The Adventures of Morgan and Crystal: San Diego Part One

This post has been taking me forever to write because I have an overwhelming amount of information I want to share, but every time I have a few seconds to myself all I want to do is lay on the couch and watch Gilmore Girls. So just know this is taking loads of self-discipline to sit here and type this post rather than watch television! (I am at the end of season seven and it is getting really interesting…)

So our adventure started at the crack of dawn, we had a pretty early flight to catch! We carpooled down to the airport with some friends who happened to be on our same flight. This was a life saver because not only did that give us some extra hands to help with the kids but it also gave us some great company!

We had lots and lots of luggage because I am too cheap to pay to ship stuff so instead I choose to fully utilize southwest’s luggage policy and bring everyone their things via my suitcases. Well one of the items my dad wanted was this laser printer that I was getting rid of. I was worried that if I checked the printer with my other suitcases that it would get damaged, so in order to ensure that it was nicely handled I decided to carry it on. Well little did I know that a printer falls into the same category as a laptop when it comes to security? This led to my bag being automatically flagged on its way through the x-rays. Of course we were short on time, and I was feeling pretty high anxiety because as anyone who flies with children will relate to it can be extremely stressful. Well they then proceeded to swipe the inside of my bag with something that checks for explosives and of course knowing my luck it comes out positive. Apparently my stuff has bomb particles on it. So then I had to have all my bags searched, and have a full body pat down. Meanwhile, Parker pooped, but Morgan was not allowed to take a diaper out of the diaper bag to change him because I was still being heavily searched, and who knows what kinds of explosives I could be hiding in my diapers. Apparently I look like a pretty threatening terrorist. Long story short it was a miserable experience!

We finally land in San Diego and at this point I am beyond exhausted. My sister Wendy picks me up from the airport and we decide to forgo our previous plans and decided to just go home and sleep. When we woke up we went and picked up the car we were borrowing, went to Whole Foods to get Levi his milk as well as some other food for the trip, and we finished off the evening with dinner at Rossi’s. Morgan and I always look forward to eating at my dad’s restaurant. His food will always be my favorite, but hey what can I say, “It’s the best in town!”

The next day we went to the Padres game. We were so excited for this because Levi has not been to a baseball game since he has been old enough to actually appreciate it! So of course we spring for the cheap parking, which automatically means we had a hike into the stadium. (I do exaggerate a little it was like a 15 min walk) the worst part of the walk was listening to my dad tell me about how I should have bought a backpack stroller, but that is a conversation for another post. Anyways, we get into the stadium and we sit in our seats and we are in direct sunlight. I mean it was some intense sun, and it was hot. Parker was being extra fussy because it was too hot for him to sleep, but Levi on the other hand passed out as soon as we got to our seats and he slept through the entire game; so much for him experiencing his first baseball game. Eventually, after we were dripping wet with sweat and sunburned, we decided to move down into some empty seats that were under an overhang. Once we moved down there it was literally like ten degrees cooler, and the game was much more enjoyable. It turned out to be a pretty fun! I love baseball games!

Sound Asleep!

Direct sun!

Wake up just in time to leave

Best Pals

Not awake

The next morning we woke up early again, and headed to Legoland! We met my Dad and Denice. We were all super excited for Legoland, but once we got there we discovered that Levi was like half an inch too short for the majority of the rides. There were like six rides he could do, but there was also tons of other stuff to keep him entertained throughout the park, so we still had a pretty awesome time! I mean after all everything is awesome! Legoland has this rule that two people over the age of 18 are not allowed to ride the rides together. So we ended up going on this helicopter ride, and the attendant assumed I was seventeen so I played along and got to ride with my dad, so that was pretty awesome. My favorite activity was riding these boats that had basically no motor and just floated through this course at like half a mile per hour. It was extra fun because we were all trying to race each other. Wendy got on first, then Levi and Morgan, and my dad and I got on last. Morgan passed Wendy right away, but she was an easy target so we don’t give him too much credit. We pretty much passed Wendy right after they did, shortly after that there was a huge boat jam, and we were all turned sideways and backwards. Soon we were able to fly by Morgan making us the winners of the race. If was pretty fun, but you probably had to be there to fully appreciate it. We are excited to go back to Legoland once the boys are a little taller!

