First Ever Family Camping Trip

Sunday night we went on our first ever family camping trip.  We headed to Hurkey Creek Campground up in Mountain Center near Idyllwild.  We went on a Sunday night because the campground was full for the weekend by the time I tried to make reservations.  There were maybe 4 other spots filled that night so we basically had the place to ourselves.  It was nice and peaceful although camping when its busy would also be a good experience. 

The temperatures were really cold, dropping to 37 degrees in the wee hours of the morning but we came prepared with lots of layers and extra blankets to cover our sleeping bags.  I didn't take a single picture of our campsite.  I could kick myself for that.  But we were busy setting up the tent and cooking, lighting fires, playing cards, roasting marshmallows and other busy things.  So no pictures just means we were having fun. 

The campground is family friendly with a nice playground and multiple, well-lit bathrooms. 

The playground is for older kids though.  The twins at four are at a good starting age for it. 

Toddler M couldn't do much on it and I had to be there with her the whole time to make sure she didn't get stuck anywhere.



There are a few hiking trials and a creek through the campground.

None of which we got to see because our one attempt to explore resulted in none stop complaining, a trip to the bathroom and us giving up and heading back to the playground. 

We managed to explore a stone house and fireplace about 4 spots down from ours before the complaining started. Maybe when they are older, we'll get to see more.

Camping with the girls went more smoothly than I was expecting. We definitely did have some problems and meltdowns on the way.  Both of our air mattresses had leaks, so between that and the cold we didn't sleep that well.  It was so cold in the morning that we didn't want to get up.  But one "Mommy, I need to go potty!" got me out of bed pretty quickly. 

The girls had fun and it was a good introduction for them to the great outdoors.  They got to roast marshmallows, see how to build a fire, see their breath when they exhaled and listen to owls hooting during the night.  We all got a lot of exercise and fresh air.

Since we have never been up in that area before, we drove up to Idyllwild from Mountain Center.  We had planned to go to the nature center there but it is closed on Mondays.  So instead we just stopped by the Ranger Station Welcome Center.  I picked up some info for next time.  The girls looked at stuffed animals, skulls and nests.  Plus the ranger gave them a coloring book and the Smokey the Bear comic book warning of fire danger from the 60s that I remember reading as a kid in school.  I'm sure others of you will recognize it too.

We headed across the street to have some brunch at the Mexican restaurant's fast food café.  Yummy, fluffy pancakes.  I look forward to camping as a family again.  Maybe next time we'll camp at a beach.  As the girls get older, we will definitely come back to camp at Hurkey Creek.

Beach Day

Last weekend we headed down to North Beach in San Clemente with all the grandparents and my sister and her son.  We have never been to this beach but it is a very family friendly beach.  There are swings, a slide and picnic tables all right by the bathroom.  Every so often a commuter train goes by right behind the beach.  The kids loved it and would wave to the travelers.

  

The beach is short, so we didn't feel too far from our stuff or the water depending where we were.  It is pretty rocky though, so wearing sandals down to the water line made life easier. 

T had so much fun playing in the surf.  We were out there awhile holding hands as we ran toward the receding waves and then ran as the waves came crashing back at us.  The waves were a little more powerful than I was expecting but that wasn't a worry since the kids don't actually go in the water to swim.

Baby M got all dressed for the beach in her tutu bathing suit but didn't get to play in the water or the sand.  One of these days she'll have fun like her sisters.

Wine Tour

My sister-in-law is getting married next month and this past Monday we celebrated her impending nuptials with a few of her old friends and a bit of wine.  Five of us and baby M met at Leoness Cellars in Temecula for a winery tour.  We started out the earliest we could at 10 am, so we could beat the heat.  It was sunny and warm but not too hot yet.  Baby M got to check out the winery and vineyard from the comfort of her carrier.  I love her little eye peaking out.

We started off with a few tastings in the tasting room to see what we liked.  There were a variety of preferences among the five of us ranging from really sweet to really dry.  Some preferred reds; others wanted whites.  Once we found one we liked, we headed out with a glass of it to check out the view from the wedding lawn.  It does have a beautiful view of the vineyards below and would be a lovely place to get married.
 

