San Diego [ Day 4: Shakin' like a Salt Shaker ]

I am posting this later than I originally intended to, but life got in the way, as usual.

I honestly think a mandatory second vacation, directly following the first,
should be implemented.

It takes time to recover.

The husband started the morning, our 4th in San Diego, with a trip to Einstein's Bros. Bagels. He got our usual.  After breakfast we suited up and then loaded up the van. The husband loaded the cooler with sandwiches, drinks, and snacks. We would not go without.

The weather was a cool 68 degrees... the sky was once again overcast. We decided as a family that we were going to go to the beach and we were going to enjoy ourselves. Even if that meant we would be freezing our little (ahem) tushies off.

We arrived at Coronado Island and beach around 1:00pm.

Come to find out, once you are on the sand and moving around a bit, you tend to do alright. It also helped that, every once in a while, the sun would try to peak out through the clouds.

 Isabel did not hesitate; she jumped right into the water.

Nic was ready in his shark t-shirt and his Nemo swim trunks. A classic beach get-up, if I do say so myself.

He ventured out.

The waves knocked Nic over. He was NOT happy. He got up and ran back to us with tears streaming down his cheeks. I think the wave took him by surprise, is all.

He loved the sand.

Here, the husband is burying him.
Mr. Merman.

He had a blast trying to get out!

This was one of those moments the sun was trying to come out (for my benefit alone, of course!). I had a hard time locating the bright circle in my view finder - but in the end, I got a couple of cool shots. It's not everyday you get to see the sun like this.

After about 4 hours of playing in the water and in the sand, Nic was TIRED. He actually fell asleep in one of our beach chairs. Because it was breezy out, we covered him up so he could stay warm. He stayed like that for almost an hour.

Around 4:50, the two older kids were in the ocean and Nic was asleep (see above). The husband and I were sitting next to each other when we started to shake.
SHAKE!
Back and forth. Forth and back.
YES! That kind of shaking!
It only lasted for 30-45 seconds...

We looked around. The lifeguard came out of his box.
Other people were chattering.
I Facebook'ed my thoughts.
My thoughts were confirmed.
Earthquake.
Crazy.

To make matters worse (I say that only because I know that no one was hurt during the quake), I was absolutely betrayed by the gray mask of clouds. Who knew you could still get a sunburn on an overcast day? I sure as heck didn't. Which is why I sure as heck got a sun burn. It's not fair that my husband and kids NEVER burn. Of course, I am sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am the sunscreen putter-on-er for them.
Who's my sunscreen putter on-er? Maybe I need a cabana boy?

Nahhh! I got a man who takes great care of me.

In fact, he was the one who remembered to pack two bottles of Aloe Vera soothing gel.

He knows me and my skin-type so well.

Once we were done with the beach, we headed back to the condo.

After a round of showers, we settled down for some television and packing.

We wanted to be ready to go so that we could leave bright and early Thursday morning.

 Despite the fact that there are no pictures of Alex and the husband
frolicking on the beach, they were there.

Trust.

No, 5 Doesn't Come Before 4... Usually.

But in this case it does...
I sat down last night to write the adventures of day 4, but had to stop when we discovered a plumbing problem.
No, not with me!
In the bathroom!

All is well now... But time isn't on my side.
We HAVE to be in Phoenix by 2:30...

So, we are hittin' the road!

Can't wait for the warmth of Arizona!

Hasta luego, amigos!

San Diego [ Day 3: Food, Friends, and Fun ]

Day three started off like any other day on vacation.

We woke up, got dressed, and headed towards the van.

Off to find out if we could actually eat breakfast at our favorite place: the Broken Yolk.

WE GOT IN!

It helped that it was no longer a holiday (peeps were back at their J.O.B.) and that we opted to visit the more suburban location (instead of downtown San Diego).

All my kids did what they do best.

Alex and Nic are posers.

hehe.

Isabel is drawing.

And Buzz was drinking his favorite cocktail of Chocolate Milk.

One of the husband and I.

Anxiously awaiting THIS:

After stuffing ourselves full, we decided to make ANOTHER attempt at visiting the Museum of Natural History.

Isn't this a pretty tree?

We didn't get to visit the museum as it was RESIDENTS FREE TUESDAY.

Every resident of San Diego must have been there.

I swear.

There was no way we would have gotten in there or enjoyed any of it, with that many people.

So, we gave up on that idea.

Nic and I hung out, while we waited for his stroller to be brought back by the Valet (aka Alex and Isabel).

He loves me!

Even though we didn't get in to the museum, we did get to check out the Prado buildings.

