San Diego with Seb

My mom has such a fun tradition she started several years back of taking her grandkids who are seniors on a trip somewhere. And her kids who are their parents get to go too! My first time doing this was with Abe a few years ago, when we went to Philadelphia. 

This year Mom had three graduating senior grandchildren, which I think is the most there will be in a year! Sebastian plus my niece Lucy and my nephew David. Mom took me, my brother Kenneth, my brother Karl, and those three grandkids to San Diego! We had a great time together. The cousins didn't know each other very well and it was fun to see them have a chance to become friends. And I don't get to see my brothers very often either! So this was such a fun thing to do. 

Here are some of the highlights of our trip:

 

The Mormon Battalion Museum was really good! I had never been before. The tour was interactive and really cute (without being annoying). I learned a lot! And it was fun because I had Abe on a call from his mission while we were there, so he got to be there "with us" for a while.

Big succulents!

7

(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!

4

Comic-con

We spent a few days in San Diego last weekend for Sam to do some art demos at Comic-Con.  It was more of a business trip than I'd hoped (long hours inside the windowless, airless convention center, pushing a baby around in the stroller and trying to get her to fall asleep, or at least stop screaming)---but still really fun, and lots of interesting things to see.

We made it out to the beach a couple times.  The weather wasn't super warm but the waves were really big, and pretty.  Daisy was really nervous because they were so loud, but she cheered up once she was able to eat some sand.

8