San Diego: Part V (HAPPY EASTER!)

It wasn't a typical Easter, that's for sure.

I am fine with our Easter celebration not being traditional, but it needed to be memorable. And blog/picture worthy, of course!

Low and behold, it was all that and more!

The fun began at 6:30 am. This is early, but much better than 4:30am, which is when Mateo first woke up. He ran downstairs to check if you know who had come already.

 

"Mami, our baskets are gone! The Easter Bunny hid our baskets!

Papi, go back to sleep, it is still dark!

How many more minutes?

HOURS PAPI!!! At least TWO HOURS!!

Luckily, he did fall back asleep quickly. BUT! Two hours later he was up and ready to wake his brother and look for baskets. Before I could get Ernesto out of bed, Mateo had found Paloma's basket under the dining table and his under a bunch of pillows on the couch. Minutes later Marcelo found his in the coat closet.

I have to give kudos to the Easter bunny, because this year he filled their baskets with "things to do" instead of a lot of candy.

That is not to say that they didn't eat their fair share......

We still had not colored eggs, so there we were on the patio at 8am with a dozen hard boiled eggs.

We read about an Easter egg hunt at Mission Beach. However, when I went to sign up online it was already sold out. We stuck with the beach plan though and headed towards Coronado.

It may have not been the prettiest morning, but there was no shortage of beautiful scenery. (As is always the case in Coronado)

The boys had their baskets in tow just in case they spotted some eggs. We really didn't know what we would find.

While strolling towards the Hotel Del, Ernesto fell behind. He called us all excited because he had found some eggs in the sand.

Oh the excitement!

As you can see the boys were all dressed up for Easter! Ha!

The bunny himself left those shirts soooooo...there was no question about what they would wear. Hey! It's California...waaaay more casual out here. Shorts are perfectly acceptable:). I did find this cute skirt and shirt at Marshalls. (not specifically for Easter, but it worked) I love how the slit on the back makes this otherwise plain shirt special. (I have since went back and picked up another one in blue)

A Bloody Mary sounded super delish and the Hotel Del is always a good place to go. The Del Beach Bar served up probably the best I have ever had.

Nice and spicy with extra olives...and the kicker...pickled beans and cucumbers! Oh my!

What happen next was just plain lucky.

We reached the hotel and on the big lawn there was a HUGE Easter egg hunt just about to start.

These boys were excited! The MC announced that there were five eggs with a "special gold coin" and kids were only allowed to grab 3 eggs each...but could grab as much candy (that was thrown loose in grass) as possible. And that is exactly what they did.

Mateo followed the directions properly, only putting three eggs in his basket. However he opened many more to see if there was a gold coin inside. They were all empty.

Yes, they had some sugar that day. Look how Mateo's storing candy in his cheeks like a little squirrel.

These boys are like fiends. CANT. GET. ENOUGH. SWEETS.

Sounds like someone else I know.

God knows we both love sweets, but this is definitely the ONE we just can't get enough of...

Isn't that little dress cute? (Do you like it Fred, even though it's yellow?) it has little pink and gray birdies on it.

After the egg hunt, we ran into the Easter bunny himself. The boys got hugs and Mateo asked the bunny if he had hid more eggs in abuela's backyard...because he had forgotten to check out there:)

There were a lot of people there, and that made it exciting. I like crowds. Is that weird?

The sugar crash was inevitable, and we had sleepers on the ride home.

The rest of the day was a family filled food fest. (A Sunday like any other)

I'm glad we ventured out...it's all about making memories right? I mean, who knows if we will ever have a "beach Easter" again?!

Did you guys do anything out of the norm to celebrate Easter?

San Diego: Part III

Would you believe in the 17 years I have been coming to San Diego that I have never been to Belmont Park? Located right at Pacific Beach, this mini-amusement park has a roller coaster that I have walked by so many times over the years but never boarded...and I LOVE roller coasters!

Well, guess what, I still haven't rode it, but we did take the kids there and we had a lot of fun. (Since Ernesto and I couldn't go on it together, I decided towait until Mateo is tall enough to go with me)

Gosh, this little angel is happy all the time. Wouldn't you be with these little moccasins?

The boys were only tall enough to get on a few of the rides, but we still decided to go with a wristband. The carousel was fun, but not a repeater.

The submarine ride was a new experience but still not exciting enough to repeat. Papi didn't think so either.

Once they got to these cars though, they ended up riding enough times to get our money's worth!

The cars just went around in an oval but on the ends it really whipped them around and they laughed every time. So cute!

We have hit a ton of playgrounds. Outside. Activities. Every. Day.