And look at this bathroom...

Is it weird that I took this picture of the bathroom?

From insidet he handicap stall?

No... not from the toilet.

Another cool tree.

And three very cool kids.

Next up? La Jolla Cove.

It was so much fun... and very pretty.

Meet our new friends.

Cute, huh?

The kids had a great time scoping out snails, fishies, and other sea life stuff.

And of course, getting wet as the waves washed up against the rocks.

After La Jolla, we drove down the coast back towards Chula Vista... the houses were AMAZING.

We ended our day out with dinner at Fuddrucker's and then back to the condo.

We watched a DVD and the kids did more drawing and craft stuff.

We ended up going to bed around 10:30pm.

We were TIRED.

Today is BEACH day.

We are praying for sunshine.

San Diego [ Day 2: Change of Plans ]

What a day... that did not go as planned, at all!

But, we had fun, regardless.

We were trying to go to our favorite breakfast place, the Broken Yolk, but so was everyone else in San Diego. It was BUSY. It was downtown. It wasn't going to happen.

So we tried a second location. On the way, we saw this:

We tried the second location to no avail. The line was even longer. By that time, it was almost noon. So we went to Chevy's for lunch. I love Chevy's. They have the best chips and salsa. And let me tell you - they also had the BEST meat. 3/5 of us got Fajitas - I got steak, Alex got Carnitas, and the husband got a mixed platter. I have NEVER tasted better fajitas in MY LIFE. The meat (in all cases) was perfection. I complemented the cooker people. Good stuff.

After driving around for a few hours and finally eating, we got tired and decided to head "home" and hang around for a bit.

And slay dragons.

While the kids did that, we (the husband and I) took a nap.

After a while, we got back in the car to do some more driving around.

I tried to get a picture of Nic, but he wasn't having my mamarazzi moment.

Durn him.

Cute pic, anyway!

 

We ended up going to Coronado Island and hitting the beach.

Yes, it was COLD.

And DARK.

And COLD.

Oops, said that already.

But, what the heck?!

We are brave peeps. We can handle a little wind, sand, chill, teeth chattering, and all that.

Here is a pic of the husband and I.

I took it.

Can you tell?

Why am I so white, you ask?

Well, first, I am NOT to be confused with the ghost of Hotel del Coronado.

Not at all.

It's just that the husband is so dark.

Ok. That's not it.

I don't know why I am glowing.

Wait, it's not what you think.

I am NOT pregnant!

Moving on!

Some great pics of the kids!

Wait. Did I say "great?" 

Maybe this next one?

After the cold beach, what could be better than Baskin Robbins?

In truth, someone promised it to Nic earlier in the day.

Nic doesn't forget anything.

Which is why, at 9:30pm, we were slurping down 7 or 8 of the 31 flavors.

  

My kids are SERIOUS about their ice cream! 

After that tasty treat, we headed to a very nice Wal-Mart (enjoying the scenic route on the way) and purchased some groceries. Eating out is EXPENSIVE so we thought we'd make use of the kitchen we have here at Casa Bonita.

We really, sincerely, tried to make it the Natural History Museum today, but so was everyone and their Aunt Sally.  There was NO parking. We think we will have better luck tomorrow. Everyone will be back to work, right?

It's just after midnight; we are having a snack of Ham and Cheese sandwiches (we skipped dinner on account of the late and and large lunch)... The kids are coloring and doing art stuff.

We have Transformers in the DVD player.

Life in San Diego is good.

=)

San Diego [ Day 1: Legoland ]

We arrived in California at 10:30am... a short and uneventful six hour drive from Tempe. Before we headed out to Legoland, we made a quick stop at Subway. We were famished. So we ate.

Here is a VERY sneak peek of some of the fun we had while at Legoland. It was cool (very low 70s), so we never did make it to the water park. We decided to spend 7 hours walking the park instead. We found out Nic LOVES! roller coasters. Loves them. In fact, we all do! There was one ride that we went on 3 times. And waited in line for 30 minutes, each time.

Crazy, huh?

There was one ride that was very disappointing - and the 75 minutes we wasted in line was so not worth it.

When I get home to my picture editing software, I will be sure to add more pictures, but these will do for now!

I thought this mirror in the Women's restroom was cool. It was a lego frame!

And this is how we ended the night.

With fireworks.

It was the 4th of July, after all!

They were LOUD and FUN!

Day one was a SUCCESS! We had a blast! And yes, Nic, Legoland DOES exist (and it isn't Golfland on Country Club and the 60 as you've questioned so many times).