 

I forget the acreage, but there was a lot of it  and it was dedicated to different varietals.  We were able to sample some as we walked through the vineyard down to a golf cart.  Outside the patio near where the golf cart was parked, they grow regular table grapes that you find in a store.  It was interesting to compare them to the ones we had just eaten.  The wine grapes are much smaller because they do not receive enough water to make them plump like store bought grapes.  This concentrates their sugars for the wine. 

Because of the warm winter and early harvest this year, we were able to see some of the wine production in action.  But it was a welcome relief from the warm sun to step into the air conditioned barrel room.  They keep a portion of their barrels in this room just for events.  The rest they store at a warehouse elsewhere. 

We headed back to the tasting room to round out our tastings.  Leoness was nice in that it was baby friendly.  I was able to nurse M on a very comfortable couch in the tasting room (most tasting rooms don't have places to sit) and their bathroom has a changing table (the rest of the day I changed M in the car).  I would consider joining the wine club here.

Following our tour, we headed over to Wilson Creek Winery for lunch.  The lunch was pricey but delicious.  We had a cheese plate appetizer, some sangria that I wasn't impressed with, a delicious penne dish with shaved ham and we shared a couple desserts.  Baby M napped for most of the lunch in her stroller so it was a nice relaxing meal.

After lunch we tasted a few of the wines.  Thanks to my sister, who is a wine club member there, we had a couple free tastings.  And I believe everyone was a fan of the orange mimosa champagne. 

We moved on to Foot Path Winery, which is very different from the other two we had seen.  Foot Path is the smallest winery and definitely no frills.  It is a ramshackled property compared to the landscaped wineries.  The tasting room is a shed with all sorts of odds and ends stored that reminded me of my dad's garage or my grandpa's shop.  There is no air conditioning; just a powerful fan that you can sit by which really does keep you cool. 

They are also a certified organic farm, although not all of their wines are organic.  We got to say hello to the horses on our way in and I think they were looking for a handout from us.  Foot Path only makes red wines.  I unfortunately can't say anything about them since I was designated driver and had reached my limit, but their grapefruits taste so good and are great price!  I only bought two and I regret that I did not buy a bunch more. 

For our last stop, we went to Danze del Sol Winery.  It does have a bit of an old world Spanish feel, especially with the patio.  It was cool enough in the shade by that point that Baby M and I could take breaks from the tasting room and sit down out there.  We had been tasting for 7-8 hours by that point and my back was so tired from carrying my little chunk around.  The sales sommelier enjoyed showing off his pours and smiles for a group of attractive ladies and he made it fun for everyone. 

The girls were so sweet and bought me a bottle to thank me for planning the day and driving them all around.  I will split it with my mother one of these evenings, since without her babysitting the twins, this day wouldn't have happened.  It was such a nice break from the usual routine and M was such a sweet, well-behaved baby the whole long day.  I look forward to next time I go wine tasting.

Pool Day

We are currently staying at my in-laws.  They have a beautiful pool.  So my husband's mother and I invited my sister and her two kids up for the day to swim.  It was fun but we probably won't try it again until next year.   I am exhausted.  Three adults, three 3 year olds, one 17 month old who is everywhere and into everything, and a 7 month old that decided to skip her naps today.  It was a long, tiring day.

We started the morning off cleaning, tidying and baking.  I made some zucchini tots and the twins helped me make coconut macaroons.  The tots tasted good but I think I'd halve the amount of eggs and bread crumbs I put in.  I wasn't really measuring that accurately so I'm not sure how well that reflects the recipe.  The macaroons were quick and easy to make.  It was one my mother-in-law's recipes, so I'll have to make sure to get a copy. 

My sister and the kids arrived around lunch time and we all ate before heading out to swim.  Baby M even joined us in the pool.  She liked it this time since the water is much warmer than it was at the beginning of June.  We have two inflatable Cars car floats.  She spent a bit of time floating around in one and little H briefly stayed in the other, but keeping her in one spot for long doesn't happen much these days.  D and T also climbed into them.  I didn't think they would fit but they still do.  They didn't stay in them that long though.  They prefer swimming around in their life jackets. 

The toddlers got to practice what they have learned in their summer swim lessons.  The girls have mostly forgotten theirs over the past two weeks.  But at least I know better how to approach teaching them to swim so they were not wasted.  Big H just came from a swim lesson earlier this morning and he really does well.  Not yet ready to really swim without floaties, but he is getting there.

