After a wonderful Christmas morning and most the afternoon, we hit the road towards Vegas. Grandma Candy and Nick traveled behind us, and Danny was a trooper and drove the whole way by himself. He's so good to me when it comes to my anxiety about winter driving! Luckily, we only had a little bit of weather, and it wasn't too bad. We made it to Vegas in six hours, and the kids enjoyed watching their new movies and playing with their Kindles. :)
We all stayed at the Springhill Suites in North Las Vegas that night, and everyone slept really well. We weren't in too much of a hurry to get on the road again, so the only thing we set an alarm for was to make sure we didn't miss the continental breakfast provided by the hotel. We weren't worried about a lot of people being there...we figured the day after Christmas would be pretty slow. Boy were we wrong! They were out of eggs, orange juice, potatoes...EVERYTHING! And there were so many people...RUDE people! We waited forever for food to come out, only to discover it was really rather gross. In hind sight, we should have hit an IHOP! :)
We were on the road again right around 10:00 am, and had about six more hours of driving ahead of us. It's an easy drive between Vegas and LA, save for the constant traffic. Once we were in the Victorville, CA area we ended up taking a different route than Grandma Candy and Nick. Our path took us through the craziest wind storm! But it also took us right through Irvine, CA...where our very own Sister Rose Downs is serving her mission! I had to snap a pic and send it to her parents. I'll tell you what, she's got a pretty cushy mission when it comes to location! Gorgeous surroundings and perfect climate.
Turns out that Grandma Candy and Nick took the better route...and they avoided all the traffic on the 5. We didn't. That last hour of the drive felt like it lasted forever! But finally...FINALLY...we reached the resort! The Grand Pacific Palisades. I just love this resort! I love the feeling there, everything is so beautiful and comfortable and family-friendly. And after our trip there last year, it has a very tender place in my heart. There is something about the view off the balcony of our rooms every time we stay there that just puts my heart at ease. This was going to be the best week ever!
That evening consisted of the kids running around the room (touching and jumping on every surface), unpacking everyone out of their suitcases and into their dressers, and hitting Costco for some groceries and dinner. Oh, and of course the traditional ride on the luggage cart. :) We were sure to get everyone to bed at a decent time, since we had a big day ahead of us the next day!
The next day was Sunday...and we were heading 2 1/2 hours north to our old stomping grounds of Lancaster. In order to get to church on time, we had to be out the door by 8:00 am. We made it, and were once again greeted like something between celebrity and family. We love our family in the Tierra Bonita ward! And we were fortunate to hit the Sunday when one of Danny's previous young men was reporting on his mission, so there were some extra people there that we might not have been able to see otherwise. We spent half of Gospel Doctrine visiting with people in the chapel, and stayed after the block by about a half hour doing the same! After church we made our way to the country to spend the afternoon and evening with the Davis family, who had graciously agreed to host us for dinner. But on our way, we stopped by Dunderosa so we could visit with Jeannie Dunn, who wasn't able to be at church because she was home caring for her ailing mother. Because she's kind of an angel like that. :) Almost the whole Dunn clan was in town for the holidays, and we literally had to pull ourselves away from visiting with them to make it to the Davis's in time for dinner! The Dunns are among the coolest people we have every known. Really, all our friends out there are! Anyway, we made it to the Davis's in time to enjoy lots of conversation and a delicious dinner. Beth was kind enough to open her home to an open house for us, and just like last year it felt like half the ward came over! It was just amazing to get to sit and visit with all our friends...the Beazels, Tolmans, Pauls, Morrises, Fassets, so may of the people we love! It does something to heal and lift mine and Danny's heart to be surrounded by these people. And just like last year, we stayed WAY too late. And just like last year, I didn't take a single picture (gasp)! But unlike last year, we still had a 2 1/2 hour drive home!! At this point, we had pushed the kids a little far. Sophie hadn't been feeling well all evening, and Johnny was past tired. Claire had some kind of allergic reaction to something, so we had to dose her with Benadryl on our way out the door. When we got to the resort at about midnight California-time (which made it 1:00 am by our children's body clocks), the kids were past broken down! Claire could barely stumble her way to the room, Sophie was in tears, and Johnny could only moan/cry incoherently. It was so bad it was almost comical! At least, Danny and I decided to laugh instead of cry. :) We made it up to our room, grateful that we had our own unit and didn't disturb my Mom and Nick, and got everyone to bed as soon as possible. With strict instructions to sleep in the next morning!
