Girls' Weekend!

A few months ago  my sisters, our Mom, and I decided it was time to gather for a relaxing girls' weekend in California!  The last time we were all together was for my Dad's funeral and it was nice to have a happy and laid-back gathering to look forward to.    My sister, K, took care of planning the details and the rest of us girls gathered in from our three states (Utah, Virginia, and California) to spend a long weekend together!    

The weather was cooler and cloudier than I'd hoped,  but I have to admit I rather enjoyed the above freezing temperatures quite a lot.   Here's a little glimpse of  our weekend:  

 Thursday:
-Woke up in the wee hours of the morning and flew to SNA with Mom and Heather.  We flew on Breeze Airlines and I just have to say that I am quickly becoming a fan of the Provo Airport. 
-Spent the day hanging out with K's family--including being introduced to all the stuffed animals, meeting the cutest little Spiderman ever, and going to the library to find a copy of East of Eden for me and a bunch of fun books for the boys 
-Trip to the grocery store to buy candy and then to the post office to send off a candy bar note for our niece, Anna's 5th birthday!  
-A walk around Kristina's beautiful neighborhood

Friday:  
-Mom, Heather, AnnaLisa headed off for a day at to San Diego Zoo, while K and I stayed home to get the kids where they needed to be
-I finished reading East of Eden (I only had a few chapters left when my audiobook went back to the library), read lots of silly library books to the kids again and again, and did an art project with the kids based on one of the books
-Drove to San Diego to check into the Airbnb, but only after getting locked out of the car on purpose by one of the kiddos.  Thankfully AAA didn't take too long to come to the rescue.
-A very late dinner at Marcy's Taco Shop, which was within walking distance to the Airbnb--the chicken tacos were excellent!  

Saturday: 
-Drove to Andrew's invitational track meet back up in Newport Beach, where he got a PR in the shotput (52' 7") and won 3rd place!   We were quite the enthusiastic cheering section, which I think he enjoyed very much!  
-We got lunch at the Burger Lounge, where I got one of the best bunless burger I've ever had

-We walked across the street and got doughnuts at Sidecar Doughnuts, which I have to say were the best doggone gluten free doughnuts I've ever had #goodfoodday
-Whale watching cruise at Newport Beach where we saw a pod of gray whales. a bunch of dolphins (a little later in the day), and some sealions 
-We got ice cream at Cowafornia, which was tasty, but still not as good as Zwahlen's (our new standard for ice cream goodness)
-Drove back to San Diego, where we did some postcard and souvenir shopping and got a late dinner at Miguel's (a family tradition) in Old Town San Diego.  If we had known about Andrew's meet during the planning, we probably would have found a house closer to home, but I sure do love San Diego, so it was good to be there!  

Sunday:  
-Woke up and finally got to explore around the AirBnb.  Its location between the bay and the ocean made for some pretty spectacular hiking!
-We checked out of the AirBnb and went to church at the Point Loma Ward, which had very terrible parking
-Got lunch at The Crack Shack, which also had very terrible parking
-Went to walk around Cabrillo National Monument, which also had very terrible parking, but was  stunningly beautiful. It was my first time visiting and I was in love with the views!   Unfortunately, Mom wasn't feeling great at this point and there was a bit of grumpiness stemming from the long hours in the car and the parking woes that seemed to follow us, so one car headed back to K's house.  Kristina and I stayed and did a lovely hike.   
-After getting back to K's house, we ate some dinner that Tom had cooked, I got to enjoy my first 50th birthday cake (a month or so early), and we played a very laugh-filled game of Apples to Apples!

Monday: 
-This day was filled with lots of errand running, which included getting K's kids to and from school, dropping off and picking up their car from the mechanic--which happened to be located on Lazy Glen Road (a fact which struck me as very funny), grocery shopping (where I found my favorite dressing that I've been having a hard time finding here in Utah), and just relaxing.
- Reading books to kids is something that makes me incredibly happy, so I made sure to get in a few more rounds with the library books and the boys before leaving.   I may or may not have, "Cock-a-Doodle Poo" and "I'm Not Scared, You're Scared" partially memorized by now!  Haha! 
-Our flight was delayed by a couple hours, so we didn't arrive home until well after midnight.  Thankfully, after the delays,  the flight was smooth and I was very happy to be home again! 

Despite all the hours of driving back and forth between San Diego, K's house, and Newport Beach, the parking woes, and the late dinners...it was a great trip!   I consider my Mom and my sisters to be my best friends and it was wonderful to be able to spend that time together.    It makes me think I need to plan another girls' trip  soon!   😆