We are back safe and sound from our trip to San Diego. We had a great time and have come back officially disgusted with Houston weather and the lack of landscaping/views. We want to move to California. I am serious...we really want to move to California. Even my wonderful right-winged/Austin is too hippie for me/I love the parking lot availability of Houston...husband John wants to move! Now I never thought that would happen!
You can see most of our pictures here but I warn you...most of them are of just Peyton so unless you are a grandparent or you just think that our daughter is the most adorable child ever (and why wouldn't you) then you might be bored. I don't know why we didn't take more of the views and our resort. Maybe it was because our precious little child was a tiny but needy and cranky about half of our trip?
Our love of California started when we were landing into San Diego and looked outside and saw the beautiful mountains and vegetation and the ocean (contrast that with the flat, brown fields and large amounts of concrete structures we saw landing back into Houston). Peyton was relatively good on the flight there. We gave her some slack since we were landing what was 11:00 PM Houston time. She pretty much nursed the entire three hour flight. Kind of ridiculous, annoying and mildly painful but it kept her asleep and quiet. When we got to the resort it was pretty late so we just got everyone done for the night...or so we thought...Peyton woke up every 3 hours that first night insisting on being nursed back to sleep. No fun!
We woke up at some ridiculous time on that Friday and all of us were exhausted and cranky. I had a massage scheduled at the spa at 10:00 AM so I was able to get away and not have to deal with the after effects of no sleep for anyone while John took Peyton on a walk around the resort to check things out. She ended up falling asleep and napping which was perfect!
Here are some pictures from their adventure.....
While they were walking around I was getting the most amazing massage ever. It was wonderful! I did end up with multiple bruises from the deep pressure but it felt great. The therapist did tell me that I was a little tense in my arms and shoulders and she wondered what I was doing to cause so many knots.....lets see...carrying around a 19 pound child? It was a great start to the trip and also a great reminder how I need to be taking care of myself and having time away from Peyton to focus on myself so I can come back refreshed and a better mom. So...I have decided to make massages a more regular part of my schedule back home!
The rest of Friday was spent enjoying a local pizza place (GREAT FOOD) called Pizza Port and then looking around the Carlsbad Village area. We tried to have naps that afternoon which Peyton highly protested so we decided to go swimming instead. She later crashed after our pool time so it worked out. She is such a water baby and had so much fun both times we went to the pool. It was a little cold in San Diego (highs about 68) so when we got out of the pool we had to quickly wrap Peyton up, take off her swimsuit and let her heat up in the sun. It was fine in the pool but there was no running in and out of the pool.
One great thing that we did that I highly recommend when traveling with kids is we paid a little more for a room with a balcony. This allowed us to put Peyton down for the night and go out there and have a glass of wine and talk with each other. We had some great conversations and it was great alone time with each other!
Saturday we went shopping! The Nordstrom Rack we went to didn't have any of my jeans but we shopped at a couple of other stores and then came back and relaxed for the rest of the day. Later that night we walked around, took some pictures and Peyton explored the fountains and then on the courtyard there was a jazz band playing. As soon as they started up Peyton squealed with excitement so we stayed and danced with her for a little bit. That night was the first night Peyton slept through the night! So exciting!Then Sunday we were headed to the regular Nordstrom to find some jeans and ended up finding a better Nordstrom Rack on the way and I scored! I got three new pairs of jeans! I was so excited! That afternoon I had a facial appointment at the spa and was off for more pampering! The therapist mentioned that my skin is great but that I could use some under eye fatigue cream....again....I thank my nine month old for that! 
That night we ate dinner at the restaurant at the resort and we both laughed how much that experience showed us how much our life has changed. Trust me...we have noticed that many other times before but this was a funny experience for us both. We have never gone out to a really nice restaurant with Peyton and this was a pretty nice place. They welcome kids before 8:00 PM so we headed there at 6:00 PM. There is nothing like a nice, romantic dinner with a kids buffet (nuggets, mac and cheese) and lots and lots of kids, to remind you how different your life is. We just laughed how we were in this nice place with our little one trying to eat our gourmet meal, feeding pears out of a jar to Peyton and picking up puffs of the floor....it was an experience and one we wouldn't trade in for anything!
Monday was zoo day! We got there about 45 minutes before opening which was perfect! We had bought tickets at our resort so we just waited at the front of the line for the zoo to open. By the time it opened the line was crazy long but since the zoo is HUGE we really didn't notice anyone and it didn't get crowded until noon and we ended up leaving around 1:00 anyways. 
When we got in we went straight for big animals that we knew Peyton could see. Well, first we stopped and checked out the ducks that were wandering around which Peyton loved! Too bad we paid for a trip to San Diego when we could just go down the street and look at ducks! After the ducks, the first stop was the giraffes and when we got there we were the only ones in that whole area. It was great! Even better was how close we were to them. It was crazy and so cool. We were right up close and felt like we could reach out and touch them. They were all pretty active since it was almost breakfast time and Peyton was in awe. I love the giraffes and it was great see the excitement in Peyton's eyes!
When we got in we went straight for big animals that we knew Peyton could see. Well, first we stopped and checked out the ducks that were wandering around which Peyton loved! Too bad we paid for a trip to San Diego when we could just go down the street and look at ducks! After the ducks, the first stop was the giraffes and when we got there we were the only ones in that whole area. It was great! Even better was how close we were to them. It was crazy and so cool. We were right up close and felt like we could reach out and touch them. They were all pretty active since it was almost breakfast time and Peyton was in awe. I love the giraffes and it was great see the excitement in Peyton's eyes!
Mommy and Daddy saw a whole bunch of other animals while Peyton just hung out in her stroller. We tried showing her stuff but no real reaction and many of the animals are too small or too far away like the Pandas. After lunch though we checked out the Children's Zoo and looked at some goats and on our way out she noticed the Meerkat exhibit which has glass all the way to the ground and it is perfect for kids to look in. I stood Peyton up and she watched them move around forever. She thought they were very amusing and was so content watching them! Overall the zoo lived up to its hype but is big and we were tired so we left which allowed us some more pool time!
It was a great trip and lots of good Mommy and Daddy time and also fun times watching Peyton explore new surroundings. Only thing is that we wished we could have stayed longer...or not come home.
No comments:
Post a Comment