And sleep in we did. It was wonderful, after days of being busy, to literally have nothing we had to do! After everyone rolled out of bed and had a quick something to eat, we got dressed in our swimming suits and kicked off the day with an hour at the pool and hot tub. We all decided we could DEFINITELY get used to that! Afterwards we got showered and ready for the day and decided to check one of our "have-to's" off the list by having lunch at Panera. We have all missed that delicious macaroni and cheese!! And it didn't disappoint. :)
It was a rainy day in Carlsbad that day, so after picking up some quick groceries at Walmart we headed back to the resort to just hang for the evening. We played Johnny's OverDrive, the kids played with their Kindles, and we settled in to watch "Star Wars: Episode VI" in preparation for seeing the new movie the next day. And all that in time to hit the hot tub again that night before bed. Pure bliss.
Tuesday morning we woke up to the same beautiful coastal view, and I decided I could wake up to that view every morning and never tire of it! Oh, and the view of our favorite little hot tubbing spot right off our balcony. :) But instead of starting the morning out by lounging in the hot tub, Grandma Candy took us to the breakfast buffet at the Karl Strauss Brewery located at the resort. The breakfast was delicious...especially the bacon! We all ate our fill and enjoyed just sitting and relaxing. It was perfect.
The only thing that we had planned to do that day was go to see the new Star Wars movie. The showing we were planning on wasn't until 1:50 that afternoon, so after breakfast we had some time to just hang. Sophie had been dying to do the Minion gingerbread house that Grandma Candy had given our family, so we got the kids going on that. They did a great job, and had fun talking about Luke while they built it. :)
And Danny and I worked on the crossword puzzle from the USA today he snagged from the concierge. :)
At long last, it was time to see the movie! We were all pretty pumped. I was disappointed, however, that there was no promotional poster to take our picture by. So the theater shot will have to work. :)
The movie was fantastic!! Well worth it, and the kids are definitely Star Wars fans now. Poor Sophie felt pretty crummy for most of the movie, and spent the time cuddling with her Daddy. As we were leaving the movie, Danny thought maybe a trip to the beach would perk her up. He was right! Plus, it was just about sunset when we got there, which is our most favorite time to go to the beach. The beach entrance closest to us was actually Oceanside, which is a bit north of Carlsbad. It was an amazing beach! We'll have to check it out more next time we're there.
The kids ran and played while the adults soaked their feet in the rather chilly surf. And I took the opportunity to get a 24 week belly pic. I think the fact that I'm eclipsing the sun is ironic. :) The kids had a blast in the water, and against the advice of their mother ended up soaking wet! We took Sophie and Johnny upstairs to our room wrapped in blankets since they had soaked their pants...
This was a very laid back vacation for everyone. And with me being pregnant and the kids not always feeling well, we were pretty tuckered out by the time evening came around. After dinner, we usually settled into watching football, working on our puzzle, the kids played with their various toys, and we ate the new dessert that Uncle Nick introduced to us. Mochis! They are ice cream surrounded by a rice dough...and the mango ones are to die for! Mochis...we might miss you most of all. :)
The next day was Wednesday, and it was our pre-appointed day to go into San Diego and check out the USS Midway. It was the only outing planned for the trip (besides seeing Star Wars), and we were all very excited! San Diego is only about a half hour south of Carlsbad, so it was just a quick drive. Until we got close to the harbor...and traffic became unusually congested. We watched hordes of people walk toward the harbor, and we were a little confused. Surely, all these people weren't coming to see the Midway! As we slowly made our way closer, roads started being blocked off, police were directing traffic, and there were picketers out on the streets. At this point, Grandma Candy looked up events in San Diego that day. As it would turn out, there was an annual Ballon Parade along the harbor that morning, and it usually attracts 60,000 people! That explained it! We didn't hesitate when making the decision whether to try to navigate the crowd or pull an audible and change our plans. We changed our plans!
