vacation diary, volume 1

Things are sunny here in San Diego. Our travels up to this point have been a little less so. Don't get me wrong, we are enjoying being here, but it has definitely had it's share of challenges. We left the house by 6:30 am on Sunday morning, only a half an hour later than we originally hoped for. When we arrived in Grand Junction we decided that we needed to grab a bite to eat. I'm aware that it was Sunday, and yes, we broke the Sabbath, which is probably why we had problems. Anyways, we stopped at McDonalds, because if you know our family you know that we love a McDonalds breakfast! I ordered the usual for the kids, pancakes with orange juice. The kid at the register says nothing. I seat myself and kids, and a few minutes later Jon peeks around the corner and asks me if I ordered apples for them. Um, NO. Don't get me wrong, I like apples, they have just never been an option at breakfast. It turns out they had informed Jon that they weren't doing pancakes anymore for breakfast, which is stupid, but whatever. Now I'm wondering what else they planned to give me in the kid's meal and why the guy at the counter didn't tell me that when I ordered. Then, the people behind Jon walk up and order pancakes and they give them to them! Jon asks what is going on and they tell him that they still make pancakes, but they aren't serving them to kids anymore because some dietician said it wasn't good for them. OK, that is a bunch of you know what. First of all, who is McDonald's to tell me what I can or can't feed my kids? Second, that can't possibly be a new McDonald's policy because we had just had them for breakfast the day before with grandma and grandpa. Thirdly, do they think that a better option would have been a sausage patty and biscuit? Because that is about the extent of their other options. And, what's to stop me from ordering a regular meal with pancakes and just giving it to my kids? As it turned out, Jon got our money refunded, two orders of pancakes, and OJ for the kids. I guess I can get over it now.

The rest of the drive to Las Vegas (our pit stop for the night) went really well. Gracie slept so well and Derrick and Abbie just watched movies. We made really good time and were pleased with the hotel that we booked on Hotwire at the last minute. What we forgot is how disgusting Vegas really is, and it just seems to get worse, especially when you have your kids with you. This was our first visit with any of our kids, and will probably be one of last unless absolutely necessary. We really wish we had just stayed in the hotel room once we got there. But, we had to eat. I've learned that I don't like the Rainforest Cafe. I've also learned that just because a hotel looks like it is only a couple of blocks away, "block" on the strip are bigger than you remember. The only thing I care to see on the strip are the fountains at Bellagio, and I made the bad decision for all of us to walk down there. It's not that my kids were traumatized by seeing something they shouldn't. They were just exhausted and I shouldn't have pushed them. By the time were got down there, Abbie wasn't even interested in seeing them anymore. It was a long walk back to the hotel, but the kids crashed really quickly. Needless to say, we got on the road pretty early in the morning.

Monday's drive in to San Diego went well, except we could tell that Abbie just wasn't quite herself. She was really lethargic and had told us she felt like throwing up in the middle of the night in Las Vegas, but then nothing happened. When we stopped for lunch, Derrick broke out in hives again, so we had to stop for some Benadryl. Gracie was perfect up until the last 45 minutes before San Diego, which felt like 2 hours. Anyways, we checked in to the hotel, which is really nice, and then walked with everyone down to Seaport Village. We had a great time walking around and spending time with my family, until Abbie threw up during her dinner. Seeing how she was not feeling well, I guess the carousel ride was probably a bad idea! Anyways, after an interesting walk back (Derrick got his elbow stuck in an elevator railing), we ditched out on ice cream at Ghiradelli's because now Jon wasn't feeling great either. We had an early night.

Today's excursion was to Sea World. Abbie didn't even want to go this morning and we had to rent a stroller for her at the park. We were able to see some of the shows. Derrick, Gracie and I got soaked at the dolphin show (I let him choose the seats and we were on row 2)! I would probably sit just on the edge of the soak zone next time, as it took me at least 3 hours to completely dry out. I'm exhausted, so I should go, but not before I leave with the icing on the cake. As you can see, I'm doing my best to earn the mother of the year award the last couple of days. This ought to do it!

Yes, I left the hotel without sunscreen and burned my baby! My sister arrived shortly after us and we lathered them all up, but it was too late. The damage was done! I'm just hoping the preemptive Tylenol kicks in and keeps her comfortable through the night. I hope we make it to Saturday, although I think that red is a part of the wedding's color scheme, so maybe we'll be OK!