San Diego Part Two: Beach Disaster

This is continued from my previous post, so I am just going to pick up right where I left off…

Monday we were supposed to wake up early and pack the car for our four days of camping at the beach. My goal was to get there late afternoon, particularly around two because that was when check in began. It was especially important for me to arrive before dark, because I did not want to be setting up tents and cooking dinner in the dark while entertaining two babies. My Dad and Denise were supposed to be joining us for our camping adventure, and since we lived about the same distance from the campground (around 2 hours) I figured it would make sense for us all to leave about the same time. We had previously divided up food assignments, so we all had certain ingredients needed to make the meals. Also since we were traveling from out of state my dad said he would bring the majority of all the needed camping gear such as the stove and lanterns. Well we waited and waited for them to leave, and by about five o clock I decided that we better go on without them. We had our tent, so I figured if nothing else we could pick up food once we got there and get our tent and pack and plays set up before it got too dark.

Well by the time we got to the beach the sun had almost completely set, and that is about the time we remembered that my dad was in charge of bringing all the flashlights and lanterns. Luckily we were both equipped with smart phones, so we were able to use the flashlight app to bring us a little light. We then carry on frantically trying to get everything set up before it goes pitch black on us. We finally get everything set up by about a quarter till nine when the ranger comes by and informs us that they will locking the gate into the park at nine o clock. Once that gate is locked there is nowhere else to park within a five mile radius of the beach. So frantically I call my dad to see where he was only to find out that he still has not left. At this point he told me that he was going to discuss their options with Denise and call me back with their plan. Morgan and I were starving at this point. We had some food, but nothing to make a meal and even if we did we had none of the necessary tools to prepare it. There were restaurants but all of them were 15 minutes out, and there was no possible way we could get to anything before they closed the gates to the park. As I sat there and listened to the kids screaming I realized that I was starving, angry, exhausted, and completely worn out, but all that was left for me to do at this moment was carry on and put the kids to bed. Once both kids finally fell asleep Morgan and I laid in the pitch black tent because at this point in time both are phones were on the verge of death and we ate chips and grapes until we fell asleep. It turned out to be a pretty stressful night.

The next morning the waves woke me up at six. I decided that I would take advantage of the opportunity to get up and start getting breakfast together before the kids woke up. First thing I do is call my dad to find out how close he was since he had the stove needed to make breakfast. First I call my dad’s cell phone, and there was no answer. Then I call Denise’s phone in which she also does not answer. I then take a deep breath and call their house phone in which somebody answers and takes the phone off the hook. At this point I realize not only have they still not left, but they were most likely still in bed. Once Morgan wakes up I tell him the news and we decide the only option is to go out to breakfast. We then proceed to get everyone dressed and loaded into the car before heading to a nearby pancake house. Finally by about nine my dad calls me and informs me that they are just getting out of bed. I of course am pretty frustrated with new update, but I carry on and move forward with the day.

We head back to the beach get everyone changed into their swimsuits and head down to the water. That is when we discovered that the beach was full of some pretty intense rocks. As if the rocks weren’t enough to make you not want to go into the water, the waves were also pounding into the surface and some pretty extreme rates. Morgan went and talked to the lifeguard and she said there were some other areas having some extreme weather and it was effecting the beaches there hence the crazy waves and rocks. We were also sitting in direct sun light, and by direct sun light I mean the sun was just beating down on us. I could just feel my skin burning and there was nothing I could do about it. I was soaked in sweat, and I was just burning up. Even with sunscreen, I still felt like I was sure to be the suns next victim and I had nowhere to hide. Of course my dad had all the canopies along with all of our other camping gear in his car. On top of all this it was early afternoon and both kids were ready for their naps.

I tried laying Parker down in the tent in his pack and play, but he was not having it. He was way too hot, and the sun was way too bright! Finally I got the idea to put him in the stroller, and I just pushed him around until he fell asleep! That was a huge success, and reduced so much of my stress and anxiety once he was asleep and happy. However, I couldn’t relax too much yet because I still had to figure out a way to get Levi to fall asleep. I just picked Levi up and laid him on a beach towel with me, and he almost immediately conked out. As Levi laid there asleep, I realized I needed to do something to shade him, and get him out of the sun or else he was going to wake up from this nap a lobster. I was desperate, and just started to search the car for anything that could provide shade, and to my surprise I found an umbrella! I have never been so excited to see an umbrella in all my life. Finally Morgan and I could sit down and relax.

