I love taking my girls out to the mission in San Juan Capistrano. Now that it's summer it seemed like the perfect time to plan our visit.
By 9:30am the girls and I were driving over to pick up my mom up for a morning down in San Juan. She was wonderful enough to take a day off work just to come with us. Traffic was more non existant than it was light so before 10am we were already parked in the lot by the train tracks and out of the car. (Just a note to any parents: every time we go out I like to bring 2 snacks for each child, sunblock, a full change of clothes for them, and a first aid kit. It all fits comfortably in a backpack.)
Our first stop was Zoomars Petting Zoo. This is a great little place to visit with the kids. You can feed the animals, ride a train, pan for gems, take a pony ride, and play on their little playground. I was lucky enough to find tickets for Zoomars through Groupon so the four of us had paid admission, two train rides, two panning for gems, and two feed baskets for $30. I added the two pony rides for another $10 because I am clearly a sucker for my kids. After a good long time of playing, with just about the cutest animals I've ever seen, we made a little stop at Hidden House Coffee where they make some delicious drinks and sat outside for a few minutes to relax.
Next was the mission. Now, I would normally have started at the mission but after checking out their web site I found out they had a kids craft going on from 11am-1pm. That meant if we started at Zoomars then headed over we would be right on time for the craft. The only discount we had at the mission today was the one they post on their website. So I got in for the senior price. But that's okay. My youngest is still free until her birthday so we only paid for three plus the two crafts. The girls ended up making lassos today. You can also use them as a jump rope but I guess they decided that wouldn't be as interesting. Aside from the lassos the mission was in full flower bloom today. It was gorgeous! And the Monarch butterfly's were everywhere. We even observed some of the caterpillers. The Koi pond is always a favorite stop as well as the vegetable gardens. Other than that they don't go into the rooms too much since they tend to look then leave not really reading much about the missionaries.
Finally we ended our visit at the Mission Grill ordering our usual burritos and chips. Where was the deal there? Simple, after reviewing the menu the girls shared a burrito, we all shared the chips, and we ordered small drinks since we were able to refill our own cups as often as we wanted. With children, the portion sizes tend to be too big so we have them split a meal. And why pay extra for a larger cup when I can just refill a smaller one? So with everyone's stomaches full, except for my three year old who seems to never be hungry, we walked to the car and began our drive home.
I rounded out my time at home with them by putting The Jungle Book on the computer for their viewing pleasure while I took a little cat nap. When my father-in-law took them to Taekwondo I got busy making dinner and getting ready for work.
So the lesson for today: Plan ahead! Check out web sites of where you're visiting in case they have any deals or events going on that may be of interest to you. And check coupon sites like Groupon or Living Social to see if there happens to be any discounts on a place you plan to visit. Also, watch what you eat when you're out. I frequently order from the kids menu as it's enough to fill me up and usually has a drink, a side, the meal itself, and a dessert for less that I can get with the adult menu. It also keeps the amount I'm eating in check. You'll find that if you just take a minute to go over the menu you can save a little money and maybe eat a little healthier.
There you have it. Another day in out life.
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