That officially put us in exploration mode, since we really didn't have any other plans of what to do in San Diego. Danny made the executive decision to take us over the bridge onto Coronado Island, and as we did we realized there was a naval base on the island. Danny was curious to see if his CAC would get us on base, and sure enough it did! We drove around and got an up-close look at a couple of the carriers, which were really cool. We saw the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Carl Vinson. It definitely whet our appetite to see the Midway, even if it was going to be a day delayed.
After our morning driving around, we were all pretty hungry. And since we were in the mode of exploration, we decided to find something unique to San Diego for lunch. We used Yelp! and found a taco place in La Jolla, just a few miles from where we were. Oscar's Seafood Tacos was rated with 4 1/2 stars and had over 1500 reviews! Seemed like a decent place to check out. We ended up taking the scenic route through La Jolla to get there, and the vistas were gorgeous and the houses expensive.
When we got to Oscar's, we discovered there was no parking, or seating, or really much of a restaurant! We parked about a block away and walked, having decided that we were eating there one way or another...we had made our decision and we were sticking with it! The one comforting thing was the horde of people hanging out waiting for tacos...must be good if all these people were waiting on their feet! We ordered quesadillas for the kids, and between the adults we had battered fish tacos, octopus tacos, spicy shrimp tacos, and ancho tuna tacos! And we waited for over 40 minutes for them to be ready! Apparently, everything is made fresh and to order, so it's definitely not a fast taco place. :)
Since there was no seating to speak of, the kids and I staked out a little grassy place in front of a condominium complex across the street that was in the sun, and decided we'd eat there. But as we were waiting, we all started to notice surfers walking up the street in their wet suits, carrying their boards, with no shoes on! The beach must not be far if they were walking like that! So once again that day, we pulled an audible and took our tacos to the beach.
The tacos were beyond delicious, and I don't think that was just because we were starving. :) We were all a little sad we hadn't ordered a few more! I think we ended up at a beach called La Jolla Shores, and it's a big surfer spot. We enjoyed lunch on the rocks and the blankets, and then let the kids loose. Once again, just like the night before, we weren't prepared with the appropriate beach apparel for the kids. We were smart enough to pack flip flops and a change of pants just in case, but we could have used swimming suits...
...because once again, Sophie and Johnny got soaked! I told them to at least not get wet above their upper thighs since we didn't have a change of underwear for them. But did they listen?! Apparently they tried...but they kept accidentally getting hit by big waves! :) At least Claire listened...dutifully rolling up her pants and hunting for cool rocks instead of playing in the water. Don't know what we'd do without that girl!
Johnny found a piece of driftwood as soon as we got to the beach, and somehow it transformed him into a beach caveman. He yelled and hollered and waved that "club" around the whole time!
Claire ended up with quite an impressive rock collection! She was rather pleased with herself...
...and Sophie and Johnny ended up freezing their wet butts off!
So once again, we took those two kids back up to our rooms wrapped in blankets and towels to cover their nakedness. :) I was pretty worried about how wet and cold Sophie got while communing with the sea, so as soon as we were to our room we all got in suits and headed to the hot tub. Well, not Danny. He was responsible and took the car to get an oil change and grab what we needed for dinner. He's kind of awesome like that. The kids and I spent over an hour in the hot tub, getting warmed up and enjoying another sunset. I'm so glad that water was really just warm and not hot so this pregnant Mama could enjoy it, cause it was one of my favorite parts of the trip! To be warm and buoyant is pure bliss for me. :)
No matter how hard we try, every vacation inevitably hits the last day. :( Thursday was our last day in Carlsbad...and New Year's Eve! And we had paid tickets for the Midway, so back to San Diego it was for us! But before we made our way south, Grandma Candy, Claire, and I went to breakfast with Kelly. Kelly is my Mom's contact at the resort, and the wonderful woman who comped our rooms for us. She was also involved in setting up our family last October when we went. These people are so good to our family, and we wanted the chance to thank her. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at a local place in Carlsbad, and Claire even ordered off the main menu...no kid's menu for her! Apparently this place is famous for their pies, so we picked up an Oreo cream pie and a cherry pie for our New Year's Eve celebration later that evening.
But back to the Midway. :) This was definitely a highlight of Danny's trip! He remembers having toured the Midway when it was in Washington when he was a kid, but it wasn't a museum then. Just recently decommissioned. We were surprised by how many people there were that day! We figured with it being New Year's Eve, it wouldn't be as busy. Maybe it wasn't, but I'd hate to see it on a busy day!
