Trip out

So, we rolled all our change and flew to California to visit Scott's family. The grandparents had not yet met Sawyer and Justin was on spring break. I kid you not when I say we rolled our change to pay for the trip. $480 in pennies, quarters, nickles and dimes. We've been emptying our pockets into a beach bag for almost two years saving for a vacation. With a new house we are still trying to finish, hauling the 35 pound change bag to the bank was the only way we could afford to travel.

We flew to San Diego via Denver. Sawyer did well on the first leg. Only mistake - I sat in the middle so Scott could stretch his legs in the aisle. Sawyer just wanted to play with the guy next to us. He pushed the buttons on his armrest, grabbed for his newspaper and played with his sleeve. I smiled apologetically and handed Sawyer an airline safety card to chew on. In Denver, Scott waited for the stroller and carseat on the jetway while I headed out with Sawyer to check the flight schedule. "Last call for San Diego," I heard. No time to strap him in, I took off with Sawyer bouncing under my arm like a football. Scott followed along with the stroller and carseat saying "i'm not running, stupid airline, i'd rather eat vomit than fly United again." 32 gates later I arrived at our gate huffing and puffing and we scored a row to ourselves. We dropped the carseat and stroller at the end of the jetway and boarded the plane. "Our bags are never going to make it," I said. Well, the bags made it, but the stroller and carseat didn't. The plane pulled away, leaving our stuff hanging at the end of the concourse. It caught up with us a day later, but not before Scott promised to divorce me if i ever 'made' him fly United again. Scott's a Jet Blue fan. He actually cried when the Jet Blue CEO sent him an email apology letter for the inconviences suffered during recent bad weather.


Here's Sawyer in the crappy umbrella stroller United lent us. Shortly after thata, we spent $20 on hockey puck hamburgers at the San Diego waterfront. Our own stroller arrived broken 12 hours later.

We rented our car from Al Queda. Not kidding. The people in front of us rented five indescript cars. "We just want them to blend in," the guy said. After relaying our sob story, the owner gave us a free carseat for a day and upgraded us from a ford focus with cigarette burns and a partially attached bumper to a brand spanking new clown car (electric blue pt cruiser) that we all barely fit into.

We spent two days in San Diego, saw an Annie Lebovitz exibit and toured the zoo. We picked up Jusitn in Oceanside and headed to Calimesa, where we spent four days with Scott's parents. Scott got to help Justin build a misison, something every California fourth grader has to do. The mission had its very own seat in the PT clowncar. (incidentally, model mission building is such big business in California that Michaels carries its own brand of mission decor - little plastic priests and indians. They also sell a kit for only $19, but the schools won't let you use that. Instead they make you buy the materials and build it from scratch - I guess that's supposed to increase parental involvement. There are blogs dedicated to mission building. Average cost to build a mission: $75. Scott's hoping for a display spot in the Library.



We saw a small muncipal airport air shows with F-16s, a stealth fighter and planes that do stunts. Justin tried out every helicopter and plane in sight. The next day, he braved the 68-degree pool at his grandparents house. We window shopped dune buggies for Scott's sister and her family. In Riverside, Scott got out on the slush slopes with Justin and his brother while I got my teeth cleaned for the first time in (gasp) five years by my sister-in-law a.k.a dental hygentist extrodinaire. "oh, we're going to have some fun," she said, "but you may not like me later." Just what we all want to do on vacation right? We later headed for LA where we spent time with godparents Cap and Sarah and friends Catherine and Tayloe along with their babies. These kids are all within two months of each other. We dyed eggs and took a wagon ride - a bit risky but everyone survived.


ADDIE


TAYLOE


TAYLOE, SAWYER, ADDIE


AN AFTERNOON WITH THE GODFAMILY AT THE SANTA MONICA PIER

and we were back to Calimesa for Easter and San Diego for the return flight. Sawyer slept the whole way home. We arrived sleep deprived but in one piece this time. Love to all the family and friends. hope to see you agiain soon.