California Sun

So we've been home for just over week now, since last Monday evening, and I suppose it's fair to say, I've recovered from our trip... well, for the most part. Is it selfish of me to request a vacation from the vacation we just took??? Seriously, just the effort it takes to pack and unpack everyones stuff, trying not to forget or loose anything along the way is just INSANE!!!

We decided on a Friday evening to head out that very next Monday morning to California- it was a split second decision on our part. Spencer booked our hotel for Anaheim and San Diego that very same evening just to make sure we didn't falter on our plans; by the way, did I mention that we were ALL pretty sick that very same weekend. I had lost my voice COMPLETELY and the boys both had fevers and runny noses- Noah was starting to get croupy AGAIN, and even Spencer was coughing like crazy! I appreciated Spencer's willingness to just pick up and head off to Southern California but at the same time I wondered what he was thinking planning a vacation just two days in advance while we were all still so sick?!!! Let's just say, I prayed constantly over the next few days that everyone would beat the sick bug- I didn't want to miss any opportunity I had to visit home.

From the moment we told Noah Friday evening we would be going to Disneyland he couldn't stop talking about Mickey Mouse and pirates (he's been uber fascinated with pirates lately- again, I think the fascination is just naturally engrained in him since he was, of all days, born on International Talk Like A Pirate Day). Imagine how disappointed Noah was when he woke up Saturday morning expecting to see Mickey Mouse and pirates only to be informed by us that he would have to wait another couple of days for that chance encounter. The wait gave him time to practice and perfect his "Arggg's" and it seemed to work in our favor too, because whenever Noah began to misbehave and we wanted him to "shape up", all we had to do was remind him of Disneyland and that if he wanted to go he needed to "be good".

I scrambled around from store to store on Saturday getting gas for the car, snacks for the trip, extra diapers and baby formula, along with new swim trunks for the boys since they'd outgrown theirs from last summer and I imagined we'd be spending plenty of time in California either poolside or at the beach. Sunday was just as crazy busy as Saturday. We all woke up just as the morning session of church conference was beginning, so I tried my best to listen and pay attention as I bathed and dressed the boys. I had to get myself ready in a hurry so that I could help Spencer's mom prepare lunch for his family who was scheduled to arrive just as the first session of conference ended. After lunch, I helped with the dishes, put the boys down for their nap and just after opening prayer was given in the 2ND session of conference I dozed off unintentionally- napping through ALL of Sunday's afternoon conference address. I imagine the talks the leaders gave during that session were beautiful- only I wouldn't really know because I was out like a light!

My siesta was interrupted only an hour and a half later when both the boys woke up- ready to eat and play. Thankfully Spencer's parents were willing to entertain and feed them while I tried to pack everything we needed for the trip. I really tried hard this time around to mindfully pack "light" and I thought I had until I saw what little space we had left in our car after Spencer loaded everything in. It still amazes me to this day that for a year and a half of my life while I was on my mission, all of my lively processions managed to fit into two small suitcases I toted around Portugal with me. How did I ever do that?!!!

We hit the road just after the crack of dawn that Monday- no one in the neighborhood seemed to be awake aside from Spencer's dad who rose early just to see that we departed safely- I still have to chuckle when either mine or Spencer's parents "see us off" or make us promise them that when once we arrive at our point of destination safely we'll call and let them know- parents never stop being parents no matter how old we grow... Generally Spencer and I like to travel through the night if we're driving, but we decided there wasn't any hurry to leave in the night since our "check in time" at the hotel wasn't until later that afternoon. The boys both slept soundly till we hit Vegas. We gassed up just once outside of Vegas and grabbed some lunch "to go" and drove on towards Orange County. Both the boys were fairly easily entertained along the ride- Noah was actually a jabber box for most it-I found myself loosing my voice again just trying to keep up in conversation with him; I actually caved and suggested we watch "Bee Movie" just to quiet him so I could have some time to regain my voice. Spencer drove the entire way- bless his heart- it's not that I didn't offer to drive at any point during our journey, I think he just knew that even though I was offering, my offers really weren't sincere. I'm TERRIBLE at driving long distances. I usually get tired of driving after just 30 minutes! I make a much better passenger.