As pool time encroached more and more into nap time and the whining and tears started, we got out and rinsed.  The kiddos watched some Cat in the Hat while we organized the swim gear and my sister packed up.  Unfortunately being Friday, their return trip took twice as long because of traffic.  It was also too late to put the girls down for a nap and expect them to sleep at their usual bedtime.  So we had some grumpy, fussy girls this evening.  But they are currently sound asleep and I get a chance to update my blog.  Nothing is ever perfect; it's all about tradeoffs. 

Together Again

On Saturday morning our CRV packed with the remainder of our things was dropped off in Orange County.  We are now officially out of Arkansas.  My husband finished up residency at the very end of last month and has started his new job here in California.  Man, is he hating the commute!  Arkansas certainly has California beat for traffic. 

We are completely done with Little Rock, except for the friendships we made in our time there.  Our house closed earlier this month, so that is one less thing to worry about and huge step in lowering our debt.  It was a nice house and a good learning experience, but I am so glad we were able to sell it.  We will know better what to do and expect when we buy a house here later on.

We are together as a family again.  This morning I looked at the time and calculated what time it was in Little Rock to figure out what my husband would be up to.  Then I realized that I don't have to do that anymore!  The girls are happy to have their daddy back with them.  And I am happy to have him here helping me with the girls.  Their grandparents are of course very helpful but the girls aren't their responsibility in the same way.  It's nice to be able to share that responsibility again and not have it all on me.

I'm excited for the next chapter of our lives together here in California with family and friends watching the girls grow up.

Mulberries

We have been picking a few mulberries every morning from Oma's tree, mostly just to eat immediately, but some to save for later.  It is a tree, not a bush, although as you can see in the picture below, it does look very bushy.  It has a thick tree trunk but the branches come down so low and the leaves are so full and dense that it seems like an enormous bush, just like in the song.

The berries are very sweet and juicy when ripe.  The juice is a beautiful deep red color but luckily it does not stain, otherwise we would be in trouble. 

We made a very limited supply of jam with the berries and also have been eating them over vanilla ice cream.  So yummy!

Swim Time

The girls' Leila and Pho Pho have a beautiful pool in their backyard.  So last weekend we went swimming for the first time this summer.  The girls got new bathing suits since their size 3T ones from last year a too snug.  We yelled for the camera to keep things interesting.  It's a lot more fun for them than just posing and smiling.

 



 

They practiced swimming on their own by degrees while wearing their life jackets.  Last summer T was definitely a water baby.  She still is the one who wants to go further into the pool, way before her sister is ready too.  She can now paddle around the whole pool by herself.  She even went in the deep end, which made me so nervous.  I was with her, but since I haven't been swimming in so long I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep us both afloat if something went wrong.  But she did great and the life jacket, of course, is a huge help.  

 





 

 

D still doesn't want to let go of our hands and chokes on water when she does. It won't take her long to get the hang of it though.  I'm going to sign them up for swim classes in July.  We'll see what skills they are able to pick up there.

 



 

Baby M also got some pool time.  She was not a fan.  I think the pool was a little too cold for her taste.  I brought out her little bath sling for her to sit in but she let me know really quickly that she wanted back up in my arms.

 

 She did look so precious in her tiny bathing suit though, especially with her chunky thighs.

Apricot Jam



Yesterday we found time to make some apricot jam.  It was an all day process because we could only work on it while baby M was sleeping.  The girls were big helpers pitting and cutting up the apricots.  D was so cute.  She kept telling me repeatedly which bowl the pits go in and which one the apricot pieces go in, just to make sure I put them in the right one.  And she was very proud of her new cutting skills.

 

T wasn't interested at first because she was so busy pretending M's blanket was her ball gown (I've been reading them Cinderella) that she didn't have time to help.  But after 10 minutes or so she had finished playing dress up and came to see what we were doing. 

After the girls and I pitted enough apricots, I blended them a little in the food processor and put them in a pot.  Then baby M woke up so that was the end of jam making for awhile.  About two hours later, baby M took another nap and I was able to finish the jam. 

I used a no sugar/ low sugar pectin which I have never used before.  I hope I did it right and that the jam will set.  I only used 1/2 a cup of sugar and a few squirts of honey for 6 cups of fruit, so we'll see how it turns out.  In the past I have used more sugar than fruit with liquid pectin and equal amounts of sugar to fruit for powdered pectin.  It will be so much healthier if it sets right. 

