San Diego Trip Part 1- Ivins, Los Angeles, and Oceanside

I'm baaa-aaack!  After a 6 month hiatus I am ready to blog again!  I have decided I will start with our most recent event, and then do a 6 month review for each child.  I'm excited to keep documenting our life this way!

So we just got back from a vacation in San Diego.  It was perfect and I'm so grateful we were able to do it!  Eric and I have been takling about taking the kids there for a few years now, and then when his company flew us there in February I fell in love with Mission Beach and we decided to make it happen!  In February I ran 10 miles up and down and around Mission Beach one day and I thought it was just the coolest place.  only 4 blocks wide, surrounded by the beach and the bay?  Yes please!  I wanted so bad to stay in a cute condo by the beach and just go to the beach every day, but I didn't know if we would be able to afford it.  Luckily there's airbnb and we found a great deal 2 blocks down a cute little path from the beach!  Yay!  And we did go to the beach every single day!

So here's the first part of our trip. 

Saturday night we went to Ivins and played with the Cravens!  And ate delicious food and stayed up late talking to Katrina and Phillip.  A good time was had by all!  The kids get along great, and my older girls think their littler cousins are so cute so they like to play with them.
Sunday morning we went to church and then hit the road!

Have I mentioned I hate travelling on Sunday?  Everyone bemoaned my lack of packing good snacks, so finally when Emma couldn't take it any more we stopped at a Wendy's to stretch and get a snack.

We finally made it to Derek and Raycelan's house just in time for dinner!  We had missed them!!  It was so fun to see them and talk forever and see where they live and meet their huge dog and see how we have all changed a little but are still basically the same and comfortable. 

They pretty much live in the garden of Eden!  In a walk-out basement apartment, it's awesome.

Maris was terrified of their Great Dane, Lily, so she stayed in this area haha.  But later she warmed up to her a little with her beloved Derek and Raycelan's encouragement!  Emma loved Lily, because she LOVES dogs!

Monday morning after more fun visiting, we left Los Angeles in search of our beach paradise!  We couldn't check in until 4pm, so we hit the beach in Oceanside!  woo-hoo!

 The girls were introduced to Boogie Boarding there and fell in love!!!  Except for the big rocks at this beach, ouch.  But seriously all it took was riding one wave for them to be hooked, and after an hour Katelyn wanted to move to southern California lol!  They would spend hours each day boogie boarding, with me and Eric taking turns going out with them or going just the two of them.  I am so happy and proud!  I LOVE boogie boarding and the ocean is part of me, the California girl!  So I am happy to pass that on.

 We ate lunch at a delicious Ty's Burger House, that I had to beg Eric to go to and we were so glad we went.  SO good. And they had this adorable back patio to eat on!

Next we went to the San Diego temple!  It was beautiful.  I remember going to the open house there when I was 10 or 11.

Maris by some pinky flowers :)

Lastly we hit up a Costco with an outdoor eating area, wild!  It's nice enough weather most of the time so they can have that??!? So great.  And finally we checked into our home for the week!