San Diego

This past weekend we flew my mom in from Kansas City so she could stay with our kids while Daniel and I went to San Diego for another anesthesia conference where he was presenting a poster. We left Friday night and stayed at the Sheraton Hotel right on Harbor Drive. Our room had a little balcony that overlooked the harbor. It was a very pretty view. 

Saturday we met up with a long time friend, Brock, of Daniel's from his youth (I can say that now since Daniel is 31...ha ha ha) in Kansas City. Brock now lives north of LA and he and his wife, Cami, and 4 boys came down to San Diego for the weekend. We went to Sea World in the morning/early afternoon. I was adamant about seeing the Shamu show since we missed it when we were in Orlando in October. Daniel kept teasing me about my, "lifelong dream." It did not disappoint! I loved every minute of it! That afternoon, we went over to the conference and sat in on a lecture about volunteering overseas with anesthesia. I thought I'd be totally lost and bored, but I was pleasantly surprised and learned a lot! That night we walked down Harbor Drive and ate at a fish place called Anthony's.

On Sunday we went to breakfast with Brock and Cami and their boys and then headed to the zoo where we spent the majority of our time at the reptile exhibits (who do you think headed that up???). Then we went to dinner and said our good-byes. Sunday evening we took a cab up to Mission Beach and walked the boardwalk and through some shops.

On Monday, Daniel had to be at the conference early to hang up his poster, but after that I convinced him that we had time to ferry over to Coronado Island where we rented bikes and rode around the island along the beach and through the neighborhoods for over an hour. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the conference where I got to listen in as Daniel presented his poster. It was fun to see him in action and helped me appreciate his hard work even more. I humored myself by attempting to read the titles on all the posters...what was even more amusing to me was that Daniel totally understood them!!! Monday night we ate Thai food at a little restaurant in the Gaslamp District and then walked along the streets looking through the shops.

Tuesday morning, we had to get up and begin our journey back to reality! Our kids had a great time with Grandma!! My mom brought a few games with her and apparently Addi just loved "Old Nanny" (Old Maid, but for some reason she called it Old Nanny). Tristan was bummed that both his soccer games were cancelled so Grandma didn't get to see him play soccer. Alicia just enjoyed playing games and being around Grandma. My mom does such an excellent job that sometimes I wonder if my kids even want me to come home!!!! She's the best! Now my sister is in town for the next few days with her kids, so I'm sure there will be more fun stories and pictures to share!!!

L-R Hunter (2), Brock, Tyler (6), Parker (4), Cami, me, and Sawyer (10 mo.)

I love the whales and dolphins...Daniel loves the manatees. In Sea World in Orlando I swear we spent just as much time watching the manatees float as we did the dolphins swim, splash, and jump.

At the dolphin show we saw this dolphin leap 30 feet out of the water and over the rope!!

I love this picture...especially with the sunset in the background.

Daniel in front of a Naval aircraft carrier.

Hunter and I petting a goat in the Children's Zoo at the San Diego Zoo.

Daniel and I in front of the Del Coronado Hotel on a stop during our bike ride.

Daniel and his poster....the whole reason we were able to take the trip! Apparently, next year, this same conference is to be held in Hawaii!!!