Visiting the Grandparents in San Diego

Son1 has dreamed of coming to San Diego for months to visit my parents. He called them daily the month before we left. He loves their home! He was last in San Diego prior to his third birthday. I was surprised he remembered so much. My parents used to have tropical fish, but they are in some fish heaven now. Son1 walked right up to where they used to sit and asked about the fish. Then, right under the Spanish arch of their home sits a few bird cages. He tangled the blinds a few times to spy on the birds, since I won't let him open the front door and wander out there. Their home has grown whimsical with different themes and breakables. The kids haven't broken anything to date. Whew!

My parents have two dogs. (YES more animals, my mother calls my dad Dr. Doolittle.) Duke is my mom's treasured Maltese, and Gigi is a Toy Poodle, and my dad's gift to Duke. My kids are nuts over the two doggies. One day Son1 asked to walk the doggies.

My folks live in beautiful planned community. We leashed up the dogs, and walked a few blocks to a community park. Both of my kids headed for the swings first. Remember, we don't have swings in our Oahu parks. We played for several more minutes, and then continued walking.

They live near a man made lake, filled with ducks, and boats for use. Son1 was awed by the tameness of the ducks. He ran and chased them. Son2 screamed and kicked in his stroller. He is our animal lover. DOWN he wanted DOWN. I plucked him from his stroller, and he laughed at the silliness of his crying. DUCKS he wanted DUCKS.The community is landscaped with many tropical flowers and plants that remind me of Hawaii.

My dad loves tropical landscapes, too. This is a small snapshot of their backyard. They have so many tropical plants and flowers I could do a whole blog post just on their yard.


Son1 insists we eat most meals outside on the patio. My parents have a few table and chair set ups for dining. We finish our meals, and the kids climb into the glider swings. Son1 is enamored with the yard. He roams freely, picking flowers, and carefully exploring their decorations. Inside this bird cage are porcelain birds. Son1 delicately pulls them from their perches and plays with them like Fisher Price toys. I worry some, but not too much. See in his hand? He picked flowers for me. He does this most days.
The flower picking needs to be monitored, though. He has accompanied us some days on our house hunt, and picks flowers he shouldn't.