Now we are in Yorba Linda visiting Leila and Pho Pho.  The girls got to go swimming for the first time this summer.  They had fun kicking in the water and splashing on the shallow shelf area of the pool.  Tomorrow we will have more adults handy so they can go in without their life jackets and go in the deep end with us. 

California Girls

Our family had a lovely vacation week here in California at the end of April.  My husband had the week off.  We spent it mostly with his family but were able to spend Easter with mine.  Now he is back in Little Rock unfortunately, until he is done with residency at the end of June.  The girls and I are busy trying to get settled in here in our temporary home in Morongo Valley. 

We flew in the day before Easter and the flights went very smoothly.  On both planes, we got compliments from other passengers for the twins' good behavior.  Proud momma here!  They even napped on the second flight which I was not expecting, since it was earlier than their usual nap time.  The only rough part was toward the end of the second flight, when baby M started fussing because the pressure in her ears bothered her.  Luckily it was around the time for her to eat anyway, and it didn't take to long for her to quiet down.

 

Catching bubbles on Easter with our new car in the background

 

We got our new car, a Toyota Sienna.  It is nice to all fit in one car when we go somewhere with the grandparents.  And there is enough space for my sister, mother, me and all five kiddos in car seats to take trips together.  I am looking forward to that!  It is red, which happens to be my favorite color.  It also has a few bells and whistles that, though I could have done without, make it so nice to drive.

  

Ready to Hunt!

Our family spent a lovely and warm Easter at my sister's house with all the grandparents and my sister-in-law and her fiancé too.  The kids had fun playing together, hunting for eggs and catching bubbles.  I look forward to girls getting the chance to spend more time with their cousins.

Also during that first week back, Leila and I took the girls to La Habra Children's Museum.  It is a nice little museum.  I could see it getting boring within a few visits but the girls had a lot of fun there on our trip.  They climbed around, rode a merry-go-round, looked at trains, played the piano and went on stage.  There were a few school groups there, unfortunately, but we just had to avoid the rooms they were in until their group moved onto the next so it did work out. 

 

Playing dress up in La Habra

Almost Ready

We are two days away from our big move to California.  I have said most of my goodbyes and have most everything packed.  I am painting trim little by little every night after the girls sleep, since we are still hoping to sell the house.  It looks better than it did when I started but there is still a lot I would have liked to get done if I had the time. 

Little Rock has been a wonderful place to live these past four years.  The girls and I have spent countless hours at the libraries here and I think I will be sorely disappointed in local libraries back home because CALS has raised my expectations so high.  Also, having everything centralized here in Little Rock is so convenient.  The zoo and children's museum are just a short drive away.  I know I will be racking up the miles in California and the higher gas prices make that even worse.

I have met some truly heartfelt people that I will miss.  Librarians, neighbors, the girls' teachers, and the wonderful ladies in knitting and quilting have made everything so enjoyable here for the girls and me.  I will miss the friendships I have made and am thankful for them.

However, I am looking forward to being close to family again.  The girls will get the chance to grow up with their cousins which is something I missed out on as a kid.  And you can't beat California weather and the beach being so close by. 

Here's to starting out on the next chapter of our lives!

Cross Country Dog Travel

The original plan was to fly Anna, our 70lb pointer, to CA with us.  Buy her a kennel, put her on the plane as checked luggage and pick her up from the cargo area when we arrived.  It sounded simple.  But after looking into it a bit, that plan hit a few snags.   First, the small commuter plane to Dallas doesn't allow kennels in Anna's size.  Second, American Airlines won't fly animals in cargo when the forecasted temperature is above 85 degrees, which probably wouldn't work in southern CA at the end of April.  Third, besides being incredibly stressful to a pet, about one animal dies while flying every week across all the airlines.

So what to do with the dog?  We couldn't leave her here until June to drive back with my husband because of his work schedule and because he'll be using the space in the car to move other things.  So I searched online and found companies that drive animals cross country, which sounded really expensive even before I got a quote for $2,600.  Yikes!  I also put shipping her up for auction on the Ebay site Uship, where companies bid to ship a variety of things for you.

