Our last day in sunny (actually cloudy) California...

We had to check out of our condo on Saturday morning. None of us were quite ready to go. For one thing, we had called on Tuesday morning to make an appointment to do baptisms at the San Diego temple and the only slot they had was Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Another thing was that the kids hadn't really gotten to "swim" this trip. They played in the ocean, but Harrison & Nathan didn't love that as much and Andrew & Janessa. They wanted to swim in a pool that didn't have sharks. And, the last reason why we didn't want to leave on Saturday morning, was because I hadn't finished any books and I really wanted to sit in a chair, sunbathe and read.

So, we said goodbye to our awesome condo and said our goodbyes to our little green pathway to the beach. We took one last photo by the ocean and headed to our hotel.





My friend Wendi had told me about this great resort called Paradise Point, right down the road. It is actually on Vacation Island (sounds cooler than it is). It was a great resort and we got a steal for one night in a little bungalow. The only problem was that it was FREEZING cold. We were almost the only ones enjoying the pools.



Rick's idea of sunbathing was a little different than mine. Actually, I felt bad making so much fun of him because when we got home on Sunday, he was super sick. He was catching the flu and was chilled. Pretty funny though, I always tease him about being terrified of sunburns. Everyone who walked by was laughing thier heads off!

Nathan finally started swimming! He has been our hardest child when it comes to water. He takes after his Grandma Cozzens...he hates water going over his head. So, this was quite the accomplishment (that is him under the water). After a while though, he only wanted to be with me in the hot tub!





That night, Rick took Andrew & Janessa to the temple to do baptisms. They had such a great time. That temple sure is beautiful! While they were gone, Nathan, Harrison & I ordered dessert from room service and snuggled in bed and watched National Treasure on the t.v.

What a fun trip. I'm actually pretty glad that it was cold the last day. It made it easier to come home. I still love San Diego and want to move there...even if it is cold once in a blue moon

The Tide Pools at La Jolla Beach...

I met a new friend in San Diego. Her name is Wendi and she was showing me around a gorgeous beach house that was for sale across from ours. I was trying so hard to think of a way that I could buy a 2.5 million dollar house. I even tried to talk Sytske into going in on it with me (although we would need a few more people as well). Wendi was super nice. She has a mortgage company and was helping show the house for her client. We had a fun chat. She lives in La Jolla.

When I got back to our house (OK, the house we rented for a week), the kids were all a little bored. We had spent the last 5 days at the beach and Sea World and they wanted some new scenery. I told them I would go and ask my new friend Wendi what to do. She had great advise. She told us to go into La Jolla and walk up the beach to see the tide pools and the Children's Pool (which had wild seals). She also suggested a great sushi restaurant (which everyone but Nathan loves). We took her advise on all of it and had such a great evening!

The tide pools were so cool. the sand was really hard, like sandstone and it had crevices, cracks and pools. The tide brought in some really great treasures and kept the pools full of water as it went back out. We found cool shells, anemones, fish, and amazing little creatures. The kids spent about 2 hours exploring everything. This was my favorite part of the whole trip!

The tide was starting to come back in while we were there. The kids loved to stand on the edge of the cliffs and see if the water would splash them! They kept watching for the waves while I was taking pictures! They would just giggle and laugh!



For some reason, this has been the preferred pose of Andrew's. I'm not sure what he is trying to prove. But, I think it's pretty funny.

Janessa, on the other hand, is all about good poses. She has it down. She especially loved wearing her cool, new, sunglasses!

The seals were really cool, but very, very smelly. A lady named Ellen Browning Scripps, a philanthropist that lived in La Jolla, donated the funds to create the Children's Pool in 1931. It was an area where children could play on the beach in an area protected by a large rock wall. It kept the water calm. The wild seals began migrating to the area in the 1990s and now have taken over the entire pool. There is so much...um, how should I put it...well, the seals use the restroom all throughout the pool now. It is too contaminated to swim any longer...some people still do, but you wouldn't catch me swimming with them! They were fun to watch.



La Jolla is my new favorite place in California. My friend Wendi talked me into looking for property there instead of on Mission Beach. This is a house we walked by when we were down by the tide pools. The ocean comes right up to the house when the tide is in. This is the one I am going to buy someday. Wendi, will you check on financing for me? And dad, don't come and visit me...this place really would probably fall of into the ocean!

I gathered that people in La Jolla have quite a bit of $$. The boys screamed every 10seconds as we drove by the many exotic car dealerships. Janessa and I were screaming at every fancy boutique we saw. The boys insisted on stopping and seeing the cars. I think this was the Ferrari dealership. Luckily for all of us, the boutiques and car dealerships were all closed. We have to save our money after all, if we are going to buy that house!