We got lost in Anaheim for nearly half an hour trying to find our hotel. We took the wrong Chapman Road off the freeway that led us on an interesting tour through Buena Park- luckily we intersected Harbor Boulevard after some time, drove along that for about a hundred blocks and finally recognized all of the hotels that surrounded Disneyland. We followed Harbor Boulevard for another mile or so in search of the Hyatt, our hotel where we made our reservations. I think it's the only hotel that doesn't offer free parking for it's guest there in Anaheim, (we weren't aware of the additional cost for parking when we booked the hotel, but we obliged to pay the parking attendant $15 for each day we stayed there). We also weren't expecting to have to pay two bell boys to carry our luggage up to our suite for us but we had no choice because there was no other way to get it to our room with both the boys in tow- good thing we actually had cash on us, otherwise we would have looked cheap without tipping them!!! The hotel was beautiful- our suite was fantastic and pretty spacious; I have to laugh now looking back because we thought initially when we made our reservations at the Hyatt in Anaheim we were getting a really GREAT rate- little did we know about all the additional mandatory costs of staying at that hotel- like a $16 a night OCCUPANCY FEE! What the crap is a stupid occupancy fee???- it's not taxes- no we were charged plenty in taxes, but along with the room fee, there was an additional occupancy fee! As if we were only planning to pay for the hotel but not occupy it!!! What was actually even MORE ridiculous and absurd is how I ended up paying $5 for a single bottle of water I mistankened for being complimentary. The maids left two of these waters in our room- and there was NO WAY I was going to drink the tap water from the bathroom faucet; I figured like every other hotel I've been to, the waters were free for us guests. Nope, my wrong completely! When Spencer saw me drinking it he about choked! I guess he had the "ups" and knew the bottled water at the hotel cost a pretty penny- why did I have to be the one left uninformed? They charged us ten times what the bottle of water actually would have cost at a convenience store!!! Total rip off!!! I considered going to a near by gas station, buying the same bottle of water for 50 cents and replacing the one I drank, hoping that the hotel wouldn't charge me 5 bucks; needless to say, I never carried out my plan by replacing the water- we actually forgot about it and a couple of days ago I noticed on our bank account the $5 charge for it + tax. RIDICULOUS!

Okay, enough with the money talk- aside from being just a little more expensive than we originally thought it would be- our hotel was great. Noah looked to forward to each evening we spent at the hotel, because just before bed he and I would go on an "ice run", thus meaning we'd find the ice machine outside of our room and fill up an ice container so we could both munch on ice cubes through out the night. He loves ice just about as much as I do at this point in my pregnancy! Our suite had a large panoramic window that looked out and over the hotel lobby- both of the boys loved to look out this window while we were in our room and watch as people came and went. I had to be mindful about this window though every time I went into our room, making sure I was dressed appropriately in case the curtains were pulled back. I didn't want to flash any of the guest who were seated just 3 floors down below us in the lobby. Spencer and I imagined the hotel has probably had a good number of guest who have "willingly" displayed themselves inappropriately through the windows of their hotel rooms to the crowd below... very "burlesque".

We tried to nap as soon as we settled into our suite; the boys wouldn't comply- they were too wound up! After taking two Tylenol for my migraine headache and two hours of interrupted sleep later, we decided to meet up with Spencer's old mission companion/good friend Ian Fowles and his girlfriend for dinner. We didn't want to drive anywhere that evening, so we dined at the schmancy restaurant down below in the lobby. Our boys did a fabulous job flirting with Ian's girlfriend- she flattered them with her undivided attention for the evening. Spencer got to catch up and hear what Ian was up to and the two reminisced about their "Glory Day"s as Elders in the mission field of Columbus, Ohio. We even talked extensively about the work Ian's been doing. He's in a band called the Aquabats as the lead guitarist with the pseudonym Eagle "Bones" Falconhawk
The Aquabats are a group of guys that have been around since the 90's. Their music is a blend of quirky, new wave melodies with a punk rock sound. Ian's an AMAZING guitarist! Some of the guys in the band created a hit cartoon that's been on Nickelodeon this last year called "Yo Gabba Gabba" (Noah catches it on t.v. every now and then; generally he's never awake when it airs in the morning). Ian's been a guest on the show before, but I guess recently he started working on the production of it. He said that this week the show was having open casting calls for little kids who like to dance (that's SO TOTALLY NOAH) and we would have loved to have had Noah audition to be on the show- he would have been a hit with the kind of dance moves he has, but Ian said that he'll have to wait to audition till once he's 5 years old. Bummer... Anyhow, we had a good time hanging out with Fowles and his girl-it's kinda exciting that we know a real rock star!

