The Young and the Restless

Vacation On a Whim




Ooooohhh, I love summer vacations, especially the spontaneous ones. Jason has been traveling alot and this past week he had training in LA. When they go for training they have to room with another co-worker but on Tuesday he called me around noon and told me that his roommate was going home because his daughter was sick. That empty hotel bed was calling our name and so I dropped everything and we headed off into the sunset. Normally when we go on vacation it takes me a day or two to pack and clean, but I managed to shower, get all of us dressed ready, packed and on the road in 1 1/2 hours. I was in the middle of my cleaning day and left the house a wreck, it was so not like me. I won't lie, dreadful thoughts filled my head on the trip home of the house that needed to be cleaned, the laundry that needed to be washed, the YW lesson that needed to be planned and the Wal-mart that needed to be shopped. But it was so worth it. The kids traveled great, Jayden slept and Kylie rocked out to her Ipod (I love listening to her singing along). We even had an occasional rousing game of "who can say 'Edwig' first", compliments of Jayden. Jason rode a train to San Bernardino where we met up for dinner then went back to the hotel. It was one of those fancy-shmancy-valet-parking-mini-bar type hotels right smack dab in downtown LA, it was totally fun living the high life for a week. The next day the kids and I found plenty of things to keep us busy within walking distance. Museums, fountains and even a nice grassy spot at the park to eat a picnic lunch amongst the sleeping homeless people. After Jason's meetings we went to the City Walk at Universal Studios for dinner and a nice little stroll to see the shops and street performers. I think the cotton candy was the highlight of the evening. I forget that everywhere else it gets cold once the sun goes down and I was so not prepared. I thought I was being cautious to atleast pack one long sleeve shirt and jeans for everyone. We ended up wearing the same clothes every evening because it was so cold at night. By the end of the week you could tell what food we had eaten each night for dinner just by looking at the stains on the kids' clothes. The next day was our big adventure. Instead of dealing with traffic and parking we decided to try our hand with public transportation. Heck, at 25 cents a ride it made me wish that Gilbert had it's own bus line! The kids and I trecked through town to the bus stop and rode it down to the California Science Center. It was definately an adventure and the pregnant tourist lady with the 2 kids definately stood out like a sore thumb. In Gilbert we totally blend in, but I forget that outside of AZ and Utah most 27 year olds are climbing the corporate ladder and not the ladder at the playground to chase their 2 kids. I always get so many comments and I feel like I should wear a sign that says, "Yes, they are mine. Yes, I am young. Yes I am pregnant with the 3rd. Yes they are half Asian. Yes, I think they're pretty cute too." Eventually we made it, the kids loved the bus ride and had just as much fun at the science center. I decided to take them to the IMAX theater to see this movie about pre-historic sea creatures. I was a little nervous that they would get scared, but they loved it (although Kylie spent half the movie with the 3-D glasses off and Jayden spent half the movie trying to catch the fish as they jumped off the screen). That night we went to dinner by the Santa Monica pier and enjoyed walking around and doing some shopping. I bought Little Junior's first outfit and I love picturing him wearing it, it makes it seem more real. The next day Jason finished around noon so we headed to the beach. Once again, I was not prepared in the weather department. Who would have thought that it would be freezing at the beach in June? The cold weather didn't stop the kids from getting in the water and they had a blast. It was also cool walking on the rocks and finding all the crabs hiding in the cracks. After braving it for an hour or so we headed to Loma Linda where we spent the night with some friends. It was relaxing to get away from the crowds and noise of the city and enjoy a nice evening of eating pizza in the backyard while the kids played and then frozen yogurt at a cute little shop. We went out for breakfast the next morning before saying our good-byes to a fun family vacation. It was the perfect little getaway and I can't wait to head out for another trip to Vegas and Utah in another week!