Arizona or Bust!

Last weekend we took Egan on his very first plane ride! Egan's GG Olga and GG Ed live in Tucson, so we flew to down to Phoenix (and drove to Tucson) to visit them!

Our flight was at 8:30pm, but we were delayed 30 minutes, so we didn't land until after midnight in Phoenix. Thankfully we had the foresight to book a room close to the airport! 

The next (late) morning, Tim trekked to the rental car place and picked up our BUICK for the weekend. We had a really easy drive down to Tucson - Egan slept most of the way.

Of course we had to get a picture with a cactus!

That night one of my cousins was getting married, so we joined my aunts and various other cousins for a beautiful wedding in Old Town Tucson.

Egan had a great time being adored by many people and we were very happy to be able to celebrate with the family!

 On Saturday morning, we headed to GG Olga and GG Ed's place.

 

They were excited to meet our little guy. GG Ed even broke out his harmonica and guitar and serenaded Egan! 

GG Olga gave some great eskimo kisses.

We are so happy that we could take our little man down to Tucson to meet his great-grandparents before our big trip to Japan!

Unfortunately, we still had a morning flight out of Phoenix, so we left in the late afternoon to drive back. We grabbed dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and took a walk around what I think was the downtown area. They are clearly getting ready for the Super Bowl!

Egan liked sleeping in the King-sized beds with us - much more room to wiggle around!

Our flight was operated by Southwest and despite their announcements that we had a full flight, no one sat with us and Egan got to chill out in his own seat for the flight. One passenger even commented, as he was walking by, that there was "no way in hell" someone would sit with us. Evidently it pays to fly Southwest when you have a small child!

Oh, and you can guarantee that I considered purchasing Egan his own ticket for our flight to and from Japan after this trip - it was so much easier with an extra seat! Hopefully the bassinet we reserved for the flight over works just as well!

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We went home...

But just for a visit or two!

I traveled to Spokane to meet my parents over Veteran's Day Weekend. On Saturday my Dad and I drove down to Pullman for the Cougar Football game against UCLA. I couldn't miss the opportunity to see my cousins!

I ::FROZE:: in the stands. Oi. California has made me a wuss when it comes to cold weather. But I persevered and we stayed through three-point-five quarters before my Dad finally relented. The Cougs didn't win, but they did manage to make a small comeback (we listened to the radio broadcast from the car.)

The other reason we met in Spokane was for a family friend's wedding on Sunday. It was a beautiful winter wonderland theme and we all had a great time! 

My parents and I also managed to dress exactly alike without any planning. I have no idea how this happened, but I guess good taste runs in the family. 

The next morning I flew back to Sunny San Diego and my parents drove home in the snow. Ha!

November seemed to fly by, because about two weeks later Tim and I both flew home for Thanksgiving. Only this time we flew to Bellingham - there are two direct flight from San Diego to Bellingham and we took them that week! Tim loved driving his car again, especially after having to drive rentals while we've been here.

Thanksgiving day was celebrated at my parents' house.

 We completed our traditional puzzle in what felt like record time.

 And that evening Tim and I did some Black Friday shopping from about midnight to 2AM. Tim was still on graveyard and would have to go back to work Sunday night, so we made a point to stay up later than usual during this trip.

On Friday the Cougars were playing the Huskies for the Apple Cup, so we donned our gear and watched the game at my Aunt and Uncle's house.

While everyone else watched with eager anticipation...

Tim slept.

 Thankfully he woke up in time to see them play the last quarter and overtime, where we WON!

 GO COUGS!

After the game, Tim and I drove to his parents' house for some post-Thanksgiving celebrations. On Saturday night we went bowling with the family and after one 'normal' round, we gave 'crazy bowling' a try. 

 Every frame is a different stance or style of bowling.

On Sunday we went out to Breakfast and then Tim, his parents, and I went to look at cars before they took us to the airport. I may have test-driven a Mercedes...

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Celebrating Tim's Birthday!

As most of you know, Tim's birthday is in November, so I'm posting a bit behind schedule. I did want to share some pictures though, because we had a great time and his entire family was able to come down and celebrate with us.

We picked Tim's parents up from the airport on Friday morning in Anaheim and headed straight to the Happiest Place on Earth. Our first stop was Space Mountain (Tim's birthday - Tim's choice!). This was the weekend that Wreck-It Ralph was opening, so the big guy was holding court in Tomorrow Land.

We had a lot of rides to go on and thankfully the park was relatively empty this weekend. Big Thunder is a family favorite and since it has closed (as of this past weekend) for nine months of repairs, we thought it best to go on it as many times as possible. :-)

 In California Adventure, the line for the new Radiator Springs Racer ride was only 60ish minutes, but after waits of under 20 minutes...well, that 60 minutes felt like an eternity!

Saturday was the "official day of birthday celebration," so everyone wore the shirts I had made for the occasion. We met Tim's parents and headed straight to California Adventure to wait for Tim's sister and fiancé. By 'wait', you know that I mean 'go on more rides', right?