Wow! I can't believe I've had so much to say and still haven't shared any details about the actual "vacation" itself!!! I think I'll continue writing this as if it were a travelogue- only intentionally expanding in detail on the important events that took place through out the trip.

Tuesday, April 8Th...
We all woke up and got dressed pretty early; we wanted to be at Disneyland when the park opened. Try as hard as we did, we failed- however, we still made it into the park only an hour after it opened. At the entrance of the park we saw Baloo from the Jungle Book, the Mad Hatter from Alice & Wonderland, Pluto, Goofey and Mickey Mouse. I wanted to take pictures with each character, but there wasn't time, so we decided to head straight for Mickey since Noah had been talking about him ALL weekend long. Noah was completely "beside himself" during our brief encounter with Mickey. He was both NERVOUS and THRILLED to meet the mouse- so precious.

After pictures with Mickey, we dashed over to the New Orleans Square. The line for Pirates of the Caribbean was pretty short so we decided to go on that ride first. We had great seats right in the front of the boat. Both the boys enjoyed the ride; Ian liked getting splashed with water after both the drops and Noah LOVED seeing the pirates- although I'm not sure he understood they weren't REAL men! Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE the smell of Pirates of the Caribbean? I know that sounds totally weird, but it's so true. Pirates has a musty smell about it- I suppose it's from all the water that runs through it and never gets changed -anyhow, ever since I was little, if I ever went into a cellar or else where, somewhere smelling a bit "musty", I'd always say it smelled like "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Okay, so we visited the Haunted Mansion afterwards; I was worried that Noah would get scared but he wasn't! He loved the Winnie the Pooh ride and we were lucky because just as we got off the ride we spotted Eeyore, Tigger & Pooh Bear. I really wanted a picture of Noah with Pooh Bear, since for one, he really likes Pooh, and two, I had a picture taken of me at Disneyland when I was his age standing with Pooh Bear.

We paid an arm and a leg for lunch at Disneyland; isn't that how it is though at every amusement park??? I guess I shouldn't complain since I am someone who throws away $5 on WATER! I was excited ALL DAY to buy a Pineapple Whip from the Dole stand outside of the Tikki Room!!! MMMMM... those pineapple whips are delish!!!

We rode the train around Disneyland a couple of times. I was a little disappointed because "Small World" was closed- they're renovating it and it's not expected to open again until the Fall. We rode the "Storybook Land" ride, the teacups- for which Ian actually FELL ASLEEP on, the Peter Pan flight ride, and Casey Juniors train ride. Spencer decided to ride on "Autotopia" with Noah while I waited and watched. Noah caddied Spencer around in their little car- it was funny to watch him drive because he actually held the steering wheel single handily! The kid has style.

Both of the boys were fabulously well behaved at Disneyland. We left the park just after it was 6pm- we'd seen and done everything we wanted to. It helps that we didn't feel the need to "do" everything because we were just there 6 months earlier. This was actually Noah's 4Th visit to the park- he's been lucky and has been every 6 months of his life- lucky for us, each of his visits have been FREE- kids 3 and under don't require tickets at Disneyland!!!

Oh I almost forgot to mention- I bet you'd never imagine the kind of attention we drew from crowds at Disneyland! Apparently, a lot of the people at the park were utterly amazed that we had a toddler, a baby, and I'm obviously VERY pregnant. No one bothered to comment directly to us, but Spencer said he heard quite a few people talking about our family while they stood by us in line. No bother though- I sort of expected it. I did however, overhear A LOT of people comment to one another about how CUTE our boys were- I won't argue over comments like these; as their mother I'm flattered.

Wednesday April 9TH...
We purchased Park Hopper tickets the day before so we decided to visit Disney's California Adventure Park- it was both mine and Spencer's first time ever visiting this park. I have to say- it was pretty impressive.