I call my dad later that afternoon to see where he was, because I was starting to get hungry and he had all the lunch supplies. Well not to my surprise he still had not left. Shortly after that Parker woke up. I knew I had to find a place to sit with him where I could have some shade, so again of desperation I went and asked some strangers if I could join them under their canopy and sit with my baby. Luckily the lady was so sweet and welcoming and she let us sit with her for hours. Eventually my dad did arrive, and finally I was able to eat, set up the canopies, and start to actually enjoy the trip.

We finally got all situated and so we decided to sit around the picnic table and play a game. When we notice a life guard approaching our camp. She came to inform us that the tide was going to be bigger than the previous nights. She assured us that we should be fine, but just encouraged us to keep an eye on the water. Shortly after she left the tide came in and flooded the entire inside of our canopy. We immediately looked at our watches and realized that we still had another two hours till high tide and it was only expected to get worse. None of the other campsites appeared to be too worried since most of them were camping in RVs and were hardly effected by the raise in water.

Morgan then had the idea to build a mote around our campsite. I went and borrowed a shovel from one of our neighbors and Morgan began to dig viciously and my dad was on his hands and knees also digging. Shortly after they begin digging, another wave came in and flooded the tents. Luckily nothing inside got wet, so I quickly started to remove all of our belongings out of the tent to ensure they could stay dry. Meanwhile the waves are quickly increasing, and I was of course stressing. Levi however, was as happy as can be sitting and playing in the sand with his trucks and toy shovel nestled safely on the safe side of the mote. That was until a wave came crashing over and diminished part of the mote and soaked Levi. He was of course mortified and so upset. He did not even have a chance to process what had happened to him. Denice (Nana) took Levi and his dry clothes to the back of the campsite next to the car, and laid him on the ground to change him, when all of a sudden another ginormous wave can crashing over and again soaked him. We could not believe that the waves had reached all the way to the back of the campsite where the cars were parked. Poor little Levi was completely traumatized. It took him awhile to regain his love for the ocean after this experience.

At this point I was questioning whether or not I wanted to stay here for another night, so I headed down to the ranger station to find out what the tide would be looking like the next day. After talking with the ranger I learned that high tide would be at seven a.m. the next morning, and it was expected to be worse. Since I knew we would not be getting up at five to start rebuilding our mote, this made the decision to go home and easy one, as I headed back to deliver the news. I am not going to lie, at this point it was nine o clock at night, and I was exhausted. The kids were several levels beyond exhausted and I was really dreading the idea of having to pack up camp in the dark. That is when this group of random women showed up and offered to help us pack up. Morgan’s initial reaction was to say no, but then I stepped in and said we would be so grateful for any help! These were the nicest ladies. Apparently they were celebrating somebodies 60^th birthday, but the group ranged from age 19 to mid-60. They were a hoot. They had defiantly been drinking, but oh man they were so sweet and helpful. If it wasn’t for them we would have been there packing all night. The family I sat with earlier that day to get shade, offered to watch Levi well I packed, and one of the sweet 19 year old held Parker. We were so looked out for and blessed. I was so stressed out I was on the verge of tears, but the ladies just kept laughing and telling me that one day I would look back at this moment and just laugh, and they were right. I look back at that day now, and I just smile. What could have been a really horrific experience turned out to be a pretty special one, because I realized how many great people there still are in this world. I hope one day I can return the favor.

As we got in the car and started driving, I felt so sad this adventure had to end. I was also so worn out, and could hardly hold my eyes open. I felt so guilty that my dad finally drove out to Orange County just to turn around and leave. I also felt bad we put so much time and money into panning the food, to just pack it up and leave. As we approached the freeway, I realized that the family I was doing a house swap with had given me a key to their house, and told me I was welcome to stay there if I needed to. So this made it only a forty minute drive instead of a two hour drive. It also meant that my dad could come stay with us and we could still finish out our trip together.

The next post will include our adventures in Orange County. Don’t worry the rest of the story is much happier. I did not initially plan on this post being so long, so I am going to end this here. There will be a part three to my trip. That will be the last post, promise! 

