No Place Like Home.

Well, we made it!  Our first big family vacation has come to an end.  Be warned this is going to be a long one, I've used this entry as a diary of sorts to record all the details of our week in Cali.  It was exhausting, but we made tons of great memories...

Wed, May 23
With an 8:45 departure, we were up early and had to wake Leila up.  Matt went in to wake her up and tell her it was time to go...she was so excited to go, but the first thing she said was, "we have to eat breakfast first Daddy, don't be silly."

After a fairly smooth experience through the airport (once you have two kids, you get to skip to a special line through security...we were giddy about the VIP experience...doesn't take much to thrill us!), the flight went well, Natey slept 1 1/2 hours, while Leila watched a movie and ate snacks.  We arrived shortly after 11am, picked up our cart full of luggage, and ventured on to the rental car pickup.  By this point everyone was feeling a little tired, so although our plan was to find an In 'n' Out, we ended up at McDonalds and quickly were back on the road for the final leg of our journey.  Thankfully Leila took a nap, so the ride was pretty uneventful.  We finally arrived in Solana Beach at the Winner's Circle Resort!

Pool time!

Poolside

Once we were somewhat settled, we put on our suits and headed down to the pool.  Leila had been so excited to play in the pool, and even though it was a little chilly, she convinced Daddy to get in and play for awhile, while Bubby and I chilled on some lounge chairs.

We enjoyed an early bird special for dinner, then slowly, but surely everyone went to bed.  Natey in his pack 'n' play, Leila in a California king surrounded by pillows, and Matt and I in a lumpy pull out couch.  Now you know who rules our roost.


Thurs. May 24

Leila was kind enough to let us watch cartoons in her bed...

With the time change throwing a wrench in our already early morning wake up ritual, we had watched an hour of cartoons (Leila discovered she loves Looney Tunes), went out for breakfast, got to Target before open, waited, then shopped, and we were still back to the hotel by 9:30.

By 1:00, we had played at a park overlooking the beach in Del Mar, Leila was stung by a bee (I totally panicked, while Leila was fairly calm), had lunch with Oma and Papa Chuck (they arrived in town to help us...thankfully!), and were down for naps.

Our afternoon was spent in the pool again.  This time Bubby got to enjoy splashing too!

So in love with him

Chillin with Papa Chuck

Later, Leila, Matt, and I met Kelsey, Mike, and the rest of the fam for some dinner at a hibachi grill restaurant.  Leila was in heaven with potstickers, rice, and miso soup, oh my!  She was so tired that by 9:15 she was half asleep, but still asking Matt to shovel rice into her mouth.

"More rice Daddy"

Fri.  May 25

Loving Bubby

With the wedding festivities in full swing, things were getting busy!  We enjoyed a repeat breakfast out (best breakfast ever at Claire's on Cedros!), followed by lunch with the Peterson clan.  Leila and Bubby were totally adored by all. Bubby made sure to drool on everyone who dared to hold him.

Once Chubs McDrool was down for the night, the three amigos headed out for the wedding rehearsal and dinner.  Leila did a great job practicing her walk down the aisle...we were just hoping for a repeat at the wedding!  At the dinner party, Leila really let her walls down and became the life of the party.  She mingled, high-fived, enjoyed cranberry cocktails, and popped hor'dourves.  Matt and I realized we aren't part of the "young" crowd anymore (yeah, it took this long...) after being sat with other 30 somethings and their kids.  Although one of Kelsey's friends was kind to point out that we "are still cool."  Phew.  It was a beautiful night, a little chilly, but the garden setting was perfect, and everyone had a great time!

What a great moment!

Perfect flower girl

Enjoying cocktail hour

Sat.  May 26

Flower girl debut

Kelsey and Mike's Wedding Day!!!  What a perfect day it turned out to be!  The weather was beautiful, Leila looked beyond cute in her flower girl dress and curled hair, my dress fit, the ceremony was a perfect combination of sentimental and humorous (their minister was a total comedian!), I didn't cry too hard and mess up my makeup, Kelsey looked amazing (duh!), no one tripped down the aisle, and the party that followed was so fun no one wanted it to end.

My favorite parts of the day (in no particular order...):
-Leila walking down the aisle forgetting to sprinkle flowers, but remembering to plaster a smile on her face
-Kelsey getting in her dress
-Looking in the crowd and seeing Matt holding Bubby in his seersucker blazer and cap (Bubby, not Matt)
-Watching 5 hours of Sex and the City
-Every moment of the bridal party pictures (Call Me Maybe, Pig Nose!, Star Spangled Banner)
-Hand jive and dancing in for the bridal party introductions
-Dancing with Leila
-Dancing without Leila
-The cake
-Kelsey looking at me on the dance floor and yelling, "This is the best night of my life!!!"

