San Diego is good for the Soul

Two weeks ago we went on our big vacation for the year! We drove down to San Diego to spend the week on the beach. It was just the relaxation we needed!

Dave had never been to Las Vegas so we stopped and stayed on the strip on the way down. The kids had fun seeing the Bellagio and mirages water shows and really enjoyed the circus tight rope act at Circus Circus. Vegas isn’t my favorite place, but it reminds me very much of Grandpa Yoder (who always love to take us downtown for the Buffet at the Rio or to the Pirates show at Treasure Island).

When we arrived at the apartment I rented for the week, we discovered the beach was 400 feet away. It was easily walkable, which was great because the kids always seem to forget something that we had to run back for. Or Logan decided he was too covered in sand and needed in immediate shower so he could get some more swimming in. I swear the kids had at least 2 showers a day (sometimes more)

The weather was perfect! It was low 80s and high 70s the entire time we were there and the water was far warmer than we ever expected. The kids all had a blast running from the waves. After I thought Dave to boogie board he loved teaching all the kids and they had a blast riding the waves to shore.

We swam for at least six hours each day, combed the beach for Sand dollars and seashells at low tide. We pretty much all decided we wouldn’t mind living near the ocean, or at least visiting annually.

Logan‘s favorite part about staying on the beach was all the swimming we got to do. Brooklyn loved boogie boarding. And Dustin loved being so close to the beach that we could go every day. Or that we could walk to the grocery store daily to get ice cream.

On Thursday we headed north to check out Legoland. The kids have been begging to go to Legoland for as long as they’ve known it’s a thing, and although Dave and I are not amusement park people we told them we’d take them once in their life (although Dustin has decided he'll be back with his kids one day).

And mid week during a pandemic was the perfect time to go! There were no lines for anything. The only time we were closer than 6feet away from anyone was the gift shop (and masks were required inside). 

Lego land was fascinating! It was cool to see all the huge projects and get to explore it all. The rides were mostly wimpy with one big ride in each section of the park. But they were perfect for 5-10 year old kids. Nobody was bored. I would worry that much older would not be impressed with the rides.

The kids road each ride 6 to 8 times apiece and had a blast trying out the Legos and racing them down tracks or rivers. They also got  to meet a lot of Lego movie characters and see a lot of really cool large Legos.

Dustin was fascinated with this dragon because he has the regular size set at home and built it all himself!

The build and race it sections are a place the kids probably could have spent all day on, but sadly we had to move them along to make sure we saw everything.

Brooklyn’s favorite thing at Lego man land was hot dog man, Dustin loved all the roller coaster rides and Logan loved at all!

We made the mistake of riding the scariest ride first so Brooklyn was scared when she got on each ride (before she realized it wasn't too bad and she really liked it).

I made each of the kids a Lego Land shirt with a quote from the Lego Batman movie. If you haven't watched it, the movie is hilarious! ALL of us love it and the shirts crack me up each time I see them wearing them.

On our way out of town we swung by to see the San Diego temple (it was closed the whole time we were in town, so we just got to look through the fence). It was beautiful, and the kids were very impressed.

When I was driving Dave would get in the back with the kids and play, watch movies or snuggle with the kids.

During all the driving of our trip I was able to work on binding the quilt for Dave in my bed. I’m so happy with it! It turned out great. Many of the squares are scraps that Grandma Yoder gave me, but I also took some material from my mom, Tenille, and my stashes to tie everything together. Every time I look at it, I smile!

Getting back into the swing of things has been a lot of work, but it was totally worth it! I did 5 loads of laundry upon returning (why?!? We were on the beach all day in swim suits). Somehow the house was trashed and I had piles of dishes to wash too. Going on a trip is a lot of work, but so is recovering from one!

We got caught up on homework by Wednesday, which was a good thing because Wednesday was very busy. We had parent teacher Conferences and helped my Mom move the remainder of her furniture into her Utah home. My dad's was attending a funeral in Arizona so Mom was in charge of the final move. And I had Young Women's that night.

Also Wednesday I had an appointment with the ENT who thinks he MIGHT be able to fix my migraines. I have a severely deviated septum and on top of that the right side of the deviated septum has a bone spur growing and pressing into one of my sinus cavity. The Dr suspects that when my sinus swells (from poor air quality which is pretty much always a problem in the Salt Lake Valley) that the pressure against the sinus is what is causing my migraines.

He gave me a test to determine if having surgery to straighten the nasal passage and remove the bone spur will result in no more headaches. Unfortunately the air quality has been perfect for the past few days and I can't test his theory until we have bad air and I get another 3 headaches. So here I am rooting for bad air so I can test and see if I need surgery.

It was busy, but I am close to feeling caught back up. Hopefully next week everything will be back to our normal craziness!