Model Railroad Museum and La Jolla Beach Day

We couldn't pass up seeing a train museum in San Diego. We didn't quite realize just how small it was, and that staff was strangely uptight. Which is kind of crazy since when I think Railroad Museum, I think Kids! But, apparently that's just me. The kids had a good time anyways looking at all the model trains. That is something I really admire about being their mom. They take everything in stride and are usually really pretty happy about anything.


This was the best part of the museum for Rose and Ginger. It also was for pretty much every kid who was there and their parents. It was the only place the didn't glare at you if you talked above a whisper. Literally, a "curator" got after us for talking in the gift shop.
There was a really nice man who was working on his display who actually liked children. It totally shows too. Take a look at the models he had built. He had no problem talking to my boys about building the models and how much they cost. I kid you not, one engine he showed the boys was worth $40,000!!! It was only like 12-15 inches long.




After that we went to the fountain to splash around and cool off for a bit before hitting the next museum.




Darin obsessed over the miniature model train set he bought at the museum.
Then Ken called me to tell me that he was done working for the day. That was the best surprise EVER! He hadn't gone in early because the company he was visiting was having some internal meeting and wouldn't be prepared for him so he spent the morning working at the hotel. Then just after working for 2 hours they told him he might as well take off for the weekend. Mainly because they wanted to take off early. It was awesome!

So, I hurried back to the hotel grabbed our swimsuits, picked up Ken, and we hit the beach in La Jolla. It's like 5 minutes from the office he was working in.
There were plenty of surfers and some good waves for my guys to boogey board.
Nathan can pretty much ride any wave, he is super good at it.
Even Ken was able to body surf with them. Darin caught alot of waves too.

The girls were on the sand mostly and I read a good book. The water is still too cold for us.
Darin coming in!

They sure are cute together!
The boys were digging for sand crabs and clams.

Rose spent about 20 minutes washing the sand off my feet. I couldn't complain about that:-) She saw Ken do it once and decided that it was a good job for her to do.
Nathan dug up a real live clam!

They put in a bucket with ocean water to see if it was really alive.
Sure enough, after a couple of seconds it's foot came out and it started digging its way into the sand. The kids were so happy! And they showed every kid within our radius about 50 times. Poor clam, they let it go eventually.
Ken was able to relax and read his book. He rarely has anytime to read for pleasure anymore, so I was happy for him.
After a long afternoon at the beach both of the girls crashed on me. This is always my favorite time, when they are so tired they can't help but sleep. I also love going to the beach because everyone is always so happy. The waves are so relaxing and it's the only outdoor activity where all of my kids can equally participate and enjoy together.
Nathan also found a baby crab. It was super tiny.
This is so creepy to me, but I was surprised he would let it crawl up and down his arms. It still makes me shiver. I wouldn't be surprised of Nathan turns out to be an oceanographer. That boys loves the ocean and all of it's critters.