Yes, my boys are shaggy. But it's California dude!! Couldn't you see these guys carrying surfboards? Marcelo is a bleach blondie and Mateo has the best highlights. They are going to need cuts soon so they can bare the Atlanta heat!

We have been at the beach ALOT! It is the easiest, cheapest, sure fire entertainment for the boys, and quite relaxing for us as well.

Also, can you say Spring break?

The beaches have been crowded! Mostly we went ourselves, but a couple times family joined us. Marcos and Shanel have a 3 month old baby. Little Lucas is the same size as Paloma.

They had a blast together comparing their chunky thighs and talking about eating a sleep schedules.

One day, we had 7 cousins together at La Jolla Shores and it was pretty great!

Of course the water is still freezing here! It doesn't ever really get warm. (I can only remember going in the water once or twice in 16 years.) If you wade your feet in the water long enough, you can get used to the temperature, but when you first stick your foot in, it is like ice.

Enough to make you cry.

Ayyyyyyy Papi! I KNOW! Pobrecita! She did not like the cold water. Shocker!! I told him not to do it. Eventually, just like the other kids, she won't care that the water is cold and will jump right in. She will be 6 months next week. Crazy how times flies.

We are planning to finish out this month here and head back to our regularly scheduled program.

**taken outside Salud tacos in Barrio Logan

 

San Diego: Part II

Here we are in week two of our San Diego stay. It has been so wonderful! We have been outside and active everyday, eating THE BEST Mexican food, and enjoying lots of time with family! Bedtime has been a breeze as these boys are falling asleep when their heads hit the pillow.

Hiking up a mountain is one way to wear them out.

What normally takes us an hour to hike (up and down) Cowles Mountain now takes two. At one point, I didn't think they were going to make it.

Laying down on the trail! Ha!

Their clothes were covered in dirt from falling /sliding but only one minor injury.

Dr. Mateo took a look at the little scratch on his brothers hand, gave a kiss and a hug and they continued on...best of friends

Sometimes these guys kill me with their sweetness. Unfortunately, it is mostly short-lived. Power struggles are way more fun.

My parents were visiting long time friends in AZ last week, so they flew a little further west to stay at Hotel Espinoza.

My parents said they were not crazy about these pictures of themselves, but I said "It's not about you, look at my baby!" For example, take this next picture. Not flattering of me AT ALL....but my baby could not be any cuter!!!

I KNOW! IT'S JUST RIDICULOUS!

What a good week! We tried to do just one activity per day. By the time you get out of the Espinoza house anyway, that is about all there is time for. One day we did walk a few miles at the park in the am AND go to the beach.

Coronado is the closest beach to mis suegras house, and also one of my favorites. It's long and wide, so even when it's crowded, it doesn't feel like it. With the "cooler temperatures" the beach was nowhere near being crowded, in fact we had it practically to ourselves.

I had Paloma covered in a towel because it was chilly; meanwhile Marcelo was naked (or nakey-nake as we call it).

One day our itinerary was constructed around this:

Surprise! It's a golf course. Those of you who know mi esposo, know that he is OBSESSED with golf. My dad likes it too, so they HAD to play. Ernesto's brother Tavo booked all of them for the infamous Torrey Pines Golf course.

Since they didn't playing until the afternoon, we went early to hike around the trails.

This is one of my favorite places to go in SD. The views are unbelievable. To get a workout in this environment is invigorating. Of course with kids and three 70+ year olds we were doing more of a stroll, but I still broke a sweat.

Mateo is all about maps and directions these days. He guided us to the water.

 

We were very active all week, but nobody lost any weight, that's for sure! Oh. The. Food!

Tacos de barbacoa, fish and steak. Ceviche...to name a few. But my favorite dish (and most requested) is coctel de camaron (shrimp coctel). So good! I even ate it for breakfast the next morning.

Yes we feasted all week on mi suegras home cooking, but one day we ventured out to Lucky Lu's, my brother-in-laws restaurant.

We had been at the Children's Museum (which is awesome!) The kids were so tired. Marcelo didn't last through lunch. He fell asleep with his head on the table. After this great photo-op we moved him to a booth to continue napping.

Something different this trip is that the boys have made friends with little neighbor kids on abuelas street.

Bikes, running, scooters, hide-n-seek, tag, and....WWE wrestling.

They seemed to like it but luckily they aren't asking for a ring just yet. We have enough aggressive play at our house anyway with these Imaginext batman figures....that is a whole other post.

 

Well thanks for coming along. Stay tuned for Part III, IV and maybe even V. We aren't sure when we are leaving yet. I have heard the weather is nice back in Atlanta, but this really can't be beat.