Around Memorial Day we took off to spend a few days in San Diego. I was born here, but since we moved when I was a baby I have no memories of it. It was still a little weird to be driving around places my parents had talked about. Anyway, we had a blast! The first day we:
visited La Jolla. What a beautiful coast! The kids thought the seals were pretty cool too.
Being married to a civil engineer meant we had to go see the Coranado Bay Bridge. It actually was pretty cool I have to admit. We were too cheap to pay the parking fee to walk around The Hotel Del Coranado, which I really regret now. Next time I guess. In fact I think we just need to spend more time on Coranado Island in general next time.
We found a cool little park on the bay. I think if it were up to the kids we would've spent the remainder of the trip here. You can see the bridge in the background.
Eva loved being buried in the sand. Lyla screamed in terror the whole time as her sister was disappearing and practically bear hugged her when she reappeared. She became more used to the idea the 5th or 6th time around.
After washing gallons of sand off of the kids and a quick nap, we headed to Sea World. Now I realize this is personal opinion and a lot of people will disagree, but Sea World gets a big thumbs down from me. I mean it was fun; there were lots of things for the kids to do, but seriously-for that price.....not worth it. Oh yeah, and then I lost Eva at one point in some crazy maze jungle gym thing, ironically while I was trying to help a hysterical little boy who had lost his mom. I had a heart attack, ran frantically through the maze screaming at the top of my lungs and burst into tears when I found her. Then I yelled at her. Please tell me that's a normal mom thing? Anyway, that's my two bits. Sea World is over rated. Is this sounding like a Travel Guide yet? :)
We polished off day one eating at a place my parents raved about:
I think I gained ten pounds. Delicious!
The remainder of the trip is soon to follow!
Lyla on her first day of nursery. It's the best one we could get of her and it's blurry dangit. For kicks and giggles below is a picture of Eva on her first day. I have no idea what overcame me and made me dress them in the same outfit. Let's pray we never have a little boy......
(disclaimer: YES I tried to find the most unflattering before picture of him that I could. )
Isn't he nice to humor me and pose for a final weigh day picture?
She gets 10 out of 10 for patience and love. She gets a much lower score on survival instincts (see pictures below).
We're working on the whole don't pull the cats tail/feet/ears/whiskers thing. It would help if she would run away from the kids. And stay hidden. But she's a social little booger and won't stay hidden for very long, so this is a pretty common scene. Kitty has put in a request for a dog. To help share some of the abuse- erm I mean love.
How does the flavor of California sand compare Lyla?
We then cleaned up, (did you guys know sand is impossible to wash off? Oh, I'm the only one that didn't know that?) grabbed some lunch and headed to the temple to look around the grounds. I'm always struck by how peaceful it is whenever you are on temple grounds. Even when kids are with you. 
On our way out of town I wanted to see the house I lived in when I was little. Does it look the same family? Ignore that poochy-bellied girl out front. Having to eat the kids leftover lunch does a number on the waistline.
The last night we camped in the middle of nowhere, where we all froze to death and rejoiced when we finally made it home the next day.
I had to snap this picture of Lyla for my parents. (Sorry that it's fuzzy) I was apparently a little too careful about not getting sunscreen in her eyes when we spent all that time on the beach so the poor kid ended up with a sunburn that resembled two shiners. I had several people at church ask me if she'd collided with a coffee table. Nope, just dorky me, being dorky!
We found a cool little park on the bay. I think if it were up to the kids we would've spent the remainder of the trip here. You can see the bridge in the background.
Eva loved being buried in the sand. Lyla screamed in terror the whole time as her sister was disappearing and practically bear hugged her when she reappeared. She became more used to the idea the 5th or 6th time around.
I think I gained ten pounds. Delicious!
The kids were delighted and scared out of their mind watching their driveway become a giant sand mountain. I'll let you decide who was what.
