Mission San Juan Capistrano

Today was Free Museum Day, so we reserved tickets to San Juan Capistrano in order for D to see one more of the “Thousand Places to See Before You Die”. 

First, we stopped for our annual trip to the Original Pancake House with our Entertainment Book BOGO coupon.  A vegetarian omelet (with a side of regular pancakes) and an apple pancake were plenty for the four of us. 

I thought the mission’s tagline, “Worth a Visit” was kind of funny, but in the end, I must agree.

We had a coupon for two free adult admissions, but paid $6 each for the kids.  The price includes an audio tour, and there were separate audio recordings for the adults and kids, which was nice.

Depiction of life at the mission.

D stretching to show how low the doorways were. 

The grounds are beautifully maintained…so many photo ops.

Lily pads!

Koi fish are both fascinating and freaky creatures.  We had a coupon to feed the fish for free, but it wasn’t good until 12:30, so we weren’t able to use it. 

I was surprised how much the kids seemed to enjoy it.  I think the novelty of having their own audio tour was a big part of it.  I guess they will have a head start on their fourth grade California history curriculum. 

Krispy Kreme Field Trip

Last night k had a girl scout field trip to Krispy Kreme.  n and I happily tagged along.  The kids basically stood on the ramp by the window and someone explained the donut-making process to them.  There was no direct access to the kitchen, which was a little disappointing.  However, a free warm glazed donut made up for any disappointment!

3rd Annual Small Group Camping Trip

This past weekend we went camping with our small group.  This time was a little different because: 1. Everyone was able to make it (for a total of 31 people!); 2. We went to Crystal Cove instead of San Clemente; 3. Some of us stayed for two nights instead of our usual one night.  Since D and I were in charge of planning, I was a little nervous about things going smoothly, but it ended up being really fun! 

We only had two sites the first night and we fended for ourselves for dinner.  I brought ingredients to make banana boats on the grill for dessert (split a banana, stuff with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips, wrap in foil, heat up on grill, add crushed graham crackers and M&Ms to taste).

The other families were kept up by birds that were chirping into the night, but our family didn’t even hear them—I guess we are sound sleepers.  We were in charge of breakfast.  I made pancakes ahead of time, and we served them with blueberry topping and whipped cream, along with pineapple bacon sausage from Costco.

The kids had a LOT of fun hanging out in our friends’ Honda Element with custom camper.  It was like having a tree house/club house.

We spent pretty much all of Saturday hanging out on the beach.  I can’t remember the last time that we lasted that long.  It helped that someone brought an EZ Up so we did not roast in the sun.

To make it easier, lunch was pizza from Costco, which a couple of people picked up. 

Dinner was hot dogs and chili and rice, which has become a tradition.  We also had s’mores, made possible by a propane fire pit.

After dinner, some people spotted whales.  n claimed he could see the whale’s eye, as well as a person riding the whale.  He must have really good eyesight!  

For breakfast the next morning we had scrambled eggs on croissants, muffins and fruit. 

Since it was Sunday, we also had a short devotional which reminded us about the ever-presence of God in our lives (even when we tend to forget). 

After packing up, we were pretty much spent, so we went straight home.  n took a nap for almost three hours!  Our house is still recovering from the explosion which comes with unpacking from a camping trip, but the memories are definitely worth it!