the san diego five.

learned

1. Lucy loves Elmo. From a distance. Breakfast with Elmo was a success if all characters stayed 10+ feet away from Lucy. The photo ops and interaction was a little more than she was comfortable with so even though the cuddly red monster wanted to give Lucy a hug and kiss she preferred to blow a kiss while clinging on to me.

2. The rain in San Diego is better than snow in Utah, any day. We lucked out on the weather. The forecast didn't look too great but we only got rain on our last day Monday. And a down pour wins out on the snow in Utah. Snow is for sickies.

3. 94.9 San Diego is our favorite radio station.

4. A poo diaper with 20 minutes left of the flight and the seatbelt signed turned ON is not a fun thing.

5. Keep cameras away from Lucy when she's moody and not into character interaction (see #1). We learned the hard way and have no pictures beyond breakfast with Elmo. Sorry Shamu.

ate

1. A fresh squeezed tangerine mimosa on the patio at The Cottage in La Jolla. Yes please.

2. The most delicious crab cakes ever (I should have ordered my own) in Point Loma.

3. In-N-Out. It was bleh this time, I think we like 5 Guys better.

4. Only two bites of breakfast at Breakfast with Elmo because I was too excited for Lucy.

5. Carnitas at Cafe Coyote in Old Town that were so delish they almost brought a tear to my eye and guacamole that Lucy couldn't eat fast enough.

saw

1. Cute surfers - always a good thing.

2. Ducks knocking on our sliding glass door of our patio. Lucy and I made the mistake of feeding them once and then we kept hearing them knock their beaks on the window. It made the two of us laugh but Blake was not amused.

3. Pretty much 10 of my dream cottages in the hills of La Jolla.

4. Lucy stomping and splashing around the fountain at Balboa Park. Our last day we decided to check out Balboa Park and some of their museums to get out of the rain. Exploring the gardens took up more time than we planned so once the rain let up we sat back and watched Miss buggy splash around. It's so fun to see her exploring and being her own little person.

5. A random pillow fight. In downtown San Diego on Valentine's we were driving around the city and at a stop light HUNDREDS of people ran out into the intersection hitting each other with pillows. Pretty funny and totally unexpected.

bought

1. A darling little senorita dress for Lucy in old town that I'm sure she'll be wearing this summer.

2. $6. in raw fish to feed the stingrays in SeaWorld. Lucy and I were too grossed out to touch them so we watched Blake. They must have been full because they didn't even attempt to eat them.

3. A Zoey doll - slowly moving up the ladder of Lucy's favorite Sesame Street characters. I think she's my new favorite too.

4. A pass into Cabrillo National Monument. Even on a rainy day there are still some pretty cool things to check out in San Diego. The view from this monument with the rain and crashing ocean was frightening to see.

5. A six-pack of Sprite. I got this from my mom because she always does it on trips and I've picked up the habit. Every night on vacation I need to have ice and a Sprite. Blake didn't want to keep going to the vending machine so he just bought me a six-pack for the mini fridge - oh what he does to make me happy!

loved

1. Watching Lucy run full force towards the ocean yelling "come on" with no fear and pure glee. She's a wild woman when it comes to some things - life size characters not so much.

2. Spending a mini trip with my two favorite people. We could pretty much go anywhere and I'd be happy with the two of them as my travel companions.

3. Sitting on our patio surrounded by palm trees and flowers drinking coffee and talking with Blake. I love the simple things.

4. Swimming with Lucy in the pool. She really is our little fish baby. I love that she loves the water and is as excited about pools as I am. Lounging and giggling in our towels to warm up after our swim was perfect too.

5. Our hair. Coastal airs do wonders for curly hair and we decided we would consider moving solely on what San Diego does for our hair.

I included quite a few pictures, if you are interested...enjoy!  We heart San Diego!

maybe I now understand her fear - ca-reepy!

no one was a big fan of Big Bird - kind of awkward

Zoey!  so cute but Lucy didn't know she was behind her

things were much better at a distance

Elmo attempting to win her over

fun times

cruisin the streets of downtown after our Valentine's date

my valentine's

offering kisses for guac!

miss fish

beach bum

Lucy was a few feet into the ocean while we tried to take this pic (kidding!)

from our patio

silly goose