Oceanside, CA Vacation

My loving parents invited us to crash their vacation to Oceanside and we were happy to oblige.  It was just a bonus that my awesome sister, Becky, surprised us with a long overdue visit all the way from Japan.

Day 1 Monday: Wow, Peoria to Oceanside is a long drive when you have a baby.  Ty is unfortunately at an unfriendly long drive age.  He did okay until the last hour and by then he was furious.  He was the most excited when we arrived.  We stopped along the way and got some yummy, fresh, California produce and then we unpacked, checked out the Condo and went swimming.

Day 2 Tuesday: Yahoo!!  I finally got to give my sister and all her boys a hug.  We have missed you more than words can explain.  We visited that morning then headed over to San Diego and had some Mexi food in Old Town and toured The Mormon Battalion.  This was really fun. The kids favorite was panning for gold at the end.  I'm sure Jace will be disappointed when he finally figures out that it's fools gold and not the real thing.  Grandma & Grandpa held an Unbirthday Party to celebrate all the grand kids birthdays and presented them with some awesome kites to fly at the beach.  We topped the day off with swimming with cousins.  Can't get better than that.  I love the fact that you can spend lots of money and do all sorts of fun activities but the kids favorite thing is still the pool .. which is free. :)

Fish Tacos and Quesadillas in Old Town San Diego.

Barrels of candy.  YUM!

So glad I got to witness mom being "fake scared"

 for this picture by the Haunted Whaley House. lol 

The Mormon Battalion tour ...

I love my aunt Becky!

Check out these AWESOME kites!!  Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

My favorite picture.  Ty giggled and giggled for Aunt Becky.

Day 3: Tuesday

We started the morning off very early with a sea shell hunt on the beach.  We loved the fact that we were practically the only ones on the beach.  Ty got to come and he loved it.  There was a prize of a dollar for the best sand dollar found and the boys took that very seriously.  We found some crabs in the rocks and Aunt Becky was brave enough to catch them. She also found a star fish and picked it up to let the kids examine it before putting it back.  The kids collected lots of shells to bring home and we all enjoyed the salty sea breeze and the sound of the ocean.  I really think the beach is one of my all time  favorite places to be.  It's great to get some exercise in the morning too.

The best Sand Dollar prize was won by Carter & Jace.

 

After hunting for shells we hung out in the condo for a bit.  Grandma & Grandpa did the La Jolla Coves Kayaking and we stayed back and watched cartoons/ played games.  Mid-Day we attended an ice cream social put on by Trendwest.  The kids loved that they got to put on as many toppings as they wanted.

Yum Yum!!

 In the afternoon we took the kites that Grandma and Grandpa got for everyone to the beach to test them out.  They were pretty cool kites and that ocean breeze just lifted them right up into the air.  Jace got a fighter jet, Brooke had a fairy, and the Olsen boys shared some Star Wars box Kites.  It was super fun!

Day 4: Thursday

Thursday morning Beck and her boys had to get up early to catch a flight on Space A in Riverside so we said our good bye's ... hopefully not for too long. :(  

We walked down by the lighthouse and had some delicious fish n'chips on the harbor.  They were SO good.  Then grandma and the kids built a sandcastle and watched until the waves crashed it down.  Craig and I even got a romantic walk on the beach.  Then we hit the pool again on the way home.  After Becky left I only had my stinky little camera that doesn't take very good pics.  What was I thinking leaving my Canon behind??  I did get some underwater pics at the pool though.

Mermaid Brooke

Grandma, Grandpa, and Brooke's underwater teaparty/ Jaceroo

After swimming Grandma and Grandpa took the kids and Craig and I were able to go on a date.  We went into Old Town San Diego again and ate dinner at Old Town's Mexican Cafe and got the Carnitas.  It was the best Mexican food we have EVER had.  The flour and corn tortillas were amazing.  Here they are hand making them...
 

Day 5: Friday

Friday was our San Diego day.  First Craig and I visited the temple then we headed into down town San Diego and stopped at the USS Midway for a tour.  Jace had been looking forward to this for months prior to our vacation.  He's very into air craft carriers/ battleships/fighter jets/ect...  Grandma and Brooke opted out and just walked around the shops down town instead.  Afterwards we got some fast food and walked around the gas lamp district looking for Ghirardellis.  We finally found it and enjoyed a delicious ice cream sundae with Ghirardelli chocolate sauce.  It's to die for.

Day 6: Saturday

Craig was sick but the rest of us headed down for our last day on the beach.  Grandpa taught Jace how to boogie board and boy was I proud of him.  He braved the cold water and had a blast catching several great waves.  Even mommy had fun in the waves.  We tried to get Brooke out there but she started screaming at the top of her lungs "TAKE ME BACK TO SHORE" as loud as she could and that girl has some serious lungs. lol  We went swimming again to get some of the salt water off and then we flew our kites again.  In the evening Craig and I went on another date to go snorkeling at La Jolla Cove.  It was one of the coolest things I've ever done.  We saw Sting rays, tiger sharks, and all sorts of other colorful fish. It was so fun.  We had a great time.

Day 7: Sunday

We packed up, cleaned up, and headed home.  Another long car drive.  What an awesome vacation though.  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Johnson - we had a blast!

View from our room.  Pictures courtesy of Jace. :)