SAN DIEGO

this is how happy we are to go ...

the ocean!  we SO missed it...
it only took us 5.5 hours to get here!  not bad!?

this is actually in Oceanside, where our condo was.  we stayed there with Marty's mom and his brother Ryan and Becca and their two girls. it was a 3 bedroom condo that sat right off the beach.

lots of grandma time...they love her.!

Charlie was terrified of the waves, he'd hide among the rocks most the time unless we walked out with him and held his hand.  he warmed up a LITTLE bit at the end...

Marty's bro on the left, they look nothing alike but act every bit alike:)  Charlie called him TIGER the whole trip...we wondered where that came from.  this is what we figure.  his name is Ryan sounds like lion-and to Charlie; lion and tiger are the same thing...so hence the title TIGER.  (he just called him that now as i was posting this picture)
Or maybe it's cuz he's big, tall and hairy with red hair (fur) like a ferocious tiger :)??

Liam got quite a workout...he'd haul the water up the beach pour it out in his sand hole and run back down to refill.  I tried to tell him the water would just sink down and never accumulate.  but, to no avail, he was too determined.

it was cloudy the whole day Thursday...i never believed the 'myth' that you can get sun burned when it's cloudy out.  but it was proven to me that day.  i got a little sun burned because i didn't have any screen on! 
 it was thick, set-in clouds too-not the wispy thin kind. 
learned my lesson there!

Charlie in his little creative, on-the-go mind made this rock into a slide.  it worked quite well with his slick swim-suit and wet surface...and without any real effort to get to the top again, it was a perfect playground for him.  he went down again and again...and again.

we would get in the hot tub everyday after playing on the beach and the ocean was right there behind us while we soaked in the hot water..it was perfect, so relaxing. let me tell you a really cool secret connected with a brain fart (of my cute husband:). 
 Marty got out after being in the hot tub for like 30 min. and realized his cell phone was in his pocket!  talk about maddening for him...and me.  so we drove to an AT&T store and the clerk told us to try putting it in RICE (to draw out the moisture) for two days.  he'd thought marty had just 'dipped' in and out real fast not realizing he'd soaked for half hour.  but we still decided to try it before buying a new phone.  so we took it all apart and covered it in rice. 
 after 24 hours it worked!..but no sound/audio...
'put it in for TWO days' i said when marty was going to throw in the towel...so he did.  after 48 hours it TOTALLY worked~!  what the?!
so next time your phone falls in the toilet, you jump in a river or pool or throw your pants in the wash-throw it in some rice! 
miracle little grain it is.
Friday we went to Safari Park in San Diego.  expensive.  worth it though for the 1st and only time.

armadillo up close and personal.  ducks and charlie, such a duo.

we rode a tram around the park with a tour guide...the kids loved it and it was nice to SIT for a bit, cuz for the next 2 hours we walked and walked and walked.

it was a 'batty' time...

WE LOVE YOU OCEANSIDE/SAN DIEGO.
 We will probably be visiting again soon and quite regularly. 
 kids need oceans. adults need oceans. 
Thanks Ryan and Becca for inviting us and letting us crash your trip!:):)