- “Duckies, Mom…Duckies…water…duckies!” I think we heard these words about a thousand times because of the 5 two year olds who LOVED watching the duckies…all day long!
- Alayna said, “Mom, what did Papi look like when he was not old?”
- Lazy River tubes no longer cost money…in years past we would have to pay $1 for a tube…not a steep price, but who remembers to bring money to the pool? Not us, so this year it was exciting because they were FREE!
- La Jolla Beach – It was spectacular the sun was setting. Jared needed to run to the restroom so he said, “Di, your in charge of Jacob in the stroller.” I thought nothing of it so I held on to the stroller. The sun had set and I was standing around with Krista and Angela with their monkeys. As minutes passed we turned around to hear Conner screaming from the bathroom… “Did you know Jacob is running away?” As I held on to the stroller I looked down to find an empty seat! Yeah, little Jake ran off…This was not a surprise because he is so dang fast. But I assumed he was buckled. I was wrong. Thankfully, Grady had the feeling a little kid was missing. So he walked around till he found him at the bathroom. What a blessing. Really, I was just in complete shock that he ran away, that none of us standing there saw him run, and that we found him. Truly he could have run to the ocean, the street, etc. It was truly a miracle. That’s when I am grateful I said my prayers that morning to watch over my kids.
- Queen B – drum roll…Krista wins the award or title Queen Bee because she some how was finagled her way of not driving, not doing dishes – all week long, getting off the hook for her cooking duties, etc. Really she lucked in so many ways that it became a joke. Some how I cooked her breakfast meal so she could go running! She knows how to work the system.
- Pat and Oscars…www.breadsticks.com. YUM! It’s a family tradition to go to this restaurant in Temecula. Nothing is better than these breadsticks. Oh, my mouth is drooling just thinking about them!
- La Presidente…drum roll…Shandra wins this title because all things must pass through her first! Sleeping arrangements, fun activities, and we can’t forget the FOOD. We really need her help, but it was fun to hold her responsible for everything!
- Last night dinner at Costco…we had spent all week cooking fabulous meals (breakfast, lunch and yes, dinner!) So we decided to take the night off and each spend $10 to pick out a freezer meal or appetizer from Costco…what turned out being a cheap idea quickly added up! You have to love Costco!
- Sleeping 27 people for one night at my aunt and uncles house in Temecula. Sad to say our family is growing SO big…we had 5 porter cribs filled with the 2 year olds, each room was covered with sleeping bags, air mattresses. Even though the sleeping arrangements are hilarious we have SO much fun spending time with them. We just like to remind them how clean and large their house is with out such a HUGE crowd!
- What do you do when someone gives you a restaurant recommendation? Well, I think you should turn and run when you hear the words… “Cheap Chinese food in a strip mall!” Let’s just say we have learned our lesson!!
- If we ever asked any of the kids… “What is your favorite part about the vacation?” You would hear a resounding… “SWIMMING!” All the kids LOVED swimming, day after day!
- Jacob’s vocabulary taking off…or getting stuck on nothing other than… “Temple, mom…M-roni…Mom, Temple…M-roni Go?” Yeah, he even woke up from sleeping in the car asking for where the “Temple…M-roni” went. He was able to see St. George and San Diego Temples on this trip.
- Meal time…Oh, where do we even begin on this one. Let’s just say it was fend for your self and don’t get there last or else all the food was gone! Who would have guessed that the five two year olds eat as much as any adult at breakfast time? Krista and I forgot to video tape a meal time…it was loud, noisy, and just plain out hilarious. Let’s just say my parents would retreat to their bedroom to eat because the insanity was off the charts!!!
- Eating at Baja Fresh…Bring on the Fresh Grilled Mahi Fish Tacos with spicy avocado sauce! YUMMY!!!
- Ground level vs. 4th floor? It was an emotional discussion but we finally got our sleeping arrangements figured out. Thanks dad for being so calm with your four very emotional girls. It doesn’t help that two of us are pregnant! Or the fact that we had 5 two year olds who could possibly drown in a 5 ft man made lake! Dangerous…I’d say!
- Meeting Abigail Johnson…It is always so much fun spending time with Johnson and Stevie. But above all meeting their 3 week old little girl. So much fun!
- Kiddie pool…all the babies took turns being “tipsy” for some reason it just soothed the kids that they couldn’t stand up straight. So each baby was rescued a handful to times from drowning.
- “Mom, Jakey HOT!” We would hear screams from the back seat when ever even a small amount of sunshine would hit Jake. He did NOT like to be HOT!
- “Mom..Grandma Lou found me a BOLOGNA shell” Alayna exclaimed… “A what shell?” I said… “A Bologna one!” I think she meant to say an abalone shell.
- Watching Jacob run wild on the beach. He LOVED the ocean and running into the waves. This kid could have stayed day after day there. He started out clothed and then he’d be naked running in his diaper. The cold water didn’t even phase him. It was adorable.
- Lunch times…equaled a break from the sunshine…and 5 sleeping toddlers. Oh, it was peaceful time where we got to sit out on the patio and just talk. And eat TONS of treats…the top hit was chocolate covered raisins from Costco.
- Not sharing our “sleeve”… for those that don’t know what a “sleeve” is it’s an entire sleeve of Oreos. We had to divide the BIG box from Costco so we wouldn’t have to share. We don’t do this well when it comes to Oreos. YUM.
- A trip to California wouldn’t be complete with out morning and night games of tennis…or “tennie” as Jacob would call it. On this trip I gave up on trying to play tennis…I am so horrible and uncoordinated that it really was torture. So I gave up and watched the food network instead.
- Day after day wishing I could go running with Jared and Krista. Not fair!
- Loving having cable…Food Network for the ladies…Politics for my mom…and Business channels for my dad and Grady…Sports for Jared… Having cable would really be a treat!
I think that I could go on and on because after so many days of vacation we really had such a great time. (Fam...help me remember other things if I forgot some!) Thanks again Mom and Dad for making this happen so often! What a blessing…we are spoiled to vacation so often and to have such a great family to spend time with! Even though our family continues to grow we realize the changes that need to happen to make next year even better! We can’t wait till our next trip.
