Easter this year was typical of holidays for us-busy, busy, busy! We had a lot of fun visiting with our families but squeezing in time for both of them made for one tiring day. We enjoyed ourselves, yet we’re glad not every Sunday is Easter.
I forgot to take my camera to my in-laws but here are some picts from my family’s get together.
We had quite the Easter egg hunt for my nieces and nephews. Between all the toys and filled eggs Jason and I brought, and the ones that my brother brought, and the ones that my sister contributed, the kids really racked in the goods.
Benson was very focused on the task of filling up his basket.The awesome females of the Nelson gang. It's important to note that I am almost the tallest. Miles paused very briefly in his quest for a golden egg to show me his loot.Drew, Simone, and JadonThis little guy, Wesley, was too intent on figuring out how to walk on the grass wearing shoes to be interested in Easter eggs.
I’d be a much bigger fan of winter if it didn’t involve so much cold and darkness. The constant darkness of the season begins to wear on me after a while. That’s why Jason and I decided to take a break from winter and go to San Diego, even though we just visited that area last June. Since San Diego has plenty of sun to go around, we invited Jason’s brother Jeremy and Jeremy’s wife Kara to go with us.
All of us at the Wild Animal Park...and no, I don't know what Jeremy was doing.
While this was a quick trip, only four days, we still managed to see and experience quite a bit.
As with all Sabin outings, we ate a lot of excellent food. Not only did we revisit one of our favorite restaurants from the last trip, El Agave Tequileria, we also sampled some new cuisine. The best new restaurant we tried was definitely The Prado. Not only was the Wild Mushroom Risotto I ordered divine, but sitting out on the restaurant’s balcony surrounded by tropical flowers, fountains, vine covered pergolas, and classic Spanish architecture made the experience perfect.
Jason's delicious dessert from Extraordinary Desserts. I have no idea what it was called but it was rich and yummy!
We also got a chance to gobble some terrific desserts at Extraordinary Desserts. Every one of their dessert was decorated beautifully and looked more like a work of art than something to eat. But they were way too delish to just look at, so we stuffed them down. Yum!
As would be expected in a big city like San Diego, the shopping was also outstanding. I found the perfect little white sundress and even Jeremy found plenty to spend his wad on. He bought several pairs of “fancy lad” jeans-I never thought I would see that day.
No, these are not the new outfits the boys bought on our trip. They are the awesome wetsuits we wore while kayaking. And yes, I realize both of the Sabin boys look ridiculous suited up.
In between stuffing our faces and blowing money we saw some great San Diego attractions. We went to the Wild Animal Park, the Cabrillo National Monument tide pools, the Birch Aquarium, the Hotel Del Coronado, and kayaked around the La Jolla Cove.
Me and my birdies. Notice the grossest of the birds decided to take up residence on my head.
My favorite spot at the Wild Animal Park was Lorakeet Landing. Lorakeet Landing, as the name suggests, is full of Lorakeets. The Lorakeet is a parrot sized Australian bird with bright plumage. At Lorakeet Landing you are given a small cup of nectar to take into the birds’ enclosure. The Lorakeets love this nectar so they land all over you to get a taste of the stuff. The birds really seemed to take a fancy to me for some reason. They climbed all over my head, shoulders, and arms, but they were oddly uninterested in Jason. Honestly, being covered in birds was a bit creepy, but it was still a unique and fun experience.
At the Cabrillo National Monument tide pools we saw anemones, mussels, hermit crabs, schools of fish, and even a shy octopus (Disclaimer: technically we only saw parts of the octopus. It wouldn’t come out from under a rock.). The water was admittedly quite cold but that didn’t stop me from wading into it. It definitely stopped Jason though-he complained when he got a little drop on his big toe. Poor boy, that drop must have been freezing!
I'm freezing but I'm happy!
Even though we did a lot of fabulous things on our trip, my favorite part about it was just seeing the sun and feeling its warmth. How I have missed the sun these last months! Thanks to our getaway, I’m sure I will survive until spring and we have our own sweet Utah sunshine.
Despite the fact that we live in a valley surrounded by gorgeous mountains, and we love spending time in those mountains whether they are currently snow covered or leaf laden, Jason and I never attempted to snowshoe until last Saturday.
Jason’s parents gave us snowshoes for Christmas and we were eager to try them out so last weekend we headed up to the Nordic Center at Sundance Resort with Jason’s brother Jeremy, Jeremy’s wife Kara, and Jason’s parents.
The Whole Gang
It was a beautiful day for this activity. The sky was a pristine blue, with not even a trace of clouds. We followed snowshoe trails that wound through aspen covered hillsides and Mount Timpanogos was our backdrop. It was very serene and peaceful-a much different experience of our now frosty mountains than what you get whizzing down them on a snowboard.
Trekking Down our First Hill
Although snowshoeing was more work than Jason expected, he still seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. We look forward to going again soon and trying out another location. With so many beautiful spots to choose from it will be hard to pick one.
Gorgeous!
On a side note, during our snowshoe outing we ate lunch at the Foundry Grill at Sundance. It was reasonably priced and quite yummy. I had a pesto pizza covered in pine nuts, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, Portobello mushrooms, and goat cheese. It was made fresh in their wood-fired oven. Delish! If you aren’t drooling right now you must not have any taste buds.
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