It's a self-guided tour on the Midway, and you can pick up a headset if you want to listen to the information about each area. When you come to a new place, there is a sign with a number that you can punch in for that "track". There are also big pictures of actual people serving on the Midway, along with quotes from them. That was my favorite part. Honestly, I can't imagine living on that boat for a day...much less months at a time! But I'm very grateful for those that do. And some of those that have just didn't get enough of the Midway, because they come back as cute old men and volunteer their time as guides. They were all so nice!
Of course, the Midway is more than just a ship...it's an aircraft carrier! Hence Danny's extreme interest. :) They had some planes on display in the hangar area of the ship, and then more on the flight deck. The ones in the hangar area seemed to be the older models. Johnny LOVED the planes (a boy after his Daddy's heart!), but especially the guns and bombs!
We made our way to another section of the ship for more of the tour after checking out the planes in the hangar. There were a lot of very narrow stairways that got us from one place to another, and I had already done a fair amount of walking in my already large pregnant state. When I saw this sign, I couldn't help but misunderstand it! I had baby on the mind, I guess. :)
This next portion of the ship was definitely more interesting than all the enlisted quarters we saw first. It had a lot more to do with the pilots and the aircraft. Danny got to sit in a ready room and pretend to get briefed on his next mission. :) I'm not even embarrassed to say how much pretending I'm pretty sure my grown husband did while on this ship! I love that in some ways, he's still an adorable little boy. :)
As we exited that portion of the ship, we were back in the hangar. As we walked through to another tour area we passed some cockpits the kids could get into. We couldn't miss that opportunity!
At this point, it was time for lunch. We grabbed some sandwiches and pretzels and found a seat on the outside of the ship overlooking the harbor. Right across from us we could see a big statue of the sailor kissing the girl, and I could only imagine how happy these boys would be to see their sweethearts after months aboard with all those other stinky boys! Our other view was of Coronado Island, and the carriers we had seen the day before on our jaunt around the naval base. A fantastic backdrop for lunch. :)
Next we cruised around the first part of the flight deck, checking out the cool airplanes. Claire worked diligently to fill out her worksheet so the kids could get their junior pilot's wings, while Sophie hitched a ride with Danny. The poor girl really wasn't feeling well at this point. And neither was I, with my poor aching feet and hurting back!! But it doesn't look quite as cute when Danny carries me around...even if he could. :) And Johnny? Well, Johnny was completely content to hear his Daddy tell him about all the parts of the planes.
As we proceeded through the flight deck, we noticed another door that led to yet another portion of this gigantic ship! This time we got to see some of the radio and radar areas, and Danny made the volunteer's day in the radar room by talking shop for a few minutes. :) This portion ended with us being right by the line to take the guided tour of the very top of the super structure, so we decided to do that then. We toured the navigation area, and the areas that the admirals and other high-ranking officials would work. The view from this part of the ship was amazing! You could see the flight line, Coronado Island, and even all the way to Mexico!
The guided tour put us right back out on the flight line, and to the portion we hadn't yet seen. We got to hear a presentation about how the aircraft took off from the carrier, and this volunteer actually flew off the Midway for three years! It was so cool to listen to him talk about what he loved so much. There were aircraft we could actually climb inside, and Johnny even got to buckle up! Danny also found an aircraft that was involved in the Apollo space missions, which was pretty awesome. And of course, we had to get a picture of Danny and his kids next to one of his all-time favorite jets, the F-14 Tomcat...featured in the movie "Top Gun". It really doesn't get much cooler than that! (Side note: the girls were getting chilly, and so Grandma Candy helped them create the generations-old two-headed jacket monster! So cute!)
We only had one more section of the interior of the ship to go through, and this was one of the coolest parts. It was all the fighter squadrons, and Danny was in heaven!
When we came out of that last section into the hangar, we realized that the Midway was closed and they were clearing everyone out. We closed the place down! But before we could leave, we had to get the kids their wings. Johnny could hardly wait!
