San Diego April 2011

I have to blog about our trip before I forget what we did!  We woke up Saturday at 5:30am and drove to SLC where Thurm ran a 1/2 marathon.  After, we drove to Payson to his sister's so he could shower.  So we finally got on our way about 11:30am and made it to our condo at 10:30pm.  It was a LONG day, but the boys did great! They slept in the car like little champs.  Thurm never got to stretch after his race and we VERY stiff and sore, poor guy.
We stopped in a town outside Las Vegas called Primm and there was a big roller coaster at one of the casinos.  We told Quinn we were going to a park to eat lunch, but they didn't have anything in the town but a couple casinos and a gas station. So we found a piece of grass about 5 ft  by 5ft where we could see the roller coaster.  Quinn called it "town park" and was completely happy. I wish I was so satisfied with small things.
The condo was really nice and had a beautiful courtyard with a pool, baby pool, and hot tub.  We all prefer the hot tub.  I couldn't get over all the beautiful flowers everywhere.  The plants and flowers in San Diego are so tropical.  Thurm couldn't get over the beaches. Every morning Jens woke up at 5am CA time, so Thurm would take him to the beach so Quinn & I could sleep a little longer.  Thurm went to every beach in a 15 mile radius.
Thurm took a few runs while we there. One run that sounded fun/painful.  He ran down to the beach and along it for a few miles. Then he went swimming and ran home in his wet swimsuit.  I'm glad those weren't my thighs chaffing!
Sea World was fun and if we ask Quinn what his favorite thing about our trip was he'll say the sharks.  Though, he didn't seem that impressed while we were actually looking at them.  I loved the penguins because they are just so cute. Thurm like the dolphin show.  And I think Jens liked Shamu, because he got a nice nap while I held him. Our favorite park of SeaWorld, however, was the children's play area. They could have spent the entire day there. It was alot of fun. Quinn rode the tea cups.
We spend a morning in Old Town San Diego and the best part of that was the Mormon Battalion visitors center.  It was really kid friendly and entertaining. You went from room to room that were designed to look like the pioneer-west. They had interactive movies in each room. Quinn got to be dressed up like a little Mormon solider.
We spent alot of time at Balboa Park and if I were to suggest one place to go, it would be there. We spend three half days there and didn't get to see hardly any of it. It has like 15 museums, 10 gardens, restaurants, etc.  I LOVED the gardens.  We ate at a little Japanese tea house that was Thurm's favorite.
Quinn woke up a few different nights and raided the treats. There were two different mornings I woke up to notice a bunch of cookies or treats eaten.  We also figured out that he gets car sick.
Thurm had his life-long search for Big Boggle realized at a toy store.  We looked at the copyright date on it and it turns out they have started manufacturing them again.  He was ecstatic.
My favorite part of the vacation was nap-time each day. Thurm would usually go running or to the beach and I would get a couple hours to have guilt-free relaxation time. I read a book on the patio in the warm sun.   It was a great time!