SD

This year we spent the 4th of July in San Diego! We went with my parents, Christian and Emily and their cutie pie baby, Paisley. My parents rented a beach house (thanks mom and dad) just a few feet from the beach and we spent pretty much every minute living as complete beach bums. It was very relaxing and went by way to fast.





With the bad economy and its effects on the Bevier household, we tried to make this trip as cheap as possible! The kids were pretty good about just hanging out around the house and on the beach but there were a few "I'm bored" moments. Fortunately we have the internet and a fabulous tool named Google. We found some places nearby that we had never been before. One such place is the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla. It is very reasonably priced and there is plenty of interesting sea life to check out. The kids loved seeing the sharks and learning how shark babies are born. Anna was a little disappointed that she did not see an octopus but we were told the chances were slim considering its a nocturnal animal. She quickly recovered when she saw Dori and Nemo. Another day we ventured over to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park. It was something to do but I don't think we will go back. It is a little pricey and it only entertained everyone for about 30 minutes. We were going to go to the history museum while we were there but its also very pricey and we weren't sure how many exhibits the kids would actually be interested to see. Trent and I thought walking around the Park (which is free!) was the best part of the day. The grounds are beautiful and the architecture is amazing. The kids whined the whole time to go home so next time we will definetly go without them! To make it up to the kids for that "very boring" outing we took them to Belmont Park (located on one end of Mission Beach).The area has changed quite a bit since the last time I was there and the kids loved the overpriced 3 minute rides. We also met the Rodriguez family (friends we made while living in Hawaii) at Belmont and that was very cool! We all pigged out on "carnival" type food and played games in the arcade. Trent and Roslyn (age 11) rode the roller coaster while Olivia and I supervised the younger kids driving bumper cars. I was very disappointed that I was unable to ride the roller coaster because I love rides that were made in the early 1900's, make lots of noise and go really fast...not.






All in all this is one of the most fun times we have had as a family in a long time. The kids had so much fun flying kites, feeding the birds and making sand castles. We also took a kayak (one of the many things provided by the rental we stayed in) over to the bay. Although its hard work, its very calming (that is until Aiden tipped it over and I fell into the freezing water). My parents, Trent and I spent nearly every night playing dominoes (Mexican Train) and I won almost every hand (fun for me not so much for anyone else). And of course the highlight of the trip was having little miss Paisley Belle there. She is absolutely adorable and has such a darling personality. We couldn't get enough of her. I think Christian and Emily thought the novelty of having a baby around would wear off but none of us could keep our hands (or lips) off of her!

As awesome as it was to be in SD with our newest Fluhr it did not go unnoticed that there was another Fluhr missing. Last time we all went to SD together Clint was there. He was always so quiet and just chilled (typically had his Ipod in his ears) but he was always there. That last trip we had stayed in this tiny 2 bedroom and Clint had to sleep on the couch. He had absolutely no space of his own as the kids watched TV on his "bed" first thing every morning and everyone hung out in his "room" until late at night. He was such a good sport about it and never complained. One of my fondest San Diego memories is having Clint on that couch. During this trip I kept imagining Clint would be on the couch when I came downstairs (which was where he would have had to sleep since we took all the rooms again)!


In memory of Clint, Christian had shirts made with the logo Clint designed of his initials (he had it tatooed on his back). Christian thought it would be cool if we all wore our shirts for a family picture. I wasn't crazy about the idea but I am really glad we did it. It was the best way we could include Clint in our latest family photo.

I am really proud of my parents for planning this trip. There have been and continues to be many firsts without Clint and this was our first trip back to California as a family without him. I know it is not easy for them and they work really hard to find joy after their loss. I can say they are definetly doing their very best.