I'd seen on television that Playhouse Disney had shows for kids there, and since Noah loves to watch "Mickey's Playhouse", "Handy Manny", "Little Einsteins" and "The Adventures of Tigger and Pooh", I thought he'd particularly enjoy watching this short little production since all of those characters from each of those shows are featured in it. We got pretty lame seats- they pack a huge crowd into an auditorium and everyone has to sit on the floor; unfortunately we were seated near the back of the auditorium and kids rows in front of us kept jumping up and down, blocking our view, so there were times where our vision was completely obstructed. Non the less though- Noah still ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!! It was a pretty cool production I must admit.

There weren't a whole lot of rides we could take the boys on- Noah still doesn't meet most of the height requirements and I'm willing to bet that it will take years before he ever does since he's such a shorty. There were a few rides he was able to ride over in "Bug Land". He FLEW all over the place when he went in the spinning Lady Bug twirly whirly cab thing with me (there weren't any lap belts to restrain him). We were ALL super impressed by the 3-D Bug show- SO COOL (sorry I don't remember what it was called). The Monsters Inc. ride was pretty creative and well worth the 30 minute wait in line.

In the following picture, Ian's wearing Uncle Jeff's old Mickey Mouse shirt. It's gotta be at least 31 years old by now- but still in good shape.


We saw more characters again while we were at California Adventure Land. Noah had his picture taken again with Mickey- this time the mouse was dressed in his "sorcerers" robe; Spencer took Noah to also have his picture taken with Pluto and we saw Woody from Toy Story, but missed our chance to have our picture taken with him. While I'm listing off all the characters we saw, I suppose I should also mention that we saw A LOT of the Disney princesses like Cinderella, but we had no desire to take photos with the ladies- Noah has no idea who any of them are and I think it will probably remain that way until we have a daughter one day. Oh, I forgot to mention- a couple of times Spencer and I decided to let the professional photographers who are placed conveniently all through out Disneyland and the California Adventure Park take our pictures for us; it cost an arm and a leg to actually buy any of the pictures but we wanted a couple taken so all of our family could be seen together in the "Magical Kingdom". One picture I REALLY wanted to get was one of all of us at the front entrance in Disneyland in front of the flowerbed. We asked the photographer to take a picture of us together as a fam at which point he was more than happy to do some business and actually agreed to take 4 separate shots. After he was done "capturing the dream", we handed him our photo card so he could scan the info onto it but somehow he became distracted by another co-worker and failed too!!! We didn't catch his mistake immediately and we left the park assuming we could order the picture later online. When I finally realised he didn't scan the info to our card I was so UPSET; my gut at the time we had the picture taken was even URGING me to have a duplicate picture of us taken from my OWN camera just in case the photographer screwed up. I didn't listen to my instinct and now I'm still bitter about the whole thing. UGGGGGGG!!!

By 4 that afternoon, we had done and seen everything we cared to do over at California Adventure Park with the boys, so we decided to hop back over to Disneyland and ride The Pirates of the Caribbean ride one last time with Noah.

I had to buy another Dole Pineapple Whip before leaving the park and I also searched high and low through Main Street to find the vendor in the park who sold Turkey Legs- I'd seen guests at the park the day before walking around eating them and thought they looked good, so I had to try one. The things are HUGE!!! My eyes didn't deceive me- the turkey was SO good, greasy but REALLY, REALLY GOOD! Even the boys LOVED eating the turkey.

We got back to our hotel by 6 that evening. Originally we planned to check out of our room at the Hyatt that same day, but we were EXHAUSTED and didn't want to pack the car and drive the hour down to San Diego that night, so we decided to extend till the next day. This meant we had to change our "date of arrival" for the hotel in San Diego that we booked through Travelocity. I made the call to Travelocity's customer service number, and somehow, I ended up being connected to one of their representatives in INDIA!!! (It's ridiculous how many HUGE companies network their business out overseas). The lady helping me, spoke very little English- it was obvious that what she could say in English was all mostly scripted for her- I was trying to be patient, but after spending nearly 30 minutes on the phone with her, just trying to make ONE minor change in our plans, I was beginning to get less patient and more frustrated!!! After sometime, she assured me that she made the change and moved our "check in date" at our hotel in San Diego up by one day and told me that we would be refunded for the day we wouldn't be at the hotel... Well- it's been two weeks since my conversation with her, and still-we haven't been refunded by Travelocity. I would usually call immediately about this error on their part, but I hesitate too, because I'm afraid I'll be transferred to someone in India who will keep me on the phone for AN HOUR!!!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention- we noticed that same evening that Ian was getting 3 of his top teeth in!!! It explained the "runs" he had and occasional fevers he'd get. These new teeth remind me of hippo teeth for some odd reason- not that they really are as big as hippo teeth. I really can't believe he's getting another 3 teeth this early on- these 3 will add to the two bottom teeth he already has, making the tooth count equivalent to 5! Noah only had one tooth when he turned one. I must give Ian credit in this department and say that he's really been a "trooper" through this teething experience; he's done very little complaining.

