Well we have almost made it to the end of our trip! Friday was our last full day together as a family. When we went to bed Thursday night we had plans of getting off to a comfortably slow start the next day but that all changed around 7:30 a.m. Suddenly we changed our minds and we were leaving NOW. No one got left behind and we made it out the door in record time I think (maybe slightly stinky and disheveled though. :)) Where were we headed in such a hurry? To get donuts and go to Point Loma. The donut shop we stopped at did make phenomenal donuts. I don't even like donuts but as I type this I am totally craving a chocolate one with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. Yum. Point Loma was pretty neat. We got to see a submarine heading out as well as a hospital ship. We explored a lighthouse and enjoyed the spectacular view of the ocean. Sadly we weren't there at the right time to see the impressive tide pools that are there.
Much of the gang at a look out point.
The submarine.
Me and Tatum. Tatum is probably busy looking at the man who asked if she was a girl or a boy. The giant bow, pink pants and pink shoes were evidently not a giveaway.
Brennan and Tatum in the lighthouse.
Jade checking out the view from the lighthouse window.
Me and Jade
I am wearing my winter coat in that picture. So sad. I actually meant to leave it in the car at the Des Moines airport but forgot to. I was super mad at myself until I was freezing my tail off in California. I have never been more grateful for being forgetful!
After Point Loma we headed back to Coronado for one more frolic on the beach and to rent a 6-person bicycle.
The first group. I love Libbie's face in this picture.
The brave passengers.
The 2nd group-I'm there in the back. This was quite an adventure let me tell you. We even had to come back to get re-instructed on where to go. And we had to make a potty stop! I think some of the kids were wishing they had gone with another group.
Another group. Claire was happy to ride in front any chance she could.
We played on the beach while we took turns on the bike. Gavin got completely buried.
And Crystal worked hard to bury Henry but he had a harder time holding still.
A local guy came up to Brennan and started telling him all about how the tide was going to super low that afternoon and about how when it gets low sometimes you can find clams. I guess if they are big enough you are allowed to keep them. So Caden and Brennan were on the hunt. And much to my surprise they were successful! Here they are with their clams.
When we got back to the resort Brennan cooked his up. Here it is after it opened. He was quite disappointed that no one wanted to try his clam. Haha, can you blame us??
Friday night we played some more games and just spent time together. Saturday morning dad flew out at 6 am. Nathan and Caleb's families left around 8 a.m. That just left mom and the girls. In the morning Mara got all packed up and Crystal and I had to move from our rooms to the unit that was still reserved for one more night. Then we all headed to Jamba Juice and a park. We might have chosen the wrong park...but it was still enjoyable. At least Jade thought so:
Mara and Mom left from there to drive back to Arizona. Then Crystal's family headed to the coast and Brennan, Tatum and I headed back to Coronado to spend some time with Melanie. We hung out at her place for awhile, walked around by the bay and then headed to dinner. She took us to a super delicious mexican restaurant with a great environment and awesome staff. We were impressed.
Tatum and Grandma M at the restaurant. Tatum was not a super happy camper that day. It was the start of a long week (or 2 or 3 or however many it is going to be) of teething.
After dinner we spent some more time at Melanie's place letting Tatum entertain us. She finally climbed on Brennan while he was laying down and he started pounding her back. She would just go "ahhhhhh" because she liked what it did to her voice. But it only took about 2 minutes before she was passed out. She must have been super tired because she almost never falls asleep on us-especially Brennan.
The last picture from our trip. Sniff, sniff.
Sunday morning Crystal's family (minus Caden) headed to the airport bright and early. We had the joyous responsibility of taking care of the gobs and gobs of food that was left in the room before checking out. Then we headed down to San Diego to go to church (we avoided the Spanish ward this time). After Church Melanie took us to the airport. And then our adventure really began. We still had the airport's loaner car seat since they brought us ours while we were out. But of course they wouldn't take it from us at the ticket counter. They thought it would be a better idea to send Brennan on a wild goose chase. The security line was pretty long so Caden, Tatum and I got in it without him, expecting him to be back momentarily, but he never showed. That left me to get the three of us through security myself. Tatum may or may not have screamed the whole time and I may or may not have been a ball of stress by the time we got through. But we made it and so did Brennan. No one fought over seats or fainted on the return flights and none of us had ear pain. But our first flight was delayed leaving us, yet again, with an unbelievably short layover in Denver. Not fun. We got into Des Moines early though, around 10 or 10:15 at night. And then proceeded to waited over an hour for the baggage to come out so we could get the car seat and stroller. I was about ready to freak. We went the wrong way leaving the airport, adding a few minutes to our trip, drove Caden home (2 hours away) and then drove to our place after that (half hour more). Brennan did have to stop once to get out in the cold air to wake himself up and he did need me to drive the last leg. We rolled into the garage around 2:30 a.m. It was a long day. Oh, and did I mention Brennan had to work at 8 a.m.? We were definitely exhausted but can't complain. What a great trip! It was so fun to get together at a time when we wouldn't normally see each other and in a place we wouldn't normally be. And so fun to be able to celebrate our awesome mom! She does so much for all of us and I think it's safe to say we are all eternally indebted to her. We love you mom! Happy Birthday!
the end. :)
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