Memorial Day Weekend

Devin, Blaine's cousin with Down
 drew this for us. So sweet! 

Thursday, Blaine and I said goodbye to Provo and were on our way to sunny San Diego! This was our first trip together to California. We had too much fun. The drive itself was fun. We had the time to just chat about whatever without worrying about school, taking out the trash, work, etc. Also, we were able to listen to the Heat game against the Bulls. We were sad because the Bulls were killing us the whole game. And by some miracle in the last minute and 15 seconds, the Heat decided to step it up. I was able to hotspot Blaine's phone and FaceTime with my family while they were watching the game. It was so intense and SO much fun! GO HEAT!

We stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites in Point Loma thanks to the Culvers. It was a really nice area and we had complimentary breakfast everyday. Our first day we were able to go to the San Diego Zoo. It was a beautiful day and seeing so much green was refreshing. Also, being at the zoo with kids always makes things even better. My favorite part was the panda viewing. They were adorable! After, we went to Mission Beach. It wasn't a Florida beach. But it was a beach! It felt so good to just lay in the sun and take a nap and TAN! It had been too long. The water was too cold to get in but the sound of the waves was wonderful. Playing in the sand with the boys was fun...Watching Tytee eat sand like it was some delicious candy was also entertaining. After the beach we visited Old Town. It was, well, an old town. It had a ton of little shops and authentic Mexican restaurants. We ate at Cafe Coyote. Good stuff. The tortillas were so good. I could eat them by themselves. After a long day, we went back to the hotel to shower. We played Monopoly Deal with Stace & Chris once the kids were sleeping. That game is so addicting. We love it! That night, Blaine and I were able to meet up with one of his old mission companions - Alex Riggins, and his girlfriend. We met at Golden Spoon for frozen yogurt that they treated us to! It was so nice of them. We had a great time.

The next day we went to Sea World. I hadn't been to Sea World since I was in pre-k. It was another beautiful day. We saw multiple shows that were so entertaining. We were actually there for the "premiere" of One Ocean - the new show with Shamu. It was legit. The park CEO or something came out and did the whole big scissors thing. Blue Horizon was a show that focused on dolphins. It was beautiful. It's amazing how intricate, smart, and unique animals are. To think that we  all came about by the same Creator is mind-blowing. Anyway, the sky tower and sky ride were free the day we went and Miles enjoyed the "sky tram" or "buckets" a lot. It all started out at the zoo. Instead of staring at the animals, he was looking up observing the "buckets." When he saw the sky ride at Sea World, he was so happy! It's funny how kids see the fun and goodness in the simplest of things. I almost forgot...we went to a delicious seafood restaurant - The Brigantine. I had a 3-course meal: clam chowder, prosciutto wrapped tiger prawns, monster-looking asparagus with roasted potatoes and a raspberry vinaigrette. And for dessert, crème brulée. It was so so good. Everybody loved their food.

Sunday was a great day as well. We woke up and found the nearest chapel and attended sacrament meeting. Afterwards, we visited the grounds of the absolutely GORGEOUS San Diego Temple. Although we couldn't do any sessions, it's fun to visit temples in different areas. You can just feel how important they are when you are near them. Blaine and I have a goal to visit every temple in Utah. So far we have Provo and Salt Lake City... not doing so hot. But we have gone to the Orlando Temple together! Anyway, I really do love to see the temple! 

For lunch on Sunday, we were able to visit Aunt Dinah Bates in Fallbrook California - just an hour away from San Diego. She is Blaine's maternal grandfather's sister. Phew. Anyway, I have heard about how wonderful this woman is. She always sends Blaine a birthday card and she also sent us a nice wedding gift! She cooked us a yummy lunch and we were able to spend some time together. She is just so nice. She also resembled Poppy a whole ton. They look alike, talk alike...they're totally related. Aunt Dinah showed us some old pictures and her mother's china. We were able to talk to her about her Puerto-Rican heritage. Poppy is full Puerto Rican but you'd never tell. He came to the U.S. when he was way young, stuck to English (to avoid discrimination), and has become totally Americanized. It's funny though. He still drinks "cafe con leche" and has a huge sweet tooth. There are traces of his Puerto Rican side in him. Aunt Dinah still makes "arroz con pollo" among other traditional, Hispanic dishes. I am just glad that I was able to meet more family. I was also surprised that she was so spunky. She's 85 years old and doesn't look it. We had a great time with her. Hopefully we can visit again soon! 

Although we were sad to leave San Diego, we had a great time in Vegas. It was nice to have the long drive split into two and to have down time with Stace, Chris and the kids. Sunday night Stacey showed me how to make hair flowers. I've been dying to ask her to show me and she offered before I gathered the courage to ask! She also showed me some of her latest projects. She is so creative and crafty! I wish we lived closer so that we could do things like this more often.

Monday, we changed our tires at Walmart and ate at Farmer Boys. It was so good! I had a chicken club sandwich while Blaine killed a half-pounder. We also ordered a yummy shake and funnel fries. We just found out that they opened one in SLC! Yum! We hung out a little bit more and finally decided it was time to go. Another great thing about this trip is that Stacey gave me one of her Cricut machines! She has a larger one and doesn't use the smaller one as much (or at least that's what she told me). I felt like a little girl on Christmas morning or something. On the way home, all I thought about was my new toy. I am so excited to use it! Thank you Stace! 

BUT before going home, we encountered some obstacles. We were on the highway and the car just felt weird. It was rattling a little. So Blaine pulled off to a safe spot and checked out the tires. Some of the bolt-looking things were a little loose. We had to go back to Walmart and they said that they really couldn't do anything and that it wasn't that important or something like that. I just sat in the car while Blaine talked to the mechanics. I know nothing about cars since my dad was a mechanic. Car stuff was always handled by him. I don't like dealing with it! Anyway, one nice guy offered to balance the tires again for free although they were supposed to balance them anyway when they put the new tires on. Well, they didn't. So that was the problem. It was a pretty big setback. We were delayed by 2 hours. We were extremely tempted to just stay the night but I had work early in the morning! We prayed that we'd have a safe trip through the night and arrived safely at home around 1:30 AM. 

The only bad part of our vacation was the end. We didn't want to leave. The weather was so nice. Once we passed St. George, the temperature dropped to like 40 degrees! Yikes! But the hardest thing to leave was our family. We are so happy that Stace and Chris are near for the time being. We love spending time with them. I wish we were closer! They are just great people. I'm so happy that I married into a family that I absolutely love and feel comfortable with. Also, by far my favorite part of the trip - putting my little 3 year-old nephew to bed. Blaine and I read him two books and then read a scripture story to him. Afterwards, Blaine helped him say his prayer (his usual routine). After all that, he came up to me and simply said "Can we cuddle?" I about melted right there. So we cuddled. And I was the happiest person ever at that moment. The best part is that he asked me instead of Blaine! That kid has been and continues being obsessed with his uncle (the obsession is mutual). So this was a big deal for me. All in all, we had a great time. I don't know when our next vacation is (other than the cruise - 74 more days! Excited much? YES) but I hope it's sooner than later! Vacations and traditions make memories and bonds between families that are stronger than anything else!