We left early in the morning again so we could get to the beach! After much bonding in the car (not all of it pleasant), we made it to San Diego looking a little rough. 
Condo wasn't huge but the location was fabulous.
It was fun to people- watch along the boardwalk when we weren't down at the beach.
Taylor and the kids in front of the Pacific View motel where his dad used to bring him and we even stayed there on a trip to San Diego in our second year of marriage. A bit old but the cheapest place on the beach.
On Sunday morning the kids were up early so we went for a walk out to the pier. We stayed out walking too long and were late getting to church in our 'thrown-together church clothes'. As we walked up the steps, Ethan loved the reflection in the front chapel door so he struck a pose and started to dance at his reflection and the delight of the people sitting in the front of the chapel near the sacrament table. I was "whisper-shouting" for him to stop and come back down the stairs and after what seemed an eternity, he finally did. I was so mad and embarrassed at the time but we were able to stop and get a photo on our way out.
One of my favorite things about the trip was our 2 days of bike rental. Beach Cruisers are the best! Pure bliss riding as a family along the boardwalk on the beach and bay. Loved, loved, loved it!
These two cuties loved it too except for the moments they were fighting and biting each other which was really my fault for not packing enough treats.
Here we stopped at the bay for a break but we went over 5 miles and didn't have any major mishaps.
Old Town is always fun and the new Mormon Battalion Center was great! (Lily was asleep in the stroller)
Cathy came to stay a couple days with us and took us to Sea World with her free tickets from work.
Lily finally dared pet the sting rays and loved it.
We ate at a great Mexican restaurant in Old town the first night she got in.
When they dropped the rope, we ran/walked while laughing and we were first through the castle and first on Peter Pan! We were able to hit all of Fantasyland in the first hour. It was awesome and so much fun to have Cathy on all the rides with us. Perhaps we are too 'scheduled' for other folks but when we are all laughing and not standing in lines, we are all happy!!!! Here we are at the rope.
Gabe and Ethan went through Jedi training and then Gabe took on Darth Vader while Ethan whipped Darth Maul. It's pretty exciting when the bad guys arrive on the scene and both our boys looked a tad nervous.
Cathy put up with our craziness and we couldn't get enough of her. We were sad when she had to go after only one day at Disneyland.
Loving the Jungle Cruise.
Lily loved the Winnie the Pooh ride and talks about it all the time. She wouldn't get up close to the character but this half-smile was the best we could get.
We caught Cinderella by chance near Monsters Inc. and now Lily loves 'Cinderelly'.
Tower of Terror was every one's favorite including Gabe. Taylor and I took turns with Lily riding 'Bugs Life' rides.
The day we left for home, we took a little drive north of LA to see Salli and Richard who moved to California a couple of days before. The kids loved spending a little time with Sadie, Megan and Peter (who we finally got to meet) as we all went to the beach for a couple of hours. He is adorable!
The waves were too huge to get in the water but it was fun to stack rocks for the waves to knock over.
It was a great trip with perfect weather and we are already dreaming of taking another trip to the beach. It's interesting to look back on a vacation and it all seems so perfect and wonderful in hindsight. However, during a trip, I sometimes ask myself, "why are we doing this?" when the kids are grouchy or we are tired. There are definitely 'not so perfect' moments in every trip like when I was a child and my brave parents took 7 kids to Boston. We crammed in a tiny rental car and proceeded to get lost for hours in the middle of the night looking for our hotel. It's all good now though and we look back on that with a smile. So it is now that I am a mother. I treasure the memories and love how close we feel to the kids after being together nonstop without all the distractions!
