Spring Break 2023 - Day 5

Amy was sad today. She had to fly home after lunch and really didn't want to go.

Before she left, we spent time exploring in Old Town San Diego... in the rain. 

The rain wasn't so much fun. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant before leaving, and I kept wondering if our food was going to arrive in time for us to eat it and make it to the airport on time. 

Fortunately, the airport was only ten minutes away, but the restaurant was really slow.

We dropped Amy off at the airport about 45 minutes before her flight. She had pre-check and was able to move through security pretty quickly. She didn't have any luggage to check.

Unfortunately, she texted us a little while later from her middle seat on the plane saying, "I'm the middle of a fat man sandwich!" Sadly, it wasn't a very fun flight home for her.

After dropping Amy off, the four us drove to Cabrillo National Monument. Even though the day was a little overcast, we still had great views of the Pacific Ocean, Mexico, and all of downtown San Diego.

Chris and I walked up to the Lighthouse, while Kristen and Misha went to the car to have a nap. Since we had toured the lighthouse a couple of years ago, we just walked around the outside. Chris enjoyed having the Naval Air Station North Island close by and watched as helicopters and boats and ospreys flew by.

We all had fun exploring the tide pools. I was hoping to see some star fish, but no such luck. We saw lots of itty bitty crabs, a few shells, and walked along lots of slippery rocks. We helped each other as we moved from rock to rock.

From Cabrillo we drove to Coronado and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the island. Our favorite find? All of the cool sand dollars that were visible at low tide. We may have picked up a few.

We wandered along the beach, meandered through some of the shops, and made a quick stop at a grocery store for chips and salsa for dinner back at the rental. We had beef tacos for dinner

Spring Break 2023 - Day 4

We had a slower morning today. Drove to Balboa Park in the afternoon where we ate a picnic lunch. We were pretty close to the airport, so every time an airplane took off, Amy and Chris would watch it soar across the sky.

We had an Urban Adventure Quest scavenger hunt planned for the afternoon through Balboa Park. It took us to the Fleet Science Center Children's Museum where we watched a guy blowing giant bubbles, to the Casa del Prado Theatre, the Giant Moreton Bay Fig Tree, the Spanish Village Art Center, the San Diego Museum of Art, Spreckel's Organ Pavilion, Old Globe Theater, and the Little Village.

They also had a Japanese Garden (which was free on Sunday) and a lot of museums. We stayed for a little bit of the free organ recital and then decided to move on.

We walked around La Jolla Cove during a brief respite from a rain shower, tried to see the temple but it was closed and finally went to pick up an old family friend of Chris' family for dinner.

Chris pushed Joanie in her wheelchair to Hob Knob Hill restaurant. It was about a ten minute walk or so. Joanie is 93, has MS, has macular degeneration, and has the best attitude about life. My girls have only met her a couple of times but have become attached to her.

Unfortunately it was raining again when we left the restaurant and Chris and Joanie walked back in the rain. Fortunately Joanie had brought an umbrella that kept her covered. 

Our girls watched as we waited in the car and he sat with Joanie before saying goodbye.

Spring Break 2023 - Day 3

The weather today was forecast to be the nicest weather of our trip. California has been having some massive rain storms over the past couple of months. Looking at the forecast, we were going to experience one of their "atmospheric river" moments over the course of the weekend.

We had to take full advantage of the weather today.

We started our first day looking for parking in Little Italy to go to the Farmer's Market. It was BUSY! After driving around and around, we finally decided to park in one of the pay lots. As we entered, a lady motioned for us to roll down our windows. "Here, it is to expensive here." She handed us her parking ticket which was good for the whole day. That just saved us $25!

We walked a couple of blocks north from the lot and began to meander through the market. The market was held in the center of the street that had been blocked off over 4 to 5 blocks.

We saw lots of fresh produce, flowers, Mexican food, candle shops and some clothing spots. The girls bought a baguette and some drinks, but mostly we just browsed.