 Finally we were all together and the party could begin!

 (Don't you love those shirts?! We got tons of compliments from other park goers and the Disney cast members. Oh, you want to see the back...ok, if you insist!)

The weekend was pretty special for Disneyland - they were filming the Christmas Day Parade. We ended up missing most of it, but got over to Main Street to see them filming the end. Unfortunately, when we went to watch the parade on Christmas Day, they never included this section! I know that I would have been pretty upset if I were these kids - they were working really hard to get their lines and moves perfect for the cameras.

No Disney trip is complete without a castle picture!

For Tim's birthday dinner, he chose the Blue Bayou, which is in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It was a delicious and FILLING meal for everyone. 

Tim's family all had to leave on Sunday, so after we took his parents to the airport, we got ready to use one of Tim's presents. I had purchased tickets to Book of Mormon in LA! We had an excellent dinner beforehand and really enjoyed the show. Plus, the theater (The Pantages) was beautiful.

Finally it was Tim's actual birthday (Monday) and since we didn't have to checkout until noon, we went to Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast. It just happened to be at the Disneyland Hotel, where we had stayed for the weekend. I will say, that after staying at a Disney Resort Hotel...well, it's going to be hard to stay anywhere else again. It was such a wonderful experience and Tim (whether he'll ever admit it or not) had a great time getting a little extra spoiled by the staff.

Unfortunately it was back to San Diego for us. Tim actually had to work graveyard that night, so as soon as we got back to our condo he went to bed for a few hours before his shift started at 10pm.

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The Parents come to visit.

Less than 48 hours after Laurie left us, Tim and Patti flew down for a long weekend. Unfortunately Tim had to work the entire time, but we were able to take in a few local sights. Pacific Beach was hosting a large car show!

Here we are with "General Lee."

 They also had the "Green Hornet," the Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am and "The Mystery Machine" from Scooby Doo. The big celebrity guest and car enthusiast was Christopher Knight from The Brady Bunch. We didn't feel like paying for his autograph.

And since Tim could join us, here are the photos we took for him...

 An impala even larger than his and a 60's Chevy (his favorite).

The next day was a shopping and beach day. I didn't take any pictures, because we were having too much fun in the waves! 

After Tim's parents left, it was my parents' turn to visit for a long weekend. After picking them up from the airport, we headed north to Temecula to visit the wineries. It was beautiful and HOT and I didn't take any pictures. Fail. 

Tim was able to join us on Sunday for the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.

 The sculptures were amazing! This is the backside of a piece:

And it was fun to talk to the artists about their work.

Fun Fact: Because of the sand they used for these sculptures, these could last 10+ years! They were demolished the next evening.

This sculpture was hollow on the other side and each of those little sheets had a name on it:

And this was our favorite of the day (and everyone else's too!) It won 1st place and the People's Choice award.

The rest of our trip involved more shopping than I think I've ever done with my parents...ever. I'm still in a bit of shock. :-) But my Mom has a wonderful new wardrobe for the school year! And I got my birthday present - new shoes! (They know me so well.)

That's it for visitors for the next month or so...

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August Visitors! Part 2

Sunday night, I found a Groupon deal for a 2-hour GoCar rental around San Diego. Laurie and I thought it sounded like fun, so we bought one and planned our Monday around it. The rental place was in Little Italy, so the Trolley was the best transportation option. Unfortunately, I didn't realize the Little Italy stop is under construction, so we had to backtrack a bit from the "next" stop on the line. Whoops!

After grabbing lunch - we found an amazing deli that offered your choice of four salads - we headed to the rental place for paperwork and our orientation.

 Here our view of the street from the car. We were very close to the ground and much smaller than everyone else, but all of our spectators seemed to love our little car. We got several honks, waves, and giggles from passersby.

Our route - we were headed to Point Loma with help from our GPS, who we named Pamela. Pamela  didn't always give early warning for turns.

 Along the route, we drove through Shelter Island, where they have a bell gifted from San Diego's sister city - Yokohama, Japan! We've been there! :-)

Our route took us all the way to the south-western most point of the continental US - Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma. Point Loma is actually mostly owned by the military and there are several cemeteries...

and some experimental labs. This is a sonar-type lab. The actual lab is suspended above the water, so that the water isn't disturbed...or so the GPS tour guide told us...we think it's more likely that this is where they keep the mermaids! ;-)

 Finally we made it to the Cabrillo National Monument...

and the Point Loma lighthouse.

We spent about 30 minutes walking around and learning about the lighthouse and the San Diego Bay. It was really interesting and the view was amazing! Since we only had the GoCar for a few hours, it was back on the road to continue our tour. Here's Laurie driving (you can see how small it is compared to the other cars)...

 And here I am putting the car in reverse - a.k.a. pushing it backwards.

The end of our tour took us through Ocean Beach and along the Sunset Cliffs. It took quite a bit of willpower to not park the car and head to the beach - the day was perfect for swimming/body boarding!

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