Christmas at the Beach

On Christmas Day,* after Darrick got home from work, Alexander opened his presents, including some cool cars from Aunt Christine and Uncle Jim (that would keep him entertained nearly the entire way to San Diego later that day). The Boy does have an issue with wanting to play with the toy he opens instead of opening the other presents, though. Wonder how long that will last?





We'd packed the day before, so after cleaning up the forensic evidence left by Santa, we were out the door, on our way to Loews Coronado Bay Resort for the weekend (thanks to the employee discount).



We spent our first morning walking around the bay, looking for shells, things to throw, and missing hands.









As soon as Nana and Papa arrived, we opened more gifts then headed out to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It was quite the drive.



The carousel was definitely the highlight.



Alexander liked it too.



And the safari had its moments.



Well, OK, moment. It had its moment. But it was a great idea in theory, and at least we all got to be bored together. Nothing brings a family closer like synchronized yawning.

After Uncle Eric, Aunt Jené, and cousins Charlotte and Andrew got into town, they suggested we go out to La Jolla and check out the Seals. I gotta say, I was all for this idea. Finally a little something for the moms, am I right?

Yeah. These weren't the seals I'd hoped to be ogling, although I do admire those abs.



Alexander's seal impression was uncanny. I don't know what exactly he was saying to those creatures, but I'm pretty sure there was some kind of marine mammal coup fomenting by the time we left.



That evening, we had an awesome birthday dinner for Andrew and my mom at a restaurant on the bay. Alexander and Andrew were on the same frenetic wavelength, which was a mixture of hilarious and mortifying as these things usually are in restaurants.

The next day, before we had to head home, we all met up at Legoland, which is rather incredible. To see some of the amazing structures, check out the full set of photos we took. (If you're family, you can see the photos of the Bearse family too once you log in to Flickr. Let me know if I need to add you as a family member.)

Alexander and I enjoyed some paleontology.



Then Papa agreed to help Alexander fake his height so he could get on one of the rides.



Alexander received yet more gifts, this time from his aunt, uncle, and cousins. He is still obsessed with this robot.



And for the first time, Alexander got to see Santa! It was quite the impressive replica. He even had a little Lego flask and a soup kitchen ticket tucked into his suit.



We had a wonderful time seeing family, although we wish we could have made it a longer trip, and we're sorry we missed seeing friends while we were out there.



Next time, we're definitely spending more time at the ocean, which Alexander loved.



Provided the seals haven't taken over California by then.


*See, I'm only a month late blogging this time. Impressive, eh? I thought I'd prolong the Christmas spirit for you all. You're welcome.