San Diego Part One

This post has been taking me forever to write because I have an overwhelming amount of information I want to share, but every time I have a few seconds to myself all I want to do is lay on the couch and watch Gilmore Girls. So just know this is taking loads of self-discipline to sit here and type this post rather than watch television! (I am at the end of season seven and it is getting really interesting…)

So our adventure started at the crack of dawn, we had a pretty early flight to catch! We carpooled down to the airport with some friends who happened to be on our same flight. This was a life saver because not only did that give us some extra hands to help with the kids but it also gave us some great company!

We had lots and lots of luggage because I am too cheap to pay to ship stuff so instead I choose to fully utilize southwest’s luggage policy and bring everyone their things via my suitcases. Well one of the items my dad wanted was this laser printer that I was getting rid of. I was worried that if I checked the printer with my other suitcases that it would get damaged, so in order to ensure that it was nicely handled I decided to carry it on. Well little did I know that a printer falls into the same category as a laptop when it comes to security?  This led to my bag being automatically flagged on its way through the x-rays. Of course we were short on time, and I was feeling pretty high anxiety because as anyone who flies with children will relate to it can be extremely stressful. Well they then proceeded to swipe the inside of my bag with something that checks for explosives and of course knowing my luck it comes out positive. Apparently my stuff has bomb particles on it. So then I had to have all my bags searched, and have a full body pat down. Meanwhile, Parker pooped, but Morgan was not allowed to take a diaper out of the diaper bag to change him because I was still being heavily searched, and who knows what kinds of explosives I could be hiding in my diapers. Apparently I look like a pretty threatening terrorist. Long story short it was a miserable experience!

We finally land in San Diego and at this point I am beyond exhausted. My sister Wendy picks me up from the airport and we decide to forgo our previous plans and decided to just go home and sleep. When we woke up we went and picked up the car we were borrowing, went to Whole Foods to get Levi his milk as well as some other food for the trip, and we finished off the evening with dinner at Rossi’s. Morgan and I always look forward to eating at my dad’s restaurant. His food will always be my favorite, but hey what can I say, “It’s the best in town!”

The next day we went to the Padres game. We were so excited for this because Levi has not been to a baseball game since he has been old enough to actually appreciate it! So of course we spring for the cheap parking, which automatically means we had a hike into the stadium. (I do exaggerate a little it was like a 15 min walk) the worst part of the walk was listening to my dad tell me about how I should have bought a backpack stroller, but that is a conversation for another post. Anyways, we get into the stadium and we sit in our seats and we are in direct sunlight. I mean it was some intense sun, and it was hot. Parker was being extra fussy because it was too hot for him to sleep, but Levi on the other hand passed out as soon as we got to our seats and he slept through the entire game; so much for him experiencing his first baseball game. Eventually, after we were dripping wet with sweat and sunburned, we decided to move down into some empty seats that were under an overhang. Once we moved down there it was literally like ten degrees cooler, and the game was much more enjoyable. It turned out to be a pretty fun! I love baseball games!

 Sound Asleep!

Direct sun!

Wake up just in time to leave

Best Pals

Not awake

The next morning we woke up early again, and headed to Legoland! We met my Dad and Denice. We were all super excited for Legoland, but once we got there we discovered that Levi was like half an inch too short for the majority of the rides. There were like six rides he could do, but there was also tons of other stuff to keep him entertained throughout the park, so we still had a pretty awesome time! I mean after all everything is awesome! Legoland has this rule that two people over the age of 18 are not allowed to ride the rides together. So we ended up going on this helicopter ride, and the attendant assumed I was seventeen so I played along and got to ride with my dad, so that was pretty awesome. My favorite activity was riding these boats that had basically no motor and just floated through this course at like half a mile per hour. It was extra fun because we were all trying to race each other. Wendy got on first, then Levi and Morgan, and my dad and I got on last. Morgan passed Wendy right away, but she was an easy target so we don’t give him too much credit. We pretty much passed Wendy right after they did, shortly after that there was a huge boat jam, and we were all turned sideways and backwards. Soon we were able to fly by Morgan making us the winners of the race. If was pretty fun, but you probably had to be there to fully appreciate it. We are excited to go back to Legoland once the boys are a little taller!

Parker and Nana

Wiggy and Levi

Wiggy and Levi

Dad

Wiggy first on boat

Morgan and Levi second on boat

This is when are boats crashed and we were side by side

Winners! Everyone behind us!

