We love So Cal!

Last year with our family reunions and my brother's wedding we didn't make it down to Southern California and boy did we miss it!  We love the weather and beautiful scenery, plus some of our favorite friends get to live there!  We spent a few family days in Oceanside at the time share, right next to the harbor.

Our first day there we headed north to one of our favorite beach cities, Laguna Beach. 

 We caught some sunshine and awesome boogie board waves there.

We posed in the seaweed?!?!, 

gave our new boogie boards a try,

 played with dad for hours,

 jumped waves,

 played in the sand,

and played smash-ball (some of us in our water wings:),

 Katelyn really figured out how to catch some waves, riding them all the way in!

 It was a great time for everyone.

There's nothing like Laguna Beach.

The next day we headed to Legoland in Carlsbad.

 It was our first visit and as we guessed it, our kids were the perfect age.

The Legos were amazing!!

The kids thought this "grandpa" was great!  Also, note the birds above us.

 Harry Potter and Hagrid were huge and big favorites!!

There were rides for everyone.

And really cool Legos at every turn.

 The Star Wars area was AMAZING and of course Andrew's favorite.

 He fought off this 3-D, life size Darth Maul.
Thank goodness because that guy's face scares me!

The miniture area was my favorite.  Really cool.  Here we are in Washington DC.

Times Square

 Mid-day we all put on our swimsuits and hit the water park part of Legoland.  I took a few photos and then locked up my camera to join in the fun.  We got SOAKED in a few water, roller coasters!
Everyone loved the Lazy River.

 Especially this guy, who built lego castles as he floated around.

Love this cute guy on the right.

We found Legoland's famous granny apple fries to live up to their reputation...delicious!

 They left the kids all clambering for more!

We were there from when the park opened to closing time, packed in the fun and had a great day!

The next day we went to the Oceanside harbor and pier.
Can you say gorgeous?

We walked to the end, passing all the fisherman and their smelly catches, including a sting-ray.

I LOVE family time, for so many reasons!

Then we headed to San Diego for the rest of the day.
We visited one of our favorite spots, the Mormon Battalion Museum.  This visitors center is fabulous and a must see if in San Diego.  It is dear to my heart as my great, great, great, grandfather's gold pouches are there.  More of that story is here.

 Afterward, the kids loved panning for gold.

While there, they took this picture of us.

After that we headed to one of our all time favorite beaches, La Jolla Shores.

Man, we love the BEACH.
Why do we live so far away?
I am not sure.
Because really you just need snacks and a bucket and kids are "good-to-go" for the day!

Then we headed to our friends, Mark and Jennie's home. They moved a few years ago and so of course every time we are close by we get together.  They have had a new baby since we saw them last and so it was so fun to meet their newest addition and even get some snuggling time!
That night, we got the kids settled and went to dinner for adult conversation and dinner.
 We spent the evening talking late and catching up.  So fun!
The next day they took us to one of their favorite donut shops.  Jennie wasn't kidding when she said there would be a line out the door!  This place was so delicious!  We took our donuts to the beach where the kids played and enjoyed being spoiled by not one, but TWO huge donuts!
I am still kicking myself because I didn't take my camera with us.
We spent the day at a beach close to their home and had a fun, but very cold day.
The kids didn't seem to mind at all, but after Jennie and I spent some time boogie boarding together we spent the rest of the afternoon trying to warm up under towels.
Again, it's such a bummer because I meant to get a lot more photos...but here's what I did get.
We hardly saw these two nine year olds, they were out in the water almost the whole time

Mark spent time teaching Tyler learn to surf.

They had a fun time.  Although surfing looks to be so hard!

And then there were these two Matthew's who became quick buddies.

All in all, a wonderful visit with dear friends combined with some always welcomed family time at the beach!