California Trip: Carlsbad

After our 3 day Disneyland/California Adventure time, we drove an hour down to Carlsbad to recoop, relax, and visit with my grandparents, jeff, Lisa, and the rest of the family. I was proud of my boys. They were all very well behaved at Grandma's house. The first day after we arrived I caught up on our laundry and went to the grocery store since I would be doing the cooking. I brought a few recipes to throw at them and they all loved all 3 dinners! I was a little nervous to cook for grandma, she's a tough critic but I definitely hit a home run with it! We went to the beach on the second day with Michaela. She was down there staying with grandma too before she was to move in with Lisa, so we got to see her a lot and I have really come to miss her when she's gone. We were very close as young kids and I believe now as we've both gotten older, we are close again. We are very different but get along just fine and I love being around her so much! Michaela had to leave the beach early but before she did, we ate junk food we'd brought from grandma's and just talked as I took care of Amar'e. After she left, I fell asleep and it was so nice just to sleep on the beach. It is without a doubt my favorite place to sleep. Amar'e loved the beach and the sand! The boys liked it but it was a little cold and after fighting with each other, dad drug them out to the water and got them all wet as punishment. They came back to the sand crying and shivering ha ha. The next day we went to buy a shaved ice from Michaela. She's working at a shaved ice place and we wanted to get one on opening day! They were very different because they are Hawaiin shaved ice, not your average snow cone. I guess I'm into the basics, but Michaela loves them and we were glad we got one. We took Jeff along with us too. I got Fuzzy Naval. Shar got coconut, as well as Marce. Phoenix got bubble gum, and Jeff got banana. One thing we did that I can't believe I have not done before was walk the Oceanside pier. Lisa took us down there and it was fun to walk the pier and stop by Dairy Queen on our way off for a dipped cone! I was so glad when Grandpa got home. We went to church with them and then headed over to Chris' for dessert and games. We played silent partner. Grandpa, grandma, Chris, me, Michaela, and Buddy. That was a fun group. We were constantly laughing...well everybody but grandpa who never laughs during games. It is so true though, if you are not a partner in that game, you lose! We had a good laugh over plays and partners and everything! My favorite part of the trip was just hanging out with grandma and Lisa, that's always my favorite part. I really enjoyed cooking for everybody and also reading a little journal grandma has started. We talked about some family history and I found out things I'd never known before, stories and secrets that so reminded me of one of the books I just read called The Thirteenth Tale. It is so interesting and incredible to know that things like that actually happened. We have a very full family history with so many amazing stories! I loved just sitting around the kitchen table and talking about it. I try and learn new things every time I go because I know it's all with them and when they pass away, a little bit is lost with each generation. I want to learn as much as I can from them, so I don't have to try and rely on the next generation, because it just isn't the same. Grandpa and grandma recently gave a huge interview that was there. I told them I was taking it and copying it for my family members and that I would ship it back. I am so excited to read it! It a stack of papers unbound. Grandma said it's "the good, the bad, and the ugly". I read 3 chapters of the Forrest & Esther book, so I'm going to re-read and finish that along with it. I've also decided to get all my footage that is on VHS onto DVD, much of which is old home videos of family members both living and gone on.
We were in Carlsbad from Thursday to Monday morning. It was nice although it went by fast. I could stay with my grandma forever I guess in that paradise they call Carlsbad. It's like a bubble and when you leave it you're wondering why you live where you do and what happened. It's surreal to be in such a beautiful place. I can't wait to be back again.