The Life and Times of Jennifer Weems: Why yes, I do have a blog

Well, after three attempts at my blogger password, I'm in! I know it's been way too long, and I don't have the energy to give an excuse (wedding season) I'll pretend like there was no 5 month block out. I did have a cute catchy blog all worked out, but somehow deleted that. Cool, smooth move. Just trust me, it was great.

Any who. I decided that was taking to long, so I'll just narrate this post with one million pictures of our trip to Oceanside. Here goes.

For most of this road trip Andrew and Abbey were heads down in video games or movies. After we arrive home, we discovered Andrew had pretty much documented the whole trip on a little video recorder he kept in his pocket. These clips included: a perfect karaoke number to "Don't Stop Believing" in the backseat, a trip to the bathroom in Olive Garden and several moments in the condo. All pretty hilarious.

Here, Abbey gave her obligatory "I'll just put on this fake smile so mom will leave me alone" smile.

Yes, he was driving. No, not recommended. Yes, this was our third attempt.

So we finally made it! Ocean. Here are some pictures I took with no Weems'.

We spent one day at LegoLand. Actually, the only reason we had to go there was for the cars. Abbey needed her driver's license.

Yes, she drives like her mom. Pretty much broke every rule. I'll have to teach her later how to look cute when the police request "license and registration"

Waiting in line pretty much sucked. We are all very impatient people.

The lady said "Everyone put their gun's up." I guess I was the only one not excited about this ride.

Jellyfish display.

Abbey wanted to touch and feel everything. Andrew, not so much.

Yes, I handed my camera to a stranger with strict instructions.

That fish in front of Abbey could not have had any better timing.

I just love this one. Ross was taking a picture on his phone. I just love that profile :)

Waterproof camera, check. Waterproof phone.....uncheck. Close call.

We met up with some friends from Phoenix one afternoon. This was my only shot at a decent family picture. I'm pretty sure I was promising Abbey a puppy and a small amount of cash here. She never cooperates.....ever.

Yay! Thanks Nicole. You can almost not tell I'm threatening my kids behind this smile.

We also pressed our luck by passing the massive camera to my 10 year old. Not bad Andrew.

Yes, he could not resist the stupid shot of mom.

We had tons-o-fun out at the beach. These two kids could totally spend 24 hours out in the sand.

Did I mention Abbey's love for the camera. The lighting could not be any more perfect here. Believe it or not, I have a whole collection of pictures of a face covered mystery child.

We did have one set back. Andrew decided to spice up the trip with a vomiting and fever spell. The day he decided to start that up, Abbey and Ross took the camera and set out. Here are some of their shots.

I took this one from the balcony of the condo.

Later that day, Abbey decided that sand castles were too hard. She got so tired of them washing away to sea. She decided to build a "seaweed castle". I'll have you know this "castle" was still there in the morning.

Later that night we decided to eat dinner at the end of the pier. By that hour, Abbey was in peak performance. He was tired and moody. She declared that she could put her jacket on herself. When I asked her if I could tell her a secret about her jacket, she said "no". So, I did what any good mother would do. I laughed and took a picture.

In desperate attempts for a fun family shot, I put my camera on the ground by the building and set the good 'ole timer.

A nice lady noticed my struggle and constant running back and forth, so she offered to take a couple pictures. Of course, one of us is always looking like a total dork.

Ok, it's time to hit the road back home. Have I mentioned that my husband unpacked my tripod yet? Any way, the only spot to put my camera was about 50 yards away. My camera timer max's out at 10 seconds, so we offically have a problem. We never really made a good family shot here, but the attempts of setting the timer, running in sand, up a set of stairs and not hitting your head are freaking funny. Enjoy our many failures.