Memories of San Diego

 

Alright friends, I'm not gonna lie. It's actually June 19th, 2023 and I'm just now creating a post for July of 2018...  Five years ago. 

My babies are now 16, 15, and 9... and are actually entirely different human beings than they were in these pictures.  Amazing human beings without a doubt - but not the people I'm reflecting on in these photos. Raising children is amazing. They are here and they are sort of the same.. but really not at all the same. It's difficult to wrap my brain around it. 

Regardless, this was a fabulous trip we took to San Diego when the boys were 4, 10, and 11. One of our first big trips as a family of 5. I believe it was Luke's first time in an airplane. We did all the things, and really had a fabulous time.

After our long flight over there, we made our first stop at the beach in La Jolla.  The kids needed to get some energy out.  I love (and miss) the way the ocean can light up a kids face... something about being chased by waves...

So much goodness all over these faces.

We made our way up the beach to where the sea lions can typically be found (and smelled) basking in the sun...

Back when they were friends...

The next day we made a quick stop at Starbucks before going to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

I love Luke's look and his whole demeanor this day...  perfect little safari monkey 💙

Seeing the kangaroo was one of the great highlights... what cool creatures they are.

Credits to Daddy for the photos below... he finds great joy in having our kids pose with ALL the things at these parks 😂

💙💙💙

The other highlight of the Safari Park (for me) was watching the kids feed these Lorikeets. Such cool birds.

Our next adventure was Lego Land. The kids had the best time trading their Lego characters with the staff at the park...  didn't even matter if they were trading up, just the anticipation of maybe landing something cooler was all the excitement they needed.

This still makes me laugh out loud!

Sam and Charlie went on this cool ride that spun around and flipped them upside down .. you can see the laughter.

Luke wanted to ride (I suspect this would be his first "big kid" ride)..  He had to do it in "beginner" mode...   and it was AWFUL! It literally lifted them, moved to the left, moved to the right.  Total joke.  But he saw the laughs and screams from his brother moments before, so he had to replicate it. We all cracked up...!

Great photo ops with the characters.

Some more beach time the next day.

Charlie taking care of Luke out in the water 💙

The next day, we made the long-ish drive up to LA to see the Dodgers Play the Rockies at Dodger Stadium.

💙💙 Charlie

I love these faces 💙💙

It was Kids' Day at the park and the boys got to run the bases.  Richie had the scoop up some dirt from Dodgers Stadium, which still resides in our closet five-years later. 

On our last day there, we started our day over at The Fig Tree, which had quickly become one of our favorite breakfast places ever - and was conveniently located right across the street.  Bananas Foster pancakes to die for... plus all the omelette goodness one can find in Southern California..  it was perfection.

Then traveled to Point Loma Peninsula, which offered scenic views, short hikes, and fun climbing rocks.

The concentration of this kid...  I could eat him up.

And then our final day.. traveling back home.

What a fabulous trip this was!

I painfully miss the days our kids thought it was cool to be on trips with us... I look forward to the day we see those happy, energetic faces again. It will come - I just know it!