And with that, our grand adventure at the USS Midway was complete. And despite my aching back and my poor, tired feet...everyone thought it was a day well spent! It really was quite amazing to see the sheer size of the structure, and they aren't lying when they say it was a little city at sea. It was a great way to end the trip...if it HAD to end.
On our way back to the resort, I called in and ordered some Chinese take-out from a little place in Oceanside to take back for our New Year's Eve feast. I ordered for all of us, but I had NO idea how much food they gave you! For just about $60, we had enough food to feed a small army!! It was delicious, and this time we actually felt obligated to eat more than we needed to...we were leaving the next day and we had no idea what we were going to do with all of that Chinese food! And the pies? Well, I think we ate maybe two pieces of the Oreo cream pie, and didn't even touch the cherry pie! But I was confident we could find a way to pack those home. :)
Our New Year's Eve party was pretty calm this year. We watched some football while Danny and I begrudgingly started getting things packed up. The kids played while also begrudgingly helping us get them packed up. No one wanted to face the fact that we had to drive home the next day. It didn't take long, however, before we had done what we could to prepare and we were all honest to goodness exhausted. We found a New Year's Eve Countdown on Netflix for the kids, and we rang in the new year shortly before 10:00. I was even able to get all of us (Joey included!) in our New Year's Eve picture for 2014. :)
We weren't trying to be heroes and get out on the road at any crazy hour, but we did have a 12 hour drive ahead of us, so we did need to be out the door at a good time. We got up, woke up the kids, ate some breakfast, and said goodbye to the resort. And our beautiful ocean view!
Is it normal to tear up when you leave a resort? :) I was the last one in the room, as I did a final check of all the notorious places we forget things. And as I looked at the room, I honestly said "Thank you" and "Goodbye"...out loud. And I cried. There's such a special spirit there, and I have a very tender attachment to that place. It's a place where my family can escape and heal, slow down and appreciate one another...and somehow it can still feel like home. A home away from home. It is one of my most favorite places on earth, and I can't wait until we can go back!
Our drive home was, well, more eventful than we would have liked. Luckily, the skies and the roads were clear...which when we're driving in the winter I am always very grateful for. But Claire threw up a total of six times, and Sophie was feeling rather crummy the whole drive. Johnny probably had the best drive of all of us, as he enjoyed a Star Wars Marathon...starting at Episode I and getting all the way through most of Episode V! It was the first time that Johnny had seen Episodes I-III, and the shift in the timeline completely blew his mind! It was fun to listen to him be amazed and try his best to figure out what the heck was going on. :)
We made it home in 11 hours and 36 seconds...yes, Danny set his stopwatch. :) We came home to a very chilly house at 10:00 pm, and Danny and I unpacked while the kids fell asleep under a pile of blankets on the couch. We were definitely grateful to be home, but we also would have been just fine to still be in Carlsbad! It was a perfect vacation, and the perfect way to end what turned out to be a rather eventful year...again.
Danny and I reflected a lot over the year as we relaxed during that week. This was a year of much growth for both of us, and our first year without Luke. It's still very difficult to put that into perspective. Danny became bishop, I became pregnant, we both have gone through a transformation of our testimonies as we've struggled to come to grips with our life! :) Our children keep getting older, and that changes our life considerably. And like Danny has said in the past, sometimes we look at our life and we just don't recognize it anymore. But the one thing I can gratefully say is that I do recognize is the Lord's hand in our life. Sometimes it's hard for me to see, or hard for me to admit. But I do know He watches out for us carefully, and guides us in love and wisdom. Call it age or wisdom, and maybe even a little cynicism...but I've learned better than to say that I know 2016 is going to be awesome! I know it will be full of blessings, yes. But I also know there will be trials and adversities. And I think I'm becoming more understanding of that, if that makes sense. I am grateful for the very difficult year that was 2015! I'm grateful for the Gospel in my life, and in the life of my family. I am grateful for Danny's calling, and the trust that the Lord has in him and in our family. I am grateful for tender mercies, and for the times the veil is thin and I can sense that Luke is near. I am grateful for his influence in our family still. And I am very grateful and anxious to meet this next son, this very important addition to our family, and I can't wait to see how he changes everything again. I love my Savior, and I love my Father in Heaven, and I love this life They permit me to live.
Here's to another year in the Call Family History books!!
Happy New Year!
