labor day in Cali

Every end summer we head to Southern California. I was counting down the days to take this vacation with my kids, enjoy the beach, the sun, have fun etc...and thankfully we did have a great time! My only hang up on this trip was the weather. I was hoping to get some sun, enjoy the warmth, and it was cold! Gloomy 5 out of the 6 days we were there. We had one day reach the 80 degree mark but the rest were in the 60's. Being from Las Vegas, we consider that COLD for this time of year, and especially for the beach! I was so bummed out about the weather. I have to say this did affect my love for Southern Cali. It just doesn't hold that special place in my heart anymore, and Talia didn't help as she is at the hardest age to travel and doesn't do well in hotels. She is a sleep well in her own crib, only nap in her own crib, type of gal. But aside from Talia and the weather we did manage to have a good time. A big reason for the good time is because we have some awesome friends from school down there that we love to catch up with, and also the kids had a blast at the beach, they don't care if it is freezing as long as they are playing in sand and water. I have a lot of pictures to post because I always do for trips.

Andrew feeding the fish at Fashion Island...a must.

Drove down to San Diego Old town to see the Mormon Battalion which was AMAZING!

No one was in our tour so the kids got to dress up as a soldier and pioneer. I'm loving Talia in a bonnet.

 After the tour, the kids got to mine for gold, which was their favorite part. This place is so cool, it was like an amusement park. If you are in San Diego, you have to go!

 Talia and the beach...and sand everywhere...

sand  all over her face as she tried to eat it multiple times

playing in the sand

happy Andrew

 sifting through sand for shells was something the kids loved!

Don't mind Talia, she is just walking away from us at a fast pace to try and catch the seagull

Andrew's many sand castles

BBQ at Wheelers...and the kids playing!

Looking at all of our kids playing together brought back memories of me as a child playing with my parents friends and how much fun I used to have...it made me wonder if Andrew would think the same one day.

(Pictured: Talia, Mandy Wheeler and Paul Christensen) Mandy and Jason hosted an amazing BBQ and Paul, Chelsea, and the kids came up from San Diego to hang out for the weekend. We had a blast hanging out!

Paul, Clay, Andy, and Jason

breakfasts in the hotel while watching TV, wish I could be my kids at times.

Like I said, it was chilly and we didn't come prepared. Notice Talia's outfit, it went from a dress to hurry and find some of the only pants we brought to warm her legs. Here we are at Corona Del Mar with Clay and Cheryl's kids, Peyton and Gavin.

One thing I have noticed is anytime you find a cool spot on the beach you have to climb a lot of stairs once you leave, it's just the price you pay. So worth it though.

This trip really was nice despite my earlier hang ups. We saw great friends, had wonderful family time and ate like no other. I loved that we decided not to do a park this time around, we came so close to going to legoland but decided to just try and relax and save it for another time.

I love my family...and friends :)