#31

We got home from San Diego the night before my birthday, so it was an exciting day of laundry and unpacking. I was watching a friend's kids anyway so it was nice to be productive. After John got home he took the boys shopping and I went to the chiropractor since I was in a lot of pain after all the walking, driving and sleeping on a different bed. When you're excited about a clean house and the chiropractor on your birthday, you know you're getting old.

The boys made me a princess cake.

So much love.

It was one of the prettier ones John's made. And tasty as always.

The celebration continued all week with my free birthday treats. I waited until Scott and Jonah were back in school so I only had to share with one mooch.

Perry's first time at the Habit. He sat right by the front where he could watch them cooking and refill his ketchup cup.

My big present was tickets to Aladdin the musical with John. We went with Miranda and Mike, but Amanda couldn't make it last minute, so we brought Jonah. He loved it and we had to tell him to sit down during the dancing scenes because he got so excited. Even though it was late, he stayed awake until the minute we got in the car.

It's been a great first year in my 30's and I expect this next one will be even better!

San Diego Day 4

On our last full day in San Diego, the plan was to get a good fill of beach and go to the temple. I have lots of pictures with a little Karen and Alan in them at a distance, but I should have gotten some better group shots where you can actually see everyone. We loved having quality time with them and they are great about going along with my plans and at the boys' pace. They also appreciate food as much as we do, which is a perk on our vacations.

We picked Coronado beach because reviews said the waves were low, lots of clean sand to play in, and restrooms. All good things for little kids. It was a beautiful, clear day.

Perry got soaked immediately, as per usual, but it wasn't as cold as at home.

Jonah the bird being fed grapes since his hands were coated in wet sand. I was having ligament pain from being on my feet so much the day before, so I just sat in our cabana the entire time and watched the kids play.

My phone lens didn't focus properly and I couldn't tell since I had sunglasses on, so I got an ethereal Perry.

They took turns being buried.

Scott was so still I thought he'd fallen asleep. They snacked most of the time we were there, so we didn't have an official lunch.

Then Karen and Alan went through the temple while we cleaned everyone up at the hotel. We met them there and went through while they took the boys to dinner with one of their friends.

We forgot to get pictures so I had John stop on our drive home the next day because I really wanted a family picture in front of the beautiful temple.

Sweet Perry likes to turn selfies together into kissing shots.

We had a great time on this trip. Fun activities, a good balance of busy and relaxed, great food, and nice to spend so much time with John's parents since they moved.

Karen and I also slipped out to go baby clothes shopping the night before and the mall down there was amazing. I should've scheduled an extra day just for that because it's much more fun without kids and with someone who loves little dresses as much as I do.

The drive home was long and the two little kids napped, so they didn't go to bed well when we got home. It was worth it, though. We all enjoyed our trip and spending quality time together. 

Legoland

We tried out Legoland for the first time. The boys were great ages for it and we had grandparents to help on rides that needed adults.

The line for this ride had a Duplo building section, which was a great entertainer. It wasn't very crowded for a spring break week, but some of the lines moved slowly.

They could've spent the whole day building boats and racing them.

It was a warm day, but the park was reasonably shaded and lots of indoor areas with air conditioning. Overall well-designed and efficient, which I appreciate in a family amusement park.

An entire Star Wars section full of Lego characters and scenes from each movie.

Some of the characters were really impressive.

Checking out some Star Wars creations.

Another great park feature was smaller kid play areas in each of the sections. So while Perry was too short for lots of rides, he and I weren't just killing time while everyone else rode them. He felt like he was getting to do something fun, too. 

And lots of benches for me to sit, since I didn't do much on this trip except take pictures and keep everyone sunscreened and hydrated.

Even rides that would be safe for me, like the carousel, make me dizzy, so John documented for me.

I was also impressed by the food options. We had ramen and rice bowls for lunch that were good quality, portions, and price. I like having something healthier than fried foods or kids meals like hot dogs and mac and cheese. 

Of course the boys needed to get sorted.

And Perry wanted in on the picture taking. The store was enormous and had lots of sets not in the regular stores. Jonah picked several out for his birthday wish list.

We were there from opening to closing, which was only 7 hours. We were tired, but definitely could've done more there. We squeezed in a couple turns on the Ninjago ride as they closed which was a highlight for everyone, especially John who almost got a high score for the day.

We had free kids tickets from the Lego catalog, so the price was great for our family compared to Disneyland. I wouldn't go without children, but we'd go back as a family in the future, possibly with a second day and do the water park if it's hot out. I went in with low expectations and overall I was impressed and the kids had a blast.

San Diego Day 2

On Sunday we went to Old Town San Diego and walked around the historic buildings, got lunch at an amazing bbq place called Phil's, then watched some conference at the Mormon Batallion site.

We were ready to go for the tour right after. Scott surprised us by volunteering to be a soldier during the tour. He doesn't typically like being the center of attention or singled out like this, so I was proud of his bravery. I could tell he was nervous, but he did a great job and looked very cute.

The tour was long, but interactive and engaging and we all enjoyed it and I learned a lot. After the formal tour ended, we played with the hands-on displays outside.

Washing clothes, panning for gold, making bricks.

We climbed these lovely steps

and were rewarded with a view of the city.

The covered wagon out front was another favorite.

Our next stop was the Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala.

I love the simple, clean style inside. And there was a choir practice going on, which was beautiful and showed off the acoustics. 

Scott, Jonah, and Perry loved the fountain.

We attempted a family picture before the boys lost all control.

I ordered pizza and we picked them up on the way to the beach.

It was supposed to be just a calming sunset walk, but these little diggers couldn't resist.

 

It is so beautiful there and we were already talking about coming back, possibly without kids.

When it got dark we dragged the kids away from the ocean and back to the hotel.

After a long drive Friday and busy Saturday on our feet, a restful Sunday was just what we needed to get ready for another full day of fun.

San Diego Zoo

We found a school break when Karen and Alan could meet us in San Diego and drove down to have a quick vacation with them. Our first stop was the zoo. It was the last weekend with the pandas from China and we were excited to see them.

Grandma surprised the boys after lunch with these cute panda cake pops.

The zoo is amazing. We took the bus tour first around most of the zoo, which was perfect because there's no way to see it all in one day. I love that the boys get interested and Scott and Jonah will read all the information. We took our time in lots of areas, especially the penguins, and since the zoo is so huge we didn't get to every section.

Perry crashed on my lap and missed the gorillas.

The weather was beautiful and the zoo was stunning. We learned that they have one of the largest botanical gardens that was as impressive as the animals.

We saw so many new animals, like polar bears.

The boys played while we waited for them to wake up so we could see them closer.

We stopped to see these cute little ducklings follow their mama. We counted 16 babies waddling around.

Perry woke up nice and chipper.

The boys were all excited to ride the Skyfari. They also corrected us every time we called it anything else.

I'm honestly not in love with these rides, but Jonah helped distract me. It was also nice to sit for a bit because being on my feet was getting painful.

We were at the zoo from opening until dinnertime, over 7 hours. We worked up a big appetite and found a local Mexican restaurant.

The food was so inexpensive I didn't realize the burritos would be so big, they definitely could've shared. Although I was impressed by how big of a dent even Perry made in his.

We each needed our own churro, of course. So delicious and the perfect end to a great first day.