San Diego

A few months back Anita asked if I'd be interested in coming to San Diego to watch her two kiddos for her so she could have a mini-vacation with Nate in Chicago.  Of course!!!  Yes, I went from 1 to 3 kids in a snap, but I also got to spend an awesome 7 days with my adorable Katie and Jack.  Here's a recap of all of our adventures.

(Sorry in advance for the picture overload!)

Saturday:

Benjamin and I traveled from Portland to Sacramento then Sacramento to San Diego.  Benjamin did great on the flights as always.  We arrived in the evening, were delighted to see everyone, ate some yummy Italian, celebrated Jack's 2nd birthday, got the house tour/routine info from Anita and Nate and then went to bed.  Anita and Nate took off around 5:30am Sunday morning! 

Sunday:

All the kids were pretty tired from our late bedtimes but we all made it to church together where everyone was very well behaved.  In the afternoon we all took naps, then played together in the evening.  Perfect first day together!

Monday:

Today we kept ourselves busy with pudding paint followed by a bath (Ben's first time in the big tub), Chick-Fil-A and the mall playground.  I was looking forward to the chicken sandwiches and waffle fries :-)

Tuesday:

You can't be in San Diego and NOT go to the beach so off we went.  It was a bit of a challenge with 3 kiddos, a packed lunch, bag of sand toys and a diaper bag/backpack....but it was sooo worth it.  It was a beautiful day with very few people out.  Later, after naps, we took the big kid's bikes to the park to ride around and play on all the playground equipment.  Fun day!

Wednesday:

In the morning we took off to the local library for their storyhour.  We also checked out some books/movies, played with their puppets and read some stories.  We played during the afternoon then took Katie to her first night of Awana that evening.  The boys and I ran a few errands then played while waiting for her to finish up.

Thursday:

We ventured out to the San Diego Wild Animal Park today!  It was another gorgeous day (it was all week!) and we had a great time.  No one really napped today so we also squeezed in some playtime in the sprinkler/water table and watched Curious George.

Friday:

Today we had a morning at home with some Baby Einstein, toys, and Play-Doh.  Katie and I painted during the boys' nap, the kids all laughed hysterically at each other during lunch and we headed to the mall to buy some new Mickey and Minnie pajamas from the Disney store and have more playtime in the mall playground.

Saturday:

Our last day without the parents!  So today we headed out to another park (this time it was the Sand Park).  We played outside together in the afternoon then after dinner, we took off for the beach again.  There's nothing like the San Diego beach at sunset....beautiful!!  Another bath to cap off the night....the kiddos were excited for their Mommy & Daddy to be on their way home.

Sunday:

Anita and Nate arrived early this morning (1am) and Katie and Jack were so excited!  We all headed to church in the morning, grabbed McD's in the drive-thru then headed off to Sea World for the afternoon.  We took in a few shows, played in the playground area, then finished the night stuffing ourselves at Cheesecake Factory and watching the Bourne Supremacy while the kids slept.  It was great to spend time with Anita and Nate!

Monday:

Our flight home wasn't until the afternoon so we had a low-key morning full of laundry, un-packing for Anita and re-packing for me.  The kids had a few more hours of playtime together.  We flew through Oakland and Benjamin slept the entire first flight and part of the second.  He was SOOOOOO excited to see his Daddy when we got to Portland.  He wouldn't stop smiling, it was adorable.  I was SO excited to see Peter too, I sure did miss him.  It was great to be home.

Tuesday:

This technically isn't part of the San Diego trip, but it was the "ending".  Peter took the day off so we could spend time together as a family.  Sweet, sweet, sweet Anita had arranged for me to have a 90 minute, yes 90 minute, massage.  It was heavenly (thanks Anita!!!).  We had lunch, ran a few errands, then just enjoyed time together.  It was exactly what I needed with the husband I missed.

My week is San Diego was both incredibly FUN and incredibly TIRING.  You pretty much went like crazy all hours of the day (especially when Benjamin didn't sleep great and the kids don't nap at the same time) but I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat and will always cherish the precious memories I made.  Benjamin loves his Katie and Jack (and Anita and Nate) as I always have.  We're looking forward to seeing them again soon!!