Thursday April 10TH...
We checked out of the Hyatt in Anaheim around noon and drove down to San Diego. Before checking into our hotel in Mission Valley, we stopped in Carlsbad to do a little shopping at the outlet mall there. I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! The mall has an Etnies outlet store- I wanted to buy some more skate shoes for Noah there since he's outgrowing the ones he already has, but to my dismay, they were all out of shoes his size- they only had a plethora of little girl skate shoes that were his size. The markdown price for the shoes was nearly tempting enough for me to buy him a pair of pink and white Etnies, but I managed to resist my compulsiveness to buy any. Spencer and I stopped in and did a little shopping at my favorite store "Sun Diego" (it's a surf shop kinda like Pac Sun, only it's a 100 times better and has WAY FABBER clothes). I found Noah a new pair of Reef sandals. He was reluctant at first to give up his old pair he's had since last summer- they're pretty stinky, but he actually likes the stink- BOYS!!! Spencer found a bunch of fabulous shorts that he could sport this summer along with a few new shirts and I even managed to find a SUPER CUTE, yellow top I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!!! It's not meant to be a maternity top, but it fits and it's only a medium. I LOVE WEARING IT!!! I've gotten A LOT of compliments on the shirt since I bought it and also on other shirts I own and wear- pregnant woman always want to know where I find them, and somehow I get a sense of pleasure out of saying I didn't have to buy them at a maternity store but instead purchased them from a surf shop. I like to keep my "cool" still while being preggers. I found a Pea In The Pod outlet store and after some consideration, I decided to buy a new bathing suit from there- a maternity suit of course. I brought one on the trip with me, but I hadn't worn it since the summer I was preggers with Noah and I was MUCH SMALLER during that pregnancy than I am now, so I figured I'd be safe and upgrade to a new suit, one I KNEW would actually cover my baby belly.

We grabbed some lunch at Ruby's Diner and then packed the boys into our car and headed off for our hotel. Word to the wise: People don't EVER use Travelocity!!! The agency boasts on television about how if the hotel we book is undergoing renovations or construction they'd contact us and let us know in advance- uhhh, well, we pulled into the drive way of our hotel and saw construction going on ALL AROUND us!!! We were never informed ahead of time. Construction zones made it a little difficult for us to get our stuff up to our room- we were staying at the Comfort Inn, so of course there wasn't any staff around we could tip and pay to help us carry it up. It's amazing how stinking EXPENSIVE the hotels are in San Diego are!!! The Comfort Inn wasn't bad- it's a lot like a Holiday Inn, and it's definitely a step up from shabby motels like Hotel 6. We looked into staying at a Hyatt hotel down there, but every Hyatt in San Diego was at least 3 times the cost of what our suite in Anaheim ran us. It's also conference and convention season in San Diego for a lot of clubs, sports and businesses, so a lot of hotels were completely booked for the ENTIRE month of April leaving us with few hotels to choose from. One perk about our hotel is that it came with a jetted tub- the boys had a blast taking baths in there with Spencer and it made bubbles galore! Noah had quite a few MELTDOWNS each time we told him bath time was over and it was time to get out.

Eventually we got settled into our hotel room. We tried to get some rest before we headed over to my parents house, but the boys weren't willing to nap. That's what's tough about vacations for my kids- they're used to getting somewhere near 16 hours, maybe more, of sleep every day, but when we vacation we're always "on the go" so they're lucky if they get 8 hours. I'll be honest and admit there were a few nights during our vacation on which I think I crashed and fell asleep even before the boys did.

We visited my parents that evening for a couple of hours. Noah fell on my parents front porch just as we arrived at their place and skinned both of his knees. This was the first time he'd ever hurt himself with a cut or a scrape so I doctored it up with a few things from my travel first aid kit and soon there after he lost the tears and was all smiles again. The experience from his fall and the fancy band-aids he sported on his knees provided just enough "juice" for a story that he created and shared on many occasions that evening with my parents and his cousins.

