Friday, July 16, 2010

La Jolla Vacation - Day 3

La Jolla Cove was our first destination of the day. Loved it last year. More this year.

Hello, napping seal. Promise he's not dead.

The cove is fabulous for seeing the seals, searching for crabs and seeing far into the ocean......all the way across to our favorite beach, La Jolla Shores.



My sis. So lucky we have each other.

Similar to a pic I took last year at this stop.

Sweet Caroline.

We stood for a long time checking out the seals.....both sunbathing.....and in the water. I can't express enough how cool it is for kids to see animals and sea life in their natural element. They love it. I love seeing them enjoy it.





Drove a bit further down the street to a snorkeling spot we discovered last year.

I stayed upstairs and read while the rest of the fam headed down to the water. Not much snorkeling going on......water is still too cold. But, it's warming up!



Hello, darling seals.

Love this......



The famous La Jolla Cove.



On our way back to the house, we stopped at the super famous In-N-Out Burger. All sorts of yumminess. Interested, DFW-ites? Garland is getting one soon! They're branching out from the west coast.

Old school......great kids working there......good prices......fab food.

After lunch, we headed to the beach with Cam (my cousin) and Donna (my aunt). Lainey is crossing here, holding Cam's hand. She doesn't like the male species all that often.....but certainly took to Cam.

Cam is my cousin. And, you all know Carter. Love these two.

Boogie boarding!

Donna, Caroline and I relaxed further from the coast and chatted. I'm pretty sure we could talk for days if time (and children) allowed.



Sand castle.



I love late evenings on the beach.


Not sure what our plans are tomorrow......we'll see where the day takes us. I purposely made very few plans for this trip.

I know. It surprised me, too.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

La Jolla Vacation - Day 2

Slept til 8:00am......woke and prepped for the beach.

3 kids looking at the camera? Nearly all of them smiling? See.....this is what California does to the soul.

Already realized items forgotten:

1. sunhat
2. beach bag
3. snorkel gear

I can improvise on at least one of these things:

Meow Meow on da beach!

Carter was a bit nervous about surfing today. It's been a year. We're anxious for Uncle Bob to be in town to help him build some confidence.



Trains on the beach. Shocker.



The water is COLD. They've had about 3 weeks of overcast days.......until yesterday......hopefully the sun will stick around.

So, we picked Caroline up at the airport this evening after a Target run for more beach gear. Went straight to our favorite first day and last day stop.......Seaport Village. Super touristy.....walk by the water.......overpriced food.......but lots to see and do!

Carter has his picture with this guy from 2006, 2009 and now here.

A new take on it....Blake's suggestion.

You know you're in a touristy area when a man is shirtless, eating fire and swallowing swords.








Snorkeling, shopping and a nap on the agenda for tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

La Jolla Vacation - Day 1

I think I slept a total of 20 minutes last night, so this will be brief. Tired or not, we're here!

Prior to departure, I worked on collecting items for the kids' carry-ons for about a month. Needed lots to keep them busy and behaving on the plane.


At the airport, this morning around 7am. We parked off site in covered parking.......as I fear hail storms more than tornadoes and the wicked witch in Kansas......so we arrived early to secure our spot.

The cargo:

5 people
4 large bags to check (which we had to eventually redistribute, weight wise to accommodate the 50 pound limit......even after weighing them at home last night)
4 carry on backpacks
my large purse
Lainey's entourage: Jo Jo the kitty, Meow Meow and 3 lambies
Jack's polar bear
2 car seats
My double stroller


The kids love to guess which animal is on the tail.....since we fly Frontier more than other airlines. Today was a bighorn sheep and then an elk.

On the plane! Car seats made all the difference. Kids feel secure and "in their norm".

Lainey with one of her new treasures. A tiny doll house. Kept her busy for a long time.

The other side.

Our smartest child immediately got off the plane and buckled herself into her seat in the terminal. I don't know.

Then, she spun some records.

We connected in Denver, so it was fun to see the Rockies again and the airport is fabulous......unlike KCI......which is a glorified gerbil cage, at best.

Second leg went well. 4/5 Starnes folks were asleep after take off. We all slept most of the flight. Nice. And, no cocktails! For us or the kids! That's impressive, people.

Picked up our rental car.......headed to the beach house to unpack.......then back out to Costco and Von's for grocery shopping. $300 later, we're all set!

Took a short walk down to Windansea Beach to watch the surfers.

Lovely.


Kids were more than antsy to hit the sand, but we're waiting. They're exhausted.....and technically still on Kansas time......so they need rest before we dive right in.

So.......some beach time tomorrow.......and then Caroline arrives!!!!!!!

Back soon with more deets. Happy Tuesday.