It was close to lunch time so we stopped at the Little Italy Food Hall. It had a bunch of vendors, so we had a little bit of fried chicken, pizza, salad and tacos.

We stopped for more groceries at Ralph's. From there, we dropped the girls off at the beach, and Chris and I took the groceries back to the rental. We found a great parking spot and suggested the girls bring the beach chairs closer to the parking spot. Chris went to find them once he and I dropped stuff at the beach.

The beach was packed with people. That's what I often hear about the drawbacks to living in California. Once you decide on a cool place to visit, it will be packed with hundreds of people—locals and tourists—by the time you get there. If you find a parking spot, grab it.

We hung out at the beach for a couple of hours and soaked up the sun. Misha and Kristen even braved the chilly ocean waters.

Since we had a family photo shoot scheduled for 6:30 pm, we left the beach around 4 pm to go get ready. We had to drive up to Solana Beach about 40 minutes away to meet up with a photographer that had been recommended by a friend who used to live in California.

We met our photographer, Christy Odom, at Cardiff State Beach by Lifeguard Tower #10. We even arrived early which was perfect since it was a cloudy evening and Christy could start a little earlier. Even though we only signed up for a half hour time slot, she spent well over an hour with us.

She was very great at telling us how to pose, fixing our hair or clothing if it was out of place. Even Chris said he enjoyed the experience much more than our previous family photo shoots.

We should have pictures back within a week or so. Looking forward to some fun looks for us.

It was dark when we left Cardiff Beach. We found some dinner at Rubio's Mexican Grill.

Again, Amy and Kristen stayed up to watch tv. Misha, Chris, and I went to bed.

Spring Break 2023 - Day 2

Amy checked out of her one night vacation rental at 10 am on Friday morning and then took an Uber to the new vacation rental where we would meet up with her later that evening. The owners of the rental were kind enough to let her check in early so she wouldn't have to transport her luggage around San Diego for the day.

Amy purchased advance tickets to the Midway Museum and spent a couple of hours touring it and enjoying the San Diego sunshine. She walked around downtown, found the kissing statue, and had dinner in the Gaslamp District close to the Waterfront.

She wanted to hang out near the beach until sunset to get some pictures. As she was waiting, some dude came up to talk to her. She was saved by three ladies who came and asked her to take their picture. They said they noticed that she looked uncomfortable.

After sunset, Amy got a ride back to the apartment. Before settling in for the night, she walked to the Von's grocery store just a short distance away and picked up some groceries for breakfast.

The rest of us left for the airport around 6 pm. We left early enough to give ourselves time to get dinner at the airport before boarding at 9 pm. Gotta love it when your dad takes a picture of you with your mouth full.

With the one hour loss in time, we landed at 11 pm local. After taking a bus the rental car lot and then picking up our car, it was after midnight local when we finally arrived.

The bus driver to the rental car lot was so annoying. He kept saying, "Why is mom so tired?' Well, duh, doofus. It is late!

Our vacation rental was behind a house and the best way to access it was from the alley where we could also park in a designated parking spot. It took a little bit to figure out where the house and alley were, but finally we found Amy. After hugs and settling in, it wasn't long before Chris, myself and Misha were asleep. Amy and Kristen, the night owls, stayed up to watch tv together.

Spring Break 2023 - Day 1

Amy flew to San Diego from the Provo airport on Thursday evening. Having her fly out the night before was the best option for flights leaving from Provo. She arrived in San Diego late and took an Uber to her vacation rental for the evening.

It wasn't a very glamorous place to stay, but it had a bed and a bathroom for the night until she could move her things to the vacation rental that we would have for the rest of our stay in California.

Kristen and Tennis

Tennis season has started up again. Practices started at the first of March. It is always nice to get into April when you "hopefully" have nicer weather for practices and matches.

She plays on the Varsity Team this year.

Her friends—Maggie, Nicole, and Paige—came to support and watch her first home game.

Crochet Succulent

This is the kind of plant that will never die!

Isn't that so cute?

