San Diego recap, part 2!

So, Saturday morning, our amazing friend/hostess Julie had a brunch and had some our favorite San Diegans over :)  It was so great to see everyone!   Didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked from this (too busy enjoying Julie's delicious food- oops!), but here are a couple with the kiddos who came.

 

Saturday afternoon, E and I went to go visit with E's adorable little sister, B.  B turned 3 in March, and omg, she is the cutest little thing...Not sure how much I've mentioned B here on the blog, but she was adopted as a baby by a super nice couple in San Diego.  The girls have gotten in several visits in over the past 3 years, but not nearly as many as I'd like, since we live so far apart.  B actually deserves a post all of her own, which I will get to soon :)  E had a great time with her little sis, and really seems to get that B is someone special, and was a great big sister to B, helping her on the swing and being very sweet and attentive to little B.  I could not take my eyes off the two girls together, and watching them got me very choked up...lots of feelings for me there, again, another post all it's own...



I love these two girls together...

After our visit with little B, Elizabeth and I went to one of my old haunts, and just about my favorite place in the world- La Jolla Shores.  I could not be in San Diego and not go here.  It was a short, but very sweet visit:)

Sunday morning came way too fast, and it was time to leave...Julie's great-niece (who had spent the night) and E had a great time playing (and eating) together:)


Enjoying a yummy last breakfast together

 And then we were off to the airport...Bye bye, San Diego, we love you!  We'll be back soon (I hope)....

 And Thank You Julie, for taking such great care of us during our visit.  We love you!


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San Diego recap, part 1!!

We are back from our lightening fast trip to San Diego!  I was hoping to blog while we were out there, but it didn't work out.  So, here's a recap of the first part of our little trip....

Wednesday night, E and I stayed over at our friend Maria's house, and M very nicely got up early and drove us to the airport (thanks M!) Thursday morning.

 

Waiting in line at Logan (blurry- sorry!)

Loving having a window seat :)

 Let me just say, I didn't need to worry about traveling with E.  She was a rock star on the airplane.  She loved looking out the window and taking everything in.  Quite a difference from the last time I flew with her!!  She also loved her new e-reader that I got her for the trip :) 

We arrived in San Diego mid afternoon, and our friend Julie picked us up and wisked us to her house.  It felt great to see Palm Trees again...Boy, I've missed SD...

E in front of Julie's house

 Julie has a little studio apartment behind her house that she used to rent out, but is currently vacant, so E and I got to sleep there.  Julie is an amazing hostess, and had the apt. all set up for us.  E and I both loved having our little home away from home there :)  Anyway...Thu night we just hung out with Julie, had a yummy dinner and then crashed..
Friday, Julie took us shopping (love you Target!), where she spoiled E and me by buying us outfits for school/work.  We also went out to lunch and on of our favorite little Mexican restaurants  :)
Friday night, E and I went to visit my friend Jeanette in Chula Vista.  Her daughters' school was having a festivsal so we all went to that.  So much fun for E to get to play with kids and run around after sitting on an airplane all day Thu, and shopping all day Friday!

With Jeanette's adorable daughter G, who was so great with E :)

So great to visit with friends and be back in my beloved San Diego...!!!!

Just a little over a month until...

Elizabeth and I go to San Diego...Whee!!  So excited...we haven't been there since we moved east almost 3 years ago.  Can I just say that I still have a little PTSD from that particular flight?  Elizabeth had recently turned 2.  Need I say more?  OMG, it was...bad...She was not happy about being made to stay her seat, despite all the snacks and toys I had.  I even tried to bribe her with my usually forbidden phone.  She looked at it for about 20 seconds, then threw it over the seat in front of us.  There was a lot of screaming and crying (and Elizabeth had a hard time, too)...It was so bad that after the flight, in the baggage claim area, an older man who'd been on our flight patted me on the arm and said, "It gets better..."  I was so tired and frazzled by that point, all I could manage was a wan smile at him in return. 
Well, obviously, Elizabeth has grown and changed in the past three years.  There is a huge difference between 2 and 5 years, right?  I am anticipating a much better experience this time.  And just to insure that things will go better, I've bought her a kids e-reader, which can be loaded with apps for games, etc.  It was going to be for her birthday, but I may wait until we fly out to give it to her. 

