One Year in San Diego, Day 301: Old Town

Disclaimer: Yes, we have done a TON of things in the area since I last posted our 365 days in San Diego theme. Yes I DID just sit on the calendar and count how many days since we moved here. 

We're almost done here, folks. If our potential move date of June 15th holds out, we will be out of here in 67 days. Which means our grand total days in San Diego will be 370.

That was quick, wasn't it?

We've exhausted most of our bucket list for this city already. And luckily, moving just 9 hours up the coast, we will be within reach to return to San Diego to vacation (which we intend on most summers) and hit whatever we've missed. My opinion on San Diego is, it's a tremendous city to vacation to, just not the best to raise kids. At least in the area I live in.

Monday was Brad's last day here before the final deployment to Alameda to decommission the ship. So we turned it into a family day and spent the good majority of the day in Old Town San Diego, taking only an hour intermission to go pick up Calen from school and return. If you visit San Diego, check out Old Town. It's the first U.S. settlement in California, and it's been recreated (most of the old buildings are long lost from a fire in the 1870s) to remain as it's original old Mexi-Cali mission village. Super cool place to explore and learn some history too. And then go to Cafe Coyote for a good Mexican dinner and be sure to hit up the old lady outside who makes you a pile of warm homemade tortillas and butter to take home for $2.

Sitting where the first US flag was flown in California

While The Lion Sleeps...

I hate the "in between stage."

Moms (and Dads) know what I'm talking about. That point in time when your child drops his nap. By not napping, he's horrifically cranky, whiny, and semi narcoleptic from mid afternoon until bedtime. But if he does nap, even if only for 45 minutes, he's suddenly awake partying until 11pm. Thus the in between stage. Awful. 

Camden turns 4 in two weeks. He's terribly knee deep into the "in between stage." Combining that with his already impatient and testy personality, he's become an absolute treat in the afternoons. 

The other day Cam had a post-whining-fit narcoleptic spell at dinner, mid bite into his cheeseburger. He at one point snapped awake and excused himself from the table, just to flop down on his brother's bedroom floor and sleep for an hour. 

Instead of waking him up to avoid him sabotaging bedtime, or just letting him sleep peacefully, Daddy and I decided to take complete and total revenge on Camden's peaceful slumber.

That's what normal kind, caring parents do, right?

Easter

I had enough pictures from today I decided I may as well put a blog up about it. Since you know I haven't posted since October. Yikes. 

We had a great Easter. We started off yesterday with cascarones (confetti eggs). Nothing is more therapeutic than siblings pounding each other's heads eggs with their fists. 

Therapy.

Then began this morning with the traditional backyard egg hunt and basket handouts, and church with friends. For the second year in a row, the kids wore super hero shirts under their dress shirts. Secret identities (insert a muahaha here).

This year's baskets (and a basket from Grammy and Papa too)

I crack myself up...

After church, we attempted to go to Torrey Pines State Reserve and do one of the walking trails, but the closest available parking was (I kid you not) over a mile away from the trail head. So we drove from there to Fiesta Island to fly the kids' new kites, and there were no less than eight million people at that park. So we drove from there to Old Town, parked at the train station, took the trolley down to Seaport Village (in downtown), and spent a good part of the afternoon in the grassy field there flying their super cool new kites (from Costco for $12.99 each...you're welcome), playing tackle football and even held some parrots (because that's what street vendors offer in these parts...). It was a perfect ending to a great Easter. 

Cam's huge alien and Calen's super rad 3D dragon