We also saw at my parents house, my sister Janna, her son Idrese, her daughter Paresa, and her newborn, Kyse- who at the time was no more than a week and a half old. Kyse was so little and it was so awkward seeing Ian next to a newborn since he's just a baby himself, but in relation, Ian looked like a four year next to Kyse!!! He was really fascinated by the baby and wanted to be by him a lot- he touched him very gently and remained fairly quiet around him; hopefully his composer during this encounter with a newborn won't change much by the time we have our own new baby.

Friday, April 11TH...
We had a slow start to our day, but eventually we left our hotel and drove to the San Diego Temple. Noah was really excited to visit the temple and walk along the grounds. Aside from some wind, the weather was GORGEOUS! Gotta love San Diego for FAB weather and clear blue skies! I wanted some pictures of the boys standing in front of the temple, but they were either distracted by bugs and flowers or rolling around on the lawn with Spencer, so I think I only managed to get one before giving up. One of the missionary's who works outside of the temple offered to take a family picture of us. I was happy he offered, but later after we'd left the temple and I looked at the picture I realized he only took a picture of US and the temple that we were standing in front of couldn't be seen AT ALL! We may as well had been standing on our own front lawn- you wouldn't know by looking at the picture that we were at the temple. Ahhh well, what can I say- I learned from this vacation that plenty of people in this world are camera retarded. If I have a certain way I want a picture to be taken, it's better do it myself or hire a professional.

After our visit to the temple, we grabbed some lunch from "Jack in the Box"- Spencer and I love this cheap fast food joint- especially for it's fries, jack melts, and yummy, greasy, 2 for 99cent tacos. We decided to eat it down at Crown Point just off of Mission Bay. We ate and laid out on the grass for an hour or so, before the rest of my family joined us there for a barbecue. My brother Jeff and his wife prepared hamburgers and hot dogs for all of us, while the rest of us "chillaxed" and the kids played in the sand or at the playground. Noah LOVES his cousins Idrese and Paresa. I had to laugh during this visit, because he still can't pronounce their names correctly. He calls Idrese "Ese" and Paresa "Esa". Whatever works!!!

Spencer bought a couple of kites to fly. He flew one for a little bit- the wind off of the bay was just PERFECT for kite flying, but just as he was winding the string to the kite back up, a gust of wind caught the kites handle and the whole thing flew off into a Eucalyptus tree! The funny thing is, just the string to the kite got stuck in the tree, so since the wind was pretty steady for a while, the kite continued to fly high in the sky for another hour or two all on its own!!! Noah had a BLAST flying another kite with Spencer and Idrese- I don't think he'd ever even seen a kite being flown before that day down by the bay.


We stuck around at the Bay for a couple of hours enjoying each others company until the sun had gone down. I LOVE BARBECUES at the beach and I was so happy my brother thought to organize one for our family while we were down visiting.

Ian and Grandpa Truesdell bonding over some sweet, yummy candy...

Saturday, April 12Th...
We had another slow start to our day but there was no hurry to get moving; we decided to spend the day at the beach. It was actually a great day to hit the beach too! The temperature was up in the 80's and the water was actually pretty warm. Before we reached the Cove where we usually to go to enjoy the surf, we stopped by Sun Diego in Mission Beach so I could buy a new pair of sunglasses. Mission Beach was SUPER CROWDED- there were thousands of people flocking there to enjoy the surf and sun. There was also an Ultimate Frisbee contest going on there that very same day and a skateboarding competition that drew lots of onlookers. It's crazy to think it was only Spring in San Diego and not SUMMER!!!

After I found a FAB new pair of sunglasses, we drove up the coast just a little to the Cove. We found a little piece of paradise on the beach there and let the boys play in the water. Noah was THRILLED to be at the beach again- I imagine if he grew up in San Diego, he'd definitely be a beach bum purely out of nature. Ian didn't mind the sand- he actually tried to eat a handful of it- and he didn't mind getting wet in the water but he wasn't a fan of the waves sweeping over his little legs.

I think Ian was SICK of the waves soaking him by the time I took this picture and had had ENOUGH!

