Adventures from the road

On March 27th my mom, Ella, Bennett and I began our drive to San Diego.  We left bright dark and early and headed for Las Cruces, NM.  I was a little nervous about how the kids would do.  The each had their own DVD player, own canvas bag of goodies and a bag full of snacks.  They did great!  Around 4:15 the first day Bennett had had enough.  We were getting close to El Paso which is where we stopped for dinner at IHOP.  They stretched and ran around and had pancakes for dinner.  We got to Las Cruces at sunset and they went wild in the hotel.  They thought the pull-out sofa bed for Ella was a trampoline!

Day 1

On day 2 they did really well also.  We were down to one DVD player but it worked out just fine.  They got along well and both napped!  We stopped every few hours for a wiggle break and made it to San Diego around 7:30 or so.  I was so proud of my two car travelers.  I couldn't have been more impressed with their car riding skills!  

Once we got to San Diego (Sunday the 28th) we spent the night at my brother & Lauren's.  David was recovering from hip replacement surgery.  He seemed pretty uncomfortable when we arrived but he looked much better than I was expecting.  

The first few days we hung out at my dad's house.  The kids played with Titi (Navi - my sister) and Ella enjoyed the hot tub while I began the process of cleaning out my dad's garage.  I spent two days on this project.  It's no where near finished but I got it started.  You might look in there and say "pack rat" or you might look in there and think, "Call Hoarders immediately!"  Sorry, Auntie Sue, but I'm not lighting any matches....that can be your job :).  My dad might kill me but here's what it looked like when I started:

Here's the work in progress:

Sanford & Sons

The accumulation of trash I collected in two days and a portion for Goodwill.

Enough of that!  Now it's Good Friday.  We head back into town and have lunch with my aunt cousin and her two boys then go to David & Lauren's for dinner.  My mom's sister joined us also.  By Friday David is looking a lot better.

Ella, Auntie Marla & Lauren

Saturday's festivities are in the post below.

Easter Sunday we went to church and then hung out at the house with my dad, Jo and Navi.  It was pretty low key.  Both of the kids were so tired they fell asleep in the car so I hung out in the car with them.  By this time of our trip Bennett was really not liking the pack-n-play.  He was too big for it and they really aren't comfortable.  On Friday he discovered that he can just climb out of it!  There went napping.  Not good because he actually really needs naps so that meant he napped in the car the rest of the trip.  Fun for me!

Easter Basket Time!

Ready for church

On Monday we headed back down to my brother's so I could drop off the kids and meet an old high school friend for lunch.  We had fun catching up despite the dreary rainy day.  On Tuesday Lauren & I took the kids to the zoo on a beautiful day!  Here are a couple pictures to highlight the day.  There was a baby koala but my pictures are blurry.

If you've seen Madagascar you'll recognize these guys!

Bennett loved this playground.  He went up and down this slide for at least 15 min.  He'd go up the stairs and wait in line.  Such a big boy!

They both enjoyed the petting zoo.  Ella was very gentle with the animals while Bennett ran all over the place yelling BAA to everyone and every animal.  It was quite funny.  He's quite enthusiastic!  

On the way to the pandas Bennett fell asleep in the stroller.  He missed the panda and polar bears.

Cute baby panda

The new polar exhibit is so neat.  I think this was my favorite part.  I was holding Ella up so she could see.  The smaller polar came up onto the rock and they started playing.  It looked like they might have kissed (or they could have just been playing) and Ella said, "Look mommy they love each other!"  It was so sweet, even the lady next to me commented how sweet Ella was.

I just love this last picture.  That bear is huge!

The following day we went to Oceanside beach in the afternoon (I wanted Bennett to nap on the way, of course).  Last summer Ella only wanted to play in the sand and Bennett loved the water.  This time Ella finally decided to touch the water.  Once she touched it she was all for it!  The only problem was Navi wasn't feeling well so she wasn't getting wet and my dad and Jo were not in swim suits and I forgot mine at home in Dallas.  Dad and Jo were such good sports, especially Jo.  Ella was about ready to go jump the waves.  Next time, Ella.

Her first time to touch the water with her feet!

Again, again!

Opps!  So much excitement and we all fall down!

The beautiful sunset from the pier.  We were eating at Ruby's and I rant out to get a shot of this.  The sky was just so pretty.  It's also the last picture I took of the trip.

The kids did remarkably well on the way home as well but the drive sure did feel longer.  I think everyone was ready to be home and get back to their own routine.  It was so nice to see so much family and especially nice to see my brother after surgery.  I'm so proud of him.  He's doing so well in such a short time.  He even walked without a crutch or cane before we left and he and Lauren even went and bought a car!  Crazy kids :)

All in the all the trip was much easier than I expected but it's pretty safe to say that the next time we go visit it'll be by airplane!  Thanks for inviting us, mom, and adding two days on to your trip.