Apparently we didn't do much that day. Saturday, December 29, we went down to Liberty Station in San Diego to the Rady's outdoor ice skating rink. Ever's anticipation could not have been greater. Unfortunately it was pretty much a bust. We rented skates for all three girls, but Wrenzy and Tiny sat on the sidelines.
Ever set out determined, and she remained determined despite the fact that she could barely keep her skates under her. She made her way around and around, very slowly, with much help from the wall. Jim and I skated a little. I tried to help Ever, but a lot of the time she preferred to go it alone.
Tiny finally agreed to try skating. Given her inability to stand, let alone walk, in her skates, she was pretty much done before she started. Turns out the equipment takes some getting used to.
She barely made it once around the rink. Wrenzy, meanwhile, adamantly refused even to don her skates. Everyone besides Ever was anxious to leave, while Ever was intent on mastering skating that very day. Gotta love her perseverance. We finally convinced her it was time to go, promising that we would try skating again sometime. (The next attempt, however, will be at an indoor rink that has ice walkers for kids.)
We discovered that Liberty Station has a sort of market area with a ton of food places crammed into it. We explored the options and then got some lunch to take outside. After lunch, Tiny hung out by the fountain. Oh, those cheeks!
Then we went back to the food area for treats because Jim and his fun tims.
We passed this fun wall on our way back to the car:
And then the littles took off as we crossed the street.
On the way home, we stopped off at Cottonwood Creek Park in Encinitas and killed enough time to justify walking to Handel's for ice cream.
It was really chilly, so Pod got all outfitted before we walked to the ice cream shop. We had a good laugh about his Wyoming beanie that Mamo made for him when they first got married.
Pod struck up a conversation with a guy at Handel's who was there with a big group (two families). The guy was from Utah, and one of the people he was with was a girl I know from Little Bug/Mormon circles. We had a nice chat.
Last up, we went to the Encinitas botanical gardens, which were all done up for Christmas. We put on all the clothes in the world because it was cold. The girls got to see snow for the first time. Tiny's in the foreground of this blurry picture:
Sledding was a big hit.
This incredibly annoying guy (probably around 20 years old) kept trying to take his big dog down the sledding hill. The dog hated it and tried to jump off, and did jump off, and the guy kept trying. Every time, he held the line up for a while trying to get the dog on the sled, and he did it multiple times. It was bizarre and infuriating.
We made a stop at the craft area and let the girls color and make bookmarks.
We happened to be walking by the live band when they called for all kids to come up on stage. Ever was the only one of ours brave enough to go. She's wearing a purple beanie and is right by the tall man in red in this pic:
The kids got to help sing "Santa Clause is Comin' to Town," and Ever loved it.
The lights in the gardens were really beautiful. My camera can't do night pictures at all, but Jim got a couple.
I have no record of Sunday, December 30, so we must not have done much.
Monday we went to the Birch Aquarium. Before we left, Tiny lost at strip poker.
Actually, I think Tiny played with the Frozen matching game alone, while the biggers challenged Tutu to Old Maid.
At the aquarium, it was cheapest for me to get a family membership for the year. I need to get back and use it!
Tiny got pretty out of control before we were through. I let her jump around in this little pillow area for a little while, and that was helpful.
The waterways outside are always a favorite.
That night we played Dominoes. Mamo and Pod ended up spending probably an hour and a half sorting our different sets and figuring out what tiles are missing. It was quite a project.
We played some more Dominoes the next day. Good family fun.
I can't remember when Mamo and Papo left, but that's the last photographic evidence of their visit I have. We were so glad they could come!
1 comment:
So sad I missed out on all of Christmas with the Kringels this year - I much prefer the grand western tour. And it feels like sooooo long since I've participated in Kringel fun tims. That must be remedied. Looks festive and delightful - so good work.
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