I have a confession to make. We have never taken a vacation just for our little family. With Luke's jobs he has never really had a ton of time off. We always used it for his family reunions and mine. I know it's silly and now that he has a job that gives him double the time off we are determined to do a family trip every year. Yes, it's stressful taking a bunch of little kids on trips but they have so much fun and we make great memories. Growing up my parents were always really good about taking family trips every summer. Those are my most fondest memories. My siblings and I still talk about the funny things we came up with on our long drives.
My dad has a beach house in San Diego that he is getting rid of. So we
thought we would take advantage of a free place to stay that is right on
the beach. The kids had so much fun. We played at the beach, went to
some tide pools, went to San Diego Temple, a Padres baseball game, and
then did some paddle boating in a bay. It was crazy busy but we had a
blast! Ready for a picture overload? Here we go!
Even though the weather was pretty cool they immediately got dressed for the beach when we arrived.
One of my favorite things about trips is that once you get to your destination kids get along so well. They are forced to. They don't have friends they beg to play with. I loved seeing my kids play together and have fun.
That's our place right behind them.
Sammy is my fish. She loves the ocean and isn't scared at all. She loved trying to boogie board. She could be in water all day long if she could.
Family picture at the tide pools
looking for crabs
The whole time I took this picture of Sammy and Luke I am worrying about a big wave sweeping them off the rocks. I'm a freak!
San Diego Temple
This guy worked on this all day. Kids were amazed.
Love my little girl
We took a walk every evening and the kids wanted a jumping picture. So we all took one. I realized I never took one of Parker. Oops!!
My parents were in Hawaii and ended up last minute flying into San Diego on the last day we were there. It turned out great because the last day the beach was freezing so we went to their hotel and swam and rented some paddle boats. Kids loved the paddle boats. I think it's because they didn't have to pedal. It's hard!
Padres game.
The morning we left. Kids were so sad.
Sammy had to have one last picture by herself on the beach. I am hoping we can afford to do a whole week at a beach one summer. Until next year!
