San Diego

Daddy recently had a three day conference in San Diego (1/22 - 1/24), so we decided this would make the perfect time to 1) visit a city we'd never been to and 2) more importantly, visit Aunt Jamye in her new "hometown" for the first time.
Reid is on a fairly tight daily schedule, so the thought of traveling to the west coast and "losing" two hours was a bit daunting to this mommy.  I was determined to make it work though, and I'm happy to report that short of a few meltdowns, our little guy powered through like the warrior he is!
Daddy, Reid & I loaded up and headed to DFW Airport on Friday afternoon for Reid's 1st flight to somewhere other than Corpus Christi.  We kissed the thought of a brief, one hour flight goodbye and instead buckled up for the 3 hour flight...with an active {understatement of the century} 19 month old toddler.
And wouldn't you know it - the 1st thing we did to begin our trip was to  disrupt the boy's schedule.  Although it wasn't too bad, he was probably at the tail end of his nap when we picked him up from school on Friday.

Here are just a few of our keep-the-boy-calm-and-in-his-seat tactics.  Or should I say in "our seat."  You see, since he's under 2 still, we are able to travel with him as a lap child (aka. not pay for a ticket for him).  

This worked okay for the trip there since Dad and I were both on the flight (although at the end of it all, Dad gave him a grade of C-, and Mom thought that grade was very fair).

Knowing that his activity level and size would be too much for this mom {with a 5 month twin belly to boot}, upon landing in San Diego we began devising a plan to purchase him a one way ticket back.   Although it pained me to spend the money, it was WELL worth it in the end!

Up until now, the boy had only been in the Central time zone, so as expected, he woke bright and early Saturday morning at 5am (7am Texas time).  If you're wondering why he's wrapped in a towel while he enjoys his morning milk, it's because he woke with a "sticky" diaper, if you know what I mean.  A quick shower with dad was the only resolution in sight.

I was so concerned about waking up poor Aunt Jamye, however, she's fortunately an early bird just like her sis.  

On Saturday morning, our first venture out in beautiful San Diego was to the area of La Jolla right along the Pacific coast. After cruising the coastline a bit, we wondered into an unknown restaurant (of course, Aunt Jamye had her faves in the area, but most of them we passed seemed as though there would be a significant wait time.  So we had to keep searching).

Who would have guessed how lucky we ended up getting!?!  We made the split decision to "just park" and mosey into what looked like, by all accounts, the perfect place to saddle up to a bar for a beer or whiskey.  But alas, it was 9:30am, and we were all starving for a bit of brunch.  

Although it was a completely deserted restaurant when we walked in (they had just opened), it turned out to be one of the most fabulous places we've dined in a long time!

Photo courtesy of Hennessey's Tavern website.

And the boy was a dream of a brunch date! He enjoyed playing with stickers while he waited for his breakfast.

They even had something to keep daddy busy.

Two of my FOUR precious boys!

Look at that child's breakfast, will you!?!  That's something as elaborate and delish as dad would cook up!  And it WAS delish!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Grandma Andersen created a Lemon Monster!

Here's Reid offering to share his precious lemon with Dad.

Ha...just kidding!

Lemon-brain freeze maybe?  :)

Now it's time to play one of Reid's current faves - Point to your body parts.

"What's next, mom?  Ask me another one!"

I couldn't conclude our Hennessey's Tavern brunch without a photo of Dad's Captain Crunch French Toast (yes, you read that right!).  As you may imagine, we ALL tried it, and it was  perfectly perfect in every way.  In fact, all our food, service and ambiance was as well!

After nap time, we headed a few minutes north up the Pacific coast to Del Mar.  What a fun, happening area!

If you can believe it (after all his Corpus visits), this was his first beach experience.
Oh what fun!

On Sunday morning, we went right down the street (literally) from Aunt Jamye's house to a fabulous park and recreation area so the boy could run and play for awhile.  It turns out, it was the perfect locale for him, so we did this again on Monday morning as well. Great way to burn some energy!

~pure love~

If the photo below makes you cry, does that mean you're 5 months pregnant and hormonal?  I think so.

The next 3 photos actually remind me of one of my all-time favorite bible verses:

"The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make his face SHINE upon you 

and be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace."  -Numbers 6:24-26

Okay, if you've made it this far, then I have a little contest for you.

The winner gets a 5x7 print of a photo of their choice from this blog (A photo, you ask?  Why yes! I'm expecting that this will go to a family member because let's be real...there's a LOT of verbiage in this particular post that only the "grands," "greats" and "aunties" would want to read).  ;)

CAPTION THIS:

The back drop of this photo doesn't even begin to describe how absolutely beautiful the mornings are in San Diego.  I can see why it's such a popular place to live.

Reid decided to borrow some of the other kids' toys.

On Sunday during Reid's nap, my sweet hubby insisted that my sis and I head back to Del Mar for some girl time & pampering.  So what did we choose? Manicures and pedicures of course!  We went to Jamye's favorite little nail salon, and it did NOT disappoint.  So fun and relaxing!

Here's a bit of irony for you...my chosen nail color.  :)

As soon as we returned to the house, we loaded up the boys and headed to Balboa Park and specifically the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.  They have a toddler-specific section (under 5 only) that Reid had a BALL in!

The fire truck was one of his faves!

Daddy insisted on, well, being daddy and taking Reid into the Hurricane Simulator. You might be wondering why mom allowed this (a strange man walking by actually asked that very question if you can believe it?!?).  As you may imagine, Reid only lasted about T-2 seconds before mommy "asked" daddy to let him out.  He was NOT a fan!

~blowing sweet kisses~

~careful driver~

~crazy driver!~

Won't win the photo of the year award, but this was the best family photo we could get with Mr. Nonstop at the helm. 

Sisters

Monday was our last day there, and we couldn't leave without one more trip down the street to the FUN playground.

Alas, for the 1st time, Reid had his VERY OWN seat on the airplane ride back home!

.........................................................................................................................

Aunt Jamye,

Words can not begin to describe how wonderful you made our trip.  This was mommy's last flight and vacation prior to becoming the mother of 3 boys, and I couldn't have dreamed up a better way to spend it.  

You are a gracious hostess, a darling aunt and an amazing sister!  I don't know what I'd do without you!

Of course, we were so sorry to miss Uncle Brent, but we are thrilled that he will be returning home to you ANY DAY NOW!  What a glorious day that will be!

Next San Diego stop - November.  With 3 boys under 3.  For the wedding of the year!

Love, love, love,

Michelle