Weekend Update: Fall and Sun!

Happy Monday, my friends. How was your weekend? Our was good, especially after a tough week last week (more on that tomorrow), we needed a few days to relax.

So relax, we did. Starting with a family movie and pizza night Friday. We watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, Chipwrecked, and picked up a $6 large pizza from Little Cesar's, made a picnic on the living room floor and enjoyed the night together.

Saturday morning, we lazed around, did a little grocery shopping, went for run, put some boys down for nap, then in the afternoon headed to Carmel Valley for some sunshine.

Future heart-breakers of America. Honestly. How much trouble are those blues going to give me in the future?

 We opted for Georis Happy Hour: $5 glasses of wine, free apps, lots of room for the kids to run, sunshine? Perfection.

 This is Bennett's poop face. And a meatball on a stick.

Things you needed to see, right?

 An older lady came up to us during the course of the evening and told us it was so good to see well- behaved children. This is the nicest thing you can tell a parent, but of course we had to question her judgement as later we put the boys 'in jail'.

 And then Cullen started eating his toys.

 Maybe it was their sweetness that convinced the lady that they are well behaved?

 Or the mullet. The mullet is pretty distracting.

 Hm. Well behaved? Or hilarious peanut butter mustache?

 Either way, I appreciated her kind words and the sunshine in Carmel Valley.

We ended our Saturday with cocktails with the neighbors and Saturday football highlights.

Sunday morning started bright and early with this little man and me:

 And then continued at Gizdich Ranch for a little fall celebration.

 The sun was out when we woke up (a rarity around here) so we opted to skip Mass and have a Creation Appreciation Day.

Fresh Apple Pie? Don't mind if I do.

 We went here last year too, can you believe how big the boys have gotten?

Some naps, a dinner dropped off to friends who recently had a baby, an 8 mile run by Kev, bath, dinner and Once Upon a Time, then the weekend was over.

Just what we needed.

Happy October!

And while you are clicking through blogs today, will you give some love to Martha, as she explains life as a war-wife and Jenn, who just saw her husband leave for Afganistan? They could use your uplifting words!

Linked to:

Weekend Update

Cullen Got a Haircut

 Bennett did not.

 Long live the baby mullet!

(This is what was so funny.)

Gross.

But how can you stop that kind of laughter?

***

Happy Weekend, my friends. Hope you find the good in every moment!

The End

Eventually the best week ever had to end, but not before we packed in several more things.

Like Sea World

 And a walk through the Hotel Del. The plan was to also stop have a drink, but unfortunately, it was very crowded and the big grassy area between the bar and the beach is off limits. Try explaining that to two little boys. But I am glad we at least saw it.

 So instead it was more beach time.

Bennett is so unafraid of the ocean, we often refer to him as a sea turtle since soon as you take him out of the water, he turns around to try and go back in. This week, Cullen shortened it to "Sea Turt", which sounded more like "Sea Turd" and ended up being his latest nickname. I realize we shouldn't call our kid a Turd, but when he is determined to dive into the Pacific and I just want to lay on a towel with a cold beer and a book, it is pretty spot on.

 We love you, Sea Turd.

 The last night, we enjoyed the sunset from the balcony

 And I decided to get into a picture. Thanks for the sweet faces, boys.

 Then we put the boys to bed, opened another a bottle of wine and ordered dinner from a nice resturant in Coronado using the services Waiters To Go (hey, we will do anything for a date, even if its from our hotel room) and reflected on the perfect week we had.

Friday was a verrrry long 8 hour push home.

And by then, it was good to be back.

Thanks for putting up with me sharing every detail of this trip- it is one we want to remember forever!

Happiness: Continued

Are you tired of hearing about how much I loved last week? Hope not, because I still have a lot to share.

Like this:

Nothing in the world makes me happier than my family. Don't think for a second that I am not eternally grateful for them.

***

However, happiness also finds itself in a family suite style hotel room on the beach. We are in a tough stage with the boys right now where it is nearly impossible to stay in a regular hotel room unless we want to hang out in the bathroom when they go to sleep at 7:30.

North Island Navy Lodge to the rescue.

Here is the view from our balcony looking in: Living Room (with a pullout couch), kitchen (two burner stove and a dishwasher), pantless baby.

Enter bedroom: Bunkbeds, Queen bed, unseen crib across from the bed for Pantless Baby.

Breakfast nook. Pantless baby.

$125 a night. Military friends, get on it.

If I haven't convinced you yet, here is the pool area.

 And minutes away, Balboa Park, where we spent Wednesday morning.

 The boys loved the Model Train Museum.

 Afterwards we headed to Mama Testa from some authentic Mexican food.





 Yum.

Then back to the hotel for some naps, a little beach time and the sunset.

 

 And then we decided to book an extra night.

Our Trip, The First Part

I've started this post a few times now, but I just don't know where to begin.

Our vacation was amazing.

 I took hundreds of pictures.

They are all amazing. 

I fell in love with San Diego.

It is amazing.

So I'll just start with my favorite picture (besides the one I posted last week).

Look at those three. Good stuff, I tell you.

The trip started early Sunday morning. We decided to drive halfway to Santa Barbara and the way down looked a little something like this.

Four hours later, we arrived in the beautiful city of Santa Barbara.

 It has a very similar feel to Monterey, except it was warm, and all the buildings matched, which I loved.

I was able to tour the Santa Barbara Mission alone while Kev took the boys to run around in a nearby field and I loved seeing this part of my faith's and California's history.

 After lunch and a bit more walking around, we hopped back in the car about 45 minutes south to Oxnard, CA for an overnight stay. We didn't think about it ahead of time, but this was the boys first stay in a hotel room and one little guy was certainly feeling it.

 The next morning was another 3 hour trip straight to the San Diego Zoo.

Be thankful for a military discount and pretending Cullen is not yet 3- although impressive, this zoo was pretty expensive.

 The boys loved every bit.

Out of the car. Yippie!

 Afterward, we crossed over to Coronado to our hotel on the Naval Base.

 Ah-mazing.

More on that Tuesday.