Bubs only made it through the ceremony before having to head back to the hotel for bed, but Leila was a champ and made it all the way until 9:30.  She was having so much fun dancing with everyone that she didn't want to leave, but alas her carriage was about to turn into a pumpkin, and surely her sweetness was soon to turn sour, and so off she went with Oma, while Mommy and Daddy continued the party.  No two year old should witness their parents rapping to Salt 'n' Peppa anyway.

Anyhow, the day ended.  Matt and I back on our lumpy couch bed, while Leila enjoyed her plush surroundings.

Snackies before her big walk down the aisle

McDrool

The Fantastic Four

Party girl

Sun.  May 27

Quite charming in a mustache, wouldn't you say?

Time to move on.  Or as Leila said, "Time for a new hotel!"  After one more family get together for brunch and to send off Mr. and Mrs. Searles on their Tahitian honeymoon, we packed up and headed north to Manhattan Beach.  The ride was uneventful (thankfully!) and we arrived in time for a little pool action (although it was again a little chilly, but Leila had her heart set on it) and dinner at Houston's (where else?!) with Oma, Papa, and Jaimie.  We were all in bed and asleep by 8pm, for a much needed long night of sleep.





Mon.  May 28
Another travel day!  We started to understand what a life as gypsies would be like.  We were headed out of town by 8:30 and arrived in San Luis Obispo  by noon.  We only stopped for a roadside potty break for Leila...she's a true road trip professional now...and then one more stop just 10 miles short of our destination.  Sometimes spending 3 hours trapped in a car with family can drive everyone a little insane, so we took a quick breather and then finished our drive in peace.

Ain't no party like a sandbox party, cuz a sandbox party don't stop.

After a few beers, sitting in the breezy, sun-drenched living room of Lisa and Hugh, overlooking the beautiful scenery of San Luis Obispo, I knew we had entered the relaxing portion of our vacation.  Even though kids make everything feel somewhat chaotic, it was just nice to sit back, catch up with friends, and have no where to be.  We ended up at a park nearby before getting the kids down and enjoying an adult only dinner.







Tues.  May 29
Are you still reading this?  You must really love us!
What a great day this was!  Leila made pancakes with Lisa, followed by a trip to this barn/farmstand/picnic place that was awesome (you know your a mom when this combination is something you get excited about); Leila and Tev had so much fun feeding the goats, while Natey enjoyed chewing on countless toys while chillin' on the blanket.  Post nap time we played and picked fruit off of Lisa and Hugh's trees, and ended our day welcoming a babysitter to man the house while we went out to a fantastic seafood dinner in Morro Bay.  Funny that our first paid babysitter happened while on vacation, and although I was admittedly uptight for the first 30 minutes we were gone, it worked out perfect and we had the best time.

At the barn

Playtime!

"Seriously?"

All the kiddos

Wed.  May 30 
The journey home begins.  But wait!  One of our favorite memories of the whole trip happened pre-road trip back to LAX.  Lisa had a brilliant idea to get sandwiches and head to a nearby beach town, Avila Beach, for the last few hours of our visit.  Both Matt and I fell in love with this town and will probably be working on figuring out a way to move there...okay, maybe not move, but timeshare maybe?  Anyhow, after enjoying some of the best sandwiches ever (California cuisine rules!), Matt almost getting taken down by a flock of seagulls (not the band), Leila's first time in the ocean (she had the best time running from the waves!), and Natey's first time at the beach (he loved digging his toes in the sand...and eating it), we had to say goodbye.

"Chase me wave!"  (Sound familiar Mom and Dad?)

Beach boy

Little boy, big ocean

The 3+ hour drive back to LAX was long and at times frustrating, but finally the kids fell asleep, and we arrived at our final hotel just in time for happy hour, dinner, bath, and bedtime.  Matt and I finished out the trip on one more lumpy couch pullout.

Thurs.  May 31
The last leg.  We landed in Chicago happy to be home, but thankful for a great trip.  The kids were better than I could have asked, the wedding was perfect, our visits with family and friends were so fun, and we were able to spend lots of quality time together as a family.  What a great family I have!  As we walked through the house looking for Bob, we asked Leila, "What was your favorite part of the trip?"  And she said, "Coming home to Naperville and Bobby."  That's my little homebody.  There's no place like home.