Legoland Aquarium

Zebra Car

I love that everyone thought I was seventeen

Dad wanted this Picture

All of us in front of the welcome sign

The next day we decided to take a much needed morning of sleeping in. once we stumbled out of bed we had breakfast, and then Morgan announced he really wanted his morning free so that he could catch up on some work stuff, and of course play on his budget. I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and went out with the ladies! Mom, Ellen, Elizabeth, me, and the boys all went and enjoyed an afternoon at the mall shopping. This worked out well because I needed to find a shrug to wear with my dress for the wedding. We looked everywhere, and by everywhere I mean all over Macys. (To my family Macys is the mall) we were having no success when Ellen suggested checking the little girls department. Sure enough there we found exactly what I was looking for! It pays to be small. After shopping we went and had lunch at souplantation.

Found a gecko

After lunch we rushed back to Wendy’s to grab all of our beach gear because we were having a family potluck at the beach! This was one of my favorite gatherings of the trip, it was so good to get most of the family together for the first time. For the potluck I assigned everyone certain ingredients to bring as far as the food was concerned. Well everyone brought those items, and literally nothing else. Apparently when you’re having a gathering at the beach it is not implied to bring chairs or towels. Luckily we brought some extra, so we were all able to make it work. Hahaha. The kids had a blast! Grandma Paula was holding Parker and of course he was wiggling out of her arms. Grandma took his inability to sit still as a sign that he wanted to get down so that he could play in the sand. Well of course the minute he was put down he started shoveling sand into his mouth. It was a good dessert for him I’m sure. As if one super messy kid was not enough, mom took Levi down to the ocean to play in the water, and of course he got soaked! I will say that he had the time of his life! Levi loved the ocean and playing with his grandma, it was so fun to watch the two of them together. The whole family had so much fun! It was well worth staying out late, and having two messy boys to get to spend time as a family on the beach!

I know he is pretty cute!

Many I miss these beautiful ladies!

This was before the mouth full of sand

Man, what a great looking group

so sweet

Saturday was the Bachelorette party and boy was that a hoot! Wendy really wanted to have a party that all of her close girlfriends could participate in so after much thought and many ideas she decided to do a limo tour around the Temecula wineries. She strategically planned it the weekend our family was in town. This party had a little something for everyone. Even though I don’t drink I was sure excited to meet Wendy’s friends and ride in a limo for my first time! Since I live so far away I don’t get to see my sister as much as I would like, and I have not had the opportunity to meet many of her friends, so it was fun to meet people who love and support my sister the same way I do! Once I got to the winery I ordered lunch and everyone was drinking, so of course I went to the bar and ordered me a ginger beer! I wanted to feel cool and drink at the bar with everyone else, so I gave into peer pressure and ordered me some beer! Hahaha! It was so fun, and I am just so grateful that she included me and let me be a part of her party even though I don’t drink! I know most traditional bachelorette include heavy drinking and extreme partying so I am just thrilled I was able to participate! Once Wendy got home she was not feeling so hot, so I went and picked us up some pizza at Rossi’s because we all know that my Dad’s chicken ranch pizza can always make everything better! It was just such a fun day!

Our first Limo ride!

The next day was the Bridal Shower! Janelle (Wendy’s maid of honor) and her mom put so much time and energy into making Wendy’s Bridal shower extra special, and they did such a wonderful job! It was a beautiful party! It was a tea party theme, and they had the cutest china, and the most delicious food! It was very clear they have been working on this party for months. It was so cute, and it was wonderful to have the family all together to celebrate Wendy! I especially loved getting to meet Mike’s family. His mom and grandma are just the sweetest. I feel like Levi got another adopted grandma! It was so fun to visit with them, I hope we will get to see them more often. I was in charge of games, and I had fun putting those together. I planned one with Wendy’s baby pictures. I found a picture to represent each year of Wendy’s life from birth to age 18, and people had to try to put them together in the correct order. I also did a game where I videotaped myself asking Mike questions, and then Wendy had to try and guess his answers. It was pretty fun!

Ok I know that was information over load, but that was only half the trip. I will start on the other half and hopefully have it up in about a week!

Forgot to mention the Thurs. night we lit the leftover sparklers from Aaron's wedding! so fun!