Kristen - Merit Scholarship

Kristen received a Merit Scholarship from the University of Utah. She was hoping for an academic scholarship as well, but this will be awesome too.

She is getting anxious to leave home and start the next chapter of her life. Chris and I are excited for her. This is as it should be.

Misha's New Laptop

Misha invested in her own new laptop. With the Adobe programs that she runs, she needed something that was faster and had more memory. Plus, apparently it is good for game playing as well.

Proud of her for buying her own new laptop.

Kristen's Second Crochet Project

Kristen has caught the crocheting bug and finished her second sweater not too long after her first one.

2nd Shingles Shot

When I got my first shingles vaccine, I knew that I would have to come in for a follow up shot a couple of months later. I WAS NOT looking forward to it.

I felt so crappy with the first shot. When I went Saturday morning, the tech who gave me the shot suggested that many people feel even worse with the second shot. Great!

I felt pretty good for most of the day until bedtime. My body started to hurt, but I took some ibuprofen before falling asleep to help with the achy-ness. That seemed to help a bit since I was able to sleep this time.

I was still achy and sore when I woke up this morning and opted to stay home from church and watch it via Zoom. Chris even started an audio Facetime call so I could listen in on Sunday School.

I am really grateful however that it has not been as bad as last time.

AP Psychology Egg Parenting: Part 3

Kristen, the last of my egg parents, brought home "twins" for her Child Development section in AP Psychology to learn how to be a parent.

Her eggs are Dorothea and Ivy. While Amy used a small container and Misha fashioned an egg carrier to look like a car seat, Kristen's eggs rode around in a waist pack for most of the week.

Another Season of Tennis

Kristen just started her last season of tennis as a senior. Practices and games run through the first week or so of May.

She practices and conditions every day after school until 5 pm. It cuts into her work at Chick-fil-A, so for the next two months she will work Saturday only (though pretty sure she isn't loving that they schedule her at 7 am!).

Kristen Crochets

Kristen has gotten on a crochet kick lately. She is using online videos to learn the stitches. She just finished a "sweater" and is learning how to make "granny squares" now.

I love that she loves crocheting so much that I find her crocheting instead of taking her usual naps. 

I bought her a skein of yarn, but apparently that wasn't enough because she went to Michael's after work and came home with six or seven more skeins. 

Starts for African Violets

Pretty happy that my African violets starts have taken off after trimming some of my other plants. Perhaps you might think that having five African violets is too much, but I love to see things grow.

We're Going to Club

The last time Chris texted me "We're going to Club!" we ended up not being able to go because it was canceled due to Covid.

Club has been on Chris' bucket list for years; he was surprised to be selected with the Logic Monitor's President's Choice Award to go in May of this year.

He texted me just as I was starting my Pathways course on Thursday, so I couldn't run down to his office and give him a hug. After my class ended we got to chat.

Club will be five days in Costa Rica at the beginning of May in the beautiful Andaz Costa Rica Resort. Kristen IS NOT excited that we are leaving her home again for travel. Honestly, we were not planning on this at all.

I picked up some congratulatory roses for Chris to celebrate this huge accomplishment. I am so proud of him and all of the hard work. He puts in a lot of long hours to be excellent.

Only One More Choir Concert Now

After tonight's choir performance, Kristen has only one choir concert left in her high school career. Her teacher, Mrs. Berry will go on maternity leave in a week or so and will miss the final concert. 

Kristen is second from the right.

All of the choirs will be doing a Disney theme with their substitute choir teacher which is much appreciated by Chris and I who aren't big fans of the crazy songs that are usually picked for these kids to sing. Hopefully the kids will enjoy singing them too.

Serving with the Neighbors

Chris organized a service day with our neighborhood. Many of the neighbors provided food for us to cook at the OUR Center for lunch on Sunday afternoon.We had Steve and Carla Harbert to help cook the food.

Steve Strong came and spent most of the time washing dishes.

Misha and her girlfriend, Genevieve, came and helped with the cooking and serving as well.