Hanging out with Smellie/Hunsaker Family...

We had so much fun with Aaron, Sytske and the boys in San Diego! I had originally looked at going to Mission Beach & Sea World for Spring Break, but had never made final plans. When Sytske found out we were thinking about it, it was all over! She helped find our incredibly cheap condo on the beach and told us the "down-low" on the Sea World deal. She's such a great friend! I was worried about crashing their vacation with their new little family, but it turned out fine (that's my story, call Sytske to get hers).

Daxon & Nathan go to school together. Systke drives them constantly (another reason I love her). They are best friends and are together a lot. They both thought it was the coolest thing in the world to vacation together! They were excited to tell everyone in their kindergarten class.
Tayson is Daxon's little brother and loves to hang-out with the boys after school. he is such a cute little boy!

Sytske & Aaron were just married last fall. Aaron had never been married before and has made such a smooth transition to having a wife AND two boys. I am very happy for both Sytske & Aaron...they are perfect for each other! And, we would love to vacation with them again sometime soon...if they are up to it!

Manila 10th Ward Party at the beach...

We knew that Aaron & Sytske (from our ward) were going to be in San Diego...they are the reason we finally decided to go (boy that Sytske is persuasive). But, we also found out that the Sanches family (also from our ward) would be there too! I talked to Maria on Tuesday night and invited them to a little hot dog roast on the beach the next evening. We were all going to be at Sea World the next day, so we were planning on discussing the details there.

When we entered the park that morning, someone ran up behind me and started hugging me so tight and screaming! I thought that was uncharacteristic of sweet, quiet Maria, and I was a bit confused (and scared). It ended up being Shaylee Burns, one of my laurels (I'm sorry, but I still call them mine even though I have since been released from YW)! She and her dad, Scott, were on a little daddy-daughter vacation by themselves! So, we invited them to our party.

We had a great time, even though it was windy and chilly and the food was full of sand (how they have perfect, picturesque picnics on the beach in movies, I will never know). We even teased that maybe we could call it an official ward party and turn in the receipts! What do you think Bishop?


The s'mores were a huge hit...and managed to be sand-free! Scott was the best at roasting marshmallows...they were perfect every time! What a great talent!





We really have some wonderful friends in our ward. We feel very blessed to be surrounded by such good people. Maybe we'll make this an annual tradition and invite the whole ward next year!

Enjoying Mission Beach...

Mission Beach is a great place to be, especially in April...we had it all to ourselves most of the time. We were on the southern end, where there isn't too much traffic. It was very peaceful (until we arrived I guess).





My friend Elyssa gave me a lot of books to read, but I enjoyed watching the kids play so much, that I only got about 60 pages of one book read while sitting on the beach. It is so peaceful just to sit and watch the waves come in and see the kids playing.




San Diego was very warm, they had record-breaking temperatures during our visit. However, the water in the ocean was still cold. I couldn't believe that Andrew & Janessa wanted to boogie board as much as they did. One day they were out in the water for about 5 hours!

Wait just a minute...what's this? Andrew & Janessa getting along? And for 5 hours no less! It was a true miracle...they finally found something that they can enjoy doing together without fighting, yelling or teasing! Now, that is what makes a family vacation worth every single penny!


The last day we were there, they decided not to get in the water. I was very surprised, but then I found out they were scared of all the jelly fish and sting rays that were reportedly in the water. The news said that 11 people were treated for stings from sting rays one of the days we were there. We also heard reports on our last day about jelly fish. Sure enough, once we started looking for them on the beach, we found tons! So, the kids stayed out of the water the last day...afraid of what was swimming with them.

Above is a photo we had taken of the moon jelly fish at Sea World. Below is a picture we took of a large jelly fish that Aaron discovered on the beach. We actually took a couple back to the condo with us and suspended them in water to observe. They were so interesting. We read up on them and found that they were probably the moon jelly fish, which aren't poisonous.

A funny side note. Andrew and I were researching jelly fish & sting rays on the internet (he was reading the descriptions of the stings to see how bad they hurt...wondering if it was worth going back to boogie boarding or not). We found the funniest post by someone from San Diego. This girl said that about once a year the news crews fly their helicopter real low along the beach. They take video of all the surfers and swimmers out in the ocean having a good ol' time. She said that you can see about 30 sharks in the water all around them! (A harmless kind they claim...is there such a thing, really?) Andrew got a kick out of that.

We loved being so close to the ocean. We especially loved watching the beautiful sunsets each night...we would all race to the beach around 7:30 each night to see them.