Summer, St. George, and San Diego

Well I have to say that this summer has flown by! Last week I was telling Cole that he had 45 days until school starts. Wow! On one hand I feel like we haven't done a lot, but on the other, I feel like we have done just enough to consider it a summer holiday. Mark's dad, John and his wife Anne came to visit us from Scotland on June 16th. On the 18th of June we all packed into our MDX and headed toward sunny California. It took us three attempts to get out of town, an hour later than we had planned. We were almost to Draper when we realized that we didn't have our vouchers for our hotel rooms. (We had acquired credit card points for our hotel stays.) So after we picked those up, we were off. I am so glad that we realized then, instead of when we got there. We made a stop in St. George and stayed over night to break up the journey. And then we took off for San Diego. Beck got a little ancy and Cole was roasting like a chicken sitting in the back. Bless his cotton socks. But overall, it was a comfortable ride. What did we do without portable TV's? Oh I know what we did, we played the ABC game, Eye Spy, counted train cars, etc. I think the only car games my kids know how to play is the DVD game. At least it keeps them occupied. Things we did is San Diego: We went to Old Town, LegoLand, the beach and hung out by the pool. We were hoping for a cool, low 70's mid 80's, vacation, but the week we were there San Diego was having a heat wave. So the temp. was no different than the temp. here in Salt Lake. Needless to say we were all sweaty beasts, the pregnant one especially. At times I would look around and feel like I was the only one dripping. We were also hoping for a nice and relaxing holiday, but what were we thinking. A little R&R is impossible when you have children to entertain. Thank goodness we still had nap time. Old Town was nice. We had Mexican food of course and did a little shopping. We had the best Churro ever made, and nice warm tortillas with salsa that knocked our heads off. LeogLand was fun. Nothing compared to the cleanliness and charm of Disneyland. But fun enough that the kids had a memorable time. We went 2 different days. Even Beck enjoyed running around the lego creations and funland for kids. He really enjoyed making his own lego car and racing it down the ramps. Mark enjoyed building with the Duplo blocks and created a long bridge that he was quite proud of. I had a hard time getting him to leave. Beck was only able to go a a couple boat rides, but loved every minute of those. Cole and Mark went on most of the other rides, and Cole's favorite was the mechanical arm one that twisted and turned him upside down. He also had fun in the shipwreck area, which involved a lot of water and slides. We saw the 4D movies and of course entered many gift shops. It's a fun place for small kids, especially if they are 36" or taller. But I think it will the first and last time we go. The lego creations were incredible, especially the Volvo made out of lego's. Overall, it was worth the journey. We went to Carlsbad beach and watched the sunset. It was the first time Beck had ever seen the ocean. Cole went to the beach in Scotland but was too young to remember. So it was fun to see them both enjoy the experience. Cole especially. He was loving it as the waves would crash up against him. Beck on the other hand did not want to put his feet on the sand. Eventually he got used to it, but it took him a while. We visited Coronado Beach another day and that was absolutely gorgeous! We had a lovely time. We buried Cole in the sand while Beck threw sand in his eyes. We sat in the sand while the waves came crashing in. Mark and Cole tried body surfing. We ate pizza. Mark took the boys on a walk along the beach. Cole kept getting further and further away as the waves carried him along. (Freaked me out just a little bit.) Cole did some drawings in the sand. We just frolicked in the sun. It was really nice. The beach itself just glistened as if it were gold. Coronado was a beautiful place overall. Then most of our other days were spent at the pool. We stayed at the Marriot in Mission Valley. It was very kid friendly. And although we never got the room that we actually wanted it was nice. We just appreciate John and Anne and their willingness to put up with us, while sleeping on the sofa bed. The hotel served breakfast every morning, and even though it was the same thing every day, it saved us a lot of money. They also served light dinners during the week, so there were many times when we didn't have to leave. Thank goodness too, because there is no such thing as, "I'm just going to go down the street to do a little shopping." or "I'm just going to go grab something to eat." You can't get anywhere in San Diego without getting on the freeway. Freeways, freeways, everywhere. Like I have always said. Cali is a nice place to visit, but I could never live there. We really did have a great time. It had been a few years since we have taken a road trip and it was a smooth as butter. Only because we melted like butter, ha! ha! We stopped in St. George on the way back too and enjoyed a little shopping, dining and swimming. The boys were fantastic on the drive home. Beck slept almost the whole way and we were able to make a shield from the sun for Cole. He was a trooper sitting in the back with very little leg room. Our 2008 summer vacation was a success. And I am so glad that I didn't have to drive! Thanks Mark!