Warning: This post contains more pictures than you ever wanted to see unless you are one of my children, who are completely enthralled with their own image on the computer screen.
We had such a nice vacation (if you don't count the first night when H was up from 2-4:30 in the middle of the night, crying, "Mom bed! Mom bed!" and then when Sweetie was crying because, after shuffling around the sleeping arrangements, H was trying to kick her out of the bed that he, she, and I were sharing. He eventually won. She cried some more when we moved her to the floor.) But I'm not counting that night.
For the first half, we vacationed with just our little family in Carlsbad and San Diego. We stayed in the Hilton Garden Inn on Carlsbad Beach, and we loved it! Everything from their swimming pool (with complimentary otter pops) to the nightly cookies at the front desk to the beach location, to the shuttle to take us to the better beach 2 miles down, to the fireplace in the gardens, to the comfy beds and blackout curtains that helped us all sleep to a record 9:30 the morning after the "Mom bed!" fiasco,to the in-room fridge and microwave so we could save money and eat breakfasts/lunches in the room or in the gardens, and to the family movies overlooking the beach (they provided the blankets and popcorn).
We had plenty of beach time. We also ate good seafood and Mexican food in Old Town San Diego. We rented bikes and biked around Coronado Island. We tried to go tidepooling but Point Loma was closed (boo!). And we spent a day at Sea World, along with what seemed like everyone else in Carlsbad.
For the second half of the trip, we made our way up to Newport Beach and joined the rest of the extended P family in a beach house. The kids absolutely loved hanging out with their cousins. We took a quick break from the beach to visit Grandma Shirley at a park. We had a great time and are so grateful for good in-laws/parents who did so much work to make the vacation relaxing and fun. It was good to reconnect with family.
