San Diego part 1

Saturday, May 8th 2010

Aubree's birthday and the start of our adventure to San Diego. Our flight wasn't too early, we had to be there around 10:00 a.m.

We were the last to arrive and we got all checked in and ready to go. After passing security, and arriving at our gate we had a little over an hour to kill. We decided to get some food and let the kids run around until we got on the plane.

Cute Sophie and Kai waiting for the plane.

Once we got on the plane we let Aub's open one of her presents. We tried to make the day feel special even though it would be a travel day.

She had fun with her new sticker/coloring book. She even decorated the windows! It was fun to watch her react to the plane. The noises, the turbulence, the movement... she kept telling me how fun it was and that she LOVED being up high in the sky. Just like her Grumps :) The only problem was trying to keep her entertained. I'm glad she wasn't scared.

Sophie on the other hand did NOT have fun. she didn't understand why were trying to contain her in such a small area!

We had a layover in Arizona, where we didn't get off, but more people got on. It was a nightmare with the kids. Aubree ears hurt from the altitude change and Sophie just wanted to get off the plane. By the time we took off again Grandma had taken Sophie and we were able to have a nice second half of the flight.

Also on the flight was a cute family with twin boys just younger than Aubree. They were with us in the waiting area and throughout the whole flight....

Next we went to our rental car place and on the shuttle ride out there our niece Body exclaimed how fun this vacation was! We were all happy she was easy to please since it hadn't started yet!

At the rental place we ran into the cute family. What are the chances? We thought it was pretty funny.

A short drive later we arrived at the beach house. It had been a LONG day and we were all excited to stretch our legs. And what a place to do it in. It was absolutely amazing. The views were breathtaking. We all picked our rooms and got situated while Michelle and Rob went to Costco to stock up. When they got back we all ate some pizza, and I headed out with them again to the local market! I realized after unpacking a few things I forgot and I needed to get some things to celebrate Aub's birthday. When we got back we sang, had cupcakes and ice cream and let her open presents. I think she had a good day, and we did the best we could to make it feel special. We let them stay up a little longer to watch part of Toy Story 2 (one of her presents) snuggling with grandma *required* It was nice to finally put them to bed after a long day of travel and look at the beautiful views. (these are all from our balcony and out the dining room window)

Sunday, May 9th

Mother's Day

For some reason Aubree though it was necessary to wake up at 6:00 a.m. Not a good start to my day. Luckily Dave let me sleep in. When I woke up he gave me my present. A nice get away from the kids while he watched. And receive a massage. He had made sure there was a place near or beach house so I could go when we had some down time. I was very excited to use it!

It was nice to be with his family and spend Mothers Day with his Mom. It was a nice relaxing day involving Sacrament meeting, walks, naps, and lounging around. I called my Mom to let her know how special she is. And we had similar plans for the evening. The boys were cooking us a BBQ! It ended up being a nice day with family.

Monday, May 10th

Aubree again woke up around 6:00. Not fun. We found out that Addie and Michelle had been up all night throwing up. They both still wanted to try Sea World. So we got ready and left. They were having a promotion where you bought a day pass and got the season pass for the rest of the year. Which will be awesome for Rae and Jimmy who are moving there in a couple of months. And while we were there who do you think we ran into? Yep. he cute family with twins. What a small world. We were laughing and finally introduced ourselves (we had briefly talked before) but got to know each other a little bit. And they are from Draper. It was pretty funny.

Aubree had the time of her life. Sophie didn't really know what was going on. The Shamu show was Aub's favorite. She was in awe. She couldn't keep her eyes off the show, and when the whales started splashing she was laughing hysterically. It was more fun for me to watch her, than the show. I'd seen it before and now that the trainers don't get in and swim with them (who could blame them) It wasn't as good as in the past. (but still amazing) We got lunch at the Shipwreck Cafe and by then Michelle and Addie were ready to go back. (Addie had thrown up again) they took one car home and we decided to stay with Nicole and her family. The other group took Sophie home (to take a nap) so we had it easy. We went and played in the kiddie area for a while. Aubree loved all the rides. Her favorite was the flying ride ( like dumbo at Disneyland) I thought she was brave to go on all of them. Then Dave and I took Brody on Journey to Atlantis, which I was very impressed she went. It wasn't nearly as fun as the one in Orlando, but I'm glad we went.

We took the girls to pick out a souvenir (they both got Sea World Barbie) and then we went home. It was a good thing we got the season passes for those who only got a couple hours.

Tuesday, May 11th

Again Aubs woke up at the crack of dawn. And it was unfortunately my turn to get up with her. I do not do well with little sleep. I was pretty much grumpy all day. (Sorry Dave) I can't remember the days that we didn't go to a park, from each other..so I'll just list what we did. We took walks on the beach :) played in the sand with the girls, looked for sea shells, went to a park on the beach, walked to the pier, ate at the dinner on the pier, saw a creepy pelican who snipped at Mitch, went body surfing (the boys, it was WAY to cold for me), built sand castles (the boys) ran errands for diapers, wipes etc..., got slushies at 7-11 :) watched movies, tried to watch our t.v. shows (tricky with kids, I'm a very glad for our DVR) and just spent time with family. Most everybody got in the hot tub also. Again it was too cold for me and Aubree never wanted to so I had an excuse to stay out. It was kind of sad that on our beach vacation I didn't put my swimming suit on once! But I had plenty of fun other ways!

The Shamu show (in part)

Feisty Sea Lions

This shows how truly amazing the view was. Unforgettable.