Legos!!!

The girls got some girlie colored legos for Christmas from Gramma and Papa and in the last month and an half, they are on a Lego Building/Playing extravaganza! We went to Disneyland today after school (thanks to it being a minimum day) and while there, we hit the Lego Store at Downtown Disney. It's been a few years since we've been in the store since they've not been into Legos until recently. The store was overwhelming...the Star Wars kits, the Indiana Jones sets, the cities, the houses. All were very appealing. I would have loved to have bought several sets, but just like they were when I was a kit, they're expensive. Having a side yard that desperately needs weeds pulled, I struck a deal...they pull weeds for a set amount of time, and I'd buy them Legos. There was no hesitancy on either of their parts, and thus a deal was made.Hannah chose a Lego set that I told her was worth an hour and a half of weed pulling. Rachel chose a set that needed to have an hours worth of weeds pulled. We shook hands and I purchased the sets. They can have them once their end of the bargain has been met, and thankfully, tomorrow is another minimum school day.

Mission San Luis Rey

Hannah has been studying the California Missions in school this trimester. And with today being a holiday, I thought it would be fun to go visit one of the missions! Gramma came with us and we made our way to the San Luis Rey Mission in Oceanside.One of the neat things about this mission is that this was the very mission that I did my report on when I was in the 4th grade and my parents took me to visit it when I was in the midst of writing my report. There's a picture of me somewhere in front of this very fountain! There was no photography allowed in the museum or in the church. But there was some pretty beautiful architecture and wood workings inside. In addition to the things Hannah shared with us about all she'd been learning in school, she got a little education from me and Gramma about the differences between the Catholic faith and ours. We had to explain the candles you can light for prayers, the wall mounts that held Holy water, why so many crucifixes.The cemetery was beautiful. There were headstones that were very old, and surprisingly, some that were very recent (like in the last 5 years). It was interesting to read the dates, the details, and the names. It was fun to explore the Mission. Hannah enjoyed it. And I mentioned that perhaps when they are off track next month, we'd make a trip to the San Juan Capistrano Mission. After our time at the Mission, we weren't too far away from probably the best Home Goods in Southern California, so of course we made a stop there. And then we weren't too far away from where Uncle Bart lives. He was in San Diego for the day working on a side job, but we left him a Valentine's package on his doorstep, and then stopped at our favorite donut/bakery shop across the street from our beach campground, looked at the beautiful ocean from our route to the freeway and then hit the road home.

What a beautiful, beautiful day to drive to San Diego County. The skies were blue. The hills were all green from the all the rain we've had. Flowers are starting to bloom. The sun was brightly shinning. It was most definitely a great day for going on an adventure!