We are up and getting ready to go for Day 2. It's still expected to be gloomy and cooler today, so I think we are going to put off the beach. Instead... Did you know that there is a Natural History Museum in San Diego? We didn't. We do now, though. Guess where we are going today?  Yep!

But first, breakfast.  We love the Broken Yolk - and that's what's on the menu! 

Wish I had Time...

I have some great pics to post, but I haven't had a chance to edit them yet.
We are in CLEANING mode... We leave for California tomorrow morning at 3am.
Crazy husband for suggesting that departure time.
Crazy me for agreeing to it.

We are taking the laptop, so I will be posting here and there.
I will not have my photo editing software (unless I can convince my husband to let me download it the laptop), so the bulk of the pictures will be posted when I get back.

I have been looking forward to this vacation for a long while.

So has Nic.

Nic asked me this morning..."Do they have toilets in Legoland?"

He can't stop thinking about Legoland.
I hope he loves it as much as he thinks he's going to love it!

Isabel the Great

In order to avoid discussing the question Nic just asked me (trust me, you do not want to know!) - I am going to talk some about our middle child - our only daughter - Isabel.

Here are 11 interesting things about Isabel.

1) She has quite a few nicknames; her first, Chooch, came from when my sister-in-law would call her chula,which translates to beautiful or pretty. Chula became chula maria, a take from her middle name of Marie. Chula Maria was subsequently shortened to Chooch. We still call her this, some 11 years later.

2) In the picture above - those are not REAL freckles. I am just a good make-up artist like that. (Ha!) But that is a real birthmark. We've always told her it was from an angel kissing her goodbye before she was brought to us. An Angel Kiss. I secretly think it's the cough medicine I accidentally took when I was four months pregnant with her. Hey, in my defense, everyone in the house was sick; I spooning medicine into everyone's mouth (including my own) - I didn't think twice about it. For 10 minutes. Then I realized what I had done and immediately called Poison Control. The very nice lady took my info and let me explain the situation. When I was done, she calmly said that I did not ingest enough to cause any harm. She then went on to say how we are all worry-warts. That if anything small or silly happened when the baby (Isabel) was born, I would probably try to blame it on this incident. Well... look at it?! It looks like a brown stain... Remind you of anything? Cough syrup, maybe?

You would think that birth mark would be the last of mean jokes handed her way. Nope, why stop there? Isabel also has vitiligo.  Thankfully, for now, it's only on one of her legs. I do see some spots popping up on her other leg. The beautiful thing? Isabel has accepted herself and her condition. Now, for sure she has her off days - the ones where she begs me to not make her wear shorts (it's over 100* in the summer here; jeans are not an option)... but really, for the most part, she is strong and confident. Which is a far cry from when she was 6 or 7. She's come a long way! I am proud of her! Isabel is BEAUTIFUL - and we wouldn't change one thing about her. Well, maybe #6 below.



3) As I type, Isabel is giving Nic a bath. He's dirty. She didn't want to. I bribed her. And now, as I sit here, working/blogging, I hear her bribing him!

4) Isa's best friends with a sweet girl named Hannah. They live super close (as in pretty much next door). They are the same age and really love the same things. Isabel has spent the night over at Hannah's house at least a dozen times in the past 6 months.

5) Isabel is FUNNY. She is always cracking jokes and is always ready with a come-back of some sort. Isabel's mom is ALSO very funny. That must be where Isabel gets it from. I'm just sayin'.

6) Isabel has a small (heck - let's keep it real) gigantic attitude problem. But we are working on it. She is not very patient... She doesn't like it when she doesn't get her way. She thinks things aren't fair. She doesn't like being asked to do her chores. She slams doors. She stomps her feet. She gets annoyed with her brothers. She likes to scowl. I have NO idea where she gets all of this attitude from. No idea. None. At all. Nope.

7) Isabel says she wants to be a veterinarian. Isabel also says she is deathly afraid of bugs and spiders. So much for loving all animals & stuff.

8) Isa loves the Disney & Nickelodeon channels - the "tween" stuff of course.

9) I think Isabel has Bieber Fever. I am actively looking for an antidote.

10) Isabel plays softball. Only during the spring now, but we hope to get her involved in a club where she can play more often. I think she is a great ball player.

11) Isabel cannot wait for Middle School. I have a feeling she is going to keep me busy! I think she is going to be really involved in school activities! She likes to try any and everything. Bring it on, Chooch, bring it on!

Who else thinks it's crazy that Isabel literally matched the ship? I promise we did not do that on purpose!

There you have it... Isabel in a nut shell.

Well, not really a nut shell.

That would be awkward.

=)