California Vacation I

James doesn't say no to a good deal, and I don't say no to vacation.  When he put out a request for the 4 Seasons in Carlsbad, for half the points, we had to figure out a way to go when it hit!  Southern California was the ideal vacation.  It was the perfect balance of planned activities and lazy vacation with some family and friend rendezvous mixed in.  Did I mention the weather was absolutely perfect?  I was almost convinced to pick up and move to California instead of Murphy.  I would never want to leave all my family in Texas though!

We flew to San Diego Sunday, and my parents were already at the Speeds' house (one of our best family friends growing up), so we drove over to San Clemente to joint them.  We walked down to a nearby park to play and then Cindy spoiled us with delicious fish tacos and peach cobbler with homemade ice cream.  I got to see Stephanie, her husband Dave, her girls Phoebe and Sunday, and Carrie showed up later with her little boy Van.  I wish this family was closer because I love them!

 We're not used to sand at every park, so the kids were thrilled!

We drove to the resort that night, and it definitely exceeded our expectations.  I'm not sure we fit in, but we sure enjoyed every bit of it!  My parents joined us for most of the trip, and Dad kept making jokes like, "It's too bad it's just 1 degree too cool!"  

Hazel and Grayson loved the kids' club, and the helpers loved our kids too.  They even brought them gifts one day just because they were so cute!  I would say Grayson's favorite part was the sports area right outside our rooms.  Every time we walked outside, Grayson would say, "Ba, ba, ba" (ball) before we even got to the top of the stairs.  The kid went nuts every time he saw the balls, and he loved throwing them all over the parking lot.

The grass in the "backyard" was up to Grayson's knees.  He didn't mind one bit.

Monday we let Grayson have a good nap and then headed out to the beach.  It was the kids' first time at a beach, and they loved it.  Hazel got to build sand castles and Grayson got to throw sand everywhere.  The water was too cold for me, but James got in and let Hazel enjoy it a bit too.  

And here was our nice, free, blend-right-in photographer/videographer.

Tuesday we went to the San Diego Zoo!  Our kids love animals, so there was no way we were missing one of the best zoos in the country.  Although we've been to several other zoos, we've never seen koalas or pandas, so that made it really fun!  What I loved most was that we could see a lot of the animals more closely here than we have at other zoos.  

Wednesday was a more low key day of swimming, napping, and the San Diego Botanical Gardens.  The Botanical Garden had some really cute, interactive kid areas and, of course, tons of unique plants, flowers, and fruit trees, etc.  Hardly anyone was there, so we really enjoyed our surprisingly fun, quiet activity!  

Love these banana boys!