Thursday, January 24, 2013

San Diego

Well, this was truly a family vacation for the record books.  We hard-headed Houghs are just stubborn enough to plow ahead with a long roadtrip regardless of puking kids, exploding diarreah diapers, a mini-blizzard in Cedar City, ear infections, sickness, sickness, and more sickness, etc, etc.  After all, what doesn't kill you...only makes you want to die!?!  I will now attempt to accentuate the postive and elimate my bellyachin' to share the many, many wonderful highlights of our trip to gorgeous, sunny Cali at the first of this year.

Things we LOVED about San Diego:
1.  The Story Family:  Ooooooh, how I love my big sister, Kellie.  She is the bestest little Mommy.  She loves her beautiful  kiddos fiercely.  She masterfully nourishes their growth, builds their confidence, supports and strengthens each child individually in the unique/tailormade way they need, all while loving them for who they are and helping them be their best!  She is bubbly, energetic, cheerful, loving, generous, hardworking, fun, adventursome and unflappable (so much like our Dearest Ma, World's Greatest)!  I love her very much.  I have missed her too, too much.  Her husband, Scott, is a doctor with the Navy and they have lived in some fabulous places, all of which are simply too far away!  Words can't express how wonderful it was just to be with her, observe her in action, visit with her and spend some much needed time together.  Kellie is just sweet enough to overlook the fact that we nearly decimated her entire family with the extremely violent and contagious plague we so generously lavished on all we came in contact with (one by one, everyone came down with a nasty case of the stomach cramps, pukes, and squirts...YUCK).  She sent us home with thousands of dollars worth of gorgeous little girl clothes and shoes for Madi and Hannah, not to mention her prized Kitchen Aid, handpainted mixer she won from her favorite blog, Pioneer Woman (such a treasure....it doesn't get any more generous than that)!  She is smart.  She is kind.  She is important.  Plus she is the hostess with the mostess.  She is an incredible tour guide, cooked amazing, delicious food for us, made us so comfortable in her beautiful home and was soooo much fun.  Love that girl!
2.  The weather.  We thought we'd died and gone to heaven.  Leaving the blizzards and blistering cold of Utah was so nice.  We decided we'd like to live somewhere warm.  San Diego is so gorgeous.  I love its rolling hills and beautiful beaches.  The Story's home is beautiful.  We enjoyed the fun backyard and hot tub.
3.  Playing football on the beach at Mission Bay.
4.  The Point Loma Lighthouse and beach views.
5.  La Jolla Cove:  seals and beaches, sunshine and happiness.  Madi loved the sand and STINKY seals.  When she sees a picture of a seal now in a book or plays with a seal toy she loudly proclaims, "Seal...STINKEEEEEE!"
6.  Meeting Matt's Marvelous Uncle Steve and visiting his beautiful home on the beach.
7.  Fun times with my adorable neices and nephews.
8.  Jodi being a sport through her strep-throat/pneumonia like illness (plus a nice, big cold sore...kind of like the icing on the cake).
9.  Watching Pitch Perfect repeatedly on Jodi's ipad...HILARIOUS!
10.   The stories of Matt at Knotts Berry Farm with the pukes (I was home sick with the babes).  :)  
and one more for good measure:
11.  New Year's Eve--Delicious dinner, snacks and fun birthday party for Claire Bear (best birthday cake ever)!

We'll have to go back and redeem ourselves...when we are all 100% healthy!  But we still had tons of fun and treasured our time with fabulous family in beautiful, sunny San Diego.

The best pictures from this trip are yet to come.  Kellie, a master photographer, took lots of fabulous pictures with her amazing new Christmas camera.  Can't wait to see them...will add later!

Jodi gives this brief non-puking van moment a big THUMBS-UP!

The Lovely Ladies:  Madison, Jodi, and Carseat Hannah

Point Loma:  Windblown Seth (that awesome hairdo actually requires NO wind...just wake up and go) & Squinty Madi and Mama

Little Adventurer

Madi would trade the snow for sun ANY DAY!  California Girl

Daddy and Madi peer at the STINKY seals at the La Jolla Cove

Living the Good Life--Basking in the Sunshine



Weston, Kelsey, and Madi breathing in the STINKY seals

Lovin' their loud barks and strange slippery silly bodies

Daddy and Hannah Basking in the Sunshine

Pure Joy!  I wish we all could be California girls!
   

3 comments:

  1. You make it look FUN! California here we come.

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  2. . . . without all the awful sickness, of course.

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  3. Kaye, you are too, too sweet! I always cherish our time together and this trip was no different! You are too much fun and I can't wait to really show you around. I just realized I hadn't updated your new bog.....and was missing all these treasures!!

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