The COVE is an awesome place to go to see seals- they usually like to lay out on the beach next to the jetty. We didn't get to see any seals over there during this trip though because the lifeguards had it roped off, but we did get lucky and we saw a baby seal pup swimming right along the shoreline where we were soaking. At one point, the baby seal even beached himself for a moment and he was maybe no more that 10 feet away from us. Noah loved watching the seal swim in between the waves. He was cute, but caution to the clueless- you should never approach a seal because the things are vicious and have a MAD BITE!!!

We were only at the beach for maybe an hour an a half, but already I could feel the sting of the sun on my shoulders. Ian was pretty pink and Noah's cheeks and arms were a little pink too. I lathered them up in some pretty strong sunscreen before we hit the beach but I guess our white pasty skin from Winter was no match to the hot California sun. I should have been more responsible as a mother and reapplied sunscreen at least 2 or 3 more times during our visit to the beach- but I hate to be distracted by such tedious tasks and I'd rather my kids get a little pink so that a day or two after they could have a hint of color on them and not look so white.

That evening we met my family again for dinner at Casa Machado- it's an authentic Mexican restaurant my family has been dining at for YEARS!!! The food there is SO GOOD, and I'm not exaggerating, but they make the BEST TAMALES!!!

The Casa Machado is situated right next to Montgomery Airfield- the little airfield my dad flys private planes from- so Noah had a BLAST with my dad watching airplanes land and take off from the runway!

Sunday, April 13TH...
Surprise, we actually had an early start to our day. We were up by 7 and we got dressed quickly to meet my parents at church. There was a minor delay in our morning routine, because Ian had a blowout just before we got him dressed and some pooh got on the bed sheets!!! Yuck!!! I was thankful at this moment that we were on vacation and in a hotel that offered room service with maids who were paid to change our linens, TO SAVE ME the disgusting task of cleaning the mess up myself.

Noah really enjoyed Sacrament- probably because he could distract himself with the attention his cousins gave him or because he could sit on grandpa's lap and color. It's sort of awkward visiting my parents ward, the one I grew up in, with kids of my own. About half of the congregation was made up of members I recognized and knew, while the other half are members who have moved into the ward since I left it 9 years ago for college. I didn't dare stick around and talk to anyone after Sacrament was over- Ian was tired and needed a nap and Noah and I had plans to visit the zoo that afternoon. I hate to think I was being rude by leaving so quickly without saying "hi" to anyone- and really I would have loved to stay and chat with my friends from the ward, but I know from previous experience that if I stay to talk just long enough with one person, soon enough I'd be surrounded by another 20 members who would want to "chat" too and then it would be another hour or two before the "chatting" would be over with.

I dropped Ian and Spencer off at our hotel and Noah and I drove the short distance to the zoo. I still have an annual pass to the San Diego Zoo so I figured we'd visit there for a couple of hours and let the other boys (Spencer and Ian) try and get some rest back at the hotel. Sunday turned out to be a HOT day!!! It was actually 92 degrees by the BEACH!!! INSANE!!! I was sweating before we ever made it into the park just from walking through the parking lot with Noah!

I've been to the zoo so many times before with Noah that I figured he wouldn't mind if we just visited the major animal exhibits in the park instead of stopping by each enclosure. We saw the gibbons and the orangutans- they weren't fans of the hot heat either I assume because they were all hiding and resting in what little shade they could find. We looked at the Okapi- Noah was convinced it was a Zebra and after I tried to correct him one or two times, I finally agreed and told him it was; I figured if he thought it was a Zebra it would save me from making a trip to the other side of the park where the real Zebra exhibit actually was. We checked out the hippos- I couldn't help but laugh and think of Ian when I saw them since their teeth remind me of Ian's two new teeth.

Noah in front of the hippo exhibit... Where'd the hippos go?

I LOVE the San Diego Zoo, but one complaint I have about the place is that it's all situated in a canyon, so there's hills EVERYWHERE that guest have to climb up and down. Not long after arriving at the zoo, I found myself at the bottom of one of these hills. I had no choice but to climb up the hill if I wanted to get back to the entrance and exit to the park. So I pushed Noah in his double stroller forward up a LONG, STEEP HILL. I didn't dare stop along the way, for fear that I may never have the energy to start the accent to the top again, but I did my best to point out along the path the bears and tigers that were on exhibit. Oh did I mention I was pushing this double stroller uphill while dressed in a skirt and wearing wedge hills?!!! And I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant too. Yeah, I bet I was quite a site for other guests at the zoo. I made it all the way to the top of the hill though without stopping once- I was pretty pleased with myself since along the way I noticed plenty of other people stopping to take breaks.

