California love Part I

This year we decided to do something different for spring break. Erik and the kids had 2 weeks off and we knew we had to do something, or we'd go crazy hanging around here in mexico. For the past 2 years we have ended up being home in arizona. Sooooo this year we decided to go to San Diego and stay with Aunt Diane and Uncle Dirk......the tickets into Tijuana are so cheap and we absolutely LOVE San Diego! It's such a vacation for us when we visit there. We LOVE going home to arizona to see our family and friends but it's SO expensive to fly into arizona....it was SO nice to see my husband just chill and enjoy doing nothing! In arizona he feels like we should always be visiting somebody or he should be working, making money. We called Aunt D and asked her if she would mind us coming for that long and, being the amazing person that she is said "Of course, we would love to have you guys....we're family and we'll have a great time!" LOVE her....and Uncle Dirk too, of course:)

We flew into TJ on friday, March 26th....to be honest, I was a little nervous about getting a taxi to the border. You just hear SO many horror stories about TJ lately....it's scary. The things we do to get across the border and back in the states!!! We've flown into TJ one other time but my cousin Matt was right outside the airport waiting for us. This time we were on our own to get across and then my family would be there on the other side waiting for us. But, to my delight it was SO easy! Erik went and pre-paid for the taxi at the airport so we knew exactly how much it was going to be and didn't take the chance of getting ripped off. We walked outside and the taxi was waiting for us there. The drive to the border was about 5 minutes and there was NO line to walk across. Piece of cake! And, once again it felt amazing to be on the OTHER side:)

Saturday morning we woke up and the first thing I did was head to the salon! I was in desperate need of getting my hair done(it had been 4 months and I had about a 2 inch grow out! I was feeling kinda yucky) I told Aunt D to get me an appt first thing, and sure enough first thing saturday morning, that girl is on it!......I felt like a brand new person, LOVE that! Erik had a great time hanging out with Uncle Dirk on his boat........drinking beers, doing guy things and enjoying the beautiful california weather! That night we bbq'd ALL kinds of fish! Erik had gone with Aunt D that morning to their grocery store that they own, Stump's Market and picked out like 5 different fish......Uncle Dirk is an amazing chef and LOVES to bbq, and boy OH boy.....it is the bomb! We all couldn't believe how full we were from eating fish, it was amazing! None of us even ate any of the side dishes we had prepared!

The beautiful backyard

Sunday we had plans to head to Aunt D's Palm Desert house for our first week of vacation.......I had told my bestie, Angelique that we were coming to california for spring break, she was like...."I want to see you guys! We'll drive and meet you guys in the desert!" I got SO excited! I love that I never skip a beat with that girl, best friends since we were 15 and have managed to see each other at least once a year with all our craziness going on! LOVE you Lique! And now we have hubbies that have become great friends as well.......we have such a great time every time we get together. I was super excited for this time because our kids are old enough now to play together. Cael is 4 and Chloe is 2......so adorable. All 4 of them got along GREAT and had a blast playing and swimming. We spent most of our time taking the kids to the pool, cooking, relaxing and just catching up. It was fabulous. The weather couldn't have been any more perfect.

Little Miss Chloe~AKA the bag lady

Aunt Lynz and Uncle Mark also headed out to see us too! I was SO very excited to see her and her little fam as well. Especially since my little Tatey Pie is changing so much! She's almost 6 months already! Crazy how fast it goes! We got to enjoy one full day with them swimming at the place they were staying at. The kids had a ball in the pool, it was perfect. It was fun for Lique and Lynz to get to see each others families as well......we even got to have an adult dinner out one night! It was so fun. We went to one of Mark and Lynz's favorite sushi restaurants called no.da.te(funny name ).... Mark knows alot about the desert because he used to play in the Bob Hope golf tournament every year. Lucky for us! It was SO yummy! And it was hilarious because the guy that owns the place is really good friends with Mark and was a total crack up! He was sitting with us, making jokes all night. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. He kept bringing the guys micheladas( red beers with lemon juice and chili/salt rims)...Erik wasn't really digging them, it's like the signature drink of mexico next to tequila! He wants the american beer when he's home!!! So......funny story...... Right when we got there we noticed that Alice Cooper, the rocker was sitting in the corner with some other people. Shin, the owner told us that famous people come in to his restaurant all the time.....Nicole Kidman was just there the week before. It's so funny cuz it's just this little tiny place, nothing too fancy! Well, Alice got up and came over to talk to Mark because they know each other through playing golf in the Bob Hope. All of a sudden, Erik goes "Babe, you got the camera? Get up." I'm thinking what the heck is he doing? Does he really want a picture with Alice? He gets up and goes over to talk to the other guy that Alice is with.....I'm like...who is this guy? I had no idea......Apparently my husband knows and is VERY excited about it! Well, come to find out it's CHEECH from Cheech and Chong! SO FUNNY! Erik was so star struck it was hilarious! So, luckily for Erik they were cool and we got a photo with them. A night we will definitely never forget!

