Wilson Family Vacation

With Jared's work schedule, baby coming soon and my traveling conditions limited....we took a family vacation the day school got out and headed to California!

Thank goodness for the portable DVD player that we invested in. Even though Scooby Doo, Alvin, Teenage Mutant Turtles and Superheroes drive me crazy, it's better than listening to the arguments and pure boredom that breaks loose between the boys. Enough said.

Our travel went smoothly, with a trip to Subway and the grocery store to get some food for the weekend. We stayed with Tino and Tatia Metzger, our friends of a few years from DirectBuy. Jared used to stay with them back and forth when he commuted from Burbank,CA to Surprise, AZ. They were very kind to have our family there and we did what we could to be low key.

Day #1: The beach!
We hit the local Ralph's to get stocked up on lunch supplies; tortillas, meat, chips, fruit, etc. The beach was only 25 min. away, next to an airport. We got to see the huge airliners take flight...boy were they LOUD and awesome.

We came well prepared with camping chairs, towels, ice chests (no ice needed b/c it was cold) and beach toys. It's like camping but with water and sun. So much preparation!
The boys were great helpers.

It was not crowded, especially for a Saturday. Just fantastic.

Tino and Tatia staying out of the sun.
The first touches of sand were fun for all of us...super cool and wet.

This is as close to the water that Isaac got. It was FREEZING.


Notice the bellies: big, smaller, "4 pack" (as Wesley calls it).


Salty....brrr....
Then the little crabs were discovered....

They were disgusting, like cockroaches.
Isaac agreed!
I stayed dry and full clothed.


Time to start burying them alive!

What a cute picture...Isaac was NOT happy about it.



Sand, sand and more sand.

After the beach, we went to Jared's favorite Greek Cafe. He was dissapointed in the new menu and lack of flavor that he remembered from a year ago. Oh well.
Showering off that sand and sunburn. This face is hilarious!
I love that Jared can shower with all the boys while I just prep with towels and undies.
With only a base tan and 15 SPF sunscreen, we all got pretty red. I felt terrible as a mom! The boys didn't complain and I slathered on the aloe vera.
Day #2 "More than Waffles." A local restaurant dedicated to breakfast, we wanted to try it out! The boys enjoyed the fountain nearby as we waited for seats. We explained the whole "Make a wish" idea and they thought it was pretty cool. Austin wished to be an Army man. Wesley wished to be a Boxer. Isaac just tossed his in and touched the water.
Just call me Racoon with a farmer tan. I enjoyed a vegetarian omelet (salt!!!) and Austin loves bacon and whipped cream (not together).
Wesley dug into his blueberry waffles, an adult portion of course.
After breakfast, we hit up the California Science Museum. I wanted to go somewhere fun, but inexpensive and indoors (since we needed to recover from our sunburns). We did Disney and Legoland a few years ago, and we have no real desire to return still!

We found free parking along the street in LA (b/c it was Sunday) and the admission was FREE, just paid for our cool IMAX.
The IMAX was called, "Born in the Wild." Elephants and Orangatuns that were rescued as orphans and then raised by nursery's to go back into the wild. Great stories and pictures. Isaac didn't put on his glasses, not sure how he lasted the whole movie.

Running around was a favorite.
This shows the heat within a human body. Can you find each person?
The boys played with the tops, and Wesley of course was very competitive with those around him.


After a full day at the museum, we hit up Lala's, an Argentina restaurant. DELICIOSO. The boys got impatient (Isaac had an embarrassing meltdown), while waiting for food.
Well worth the wait, the grease and calories digested. Milanesa Napolitana, papas fritas, empanadas, pure de papas, limon, etc. If only I could eat like this EVERYDAY.

A cute shot on the walk back to the car.
Day #3
Last day before heading back to reality. We hit up the beach one last time. Jared was so good about changing nasty diapers...Isaac just chilled in the sand.
Isaac stayed away from the water this time around, just enjoying the sand and sun.
We knew better than to get the trunks wet this time around...it was only 65 degrees, but the boys still dug into the sand and got their feet wet.


I stayed fully dressed again and snuggled my sweet baby b/c it was chilly!
When we got back, we all were FRUIT and VEGGIE deprived from eating out so much! So, I went a little crazy at Sprouts, and Wesley put together a beautiful ensemble of fruit :) We do love to eat healthy.

Happy Vacation boys! So glad we could share the weekend together as a family :)