As our family has grown, many would also think that our vacation options have decreased. Not really. We have always been a fun-oriented family and the more kids we have the more we feel we need to go on family vacations to relax the craziness of daily life. This weekend we went to San Diego, California. I was blessed to grow up in Northern California (our destination last year), but Southern California is a great vacation spot for our family and since it's closer to Phoenix, we typically end up in LA or San Diego when we can get a weekend away. We left on Friday afternoon and hit Viejas Casino to meet up with my sister and her family.

The Indian Casinos in CA (and AZ too) have become great places for inexpensive family entertainment. We grabbed a bit to eat at their outdoor food court, then did some Cosmic Bowling and finally watched a "Fire in the Sky" live action show (that was free!) in the courtyard.

The kids had a blast! Saturday we swam at my sister's house. Kids hanging out with other kids is always fun. You add a pool and it's a full day of activity. Later that night we met some friends (who also have 5 kids) at the San Diego Padres v. AZ Diamondbacks baseball game.

We were in the nosebleed seats, but the kids loved it! We saw several homeruns. One was an in the park homerun (sadly, the Padres won). We spent the night with our friends on Saturday and woke up early to get to church. We grabbed some lunch on the go and headed to Mission Beach. With a big cooler of treats, sunscreen, boogie boards and sand toys, the kids (and adults) were entertained for the day. I stayed inside and watched from the house my brother-in-law rented on the beach since Maeve is too little for the beach. The baby and I could watch the big kids play and "surf". The ocean breeze was amazing. We all were tired, but revitalized. After quick showers and some great BBQ, we packed up the kids and headed home. Back by 1:30 am on Monday, we were tired, but look forward to our next trip to San Diego!
