Our Trip to Carlsbad: Days 8 & 9 (Plus Some Stuff I Forgot About)

First, let's start with the things I had forgotten to write about. Kristin posted on her blog about a few things that I had totally forgotten about because I hadn't taken pictures of them like she did. So, I stole the pictures from her blog & decided I would just add them to this post.

A few of the nights that we were in Carlsbad, all the adults would play games while the kiddos watched movies. We had a blast playing Wits & Wagers (seriously one of the most fun games ever) and Catchphrase...


I have to share a story about one game of Catchphrase. Ashlee & I were on a team, and Mike & Kristin were on the other team. Mike's phrase that he had to describe to Kristin was "Prince Charming". He decided to split it up & describe each word separately. So, he said, "A king's son is called a what?" And Kristin shouted out proudly, "A Monk!!!!!" Mike just gave her this look, as if he was thinking, "Are you kidding me?" Maybe it was that it was 11:30 at night and all of us were exhausted, but it was so hilarious. We couldn't stop laughing! I love playing games with my family!

The other thing I forgot to mention was Cohen's "surprise party". After we ate dinner on the Oceanside Pier, we were driving back to the condo to open presents & have cake when my mom called me. She said, "Gavin thinks it would be fun for all of us to get back to the condo before Cohen and then yell 'surprise' when he walks in, kind of like it's a surprise party." So, our family (and Poppy would was with us) drove around for a little while, pretending we were lost. When we finally "found" the condo, we walked in to hear everyone scream "Surprise! Happy birthday!!!" Cohen loved it...


It was so stinkin' cute! So, those were the things I forgot to write about in my previous posts. Now on to Days 8 & 9...

I lumped these two days together because there's really not a whole lot to write about...just driving, driving & more driving. On Day 8, we got up & started packing up the cars for our drive home. You would not believe all the traffic we ran into! Apparently, the entire city of Los Angeles was going to Las Vegas for a long weekend. We were seriously doing slow-and-go through Death Valley. Who would have thought you'd ever run into traffic in the middle of nowhere Death Valley?!? Got to love SoCal! We finally made it to St. George (our stopping point for the day) at about 7:00 at night. We checked into our hotel & headed to Brick Oven for some pizza. Love me some Brick Oven. Then it was back to the hotel for some late-night swimming. The pool was so warm! It almost felt like bath water. Everyone swam until about 10:00 at night...

Then, the next morning (Day 9), we got up early & headed for home. Boooooooooooo!!! I'm ready for another vacation already! It was such a fun week. We all had a blast & loved every second of it. I can actually say that this vacation was a very relaxing one. Sometimes I get home from vacation & feel like I need a vacation to recover from my vacation. But, not this one. It was a week full of relaxation & laid-back fun. We loved it & hope to get back to Carlsbad again someday! --Lindsay

Our Trip to Carlsbad: Day 7

Day 7 was our final full day in Carlsbad and our 3rd beach day...


It was another day of building sandcastles...

And, enjoying the waves...

Apparently, Cohen decided that he liked the sand so much that he put it on his head...

And was happy about it...

By afternoon, everyone was beached out, so our little family decided to head back to Legoland for a few hours. We still hadn't seen the aquarium and we wanted to check it out. It was actually pretty cool. We saw octopuses...

And jellyfish...

And hammerhead sharks...

And sting rays...

And all sorts of weird random sea creatures, like these two crazy looking things...

It was a fun little aquarium. Aiden wanted me to take pictures of every single sea creature we came across, but we couldn't use our flashes inside the aquarium, so most my pictures turned out blurry. The ones you just saw were the only ones that were even semi-usable. We spent about an hour at the aquarium and then decided to go on a few more rides that we hadn't had a chance to go on yet.

By this point, it was 6:00 in the evening, and I think a lot of families had gone home for the day because the park really died down. Because of this, we were able to ride more rides in a two-hour period than we had during the two previous days we had been there.

We went on this weird robotic arm ride that spins you around. It had different levels you could chose from. Level 1 was the tamest & level 5 was pretty crazy. Cohen was too small to ride, Aiden was only tall enough to do level 1, and Connor was only tall enough to do level 2. Again, with the lame overprotective rules. I went with Connor on Level 2.

It was pretty fun. I would have loved to try level 5...

