Spring Break: Southern California (Part 1)

In mid-March we piled up the Mazda and headed west for the coast.  It took 14 hours total with one overnight stop in Phoenix.  The kids were super travelers and we remarked over and over how driving in our own vehicle with stops where and when we wanted to was so much more enjoyable (and affordable) than air travel with a party of 4.  We rented a condo right across from this beach in the village of La Jolla north of San Diego.  It has to be one of the most beautiful places I have been to in the U.S.  We fell in love with the little sandy coves along the miles of coastal walking paths, the seals and sea lions that lounged all over the beaches, the interesting water birds and plants.  We ate fresh caught seafood every night and visited kid-friendly parks every day.

We sought out the La Jolla farmers market on Sunday on the recommendation of some friends and the kids gorged themselves on fresh picked berries.  There was a plethora of ethnic food stands which Phil and I were happy about.

While Jack took his nap in the afternoons, the rest of us would sit out on the sunny patio and read, practice violin (Sasha), soak in the hot tub, and play Sorry or Uno.  Sorry is an obsession of Sasha's currently.

On Monday we went to Sea World in San Diego.  Sasha loved the rides, shows, and other attractions.  We had to coerce Jack to go on his first ride  but he eventually enjoyed it as well.  Sasha always wanted to sit in the "Soak Zone" for the shows but didn't love getting water in her face when we actually got soaked!

Sasha going to town on a smoked turkey leg.  You can never predict what this picky girl is going to like!

On Tuesday we went to the Wild Animal Safari Park in Escondido.  This was my personal favorite of all the parks we visited.    Getting to see the baby rhino on the safari part where we were in these open tour buses in the "savannah" was the highlight for me.

Sasha with her souvenir, "Laura" the rainbow lorakeet.

Brushing the goats in the petting zoo.

On Wednesday we went to the San Diego Zoo.  Wow!  It's not just another zoo to be sure.  We could have spent 3 days there to see everything.

Our last afternoon in La Jolla we walked a long way along the coast stopping to splash in the waves or explore the tidal pools at various beaches along the way--enjoying the serentity and natural beauty of this small corner of the world before kicking it up a notch at Disneyland for Part 2 of Spring Break. 

Early March

On a beautiful warm morning during the week Phil had a random day off and decided to take Jack up to the mountain to give him his first crack at skiing.  It took some convincing to get him to even put the ski boots on, but apparently he loved it once he got on the bunny hill.  He even got turned around and was skiing backwards for a bit and did a "spinout" which he loved to tell people all about.

Going up the "magic carpet" with a thumbs up.

Bad hair day

Looking less intelligent than sometimes.

Snowy sunrise view from our back deck.

Santa Fe Community Orchestra concert

My dapper lad

Off-roading in the radio flyer around our house

February

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the month of February.  Sasha doing acrobatics on the climbing rope in the basement (above)

 Sasha received a point and shoot camera for her birthday and is really into taking pictures.  Jack is one of her favorite subjects.  I love this series of shots where she was asking him to make different faces.  He will do almost anything she asks him to do these days. 

 "Playing football" in our long main hallway is a favorite pastime for Jack.  He even likes to slam into the walls and fall down dramatically.

 It is definitely a love-hate relationship between these two .  Burt is for the most part a great pet but he can only take so much rough petting before he starts batting at Jack.

 Sasha is the opposite of a night owl just like me.  By 8:00 she is always yawning and asking me if it's time to go to bed yet.  Look at the satisfaction on her face as she anticipates getting to go to sleep.  Pretty rare I think, but I'll take it.  Her brother did not inherit this trait unfortunately.

 Sasha and her cousin Mary Smucker when they were out to visit us over President's Day weekend. 

We waited to celebrate Phil's birthday when his brother Ben and family were at our house.  Peanut butter cake with chocolate filling, cream cheese frosting and crumbled Butterfinger on top--one of Phil's favorite cakes.

Sasha, Jack, and Anna

Anna, Sasha, and Mary on top of the boulder they climbed at the climbing gym

Before a night out on the town

Skiing in Santa Fe.  This year we got up to the mountain a handful of times.  It was awesome!

Mid-day break at Totemoff's Bar and Grill on the slopes.

We rented a house with our friends Mindy and Chad for a weekend in Taos.  It happened to be just after the biggest dump of fresh powder in 3 years according to locals.  Talk about great skiing...My parents were kind enough to take care of Jack that weekend since he is just a little to young yet to really participate in the skiing.  What Sasha will remember the most about that weekend is the sauna (non-functioning) in the master bath of this house we rented.  She and the other kids turned it into their clubhouse and would disappear for hours at a time playing in there.  It was a relaxing weekend for us adults too as a result!