Before the day was out, I had a reasonable bid from a guy at Purrfect Pet Delivery Service, who would pick Anna up in two weeks and drop her off at my Mom's house about 3 days later.  All his reviews are good and after talking to him, he seems like a guy who really loves animals and his job.   He'll take her in his personal car (along with 1-2 other dogs he'll pick up along the way), walk her at rest stops, and sleep in the car with her too.  If all goes well, it should be a pleasant trip for her: safer, with more personal service and ultimately cheaper than flying her would have been. 

Preparing to Move

I took a hiatus from blogging toward the end of the pregnancy and in the first two months of Baby M's life.  Hopefully I'm back, even if it is only in short, sporadic posts.  Currently all three of my adorable girls are sleeping and I am able to try to post something again.  I have started two drafts over the last two months and neither of them made it past the first paragraph so we'll see how this one goes.

 

Yesterday we had a yard sale and our first showing to sell the house.  We are now without all except the most necessary furniture.  Both the living room and play room are bare.  The kitchen is more roomy where the smaller of our tables used to be and I now get to sit on the floor while reading the girls to bed instead of in the rocking chair.   We still have beds to sleep in and a table to eat at.  And it will mean less work for us when we move in month and a half.

 

It has been really freeing to organize and get rid of so many things.  The house feels so much larger and tidier.  The previous mass of toys in the play room is now confined to one bin.  My craft stash that had been taking over my walk-in closet is now either packed away or donated.  I also put everything away as soon as I can after we use it, so the house is tidy in case we need to show it.  It feels good to have a clean, organized home.  I wish I could keep it up when we move to a new house, but I suspect I will have a remission into chaos when the constant fear of a showing is not driving me. 

 

The girls are dealing with the changes pretty well.  They are a little more fussy and clingy sometimes but that is understandable considering the adjustments they've already had to make with the new baby and now the move.  They know we are moving to California. We talk about it and have a count down going so it won't catch them by surprise.  I think that our previous visits and the presence of our family there is a huge help in making it a positive experience for them.  Plus they have each other which has really made the transition with their new baby sister go much better and will probably help with the move as well. 

 

Two for Two

The girls celebrated their second birthday party in California.  We flew back the day before their birthday so one could still sit in my lap and I only needed to get two plane tickets.  Their actual birthday we were just relaxing and recovering at home.  But their party in California was a nice celebration with family and one of my friends made it with his little boy.

I chose a rainbow theme this year because I figured it would be easy to pick up decorations for once I got California.   I saw a rainbow backdrop idea on Pinterest and really liked how it looked and how recyclable it is.  I bought 2 yards of tulle in every color (except Walmart didn't have orange tulle and I never made it to Joann's).  I put them together in order, tied the top with a rubber band and then taped it on the wall.  Then I spaced out the bottom how I wanted and taped it as well.  I put white balloons as clouds to cover up the tape (and a blue one because I only had two white ones in the pack).  It was easy, looks good and I can still use the tulle for future tutus.

For food we did brunch with hash browns, French toast casserole, frittata muffins, fresh fruit and baked oatmeal jam bars.  My sister helped me out so much with the food (along with having the party at her house), thank you! 

 

The fresh fruit tray turned out gorgeous following the theme with watermelon, raspberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, green grapes and blue berries (that we picked ourselves).  A big thank you to Nea for cutting so much fruit up to help us out.  I made rainbow layered jello, which looked really neat but was not well set.  I'm not sure if it was something I did wrong while making it or if we just left it out too long and it got a little too warm.  At least it still looked pretty, even though we couldn't really eat it.

For their birthday cake I decided to stick to cupcakes.  I used a store-bought white cake mix and divided it up into six portions that I dyed with food coloring.  Then I layered the colors as best as I could in the cupcake wrappers. They turned out nice and the kids thought they were delicious.

I kept decorations easy, mostly balloons and streamers.  But I did have the nifty idea to hang umbrellas upside down and tie rainbow colored balloons so they were streaming down out of them.  It turned out really cute and I must say I am rather proud of coming up with that one myself instead of getting the idea from Pinterest. 