Mike went with Aiden on level 1. It looked pretty darn tame. In fact, even Aiden was bored on it. Legoland fail...

After that, we went on the "Lost Kingdom Adventure". It was basically like the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disneyland, except that you shot Lego mummies instead of aliens. And, in Disneyland fashion, you exit the ride right into a gift shop...

We got in a few more rides that night too, like "The Beetle Bounce". This ride is very similar to the Dino Drop at Lagoon's Kiddieland, except you had to be 40" to ride this one at Legoland. Lame...

We finally found a ride Cohen could go on, except I had to sit right by him...to protect him from this very dangerous ride where the airplanes go around in a tiny circle, of course. Sigh...

After that, Connor & Aiden wanted to go on the only semi-fun rollercoaster in the park one last time, so I took them on that. Yes, that ride (probably the most dangerous ride in the park) didn't require one adult per child, but every other ride did. While we were gone, Mike took Cohen & Vivienne to look at all the Lego creations around the park. And, take pictures of course...

Then we went home to sleep in the condo for our last night. --Lindsay

Our Trip to Carlsbad: Day 6

On Day 6, we decided to head back to Legoland to give it another chance. Here's all the kiddos ready & waiting to go. And, when I say "kiddos" I'm including Poppy in that group...


When we got there, some of the kids wanted to go on a little dinosaur rollercoaster. Our family had gone on it the first day, so Connor & Cohen decided to dig for dinosaur bones while everyone else waited in line...


Since Cohen was too little to go on a lot of the rides (again with the lame overprotective rules), we found other fun things for him to do. Like shooting water at some Lego animals...

The other kids found ways to amuse themselves while they waited in the horrendous lines. Like doing each other's hair. Attractive...

I'd say by the look on Aiden's face in this next picture that this ride was definitely not worth the 45 minute wait. By the way, this little safari ride was another ride that required one adult per child. You sat in a car and went on a little track for a grand total of 37 seconds. Soooooooooo glad Tata was there to protect Aiden during this WILD ride...

After a few rides, we headed into Miniland to check out the miniature versions of several major cities. This was definitely the best part of Legoland. Here's Washington DC...

Notice thelittle trees in the city. They are actually bushes that the grounds people trimmed to look like miniature trees. And the grass was actually moss. Pretty cool. Here's the Capitol...

And the White House...

Next we moved on to San Francisco. I will always refer to these houses as "The Full House Houses"...

Lombard Street (a.k.a. The Crookedest Street in the World)...

The Golden Gate Bridge...

On to New York City, complete with the Freedom Tower (even though the Freedom Tower isn't technically finished in the real world yet)...

Times Square...

Then New Orleans. I miss this place...

A Mardi Gras Parade moving down Bourbon Street...

They even had Cafe du Monde in the New Orleans section. If you're ever in NOLA, you MUST go here and get beignets & hot chocolate. Delish...

Next it was on to Las Vegas...

Weren't we just here a few days earlier?

And, didn't Mike, Kristin & Dan just jump off of this thing?

So, that was the highlight of Legoland. It's still not making my list of favorite amusement parks, but at least the park had some redeeming value.

That night, the guys took all the little boys to a San Diego Padres game...

They had a blast. The Padres played the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks won & Connor was thrilled...

While the boys went to the game, all the girls & baby girls went to check out the Carlsbad Outlet Mall. We got some great finds...as in Banana Republic earrings that would normally cost close to $40 for around $5 each. I bought a bunch of them. I also found some really cute clothes for Vivvie at the Gymboree & Carters Outlets. Yay for great deals! Then, it was home for a good night sleep. --Lindsay

Our Trip to Carlsbad: Day 5 (Cohen's Birthday)

Our 5th day was our 2nd full day at the beach...


And, it also happened to be this one's 3rd birthday...


Can you think of anything a three-year-old would like to do better on their birthday than play in sand all day? He loved it...

Here's Mike & I showing off our "beach bodies". Yay for P90X! Okay, so we still have a long way to go before someone slaps us on the cover of a swimsuit catalog, but hey, we're working on it...

The sistas sunning it up...

Hey! Where did their legs go? Dan dug this huge pit and then told the boys to stand in it. When they were in, he filled it back up. They seriously had the hardest time getting out of it...

Viv snoozing on the beach again...

