(Mostly just a bunch of pictures of people swimming in) San Diego

The week in August when everyone else was posting back-to-school pictures of their kids heading off with backpacks and lunch bags…but Sam still had a week before classes started at BYU…we took off for a quick trip to San Diego.

Sam and I went to San Diego on our honeymoon, but we haven't been back with the family because whenever we go to California, we always want to visit my brother's family up in Irvine instead! But seeing as they just had their second set of twins…it seemed like a good time NOT to invade their house with the 10 of us. So we got a rental house in San Diego!

When I was looking for places to stay, I started by looking at a lot of condos by the beach, since that's what I always hear about people doing. But then I saw this place up on Mount Helix, and it had a pool! And I realized…the beach isn't really much fun for babies anyway! There is sand in everything and you never can keep it out of their mouths and noses and diapers. And you worry about them getting swept off by waves. But pools! Pools are great (especially pools that come with beds and cribs for naps nearby)!

And it DID turn out great! We loved it so much. We have never had our own pool before, and there were all kinds of fun things about it…like not constantly having to worry that the kids were bothering someone (except each other, of course)…not having to all go swimming at once…swimming multiple times a day…swimming at night…even jumping in the pool for a quick swim after getting all hot and sweaty on an early-morning run. It was magical.

And the view was magical too.

We probably could have spent our whole four days swimming in the pool and sitting outside on the patio in the perfect 78-degree temperatures. We did fit in a visit to Sea World, and the Wild Animal Park, and the San Diego Temple. And we had a great time. But I would say the relaxed, unstructured time in the pool was hands-down everyone's favorite. And I took a million pictures because it was just so beautiful!

Baby Ziggy quite liked swimming around like a little kicking motorboat. And it was so great because when he got tired or cold, we could just take him right inside and no one else had to stop swimming!

The house had a great yard. Cute little rock gardens and patios.

It was hot the day we went to Sea World. But the park was almost deserted, so it was fun to go on all the rides a million times. Apparently it's all about the rides now. When we went there on our honeymoon, I don't remember ANY rides! But they were fun and the kids loved them. (And they do still have the shows, which are my favorite. I love the dolphin and orca shows!)

The boys went on this monstrosity. I would never! I can't handle anything so scary. Look at them going upside-down! I can hardly stand to look at it!

Daisy was so happy she got to see REAL PENGUINS. She has seen the Gentoo Penguins at our aquarium, and she loves them. But here at Sea World they had Emperor Penguins and King Penguins and Chinstraps and Little Blues…all the ones she has seen in books. It was so exciting!

There were some areas with rides for the younger kids, too.

Teddy was reminding me of Sebby, with the way he went around trying to figure out how everything worked. I think in this picture he was trying to figure out if there was a speaker hidden in this wall (and there was).

The next day we went to the Wild Animal Park, although it's called something else now. Zoo Safari, maybe? Anyway, it was Marigold's first time ever seeing real elephants! They are her favorite animal, and she was so excited as we walked up the road toward their enclosure, she was actually trembling! When she caught a glimpse of one of the elephants emerging from behind a wall, she let out this little involuntary scream of excitement and happiness and awe. It was pretty cute.

And there was a baby! Just a few weeks old. Isn't he darling?

There was a baby giraffe, too.

My sunglasses broke and Abe fixed them for me with a bandaid. What resourcefulness!

People in pots. I don't really know why.

Seb biting Zig's feet. I do know why. Because it makes Zig shriek with laughter.

We fed the lorikeets. With varying degrees of enthusiasm.

We saw a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch! I have helpfully indicated where the baby's leg is dangling out, so you can see it. I didn't realize the pouches enclosed the babies so completely! All you could see was that funny stray leg.

It was another hot day, so our favorite parts of the park were places where there were misting fans spraying out water. This amphitheater had some, and we all wanted to just stand there in the mist forever. Teddy jumped happily up and down the stairs 500 times.

I liked this little fwuffball-y flowering tree.

Marigold had saved some birthday money from her grandma, so she bought this tiny "I am a little elephant" book at the Wild Animal Park! When we got home she matched it with the big version of the book she already owned. So cute!

I was really hoping to go with the boys to the temple, and naturally when the time came all kinds of things went wrong and…ahem…certain parties lost their tempers with certain other parties, and there was all kinds of trouble and not everyone ended up going in to the temple…but, not to dwell on that—we did make it there by the skin of our teeth! (Or is it noses one makes it by the skin of? I always forget. It seems odd to say teeth, since what have teeth to do with skin? Hmm.) And in spite of everything, it was wonderful, as the temple always is. Sam and I got to do sealings there, which was fun.

When we go on trips, the girls always like sleeping snuggled together like peas in pods. Or bugs in rugs. They start out the nights arranged nicely…

And end up draped all over each other. Or falling out of the bed. But no one minds too much.

Sam and I managed to get away one night (leaving the kids with Costco pizza, which really is the best pizza) for a dinner date down by the harbor. And this dim and blurry picture is to remind me of one of the best meals I have ever eaten. I love fresh seafood! And I love eating it with Sam (and NOT having a baby yowling at me to shovel food into his [the baby's, not Sam's] mouth faster!). It was such a wonderful evening!

Here are the kids saying goodbye as we drove off on our date.

But—as I said—really, the very best part of the whole trip was the pool at our house. And here are more pictures of it in every conceivable light to prove it.

THIS was the terrifying sight that greeted you whenever you looked in a window and Ziggy was in the house. He was fascinated and enthralled with the pool, and wanted to get to it by whatever means necessary! He would press his nose up against the window and look longingly out whenever he was left inside. We knew if we ever left the door open he would be off like a bullet! So we had to watch him very, very carefully (and make sure he was sleeping in his crib during naptimes!).

Everyone taking pictures of the pool :)

Grey early mornings

The kids probably liked swimming at night most of all. It just felt so…unheard of! Even at hotel pools, you can't just swim whenever you want. But here…we could! It was so much fun.

On our way back to Utah, we couldn't pass up a chance to visit my brother's new baby twins! We tried to be as little trouble as possible, but Allison ended up cooking us two delicious meals anyway. We always eat the best things at their house! We went swimming with the cousins at their neighborhood pool too, so it really was The Week of Constant Swimming for us. But best of all were the BABIES! Even with two, there weren't enough to go around—everyone wanted to hold one all the time!

And that was our trip to San Diego. Over too soon. But a wonderful memory to look back on as we started Real Life (with a vengeance!) the next week!