San Diego - Day 7

Friday morning we breakfasted at The Cottage (thanks, Joanna! you were not kidding!) a fun breakfast place in La Jolla. I had the special, Mediterranean scrambled eggs with goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, and fresh basil, cottage potatoes, and an english muffin with jam. Oh, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Oh. my. goodness. I would KILL for another plate right now! It was sooooo good.

The zoo was next.





The animals at the San Diego Zoo have quite the hook-up! Lots of beautiful scenery.










Bears have the life!





Time for a snack.





Stare-down with a zebra.





The Panda was shy - and very sensitive to noise.





Koala!





Polar bear behind glass.





Sweaty mess, ornery as all get out... but those eyes! I cannot resist them.

San Diego - Day 6

We spent Thursday in La Jolla, the north part of San Diego. We had brunch at a yummy, little outdoor place and then hit the beach.















































There is not much to say. La Jolla is lovely. Can I please go back?????

San Diego - Day 5

On Wednesday we headed north to Legoland. This was what Ethan was looking forward to the most - a whole theme park created out of and built around legos! It is created specifically for kids ages 2-12, and it was totally up the boys' alley. They were enthralled.

But before we left the condo, we discovered that a crayon had gotten into the dryer with the clothes somehow. An hour later, after lots of scrubbing, we had salvaged most of the clothes. But so much for getting on the road early!

We promised the boys that we'd stay until closing time, 8 pm. :)

Ethan says, in all seriousness, before we leave, "Mom, I'm going to go honk the bike horn so that God can hear me. Do you think He can hear me all the way back in Topeka?"






Dad and son, made out of Legos





When we got there, we noticed that Volvo parking was on the front row, right next to the gate. Too bad we didn't have our Volvo! Apparently the same people own Volvo and Lego, which is pretty fun.... and right inside the gate was this life-size Volvo SUV made out of legos!













The Skyride was rather scary!





This was our view!




Si looked confused....




















Favorite rides:
Simon - the Royal Joust in Castle Hill - a horse ride along a track. He wanted to ride this one over and over, probably because he got to ride it by himself. Simon is lucky that he is tall...36" was the height requirement, and he just made it.

Ethan - the Dragon in Castle Hill









Towards the end of our day we visited Miniland, an area of the park where famous United States landmarks are created out of Legos. It was pretty awesome, especially the New York City skyline.















At the end of the day the boys spotted this place where you could build your own Lego race car and give it a test drive. They were all about this! It was like this place was designed with Ethan and Simon in mind!












Crazy stuff I've overheard Dave say today:
Don't grunt at me with that tone! (we laughed so hard over this one)

You can't have your apples until you eat all your fries, young man.

No more chanting, boys, and I mean it. (the repetitive chanting has got to stop! If I hear "Si-MON, Si-MON, Si-MON" chanted one more time, I am going to blow my lid...)


We loved Legoland!!!!!

San Diego - Day 4

On Tuesday we took a little drive, crossed the Coronado Bridge and had lunch at a cute cafe on Coronado Island. We are trying to find local places to eat, even though there are plenty of fast food places around. The wait is a little longer (patience, boys, patience!), but the food is so worth it! And I don't know, but there is just something about having a leisurely lunch at an outdoor cafe that makes you feel like you're really vacationing!






The beach at Coronado Island ended up being our favorite of any that we've visited while we've been here. The sand was so soft and there wasn't any seaweed. It looked and felt like a tropical island.

And this time I did actually get in the water. For a few minutes, anyway.






My sandy boys....they were constantly rolling around in it. They can't help themselves - they love to wrestle!











Building sand castles together.










Crazy Ethan.









Si had plenty of room to run here!










Oh! There's my gorgeous hunk of a husband!






And his mini-me, fast asleep.





Simon has been the best sport about naps. At home, he still takes one after lunch every day, but we have been out and about and nowhere near the condo at nap time. Whenever he is tired though, he comes over to snuggle and I have him lay down. And within seconds, he is asleep. Isn't he precious?