San Diego with Friends and No Kids!

There was a really early flight out of Albuquerque, and the six of us were on it!  We were so excited to go on a friends trip without kids (we couldn't wait to get the party started, even if it meant leaving the house at 5am).

We have taken several trips with Chad and Annie so this year we were excited to have the Haslams join in on the fun.  We had a couple date nights leading up to the trip to plan what we wanted to do with our precious time away from home.

We landed in San Diego and headed straight over to the beautiful temple there.  We had taken several family names and got to do sealings that morning.  It was the perfect way to kick start our trip.  We all left feeling very uplifted and lovey dovey with our spouses.  :)

The parking lot was TIGHT so Chad and Vince had to direct both sides of the car so we could get out without any damage.

Brad was really easy going this trip and in all the planning meetings he was very supportive of what everyone wanted to do.  However, there was one non-negotiable thing that had to happen, and sooner rather than later.  Once we were done at the temple, we changed clothes in the visitor's center there and then went straight to the nearest In N' Out.

After lunch we went to La Jolla Cove to see the seals and sea lions and hang out on the beach.  It was such a beautiful day.

Brad was excited to show everyone all the fun creatures that can be found in the tide pools.  The guys also thought it was very fun to feed crabs to the sea anemones. 

Brad found a huge, ugly eel in one of the tide pools.  That was a first!  

After hanging out at La Jolla cove for a while, it was time to go check in to our beach house.  But first, we stopped at the grocery store to stock our kitchen with all the necessities.

We stayed in a very cute little house, within a block of the ocean.  It was magical!!  We spent a lot of time walking the beach in the evenings and mornings.  It was so fun to stay so close.

Later that evening we went to Old Town and walked around all the interesting shops and museums there.

We had some delicious mexican food there in Old Town.  One can never get too many chips and salsa.

After dinner we walked over to the Mormon Battalion Museum.  It was so cool!  They had some really awesome interactive technology which really brought the story to life.  And at the end we got to pan for gold, which became one of the favorite little souvenirs we brought back for the kids.

Vince was the volunteer and got to put on all the gear and weapons that the men were supplied with.

We walked through these really neat historic houses up above Old Town and found the one that Chad and Annie stayed in for their honeymoon.  So romantic!

That was all day one!  It's amazing how much you can do in one day when you aren't with babies or toddlers!   On day two, we woke up bright and early and hit the road to LA so we could spend the day at Universal Studios.  It took us quite a while to get there and back, but actually that little "road trip" time ended up being some of my favorite memories from the whole trip.  We talked about how each of us were back in high school and how we are different and it was really fun and very funny to hear all the great stories of lessons learned.  

Universal Studios was so much fun!  Of course, the biggest draw to the park was being able to go to Harry Potter Land.  It definitely did not disappoint.  Everything was so well done, and so much like the books.  I just kept thinking of Eden and how much she would have loved being there.  She is a huge Harry Potter fan right now.

The butter beer was so delicious!

We had lunch at "The Three Broomsticks" and the food was very authentic and good.

On our second time through the main Harry Potter ride, something happened and the ride had to temporarily stop.  Erin's car got stopped upside down and she was definitely not a fan! Oh the fun memories....

Erin also had some bad luck with this purple minion who wouldn't leave her alone, and followed way too closely behind her for a while. 

Brad always enjoys photo bombing pictures whenever he gets the chance.

This Walking Dead attraction was hilarious.  None of us had any idea what we were expecting with this, but it turns out it was like a haunted house and we had to walk through all these gross creepy rooms with "walkers" jumping out at us and chasing us around.  It was freaky and scary and so hilarious!

On day 2 we went to Little Italy for some lunch, then on to seaport village for shopping.

Annie and I were having fun with the hats until Erin told us that her friend got lice like that once.  Way to be a party pooper Erin!

Brad - photo bombing once again.

We also went over to the USS Midway Museum on this big battleship.  This was really cool and interesting.  I just can't imagine living like that!

Brad's favorite part was the soccer game in the base of the urinals.  Weirdo.

We had to stop and take a break to check in to our flights.  The race was on to see who would get the best seats.  I can't remember who won, but I'm sure Chad or Brad would know!  :)

After the museum we went for a walk along the coast.  It was just so nice to do whatever our hearts felt like doing at the moment.

We then drove over to Coronado Island.  This place looked like it was straight from a movie.  All the houses and yards were so picture perfect.  It was so beautiful over there.

At lunch we debated the name of this trip.  In the past, it was the CLAB for the initials for ours and the Picketts.  This time we needed to add in V and E so we wrote out all the different words those initials could spell, but ultimately the new letters just got tacked on to the end and the trip became known as the CLABVE.

On the final day, we woke up to a dreary and overcast morning.  Even though it was a little chilly, that didn't stop us from getting our last beach visit in before checking out of the house. The guys all went in their swim trunks, holding out hope that it would warm up enough for a swim.

Before long, a huge sea shell hunt began and there were lots to be found!  We also found tons of fully intact sea dollars which were so cool.

Just by chance, Brad happened to find this perfect conch shell when a wave washed it up and over his hands.  The ocean chose him for this one apparently.  It became the envy of the crowd and the hunt was on for another conch.

It was so nice to spend the morning just slowly moving up and down the beach.  There's just something about checking out from the rushed and hurried life and spending time in nature.

The time came that we had to go check out of the house, and unfortunately it never did really warm up much, but Brad and Vince decided they were going in for a dip anyway.  Crazy!  They giggled like crazy going in and they were freezing coming out!

Annie was very proud to show off the collection of shells that her and Chad gathered.

After checking out of the house, we went and ate a delicious brunch and then headed over to Balboa Park, which was a huge place with all different kinds of gardens and museums.  The original plan was to rent bikes and ride through all the gardens, but the weather was chilly and threatening rain at any point.  So the Haslams and Justices decided they would stay inside and go to the Humanity Museum. The Picketts decided to give the bike ride a go.

The museum was actually really interesting.  There was an exhibit on mummies and that was kind of creepy and intriguing all at the same time.

After the Museum we got to walk through one of the big gardens before the rain started coming down.  Unfortunately, Chad and Annie were just about 15 minutes into their bike ride when the rain hit.

After Balboa Park, we made one more stop at a restaurant Annie recommended which had some amazing desserts.  It was the best way to end the trip. We were all very sad to be heading to the airport, but we were also very excited and ready to see our babies.  It was such a fun trip, and I'm so grateful for these amazing friends in my life!

The kids were very excited to see us when we got home, and even more excited to see the things we brought back for them.

Bentley got some new Transformers.  Olive got some "Trolls" lip gloss.  Karly got a battery operated kitty the meows like crazy.  And Eden got a Hedwig shirt (the owl from Harry Potter).  They were the perfect choices for each of them.

They were also very excited to see our large collection of sea shells that they have now incorporated into their crafts.

I'm so grateful for my mom who was willing to watch our kids while we were away.  She had her hands full for sure, and even went above and beyond with some extra activities that were happening.  Bentley had his Preschool Party Celebration and grandma took all the kids to enjoy the party.  The following pictures are some from their adventures with grandma.  Thank you so much mom!!

Looks like these few days brought so much fun to everyone involved!