California Dreamin' - San Diego Day One

 There is something about leaving in the middle of the night that makes a trip more exciting. Yesterday Christian couldn't wait until bedtime, he kept asking if it was almost time for him to sleep. Of course Will was determined to stay up until it was time to leave. Thankfully though all the boys woke up cheerfully at 3:15am and piled happily into the car. Jacob had just gotten off work so he was there to see us off which made us all happy.

It may be early but airplane trips are always exciting!

Jon with his backpack and suitcase ready for our flight.

The boys had all packed their own carry on bags for this trip and helped me pack their clothes too. I did have final say over the clothes they brought much to Jon's disappointment. His favorite shirt was too stained to take on vacation and I was firm in spite of his tears. The boys are responsible for their own backpacks and Will and Jon each had a checked suitcase as well. I think it is time to upgrade though because their children's suitcases are becoming too small to hold all their clothes.

Will points out our plane to Christian

This was Christian's first time on an airplane and he raced through the airport eager to board our plane. We got through security pretty quickly and didn't have too long to wait until boarding. Christian sat next to the window although he is so short I'm not sure how much he could see while he was buckled. He loves flying! He told me later "I think everyone who didn't go on an airplane wants to go in one because it is so much fun." I think we have another little traveler on our hands!

Christian loves plane watching!

Christian found a little hideout where he can watch planes in peace

His first time in an airplane!!

Even on vacation there is no escape from homeschooling. James was quizzing Will about marsupials at 4am and both Will and Jon did a math lesson on the plane. The little tray tables were perfect desks! The older boys are also each going to keep a journal about our trip so that we can all write about it together.

I know I just wrote about us doing school in the plane. But I didn't take a picture of it.
So here are Will and Jon plugged in to the in flight entertainment instead.

Sitting behind each other is much better than going across the aisle.
I am in arms reach of everyone!

Seriously contemplating a show.

We had an uneventful flight and the kids were really good. Getting our baggage and the rental car seemed to take forever but in reality we went from the plane to our rented house easily and with only a minimum of frustration despite our exhaustion.

Clouds and snow-capped mountains.

Our house is gorgeous!! The pictures do not do it justice. There are huge windows overlooking the pacific ocean in the living/dinning room and a fireplace in the living room and master bedroom. Camille's room also has a wall of windows overlooking the ocean and the adjoining bath has a huge jacuzzi tub. Our room and the boys' have a little linking balcony, so we can visit each other easily. I love this place! It is so beautiful I don't know if I'll want to go anywhere else. 

No, I did not take any good pictures of our place. But this is Jon's picture of Mommy and Daddy.

Jon's picture of our beach taken from our balcony.

As an early Christmas present we got Jon a little digital/Polaroid camera.
He is loving it! He has an interesting perspective. 

Our house from the beach below

We did have to go out pretty quickly though. We didn't get food on the plane (when did they stop serving lunch?!?) so we grabbed some quick burgers before heading down to explore our little beach. The coastline outside our door is beautiful but dangerous. There is a small beach but the waves come in so strongly and in such a chaotic way that I am nervous about the boys even getting their feet wet. The rocks were fun to climb on but the walk was too uneven for Camille and the numerous small cliffs made James and I very nervous. Perhaps I will be less fearful once I've had more sleep but tonight I was too afraid that the boys would tumble down to the rocks below. 

Playing in the waves

Our little beach

The Freitag boys

Daddy and the boys search for weird seaweed

Jon and I examine the rocks

Jon checks out rocks that have been eroded by the waves.

Trying to get my boys together for a picture

Daddy and Christian watch the ocean

Nothing happened of course but we still retired to the balcony to watch the sun set in safety and comfort. It was beautiful. Today we saw the sun rise over the Atlantic (well sort of, we didn't really have a clear view while we were on the road) and we watched it set over the Pacific. All around the cliff side were neighbors who had come to watch the sunset. It was so lovely and peaceful and I'm hoping that we'll get to see many more of them before we leave. 

Playing on the rocks

Watching the sun set

The sun disappearing into the sea.

Jon has a three different color settings on his camera.
Here is his picture of the sunset in black and white.

The one downside of my day, hopefully not of the trip, is that I am still sick. With regular cold medicine I am OK but if I take it even a little late I can't swallow without a lot of pain. Part of me would love to just relax in this beautiful house and spend my days reading by the ocean and watching the sunset. But I have a very active family and that seems laughably unlikely. Christian was already devastated when he found out that we couldn't see Legoland as soon as we got off the plane. So I'm hoping that this won't slow me down and that the ear and throat pain will go away soon!

Jon's picture of the sunset in color.

Now I'm ready for an early bedtime. I have no idea what we will do tomorrow but it doesn't even matter because I am just so happy to be here. It is really beautiful. And so warm!
Goodnight!