While Steve stayed behind diligently working for the family (poor Steve!), the rest of us enjoyed a good old California vacation. I was a little worried about driving 6 hours with a 2 month old, but she did really well! We stayed with the Nelsons in a condo in Oceanside for the first 2-1/2 days. We had a blast! The condo was perfect and so nice. We watched movies, played games, and of course made our way down to the beach a couple times. Lissa woke up the first day around 4:30 am and said, "Ok mom, I'm ready to go to the beach now!" She was so excited, obviously. The first day, she was afraid of the water, but bravery became her overnight as she ventured into the water the next day. I had to chase her twice with Addi in my arms before going too deep in the water. Her favorite part was definitely catching sand crabs with Robert and Thomas. She loved holding them in her hands. Her other favorite part was going deep in the water while being held by tight by Grandpa or Emily. She spent most of her time, though, scooping up sand with the shovel and throwing it. That never got tiring to her. Lissa got her first sunburn, but never complained! What a sweet girl. I felt horrible. As for Addi, she slept most of the time. I didn't bring anything to put her in, so I dug a hole in the sand, covered it with a towel and Wa-la, a perfect cradle! She was quite comfy. Grandma took good care of her too while I played with Lissa. I enjoyed watching Lissa while relaxing and talking with Melanie and Kathleen. It was a good time!
Caitlin came to pick us up Tuesday night to bring us to Temecula with my family. We endured a 45 min crying session on the car ride home and were relieved when we approached home sweet home. Lissa was very excited to see everyone, especially Brooke and Jon. They kept her entertained the entire time. Time was spent eating at Rubio's, shopping Kohl's great sale, sewing cute new burp cloths, savoring every bite of fried rice at my favorite restaurant, Fugiyama's with Papa and Grandma, hunting for the "impossible-to-find" animal print bead, reliving my childhood dreams at the Disney Store and shopping for the perfect tandem stroller (any suggestions?). It was quite a fun-filled vacation. Lissa marveled at the chef's tricks at Fugiyama's, especially the onion ring fire while Addi slept in my arms. The pretend mustard was supposed to be squirted at Lissa, but we got the "new guy" who couldn't quite get it right. Mustard, dummy, not catsup! As for the bead store, I loved it! Especially getting all sorts of cool jewelry ideas and tips. Too bad the "we're-only-closed-on-Wednesday" bead store didn't get any of our business. Who closes their store in the middle of the week anyway?
Lissa may have found a replacement for her favorite Peter Pan shirt. (Thanks grandma!) Choosing among many toys at the Disney Store, she decided on a green Tinkerbell-like dress/nightgown. She wore it for the rest of the trip not letting anyone forget how pretty she was in her new dress. "I'm so pretty grandma" or "I'm so beautiful, just like Belle" was the most frequent phrase we heard this past week. She would say it in her sweetest voice. We were dying laughing!
Brooke and Jon were constantly competing for Alyssa's attention. They would also frequently ask her who she liked better and her answer, to Jon's dismay, was Brooke. Poor Jon's little heart was broken and in his defense he said, "I don't like you Alyssa!" Alyssa then replied, "I like me!" And pranced away on her little toes. How cool would she be if she maintained this attitude through school if any kids had the gall to tease her? She cracks me up!
We returned to Oceanside Friday night and hit the road again early the next morning. Steve was anxiously awaiting our return and we too were excited to see him! Although it was a fun trip, it would have been an hundred times better had Steve been with us!
