The yearly Grandparent visit

Grandpa and Grandma Cows made their way down here for President's Day weekend, hoping the weather would be a little warmer than it's been the last two Januarys they visited. It wasn't. :) At least it didn't rain though. We did a lot of stuff while they were here, something every day I think. 

 We took one day to visit San Diego. We stopped to see the Historical District, where the Mormon Battalion Museum is housed. It's gone through a complete makeover in the last few years. This wagon sits right over the street, and you can climb through it. 

 After going through an interactive tour inside the museum, you can head to the courtyard to pan for fool's gold...

 ...or play with the water hand-pump...

 ...or wash clothes the old-fashioned way. I asked Evelyn if she liked washing clothes this way and she said, "Nuh-uh. I like washing machines." Ben told her his clothes were washed this way when he was on his mission. I definitely learned a lot about the historical importance of the Mormon Battalion and the kids said this was their favorite stop of the day. 

 Seven historical homes that have been preserved sit on the property next to the museum. There's a walking tour to see the exteriors, you can only go inside two of them. 

 Very distinct and colorful architecture though. 

 We also stopped to see the San Diego temple which we've only had time to drive by in the past. We learned there will be a visitor's center here in a few years. 

It was hard getting it to all fit in the frame. 

 My parents tried to get a shot of us, but the kids were just feeling too silly I guess. 

 We also visited Crystal Cove State Park and the tide pools they have there. The tide wasn't as far out as it could have been, but we still got to see lots of big starfish, a few big sea slugs, and many small hermit crabs. 

 A couple of starfish here. 

 Gordon going barefoot everywhere, he wanted to be held because he was afraid the water or the little crabs might get him. 

The girls checking out some hermit crabs with Grandma. 

We also rode the train and visited the Orange County Zoo at Irvine Regional Park. The kids really enjoyed that short little outing. We also made the short trip to see the progress on the Great Park. It gets bigger each time we visit it. It was fun having Grandma and Grandpa visit and go see a few places I've been meaning to see with the kids. Hopefully we'll be the ones doing the visiting this summer!