What about you?  Any travelling-with -kids horror stories?

Maine-Day 1!!

Elizabeth and I headed up to my parents' place in Maine on Tuesday.  It;s about a 6 hour drive from Boston.  We were lucky not to hit too much traffic the day before the holiday.  I've been looking forward to this trip because 1) I love being at the family's house in Maine, so beautiful and relaxing, and 2) our whole family is there this week- my sister and BIL from Colorado, and my brother, SIL and nephews, and my parents :)

Nap time on the ride up :)

Grandpa put up a new rope swing...

Down on the rocks by the house....

I decided to bring E's bike up with us this time, and I'm so glad I did, she has been using it a lot already!

E thought it was pretty funny that everyone got to wear bibs :)

My girl likes Lobstah!

Hello!

Wow, it's been a little while...So...just to catch this blog up a bit...

* I went to to Texas for 5 days to visit my friend Chris, who I've known for 23 years, but haven't seen in over 9! Without Elizabeth! It was a great trip, very relaxing. It is seemed so easy to travel by myself! And I slept til 10:30 one morning...can't remember the last time I did that, it was pure heaven...As for Miss E, she did great with Maria. We spoke a couple of times each day on the phone, and she was fine. I missed her way more than I thought I would. We were very happy to see each other when I got home. :)

Chris & Me

*Elizabeth and I are going to San Diego in August!! I am sooooo excited! My brother had some award miles he passed on to my mom, who passed them on to me. Thanks Mom and John!! We are only going for a few days, but it will be such fun to see all our friends there, go to my favorite beach ever- La Jolla Shores- and see Elizabeth's little sister, I hope!

*I'm looking forward to a nice Thanksgiving with the fam at my parents' house. Love short work weeks :)

Not much else new at the moment. Here are just a few pics of Elizabeth in the playroom after Church this morning...Sorry they aren't the greatest...

This n that

One cool thing that happened this past week was, I got a new Blackberry, for free! I was eligible for an upgrade, so I went to Best Buy. I picked out the Blackberry, thinking I'd pay $50 for it, but for some reason, it was free. Yay!! It's my first Blackberry, and I LOVE it...I was sooo tempted to get an IPhone (never had one), but couldn't really justify spending $100 that I don't actually have...lol...Doesn't matter, I'm happy with my BB. It sure beats the crappy little $10 go phone I've been stuck with for the past 3 months since someone threw my smart phone in the pool in July...Oh, I didn't tell you about that? Yeah, Elizabeth and I were at the pool one evening in July, and she decided she didn't want me talking on my phone, so she grabbed the phone and chucked it- right into the pool...Oh yes, she did...yeah, this Mama was not happy...Of course the phone was totally wrecked, and I had no insurance on it. So I ended up having to buy a little go-phone until I was eligible for an upgrade, which was luckily this week...Yay!! needless to say, I purchased insurance on this one...
In other news...on Thursday (just 4 days away!!) I'm headed to Texas for a mini vacay. I'm visiting an old freiend of mine...sans Elizabeth....She'll be staying with Maria. I know she'll be fine, but it will be the longest I've ever been away from her, and the farthest!! I am so excited, but a little nervous too...
And, just because, here are a few pics...

This and that...

Well, it's been a while...Trying to be a more consistant blogger, but honestly, there hasn't been too much blog worthy stuff going on lately. Just the usual routine of working, Day Care, cooking, cleaning, sleeping...with some fun stuff thrown in on the weekends...lather, rinse, repeat. I'm not complaining. I love our little family life. I do wish I could work just part time. I would love to have more time to keep our apt as clean as I would like, and cook the meals I'd like us to eat. Oh well...
I do have one exciting piece of news...I'm running away from home!! For 4 days, anyway...On 11/10, I'm going to Texas by myself (!!!) to visit a friend of mine who I've known for 23 years, but haven't seen for almost 10. I am sooo excited, but a little nervous too. Elizabeth will stay with our friend Maria while I'm gone. I know she'll be fine, but I've never been apart from her for so long, or so far away. So while I am counting down the days til my little vacay, I do feel some Mommy guilt about leaving her for 4 days. However, Elizabeth is very comfortable with Maria, so I know they'll have a great time together. I'll miss my girl...

Here's a picture E's teacher emailed from school. My preschooler hard at work :)