Sunny San Diego

First of all, thanks to everyone for the sweet comments on our last post. They have been printed out and are sitting with the sonogram pictures, waiting to be put into a baby book. :) It is such a joy to bring a child into this world that is surrounded by so many people that already love him/her. You are all such a blessing to us!

Onto the next order of business... :) Wade and I just got back from a wonderful trip to sunny San Diego. Wade had to go to a conference there last week, so I decided to tag along for a mini-vacation. We had a blast together - some much needed time alone. Don't get me wrong, I missed Clayton terribly. I must have flipped open my phone to see his little face a hundred times. I felt guilty (of course) that I wasn't with him, but it was really fun to spend a relaxing few days with my hubby.

We sure did squeeze a lot into our trip! We were there Tuesday through Sunday. Wade's conference was Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. While he was working, I spent my time lounging by the pool, shopping, and reading a book. (It was the first non-parenting book that I had read in months!) I hardly knew what to do with that much time all to myself... but I managed. :) We got to do fun stuff every evening after Wade's conference let out, as well as on Tuesday and Saturday. Here is a "brief" run down of what we did:

1. We went to the San Diego Zoo as soon as we landed on Tuesday - which was really fun. I felt so bad that Clayton wasn't there to enjoy it with us. That is until Wade pointed out that he is too little to appreciate it. He wouldn't know the difference between the Ft. Worth Zoo and the San Diego Zoo. (I still missed him, though.) The zoo had a lot of animals that we had never seen. The koalas were my favorite - mostly because they smelt like eucalyptus instead of like animal stink. (That heightened sense of smell that you get when you are pregnant doesn't go too well with the zoo atmosphere.) Wade really liked the polar bears.

2. We went to a baseball game at Petco Park - the Padres vs. the Giants. Wade loves baseball, and collects a baseball from every stadium that he visits. So... he was happy to have a new baseball for his collection. He also got to see Greg Maddux pitch, which he was excited about.

3. We went to a super fancy dinner at the Skyroom. It is a restaurant at the top of the La Valencia hotel (an old, historic hotel in La Jolla). It was sooo yummy (especially for a girl that considers Chick-fil-a or McDonalds "eating out" - the foie gras and Chilean sea bass were a far cry from the usual combo #1).

4. Wade played golf at Torrey Pines. Apparently, it is a famous course that he has always wanted to play. They are having the US Open there in a few weeks, so it was even more special. I tagged along as his personal cart girl. :) It was beautiful, I must say. Wade made friends with the marshall of the course (no surprise there - Wade makes friends everywhere). The marshall told us that Phil Mickelson was playing a practice round that day at the course. We could see him from the next hole. We didn't bother him or anything, but it was fun for Wade to play right next to a golf legend.

We also went to the cliffs right next to Torrey Pines to see the hand gliders. These crazy people just run and jump off of the side of the cliff and coast above the ocean with their hand gliders. Wade thought that it was awesome and wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately, we ran out of time for the tandem lessons that they offer. (What a relief for my nerves!)

5. We went for a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway and saw TONS of beaches. We went to Coronado Beach, La Jolla, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Long Beach, Dana Point, and Santa Monica. It was such a beautiful drive! We ended in LA, Beverly Hills, and Hollywood. We went to Grauman's Chinese Theater and saw the famous Hollywood sign. I got to check a lot of things off of my "things to do before I die" list. :)

It was a very fun trip! I had never been to California before and I must say that it was just as beautiful as I had always heard. The sunsets were amazing! We were sitting on the beach listening to the waves crash against the shore and watching the sunset one night. I turned to Wade and said, "If I could just see this for 5 minutes every day, I would be a much calmer person." It was so relaxing...

I was thrilled to see my little guy after almost a week apart. He actually looked older to me (sniff, sniff) - is that possible? Thanks to my sweet in-laws for taking WONDERFUL care of him (and spoiling him rotten). He had a great vacation away from us, too!