I slapped together a bunting banner with the girls names on it at last minute and it turned out cute.  I had been planning it for a couple weeks but just did not have the interest in actually doing it until the night before/ morning of the party.  It still looked great though.  I cut the bunting from felt that Oma had on hand and printed out rainbow colored letters for the girls names.  Then I taped it all together on a rainbow colored ribbon.   Some pieces fell apart every so often but were easy to fix.  It worked out well since it wasn't roughly handled.  Oma will still be able to use the felt pieces for her projects so it was another decoration that will be easily recycled. 

 

I ordered adorable rainbow tie-dye dresses for the girls to wear from Zulily and their Leila got matching bows from a friend of hers that makes them.  The girls looked adorable.   

 

 

The dresses were such a pain though.  I ordered size 3T to be on the safe side since the girls are chunks and they were tiny.  I ended up having to cut all the elastic out of the back and change the straps to a halter for it fit them.  It was way too skinny and short for 3T.  Why can't the fashion industry come up with standardized sizes.  It makes it so hard shopping for little kids!  Anyway, the girls looked cute, so everything worked out fine.

 

The girls got to take some pictures with their baby cousin who wore one of their beautiful frilly dresses from when they were 5 months old (aww, the memories).  She was all smiles compared to my serious little girls and it wasn't even her birthday!

 

From their Leila and Pho Pho, the girls received tricycles.  They were so excited, especially Miss T.  They are a bit too bulky to bring back to Arkansas and the girls still need to grow into them anyway.  So the trikes are waiting at Leila and Pho Pho's house until next summer.  They got to play with them for one day though and T was all smiles and bouncing with delight.  

Blowing out the candles was a collaborative effort between the girls and their cousin, with Big H doing most of the work.  The girls haven't quite gotten that skill down yet.

 

 

After blowing out the candles, all of the toddlers got to be the center of attention as they ate their cupcakes and even got seconds.

 



 

I did goody bags this year even though the kids are still so young.  I customized brown paper bags just by running them through the printer.  Figuring out the right margins was annoying but it was fairly easy to do and I like how it turned out.  Plus it helped keep the toddlers busy on car rides and for flights, so a good plus there. 

 

The party was a great success.  Small enough to be manageable but still so nice to see everyone who came.  

 

Trip to California

We took a long vacation to California this summer.  By long, I mean a month for the girls and me.  That is a long time to be away from home with two about-to-be two year olds.  My husband flew with us there and was able to stay ten days.  We decided to experiment (since parenthood is a huge experiment to begin with) and see how the girls would do on a late flight.  We hoped they would sleep on the second flight.  They didn't . . . now we know never to take a late flight.  One of the many things you figure out as a parent.

We spent some time in Leila and Pho Pho's pool.  The girls liked "swimming" and splashing around.  It took them a few tries before they liked going all the way in with us keeping them afloat.  But then they really loved it.   

 

For me, it was very stressful and exhausting having both of them in the pool.  It makes me so nervous.  Definitely going to try to get them in the swim lessons that teach survival and floating in the water to little kids.  Next year they will be able to open doors and I don't want them running out there and falling/jumping in. 

 

A nice family picture of us relaxing by the pool.

After my husband returned home, the girls and I loaded up and headed out to the desert to my mom's house where I grew up. 

They enjoyed pushing each other on their cousin's tricycle and playing in the kiddie pool on the patio.  They also really liked to go for walks around the property and explore.  They got the chance to pick apricots and mulberries from Oma's trees.  Those apricots are so flavorful and fresh. 

The girls don't get many chances to play with sand or dirt here in Arkansas.  Our back yard is covered with grass and weeds.  The dirt here has a lot of clay in it so is really hard when dry and muddy when wet. The desert though was like one enormous sand box for them.   They loved finding sticks to draw in the sand. 

 

One of the days that my sister, her son and baby girl were visiting the desert too, we went to the Living Desert.  I hadn't been there since I was eight years old.  I don't remember much from back then, only cheetahs and a Gila monster.  Now they have giraffes.  We made it in time for the 10 am feeding but unfortunately the giraffes were not cooperating.  They were more interested in fighting (or play fighting), swinging their necks around at each other, instead of coming over for a bite to eat.  That was disappointing, especially since it was blazing hot already by that time.  But a walk through some shade and a ride on a warthog statue put the kids in a better mood (plus lunch in the shade helped).   There were some nice exhibits. 

