Photo shoot at La Jolla Cove

What better place to have your picture taken than the beach? Heck yeah, baby. Many other people had the same idea. Jenn was wonderful and took some photos of our family. There are these tiny tidepools with these scary white fish that are about the size of my fingernail. I HATE fish! Jenn was laughing because I would not step in the tidepools to enter further into the cove. Heck no, man.

Oh how Reagan loves to water. In a couple of years, she will be laughing right along with her dad at how I hate fish and other sea creatures. We could not keep her out of the freezing water and we ended up pulling her wet clothing off her and draping a blanket over on the way home.
I just want to add that my fear of fish is mostly limited to ugly fish. When Matt and I snorkeled in Hawaii, after about an hour of coaxing me into the water, I realized it wasn't TOO bad because these were pretty tropical fish. They look nice. The ugly fish, like the ones that my dad fishes out of the Weber River, are so dang ugly and scary looking. They just have this EVIL look in their eyes like they want to nibble your toes right off.

Birch Aquarium

While in San Diego we visited the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla. Last time I was here, I was a junior in high school oceanography class thrilled for a reason to be out of school. This time, I was with my friends and together, we faced mine and Lori's arch nemesis: fish. To me, fish are like a scary movie that you watch with your hands held over your eyes. You can't leave the room, you have to be there to watch it, but you need to watch by peeking through your hands. This aquarium felt much the same way. I got the chills looking at these freaky creatures, but I just could not look away! I also feel the same way about snakes.Okay, so we did get somewhat close to a fish. We posed inside this shark mouth. Here, Nick rescues Matt from being eaten by the shark. Thanks to Nick, I still have a husband today.
Lori, Jenn and I. Jenn is the polar opposite when it comes to fish. She loves them. A view of the coastline from the aquarium. It was a pretty sunset.
Eating our hearts out at California Pizza Kitchen. We were impressed that Jenn used chopsticks throughout her meal, so Lori gave it a whirl.

Ohhhh, I love BBQ chicken pizza!!

Pipes and the Beach

On Saturday morning we ate the best french toast ever at a breakfast place called Pipes near Del Mar and right next to the beach. It was a really cool setting. So good that we ended up going back the next morning for a second helping of that french toast.
Bro, check out Matt with this sign. Whattup with that?

After Pipes, we headed down to the beach, where the water was way too cold for all of us, except Reagan. She beelined for the waves, but we decided we knew what was best more than she did and kept her out of the water.

Weekend in San Diego

We took a quick trip to San Diego the weekend before Thanksgiving, to surprise Jenn and meet her 2 month old baby, Layla. Nick and Lori were also there that weekend, so they were in on it and helped execute the "Surprise Jenn" plan. Although Jenn seemed more confused than surprised (she thought we would be coming the following week), it was fun to ambush her in Nordstrom's Rack. We had a great time with our friends and have some killer photos to share.

Matt and I (well, mostly me) had a moment of silence as we passed this California landmark. We even stopped for gas at the Magic Mountain Parkway exit just so that I could smell the amusement park air. I think that is the closest I will get to this place in a VERY long time. When Matt and I are retired and 80 years old, we will be all over Xtreme and Goliath.
Not long after we met up with everyone in Mission Valley, we went to get some grub. Reagan almost walked into the mens bathroom.
We have done tons of driving for the last week and a half and Reagan has been an angel 90% of the time. We owe much of it to her new carseat. It cost us an arm and a leg, but has been worth every penny.
The cell phone obsession continues. Nick was really cute with Reagan and she set aside her newfound shy streak for the time being and played happily with our friends.
Our first night there, we ate at Islands Restaurant. It boasts this cool view of the San Diego temple (taken from the parking lot), but boasts even greater hamburgers and cheese fries. I have been hooked on Islands hawaiian burger forever, but I made some new discoveries this time: cheese fries are sensational when dipped in ranch dressing (thanks, Lori) and the yaki tacos are excellent.

What would we do without Baby Einstein? It's such a terrible thought, I just can't even fathom! The portable DVD player, along with her favorite vids, sure came in handy. Our hotel we stayed at had some good and bad. The bad: our room had two double beds instead of a king size and the second night the hotel was overrun with teenage softball players running up and down the halls. The good: a continental breakfast and a heated pool. The heated pool was fun.
Jenn's wedding was beautiful. It was held in her aunt's backyard in Rancho Palo Verde, a rather upscale neighborhood in Alpine. Lori and I both served as bridesmaids. After the wedding, we headed to a reception at the clubhouse down the street. Matt took Reagan into the quiet area of the clubhouse because she was exhausted and I was able hang out and get down on the dance floor with friends. I wasn't able to snap any more photos of the wedding party, so I am going to try and accrue some from my buds and I will post later.

A huge thanks to Lori and Nick for entertaining Reagan and always being willing to hold her for me. Since I officially like Mexican food now (as opposed to my high school days), we headed for some true Mexican food that you can only find in San Diego. Yeah, guys, I love Utah's Cafe Rio, but that isn't the real stuff. Reagan loved the carne asada, but you know...she eats anything, so I am truly not surprised. Lori was kind enough to switch burritos with my since mine had guacomole on it. Santana's California burrito was pretty sweet, I have to admit.

I see my alma mater and immediately the song "Fly Like an Eagle" starts running through my head. Granite Hills is our alma mater and we look back fondly on our high school days! We took these photos around noon and it was a friday, so school was in session. Lori and I wanted to take these pics quickly and without much noise. Matt proceeded to embarrass us by yelling our names and "Class of 99" as he took photos. good times...
What a fun trip to be with my friends and family in one of my favorite places on earth.

Summer of Weddings

With my little sister and my bud Jenn getting married this June, weddings have been on the brain. It is really exciting. It seems every day, I am either picking up a bridesmaid dress or skirt, checking out a wedding cake online, etc. With Jenn getting married in San Diego and Lindsey taking her honeymoon to San Diego, it has made me reminisce a little about when Matt and I got married in (where else?) SD almost 4 1/2 years ago!! Whew--time flies.

Here we are at La Jolla Cove on our day.

Our honeymoon was spent three days in San Diego, two in Newport Beach, and an overnighter in Vegas on our way back to school. We went to Disneyland while in Newport and waited in line, with all the other 8 year olds, to have our pic taken at the famous sword and stone. I wish I had the photo of Matt sitting in Dumbo, but it unfortunately wasn't one we chose to scan back then ;)