Blythe was very concerned about what she could bring. Our last trip to Indiana, she was allowed to bring her blue kiki and one stuffed animal. We didn't want to be hauling around a suitcase full of stuffed things. This trip, Blythe was insistent that she be able to bring both her blue and pink kikis, as well as three small stuffed animals. The stuffed animals she selected really are small, so that wasn't an issue, but I felt that two kikis was excessive and unnecessary. She disagreed. I told her she would have to carry both of them herself, in her backpack, and that no one else was going to haul them around for her, even if she claimed her backpack was too heavy. She agreed and both came.
Our flight was at 8:30am, a direct shot to San Diego, so we woke at 5:30 to get dressed, eat a little something, and get on our way. This was early, but the children didn't complain. They were more concerned in making sure we didn't leave their Kindles behind. We arrived in plenty of time, and had an uneventful flight.
The pre-boarding wait.
This is pretty much what they looked like through the whole flight too;
both of them hunched over their Kindle.
Because our flight was so early, we arrived in San Diego at 9:30. We couldn't get into the house where we were staying until 3:00pm, so we decided we would go to church. The San Diego First Ward stated at 11:00, giving us plenty of time to get our rental car and still be on time. In fact, we were early. It was raining heavily upon our arrival, and really, the rain didn't let up all afternoon. We had planned on going to sacrament meeting, finding someplace to have a bit of lunch, and then meeting up with drivers in La Jolla in the afternoon to play on the beach. That plan was right out because even though it wasn't a cold rain, it was still a very wet one.
Instead of going to the beach, we just stayed at church for all three meetings. I went with the children to Primary. We weren't actually sure there was a Primary because we saw very few children during sacrament meeting, and most of them looked to be nursery age. Turns out there was one large class of Sunbeam/CTR4s, five of them, one boy Blythe's age, and one older girl, maybe ten. That's it. We stood out amidst the paucity of participants. The kids were good about participating, however, and sang well during singing time.
Then came class time. I had to bribe them with gum to go to class, the two of them together with the one other boy and the teacher, a funny looking guy who promised them treats if they came to class. That was enough. They went and Mom and I went to Relief Society. At the end of class time, they emerged from the classroom bearing treats and wide smiles, reporting they had a great time and the teacher was really nice. Yeah!
We were all hungry, so we made towards the house we were renting and found food along the way. The house is in Mission Hills, an area of San Diego right over Old Town, and we drove through the area looking for someplace to eat. There were probably six or seven Mexican restaurants to choose from, and we opted for La Pinata. It wasn't a wonderful choice. The food was average, but the building was interesting. It was originally a house and began serving Mexican food through a window by the kitchen in the 1920s. That makes it the oldest restaurant in Old Town, but it certainly wasn't the best food wise. Oh well. We were hungry and it was food.
The house we stayed at is really great. It is in a nice quiet neighborhood, has eight bedrooms and five bathrooms, a fully stocked kitchen, large backyard with play equipment, and enough space for all of us which is saying something because we were nine adults twelve children. We got settled in and greeted everyone else upon their arrival. It immediately felt like a party with little people everywhere opening closets and drawers and cupboards and running back and forth together. The women went to the grocery store for breakfast foods and snack, and we decided to eat dinner at the house rather than trying to get everyone back in the car and to a restaurant. We enjoyed breakfast for dinner--French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, and fruit.
The grocery store where we went has parking underneath and the actual store above.
To get your groceries from the store to your car, they had an escalator.
The cart hooks into a rail and moves up and down.
Never seen that before, but way cool!
It was wild having all those people in one place, but really, the house was large enough to accommodate everyone. Kent had been concerned about having a place apart, but we had two upstairs bedrooms with a bathroom between them, so when we needed to, we could shut the doors and separate ourselves from the general chaos. When it was time for bed, we took our kids upstairs to read stories and settle down. Blythe protested, saying it wasn't fair that she and Brandt had to go to bed when everyone else was still playing. I pointed out that everyone else hadn't been up at 5:30, we had a full day ahead of us, and she needed to get some sleep. I began reading out loud and protests came to an abrupt end. Reading aloud has amazing power. We also divided the sleeping arrangements, with Kent sleeping with Blythe and me sleeping with Brandt. They don't sleep well together--they kick each other awake--so we divided to conquer and everyone slept well.
Though we really didn't do much beyond travel and church today, it is fun to be at the beginning of a grand adventure.
Lyla and Rowen in the crib rented so Lyla can't escape from the bedroom.
Luke helping Brick upstairs.
The stairs were a favorite play place of the boys and the babies.
Rowen rolled down them from maybe six or seven steps up.
The came down backward head over heels.
He wasn't happy, but fortunately, the stairs are carpeted.
The landing at the bottom was always covered with stuff the littles had been playing with,
and frequently the littles themselves.
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