Shin!

We were SO sad to see Lique, Lynz and their families go......we had such a great time with them! But, we were looking forward to Papa and Grandma Contreras coming to see us! We are SO loved with all these visitors! They brought Uncle Sal and Auntie Lanie with them as well. So great to see them! And last minute Uncle Artie came too! OH, and Libby, Justyce and Eliana April fooled us and showed up also.....Hallers was so surprised when the door bell rang and it was them!.....They even made an april fools sign, so cute! Aunt Diane was so awesome and made everybody feel so comfortable and welcome! On friday Erik got to golf with his dad and Uncle Sal. I know he really enjoys this time with his dad, it's so special. So while the boys were golfing us girls headed to lunch at one of Aunt D's favorite spots, Pacifica. It was still lent, so it was friday fish day! The food was amazing! We sipped on some wonderful white afternoon wine and enjoyed great conversation. SO beautiful.















Friday afternoon Aunt D, Libby and myself made a quick escape from the kiddos and headed to check out Aunt D's time share she has at the new marriott villas. We had so much fun talking and laughing just the 3 of us.......after we checked out the marriott we headed to the JW to check our their lobby bar.....it's a happening spot! It was a great afternoon! Thank you so much Auntie KK for watching the kiddos~you're the best!



That night Erik, Artie, Lib and I headed back to the JW for a night out. They have a night club inside the hotel called Costa's....LOVE the name:) Even spelled the same. It was a really nice place and we all had a lot of fun dancing! It was fun dancing it up with Libby since I've probably only been out a few times with her....EVER!....usually it's just the back patio and a bottle of wine for us!

Easter was very relaxing! Of course, the kids were very excited that the Easter bunny found us in the desert! Hallers found her basket behind the curtains right away, and poor Costi was so sad it took him awhile to find his and he was convinced the Easter bunny had forgotten about him:( We had to help him a little! After he finally found it in the shower!......It was so fun watching them open them, they both got watches this year! Halle got a Hello Kitty one and Costi got Spiderman, they both also got some pretty cool sticker books, and candy, of course, that darn Easter bunny;) .......In the morning we went to mass, which was so beautiful. It was such a nice morning they had it outside in the garden. After the mass, the priest invited all the children up to the front to sing a song. Halle didn't want to go, but Costa did so I went up with him. He didn't end up participating but him and I just sat in the front and watched the kids. After the song was over they released doves! It was SO beautiful.

After church, Artie and Erik made all of us an authentic mexican breakfast.......chiliquilis, beans, tortillas and eggs. It was yummy! I was excited for them to make it for Aunt D and Uncle Dirk.....they loved it! Then it was time to say good-bye to Grandma, Papa and Uncle Artie:( We had such a great time seeing them, it was hard to say good-bye but we're looking forward to seeing them shortly again, in June when we come home for summer break.

The rest of the day we just chilled. The kids and I dyed eggs and then did a little hunt, they loved every minute of it. It's just not easter as a kid without dying eggs and a hunt! OH, and how could I ever forget? We experienced our very first earthquake that day! It was nuts! I was on the computer and all of a sudden my chair was moving back and forth!!! I was like, "what the heck?" "Are you guys feeling this?" Aunt D said......"This is an earthquake Lex!".....OH WOW! I quickly screamed out...."Where's the kids?" They were out in the back on the golf course with Erik......it was kinda scary! It lasted about 30 seconds but felt like 5 minutes! It actually made me feel sea sick! I'm so sensitive, I swear. Quite the experience!

We loved being in the desert with Aunt Diane and her family but it did feel a little awkward not being with everyone in arizona. I've never been away for Easter, we've always seemed to make it work and end up back home during that time......It was especially different because my kids were the only kids.......we missed all the cousins!!! But, we did have Uncle Dirks awesome dinner, salmon and filet. Great ending to a beautiful weekend!


CONTINUED TO PART II..........