 

 

While out in the desert we paid a visit to Joshua Tree National Park with Oma.  The girls had so much fun trying to get up on the rocks.  They are so uncoordinated though, even the small rocks were too much for them without our help.  They enjoyed it and we stayed in the shade at Trash Can Rock (or whatever it is called now) so the heat wasn't too bad. 

 



What visit to California is complete without a trip to the beach?  We drove down to San Diego to visit some of my college friends, see the beach and attend the 5th Annual Dandy Cup.  You know I've been living in Arkansas for awhile when I plan a trip through Orange County to San Diego and don't even consider traffic.  We were mostly lucky that we left as early as we did, but it was a Friday and we still hit some bad spots.  California traffic is one thing we will have to definitely readjust to when we move back. 

We went out to dinner with a friend and her family on our first evening at Wahoo's Fish Tacos and the shrimp burrito was delicious.  It is hard for my friends to accommodate the three of us so we ended up at a hotel on Hotel Circle, which was a first for me.  It went better than I expected as far as the unloading of everything we needed and the girls not going crazy in the hotel room.  But they had a rough time sleeping and spent some of the night in bed with me, which of course means I didn't get that much sleep. 

Early the next morning we headed to Mission Beach, which I vaguely remembered how to get to (and when in doubt I followed the car with a surf board strapped on the top).  The beach trip was partially a success.  I didn't know where to park exactly so we had to walk a bit, which takes so long with two toddlers.  The sand upset Miss D at first and the surf scared Miss T when we walked out a bit too far before a larger wave came in.  But by the end D was really enjoying herself, heading down to the water to fill up the buckets and then dumping it out by the towel (and on the towel and on herself).  T  was mostly content to play in the sand on our beach towel.   

We left the beach and headed to Balboa Park for the 5th Annual Dandy Cup.  It is a picnic some of my friends host that harkens back to a bygone era.  Some try to dress in period attire but most just stick to the dress code of white/off white/ tan colors only.  The girls got to try their hands at a little toddler bocce ball before we made the smart choice to switch to the soccer ball before anyone got hurt.  They ran around chasing the soccer ball with a nice older girl that befriended them.  Shortly after we left the picnic, they both crashed out in the car and, amazingly, slept most of the 2 1/2 hour car ride back out to Oma's house.  Our little jaunt to San Diego turned out so much better than I expected.  It's nice to know that I can do these sorts of things with them by myself. 

At the end of our trip we headed out to Temecula where my sister lives.  Wish I could have done some wine tasting since it is nice wine country there but that was not happening this trip.  Instead we went berry picking at a farm really close to my sister's place. 

 

 

The three toddlers got their buckets and I made the mistake of not grabbing one for myself.  I spent the whole time trying to pick berries faster than the girls could eat them so we could actually take some back with us.  The girls really didn't bother to pick their own since I was conveniently filling their buckets for them.  Next time we are berry picking, I'll get my own bucket and the girls can only eat what they pick themselves.   

 

D picking a blueberry from her bucket instead of from the bush. 

 

 

All the kids got a chance to sit on the tractor which was new for the girls.  They thought it was great.  We also stopped by the pig pen on the way out and saw a few cute and stinky piggies.  It was a good experience but I'll take the $2.50 a pint of our local farm here in Arkansas over the $5 a pint they were charging us any day. 

 

 

We celebrated the girls second birthday two days before leaving California but I will put all of that in a separate post.  

 

At the very end of our trip, we spent Father's Day with my husband's family.  We headed up to Azusa to the Burmese temple there and visited the monks.  It was neat comparing what the girls were able to do there in January compared to now.  It is amazing to see how much they have grown.  After the visit we went out to a nice big Italian style lunch.  When we got back the girls and I napped; we were so stuffed and worn out. 

 

Our flight back went smoothly, no worse than when someone flies with us to help me with the girls.  They both fussed for a little bit on the first flight but kept mostly entertained with books and snacks.  I would have liked for them to walk around more during our layover in Denver but between eating lunch and diaper changes we didn't have much time.  Luckily, they still slept for the majority of the second flight.  The guy sitting next to us conveniently was watching Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark on his Ipad, so I had something to watch (still enjoyable without the sound) while the girls slept on me.  



 

Over all it was a wonderful trip.   However, I think if I would plan it again, it would be three weeks max.  A month is a long time to be away from home with two little toddlers.