And The Summer Travels Begin

Sydnie and I just got back from SUCH a great trip back home to SoCal. My visits out there always seem to be such whirlwinds, and I usually have a really hard time fitting everyone and everything in to just one week, but this time I feel like I did a really great job of seeing just about everyone! We flew out on Wednesday the 10th. It was an early morning flight, so it turned out to be a very long day by bedtime, but it was so nice to get off the plane, get into our rental car, and get to Dad's house by lunchtime... all thanks to the time change, of course. On Thursday, Cory had the day off from work, so after Sydnie's morning nap, the three of us drove up to Orange (Santa Ana) to meet Dad for lunch at the Crab Cooker. I had been CRAVING their romano mashed potatoes and crab cakes, so lunch hit the spot that day! We walked around Enderle Centre after we ate, and looked in all the little shops, just like old times... oh, how I miss Orange. We took Dad back to work, and I decided I needed to try Pinkberry for the first time. Ashley always raves about it, so I thought I'd jump on board. I tried a sample of the Original (gross), and Pomegranate, and decided on Pomegranate with some chopped strawberries and fresh blueberries. It was pretty good... different, but good. I think I'll stick with my Goldmine Yogurt though (sorry, Ash!). Then, that night, we all went to Mom's for dinner. Lauren met us there, and we had breaded Tilapia with a peach salsa. SO GOOD! At this point, Sydnie and I were both exhausted, so we all headed back to Dad's for the night.

 

Friday, I planned to head down to Fallbrook to visit with Matt's mom, stepdad, and sisters. Little Lauren had her 8th grade promotion earlier that day (how is that possible?! Wasn't she just 10 years old like a week ago?) I had most of the day to kill before I headed down there, since the girls were doing some end-of-the-year activities with their friends, and Craig and Terry were at work. It worked out perfectly, though, because Ashley was in Anaheim since Shawn is now playing for the Padres, and the Padres were playing the Angels. So, we were able to meet up! I thought Laguna Beach was a perfect spot to take her, since she'd never been. Ashley brought Casey along, and we all had a blast! Ash and Casey both have amazing cameras, and really have an eye for photography. They took some AMAZING pictures (mostly of Sydnie), and I have to share a few.

Thank you SO MUCH, Ashley and Casey, for all the wonderful photos! I know who to call for some maternity portraits and such in the future ;-)

 

Over the weekend, in Fallbrook, Syd and I had such a fun time! We did some shopping in downtown San Diego at Horton Plaza, and I found some GREAT clothes. My best find by far (and I will be ordering a pair in every color) was a pair of white cotton blend pants with a stretchy, elastic waistband! Not official maternity pants, but pregnant friends, you MUST buy these as soon as you can get yourself to your local BP department at Nordstrom! They are cute, comfortable, and totally "wearable" until AT LEAST month 6 of your pregnancy. (And they even have shorts with the same elastic fold-top waistband). Later that night, we ordered chinese food takeout, and visited at the house with Grandma Pam. Sunday, we had a delicious homemade breakfast a la Craig, and listened to Matt's game on the radio. He did AMAZING, but I forgot how stressful just listening to his games are. I look forward to being able to SEE him pitch again... can you believe it's been over a year since I saw him pitch in a game? Shortly after that, Sydnie and I were back on the road, headed up to pick Lauren and Cory up from Irvine on the way to a family get-together in Long Beach. Some pictures from our weekend in Fallbrook:

When Monday rolled around, I knew that our last few days in CA were going to be packed with things to do. In the morning, Sydnie and I headed up to Orange to pick up Michelle, and head to Krysta's house to talk about some of the details of Michelle's upcoming November wedding, and let Sydnie play with Krysta's 19 month-old twin girls, Raechelle and Charlotte. It was so cute to see them play together, and even more amazing to think that toddler hood is just around the corner for us! Baby proofing, here we come! When all the kids crashed an burned at the exact same time, we ordered a pizza for lunch and watched a movie with NO interruptions. What a novel idea! Thanks for a fun day, girls! Later, Sydnie and I headed to visit with "Nonna" and Grandpa. She sure put on a good show for her great grandparents. Syd stood up, holding onto an ottoman for at least 10 minutes. She's growing up so fast! It was so much fun to visit, and I only wish we had a little more time. Here is Sydnie with both:

 

After our visit with Nonna and Grandpa, we headed to Costa Mesa for dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy with Mom, Lauren, Pam, and Marissa. Aside from the creepy busboy who kept touching my child, the night was so much fun! Good food and good friends/ family is always the perfect combination. Here we are after finishing our dinners:

And Marissa reading the dessert menu with Syd
Tuesday was a little more laid back, thank goodness. Not that I didn't enjoy getting together with everyone... I just needed a day to recuperate before the big trip back home to Florida. Sydnie took a couple nice long naps, and I was able to get us packed back up, return the rental car while Meghan kept an ear out for the napping baby, and book a shuttle from the airport to the house. That afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa Proud came over, and ended up staying for dinner. Dad grilled chicken, and we all just hung out and talked. What a great way to wind up a really fun trip! A couple pictures from Tuesday night:

Wednesday came quicker than I thought it would, but it was time to head back to Florida. Dad took a couple hours off of work to drive Sydnie and me up to LAX. I always hate airports, but this was one of the less stressful travel days I think I've ever had. I got Sydnie her own seat on both parts of our flight, and am pretty sure that's the ONLY way I'll do it from now on. Paige said it best when telling me about her experience with buying two seats, "It's life changing." Yes Paige, it was!! We also flew back to Orlando with another young mom, Tara, and her baby, Riley, who we met on the way out to CA. What are the odds of that?! It turns out that we have TONS in common too. Both from SoCal, moved to Orlando area with our husbands, both about the same age, both of us have young baby daughters, we both have January birthdays... the list goes on and on. Riley and Sydnie were both SO good on the flight, and we were both pleasantly surprised at how relaxed we were by the end of the day. Tara, it was a pleasure meeting you, and we will DEFINITELY get together soon!!

 

All in all, the trip was a blast. It was sad to say goodbye to my "real" home yet again, but I missed my house, and my dogs. I love you all, and miss you already! Thanks for everything.