Oceanside, Cali

For Fall Break this year we squeezed in a quick trip to the beach, Oceanside California. I sure did feel like a parent in many aspects...as we were constantly feeding, packing water in a stroller for thirsty boys and disciplining in public.

Day One: packed up our tight fitted Highlander. Levi was a MESS driving with for the 6 + hours it took to arrive. Granted, we did stop in Yuma for some lunch and several potty breaks on the side of the road, but our GPS took us the LOOOONG way to the hotel. Seriously! Levi ended up nursing and sleeping on me in the front seat. Made me SOOO nervous, but we could only handle his screaming after 30 minutes until we caved in and let him loose. We arrived at the local Wal Mart to do some shopping for our food. The boys were starving and we got some necessities; yogurts, milk, eggs, tortillas and lunch meat. I remember feeling out of place as we all had on flip flops (fresh from AZ heat) and everyone else had on long pants and jackets.

Day Two: Played in the sunshine and then hit up the local Mario's Donut Shop. INCREDIBLE donuts to say the least. Jared's traditional "Daddy Donut Date" was a hit with the boys. They love having their treat with dad, and I just loved sinking my teeth into the homemade goodness. I am still craving one!

We went to the San Diego Safari Zoo for the day (while we waited for the Boley's to arrive). Admission was free for kids during the month. It was such a huge area with animals roaming freely amongst each other. We loved seeing the natural beauty of these safari animals! I carried Levi the ENTIRE time b/c we hadn't prepared with a carrier. Good thing he is still under 14 lbs and a good baby. The weather was perfect, the boys were hyper and had an occasional meltdown. We were prepared with tortilla wraps and snacks, and I hope they will remember what it was like to see a real Cheetah racing, or a rino hanging out with the giraffes.

Met up with the Boley's for some pizza. Took a walk on the boardwalk. Chilly weather, beautiful waves, intimidating dark pier (I was afraid the boys would fall over the edge!), crazy teenagers running a muck and my favorite dulce de leche frozen yogurt.

Day Three: Went to an LDS church meeting. Took up an entire row with all 8 boys and 4 parents. Then... OCEAN! SAND! SUN! Played hard all day on the beach. Took naps in the chairs. Lots of pictures and boogie boarding. FREEZING water (not like I would know! I stayed dry with Levi on my lap). Leslie's yummy Chicken White Bean Chili for dinner after a splash in the hot tub to warm up. Talking until 10pm. SO FUN.

Day Four: Morning fun at the ocean, until lunch time. Quickly ate some left overs, packed and cleaned up the condo, sprayed off the boys from all their sand and headed back to AZ. A long drive back with a crying baby Levi, and a miscommunication with Jared and I over his phone charger...and lots of DVD's for the boys in the back seat.

Road trips are awesome! I feel so lucky to take the boys on vacation and I really like parenting with Jared amidst all the crazy ups and downs and free flowing schedules :)










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