The heat was KILLER so I decided that after two hours we'd seen enough and Noah and I made a quick break from the zoo exit to where our car was. I NEEDED A.C.!!!

Later that afternoon, we went over to my parents house again to visit with my family and barbecue steaks. I LOVE BARBECUING and it seems to me like not many families in Utah enjoy barbecuing as much or as often as residents in So. Cal do. It's part of the lifestyle there.

We left my parents just after 8, went back to our hotel and packed our car up so we wouldn't have to worry about packing in the morning. My brother and his wife visited us briefly at the hotel before we put the boys down for bed.

It's always so hard for me to leave San Diego and return to Utah. It's such a BEAUTIFUL place, I wish it weren't so incredibly EXPENSIVE to live there. I suppose I should be greatful that I have family there whom I can always visit.

Monday, April 14TH...
I was slightly excited to being heading back home, only because I was tired of living out of a suitcase, the boys needed to sleep in their OWN BEDS instead of hotel beds and playpens, and I was JUST SUPER EXHAUSTED!!! Traveling with two kids and being pregnant in my last trimester is not an easy task my friends.

I have to laugh now looking back about how easy it was and how often I traveled when I just had Noah. I used to tell friends who didn't have kids of their own that traveling with one kid is just like remembering to bring along an extra purse- no big deal and not that much extra weight. Noah was such a fabulous travel companion- it didn't matter whether we were in the car or on planes, he was never any trouble. Then when I had Ian and friends asked how it was traveling or going anywhere with the two of them, I'd tell them it was a little trickier because it was as though not everything would easily fit into a purse any longer so I'd have to add an additional suitcase to the normal luggage I carry. It's a little more difficult going places with two kids and a little more exhausting. Now that we're expecting a third, I can only imagine traveling with 3 kids, 2 years old and younger, will be impossible without the help of Spencer or someone else.

Okay, so I'm sure you're dying to know about the trip back- we left just after 8:30 in the morning, stopped once to gas up in Vegas and grab lunch and then again in St. George so I could use the restroom, and somehow still managed to make it home in 9 1/2 hours. The boys were really well behaved during the car trip. Neither of them cried once or fussed or complained. If they weren't sleeping, they were looking at books.

I LOVE LONG CAR RIDES... let me add to this thought, I love long car rides when I'm the passenger and not the driver. I love listening to music and I love all the random subject matters Spencer and I talk about. I ALWAYS learn new interesting things about Spencer or his past I never knew before- I always feel like on long car rides we grow MUCH CLOSER together. We had some good discussions on our way back home from this trip about our mission experiences, and I learned some new interesting facts about the old Bachelor Pads he used to live in with his friends, and probably the funniest thing I learned that I've enjoyed teasing Spencer about this last week is that his ex-fiance was STILL calling him to "hang out" even after he and I were engaged!!! He never hung out with her of course, but he was nervous for a little while there to "break the news" to her. Another funny fact about Spencer's ex-fiance: I guess my engagement ring has the same big diamond she had when Spencer was engaged to her, (I have additional diamonds along with "hers" on my ring though and my band is obvously different); anyhow, after Spencer broke off the engagement, he asked her for the ring back and she didn't want to give it to him. Either she was totally bitter or just totally crazy- probably both- but SERIOUSLY, what in the world would she have done with the ring??!!! Maybe she would have sat and sulked about her broken engagement till she was an old maid. Who knows... Anyhow- Spencer finally got the ring back from her- for which he later traded in and kept the diamond. Interesting though- he admitted that the jeweler gave him a set of diamond earrings and a diamond necklace when he purchased the ring, and Spencer's thought for four years now that he gave the necklace and ring to me!!! UMMM NOPE!!! Apparently, he forgot he gave those to his ex-fiance and she NEVER gave them back! Funny huh?

Okay, so I think I've dished on nearly every detail of our trip. We had a great time at Disneyland and especially seeing my family. We've caught up on our sleep and everything unpacked, cleaned and washed and back in it's place- suddenly I'm feeling the urge to take another vacation! Maybe in a few months I can convince Spencer again...