The Adventures of Morgan and Crystal: My Brothers Wedding

So this past April we took a trip down to California for my brother’s wedding. Of course traveling anywhere with kids can always be a little stressful, but luckily we planned well and everything seemed to go fairly smoothly. We had a late flight so by the time we arrived in San Diego both kids were extremely exhausted. Of course I forgot Levi’s sippy cups for milk, so we had to make an extra stop to buy him some new sippy cups. We also had to stop at Whole Foods to buy him his milk. By the time we got to my sister’s house both kids were just screaming out of exhaustion. We put them to bed then started so settle in and do some unpacking.

The next day we went to the Avocado Festival with my sister. It was amazing we got fresh strawberries, fresh oranges, and some incredible juice! There is nothing that can compare to freshly picked produce! I think the thing I miss the most about San Diego, outside of the beach, would definitely be all the fresh fruits and veggies. I ate almost three pounds of strawberries in one sitting. It was so good! Later that night we went to my Dad’s restaurant and had some delicious pizza! My dad defiantly makes the best pizza I have ever had, so I always look forward to that when I come into town. Morgan is obsessed with his bread sticks. He could probably just make a meal out of those alone he loves them so much! Needless to say, we love Rossi’s!

Monday morning we left to pick up our rental car because we were going to be heading up to Avala Bay, which is in San Luis Obispo. It was a five hour drive, and let’s just say the kids did not appreciate it. Three hours in we decided to stop at a park on the beach in Ventura so they could run around and stretch their legs. That helped, and made the rest of the drive slightly more pleasant. Morgan’s parents and sister met us there and we stayed in my dad’s timeshare. I have pictures of me at this timeshare when I was in diapers so it was especially fun to take Morgan to a place where I have so many childhood memories. The first night we were all there we went and ate at this restaurant that was on the pier. The tables have glass so you can see down into the water as you eat. It was pretty cool. The next day we went to a park to fly Brad’s (Morgan’s Dad) drone. We picked a place there had a cool park so that Levi could play, but of course he fell asleep on the way there and slept through the entire activity. Hannah (Morgan’s sister) and I were both slightly bored but had fun playing with Parker while we watched. It was fun to just hangout and visit. Later that night we went to McKlintocks, one of my favorite restaurants. They are a steak house, and as a kid it was the coolest place to go. I always loved to get my picture in front of the bison after we finished eating. Lots of good memories there. On Wednesday Morgan and his dad went and played a round of golf. This was one of the things that Morgan was looking forward to the most. He always really cherishes any time he gets to spend with his dad, and golf is one of their favorite activities they do together. I was excited for him to have the opportunity to do that. I know he really had a great time. I will never understand what is so fun about golf, especially since guys don’t generally take advantage of the time to talk during the game, but hey it makes them happy and that is what counts. Every time Morgan gets back from a round of golf I ask what he talked about, and he always responds with “not much”. That my friends is the difference between girls and boys. Hahaha. Anyways while they golfed we took Levi back to that park so he could play on all the animal statues. Of course, he loved it and had a great time.

That night we all went down to the pool, and Levi was in heaven. There was a very cold breeze that was blowing through, which made the air outside pretty cold. Levi could have cared less. He stayed in that pool till his lips were blue, and his teeth were chattering. Morgan and Grandpa Brad kept throwing him in the air and catching him and he just thought that was the coolest thing. It was pretty cute to watch. Levi just loves his Grammy Julie and Papa Brad!

On the last night we went down to the farmers market which was amazing! I bought another three pounds of fresh strawberries and ate almost all of them. They were so good. We also got dinner there, and of course washed that down with some good old healthy funnel cake topped with you guessed it…strawberries! Yum!

The next day we made our way back to San Diego for the other half our trip! The drive was killer we had to leave at six in the morning to make it back in time for my brother’s rehearsal dinner. Therefore, we could make absolutely no stops. Yes we set ourselves up for a nightmare of a trip. We tried to leave earlier, but unfortunately packing all of our stuff and the stuff for two kids is a lot of work and we did not plan enough time. It was what it was. So after listening to Levi scream for a solid five hours (there was a few brakes but Parker would always fill in where he left off) we were pretty much at the edge of our rope. Thankfully my mom and Ellen met us off the freeway so we could pass Levi off to her and put him out of his misery so he did not have to complete the drive and wait at the rental car place. Once they got him they fed him the “magic raisons” and he was happy. Eventually he fell asleep, and we could all take a deep breath of relief.

The rehearsal dinner was a lot of fun! It was nice to see the venue, and get to meet up and visit with all of my family. After the meal we went back to Wendy’s and we got ready to the Padre’s game. We were pretty wiped, but the game was still so much fun! This was Parker’s first Padre’s game, and I am pretty sure he loved it! That night Levi slept at Grandma’s house. This was the first time both me and Morgan were away from him for an overnight. It was little bit hard, but I am not going to lie it was nice to have one less tiny person to take care of because let’s face it…we were pretty wiped.

The next day was the wedding! It was so much fun. Levi was the ring bearer and he was about as cute as they can get! My sister’s daughter, Amelia, was the flower girl, and oh man were they melting hearts! Parker got to wear Aarons old designer tuxedo he had when he was a baby. My family has a running joke that Aaron was the most spoiled baby because he had a designer baby tuxedo. This made it pretty cool to get to see Parker in the forever talked about outfit. The wedding was a lot of fun. There was lots of dancing, cake, and steak! I have to say I got to experience a whole side of my family I had never seen before, and that is an understatement. It made for quite the interesting night. Gina looked beautiful! I am so glad I get her to be my sister in law. I couldn’t have picked a better match for my brother. The wedding was amazing, and the family was entertaining. What more could you want?

The next day we got the family together at Wendy’s house and Ariel and Thomas went above and beyond to make a massive breakfast! It include eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, juice, pancakes, and my favorite strawberries! It was nice to sit and visit one last time before people started leaving the next day. Monday we all just laid around and relaxed. We were all pretty exhausted. Monday night we met several members of the family at Islands for my favorite burgers and fries. It was a nice way to end the trip.

Now we are preparing to leave again next month for another trip to San Diego for my sister’s wedding! We couldn’t be more thrilled for Mike to become an official member of the family. More updates to come!