Ta-Dum!

By the number of comments I have been getting on this blog (um none, haha :) I know everyone is dying to see pictures of our awesome trip to San Deigo! With all seriousness though I do print out these blog posts and it makes for such a great journal. If you all remember my parents Christmas present to all of us this year was an all paid vacation to San Deigo. They rented a beach house that was ocean front and amazing! I loved being able to hear the waves from our bedroom and seeing the ocean everyday. Although I moved when I was young I am still a California girl at heart!

The biggest worry for me before the trip was the 12 hour car ride with 7 kids under the age of 5. We drove down 2 different cars. Janei'a and I were in the same car since we both were nursing and had to make more stops. Of course our spouses were with us as well and Kaia joined our car with the 2 youngest, Danny and Kiri. I can honestly say that I was sooooo nervous about how the babies would do. Danny screams almost every time we put him in a car seat and I was not ready to hear screaming for 12 hours. I was pleasantly surprised when neither baby really cried very much. They had their moments for sure and we did make some extra stops to nurse, but really they were great considering how long they were in car seats!

Arriving in San Diego was very exciting. Of course we all had to check out the amazing beach house and let the kids run around before it was time for bed. We planned for Monday to be a relaxing easy going day. In the morning the girls went grocery shopping while the boys took care of the kids. Than we came back and took the kids to the beach! Of course they all loved it. This was Aspen and Danny's first trip to the beach. Danny enjoyed eating the sand and Aspen loved playing with all her cousins. I was even brave and got in the water and yes it was freezing. Yeah lets just say I am the cool one in the family :)

Tuesday we went to Legoland. It was very close to where we were staying and lots of people told us it was amazing and that it wouldn't be to busy during the holiday season. Not sure what people told us these things because it was pretty busy and to be honest it wasn't as great as everyone said. At Lagoon and even Liberty Land Aspen can go on lots of rides. She is brave and loves them. Well at Legoland, not only are their height restrictions ridiculous they also have age restrictions. There was not 1 ride Aspen could go on. She cried a few times when the older kids were going the rides so we decided to go off and see what they did have that she could do. Although the rides were lame we did find some amazing parks she could play at. We also went to and saw legoland village, which was made of all lego's. It was amazing. My overall opinion of Legoland is that its fun for kids ages 6-10 and even then I don't think its really worth the money. When you go to Disneyland you go for your kids, but there are some fun rides for adults. Well sadly Legoland isn't like that. There are no fun rides for adults, but adults pay full admissions. Sorry Legoland, but you were not all you were cracked up to be. Although the amusement part was sadly lacking, it was a fun environment and really cool to see everything they had built with legos. But all in all I wouldn't recommend it :)

Wednesday we have another chill day. We relaxed at the house in the morning and than it was girl time. We headed out to the mall and got a nice quiet lunch. Than we had a day full of shopping. It was fun to see the different things that malls out of Utah have. I went to h&m for my first time.

Thursday it was time for my favorite part of the trip, SEA WORLD. I went to Sea World when I was little, but I don't remember so it doesn't really count. I love animals, but I especially love sea animals so I was so excited for this part of the trip! Sea World did not disappoint. It was great and I loved every minute of it. For being Christmas it really wasn't to busy and we got to do everything we could imagine. As soon as we got there we ran to the dolphin show just in time to get seats before it started. Aspen was in awe as the dolphins swam through the air. Dolphins have been my favorite animal every since I was a little kid and it was so fun to see them dancing.

From there we took the kids to the rides section and yes Aspen was able to ride them all! She loved it and it really made up for Legoland.

From there we did everything you can imagine. I was very impressed with the detail they put into every show and exhibit. If I haven't said it enough I loved Sea World and I can't wait to go back!!!

Friday was boys day out. They got to do 18 holes at the golf course. While they were out we got to hang out the with kids at the house. We took them to the beach again and just hang out. Than on Saturday we went to see the San Diego Temple. Sadly since it was New Years Day the ground were closed so we were not able to walk on the grounds, but we did get to see it up close still. It was beautiful! After the temple we went to the Mormon Batillon. None of us knew what to expect there, but it was great. I didn't realize the mormons had helped to settle San Diego and it was a great history lesson. The kids even enjoyed it because it was very interactive.

My family is amazing and to spend 8 days with them was the best Christmas present my parents could have given us. We all had so much fun. It was the perfect balance of being busy and active and also being able to relax. When the kids went down to bed we all stayed up and played games and watched movies. We rented Dance Central and got our groove on with the kinect.

We saw some great movies and just enjoyed all being together. Thanks Mom and Dad for some great memories! Here are a few random pictures at the house and the amazing view of the beach!