Carlsbad: Final Day

 Today was our final full day at Carlsbad. We've had a great time, but we're all ready to be home.

This morning, we got up, got around, and played croquet! We had nothing on the agenda, so we just relaxed and played games (and in Corey's and my cases, got a few school items taken care of).

Croquet equipment in a fancy pattern that I did not notice or plan for this picture - I'm guessing Corey put them like that, but it's just a guess.

Dad at the bat with his trusty yellow ball (originally Mom was going to be yellow, but dad stepped up to the plate before her).

The croquet mallets were very tiny and we had to crouch to use them.

Corey's still favoring his left leg, but he didn't use his crutches at all today, and was able to keep up pretty well with us all.

Yes - I won croquet :) But Dad was right behind me at the end - I only won by one turn.

Dad - "These aren't croquet mallets! These are hammers of retribution!"

Corey and I working on some school things - I can see Corey's screen in the mirror!

Yes, yes - Corey hijacked the camera again.

After working on a few things, Mom, Dad and I all went on a 3 mile run amidst the hills of Carlsbad. Now, 3 miles is not that long, but for Central Valley-bred people who aren't used to hills, it's tough! It was enjoyable though, even the hilly parts.

Remember the Sudoku challenge? Well, the few minutes of time it took to complete the Sudoku puzzle was worth it, because we got free admission to the pizza/bingo night tonight. Free pizza for us, and four games of Bingo! It was really worth it, because Hope won a pie and ice cream prize, and Mom won a 1-hour massage (worth $70). So, in all, we fed our family and won $75 worth of prizes for the $10 it took to admit Hope and Caleb to the bingo/pizza night!

Hope enjoying her prize.

Time for bed!

And that's all for our trip! I hope you enjoyed it!

Stay tuned for more events in the future!

Until then,

Casey

Carlsbad Day 4

Well, I said that the activity would be a surprise - but now that it is over, the secret can be told! This morning, we headed down to San Diego/Point Loma to watch part of a debate tournament that several church families participated in. We left Carlsbad at about 9:30, and made it down in time to watch a couple friends do their speeches. Before we headed off to lunch, though, we ran into Nick Kjeldgaard, who goes to school at the university that the debate tournament was being held at! It was a very pleasant surprise, and it was great to see him.

After lunch, we returned to the university to watch one more debate before we headed off.

The campus backs up right onto the ocean!

Hope and Caleb played on the playground while Dad, Corey, and I all watched a debate.

Hope and Caleb.

"How does this wheel thingy work?"

Caleb's obviously driving a British car, with its steering wheel on the left side :)

Swinging!

Sitting.

Talking.

Sean after his debate.

The Otto's little guy.

After we got back to the apartment, Corey hijacked the camera.

Nothing like a home-cooked meal!

Sittin' at the dinner table.

After dinner, we went to a ping-pong tournament that the resort held.

Dad and I were on a team.

It looks like I'm hitting Dad in this picture. It also appears as though Dad and I have the same concentration face (compare this picture to the one above it).

Corey and Mom were on a team (no, they did not play Dad and I, they played another duo).

Whack the ball!

 Hope and I decided to rest on the couch afterwards.

After ping-pong, we went to the fire pit to enjoy the fire and some hot chocolate.

"Burn, burn, burn; the ring of fire; the ring of fire."

Sitting at the fire.

We ended our game by playing Pinochle.

And there you have our day! We have one more day on our vacation, before we head back home on Saturday.

Until tomorrow,

Casey

Carlsbad Day 3

 Today we went to the beach - which was really our main activity for the day. Thankfully, the beach is not far, so we were able to stay for a while.

Me at the beach.

Corey the gimp and Dad at the beach.

One of the annoying seagulls that wanted our food.

Hmm...Dad looks a little suspicious...

Aha! Stealing chocolate chip cookies, are we?

One of our traditions at the beach is to build a sand castle and attempt to protect it from the waves. Mom's building the castle, while Hope and I are building the defenses.

Dad decided to read.

"What was that? You want me to state the nominative declension endings for Hebrew nouns?"

Hope got some new hair.

Protect the defenses!

 Corey is trying to take down the castle using the force...I think he's losing.

The castle.

Mom couldn't resist the urge to destroy the castle.

Castle crusher!

 4 on the wall!

After we got back from the beach, we took advantage of the timeshare's shuffleboard to play some....wait for it...shuffleboard!

Caleb had to run quite a ways to get enough speed on the puck.

Hope did too, but didn't need quite as long a runway.

Corey didn't run at all!

Mom shuffling.

After shuffleboard, we did the "Sudoku Challenge", which was solving a really easy Sudoku puzzle. The reward is free pizza and bingo tomorrow. Since it took only about 5 minutes to finish the Sudoku puzzle, it's my impression that it was totally worth it for the money we'll save for dinner tomorrow (yes, we're cheap)!

And there you have it! That is the sum total of our pictures for the day. On the agenda for tomorrow? You can't know - you'll find out tomorrow!

Until then,

Casey