Parker and Nana

Wiggy and Levi

Dad

Wiggy first on boat

Morgan and Levi second on boat

This is when are boats crashed and we were side by side

Winners! Everyone behind us!

Legoland Aquarium

Zebra Car

I love that everyone thought I was seventeen

Dad wanted this Picture

All of us in front of the welcome sign

The next day we decided to take a much needed morning of sleeping in. once we stumbled out of bed we had breakfast, and then Morgan announced he really wanted his morning free so that he could catch up on some work stuff, and of course play on his budget. I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and went out with the ladies! Mom, Ellen, Elizabeth, me, and the boys all went and enjoyed an afternoon at the mall shopping. This worked out well because I needed to find a shrug to wear with my dress for the wedding. We looked everywhere, and by everywhere I mean all over Macys. (To my family Macys is the mall) we were having no success when Ellen suggested checking the little girls department. Sure enough there we found exactly what I was looking for! It pays to be small. After shopping we went and had lunch at souplantation.

Found a gecko

After lunch we rushed back to Wendy’s to grab all of our beach gear because we were having a family potluck at the beach! This was one of my favorite gatherings of the trip, it was so good to get most of the family together for the first time. For the potluck I assigned everyone certain ingredients to bring as far as the food was concerned. Well everyone brought those items, and literally nothing else. Apparently when you’re having a gathering at the beach it is not implied to bring chairs or towels. Luckily we brought some extra, so we were all able to make it work. Hahaha. The kids had a blast! Grandma Paula was holding Parker and of course he was wiggling out of her arms. Grandma took his inability to sit still as a sign that he wanted to get down so that he could play in the sand. Well of course the minute he was put down he started shoveling sand into his mouth. It was a good dessert for him I’m sure. As if one super messy kid was not enough, mom took Levi down to the ocean to play in the water, and of course he got soaked! I will say that he had the time of his life! Levi loved the ocean and playing with his grandma, it was so fun to watch the two of them together. The whole family had so much fun! It was well worth staying out late, and having two messy boys to get to spend time as a family on the beach!

I know he is pretty cute!

Many I miss these beautiful ladies!

This was before the mouth full of sand

Man, what a great looking group

so sweet

Saturday was the Bachelorette party and boy was that a hoot! Wendy really wanted to have a party that all of her close girlfriends could participate in so after much thought and many ideas she decided to do a limo tour around the Temecula wineries. She strategically planned it the weekend our family was in town. This party had a little something for everyone. Even though I don’t drink I was sure excited to meet Wendy’s friends and ride in a limo for my first time! Since I live so far away I don’t get to see my sister as much as I would like, and I have not had the opportunity to meet many of her friends, so it was fun to meet people who love and support my sister the same way I do! Once I got to the winery I ordered lunch and everyone was drinking, so of course I went to the bar and ordered me a ginger beer! I wanted to feel cool and drink at the bar with everyone else, so I gave into peer pressure and ordered me some beer! Hahaha! It was so fun, and I am just so grateful that she included me and let me be a part of her party even though I don’t drink! I know most traditional bachelorette include heavy drinking and extreme partying so I am just thrilled I was able to participate! Once Wendy got home she was not feeling so hot, so I went and picked us up some pizza at Rossi’s because we all know that my Dad’s chicken ranch pizza can always make everything better! It was just such a fun day!

Our first Limo ride!

The next day was the Bridal Shower! Janelle (Wendy’s maid of honor) and her mom put so much time and energy into making Wendy’s Bridal shower extra special, and they did such a wonderful job! It was a beautiful party! It was a tea party theme, and they had the cutest china, and the most delicious food! It was very clear they have been working on this party for months. It was so cute, and it was wonderful to have the family all together to celebrate Wendy! I especially loved getting to meet Mike’s family. His mom and grandma are just the sweetest. I feel like Levi got another adopted grandma! It was so fun to visit with them, I hope we will get to see them more often. I was in charge of games, and I had fun putting those together. I planned one with Wendy’s baby pictures. I found a picture to represent each year of Wendy’s life from birth to age 18, and people had to try to put them together in the correct order. I also did a game where I videotaped myself asking Mike questions, and then Wendy had to try and guess his answers. It was pretty fun!