The birthday boy even took a little breather from all the beach fun. Yes, Cohen is really asleep under there. You can see just the top of his head poking out. Comfy, huh?

Does life get any better than this? I think not...

Total beach babe...

Seriously so in love with her...

Time to catch a few waves...

I can just hear her thinking, "Can someone turn the heat up a little on this huge bathtub, please?"

Waiting for the next wave...

"Hey Mom! Take a picture of me while I do a really cool pose". Ummmm, okay buddy. Not sure you'll be making the cover of a swimsuit catalog either with that pose. Haha...

Greg building his sand creation of the day. The picture of the final product is at the top of this post...

Later that afternoon, everyone headed back to the condo to get cleaned up (a.k.a. dump a ton of sand out of their swim trunks), get dressed, and head out for some birthday fun.

First, we went to the movies and saw "Cars 2". Cute movie. Not as good as the first one, but still cute. And, it's packed with action so the little boys loved every second of it. In fact, Vivvie really enjoyed it too. She sat on Mike's lap the entire time just watching away. Yep, definitely an angel baby.

After the movie, we headed to the Oceanside Pier for dinner...

There was a cute little diner all the way at the very end of the pier called Ruby's Diner. It was a darling little hamburger joint that looked like it was straight out of the 50s. They had fabulous burgers, fries & shakes...

The waiters and waitresses sang "Happy Birthday" to Cohen and presented him with his very own hot fudge sundae and "pirate hat". At least that's what he called it...

It was such a fun little place! Granted, you had to walk over 1/2 a mile to the end of the pier to get there, but it was worth it. And, you can beat this view while eating dinner...

After dinner, we headed back to the condo for cake, ice cream & presents. I had decided just to get Cohen a cake while we were down there. I assumed that I would be able to walk into any grocery store & find a premade cake that I could just have someone in the bakery write "Happy Birthday Cohen" on the top. You can do that back home without any problem. Well, apparently, you can't do that in Carlsbad. I finally found a grocery store that had one premade cake I could buy. Let's just say it was better suited for a 60-year-old woman than a 3-year-old boy, but we made it work. It was a chocolate cake with big yellow flowers on it. Truthfully, Cohen could have cared less...

Since we were all still stuffed from dinner, we decided to open presents first...

Cohen was spoiled rotten. He got all sorts of Star Wars, Toy Story, and Phineas & Ferb toys...

He was in heaven...

Cohen even got his "Birthday Zurg" that he had been wanting so badly. What's a "Birthday Zurg" you ask? Well, let me explain.

About a month or so before his birthday, Cohen kept telling people that he was getting a big Zurg for his birthday (Zurg is the sworn enemy of Buzz Lightyear in "Toy Story" for those of you who don't know.) None of us really knew what to think of this request since none of us had ever seen a big Zurg & had no clue where to find one. But, he insisted that he was getting Zurg for his birthday. Then he started insisting that Nana & Poppy were going to be the ones to give this Zurg to him. Eventually, Cohen just started referring to him as "Birthday Zurg". Anytime anyone would bring up his birthday, Cohen would say, "Yeah, I'm getting my Birthday Zurg on my birthday." Well, Nana & Poppy came through. They were able to find a Zurg that was about 5 or 6 inches tall. Cohen loved finally getting his "Birthday Zurg"...

After he opened Zurg, we reminded him that he should give Nana & Poppy hugs and kisses for the nice birthday present. So, he did. Then he went back to opening presents. But, after that, with each subsequent present...regardless of who it was from...Cohen would run over to Nana & Poppy and give them a hug and a kiss. We would say, "This present is from Mom & Dad" or "This present is from Tata and Dan", but he would still run over to Nana & Poppy to thank them for the present and give them a hug & a kiss. It was pretty cute...

Once all the presents were opened, we had cake and ice cream. Here's Cohen with his "awesome" cake...

When we sang "Happy Birthday", Cohen decided to join in with the rest of us, singing "Happy Birthday" to himself...

It was so cute! So, that was the 5th day of our vacation. It was a fun one! Happy birthday my little Coconut! We love you so much!!! I've decided that, since I'm writing letters to Vivvie throughout this year, that I would write letters to my boys on their birthdays this year as well. So, look for that in an upcoming post! Until then, it's more days of the vacation. --Lindsay