, pools, and if only we golfed, we could have done that too.

We hit several beaches(La Jolla, Mission Beach, and Carlsbad Beach), all of which were gorgeous, and we had wanted to visit the San Diego Temple, but with scaffolding on all but one tower, and the gates being locked, we just admired the beauty from afar. We did a day at Disneyland too. That day started out with a Beckett 'blow-out' on the way there, causing an emergency trip to Wal-Mart for some new clothes (is anything else open at 8:30 AM?). Aside from that the day was a blast. Asher is officially tall enough to go on all the rides (except for Indiana Jones), and he did just that. I was very surprised at his excitement and bravery....after riding Space Mountain his reply was, "Wow, that was fast!", and after riding Splash Mountain twice, he wanted to ride it again. Corey sat one out when it came to the Teacups ride(hehehe), and Beckett was petrified of several rides...Pirates of the Caribean, and Dumbo(what?!) to name a few. I think the super high speaker volume had something to do with it, that, and Dumbo seemed to create too much wind! He loved It's a Small World though. All the kids were good sports and we made it through the day without any tantrums or outbursts.

The single thing Asher had wanted to do on this trip was go to the beach to 1) have a picnic, and 2) build a sandcastle. He's been talking about these things for a while now. Well, we did both at beautiful Carlsbad Beach, except that the whole picnic thing was a bust because of sandy food, kids wanting to play instead of eat, and aggressive and hungry Seagulls. Castle building was fun though and we were all involved in the work. Unfortunately there is not a picture of the grand finale because Asher enjoyed tearing it all up as much as he enjoyed the building. And even the frigid temp of the ocean didn't keep Ash dry. He was soaked from falling and playing in the waves. I too remember a time when those west coast waves didn't bother me, but now I'm just a big baby. (Maybe it's something to do with being an adult...would diving right in keep me younger? Hmmm, something to ponder).

Our day at Sea World was a fun one too. Ash and I fed Toby the dolphin(very cool), we all saw the Shamu show(currently without people in the water), and Beckett met Elmo. That last one was surprisingly a big deal...we had no idea Beck was such a fan! He watched a few 'Elmo's World' movies on the drive and ta-da....instant Elmo fanatic. His wiggly, squirmy excitement was anything but contained while waiting to meet the big red fella. It was really so cute. Corey, being the sucker that he is, bought Beckett a huge Elmo, which he loves. All Asher wanted in the entire park was to put pennies into the machines that smash them into souvenir coins...in his words, he wanted, "to do the crank machines!" I think he ended up with three of them, which he treasures and keeps in his piggy bank. Later that night we ate at Joe's Crab Shack on Mission Beach and had a gorgeous view of the sunset!

One of the perks of driving was getting to visit with Corey's parents twice within a week. Their place is about half-way, making for a very convenient stop. The kids thought it was a great treat seeing grandparents so often, and especially since on our way out we were there on Grandpa's birthday! Fun, cake, presents! The kids played at the park and loved seeing Grandma and Grandpa Reitz.

We usually shy away from road trips, knowing the kids will turn into monsters as soon as we leave the driveway, but they proved us so wrong! They did great, thanks to continuous movies and lots of snacks. The drive home was almost uneventful. While driving, Beck needed a diaper change, so after a couple of minutes(literally), and a bit of Asher's commentary about how stinky Beckett was, I turned around and saw a mound of poop staring me in the face and resting next to Beckett's leg. I about died. We pulled over and commenced 'Operation Emergency Diaper Change'. It was bad. Clothes were thrown away, removable(thankfully) pieces of the car seat were bagged up, a hundred wipies were used, and everyone was doused in hand sanitizer. I've never seen that happen before, ever. After the shock wore off, the remainder of the drive was good and boring. Whew!

I loved our trip to Cali. Hanging out with my sister Jen and her family was awesome. So much to do, and the weather and beaches were divine. I'm ready to go again!