San Diego trip, Day 1san

Brett & I took the kids & his parents to San Diego for a few days. We went to the Holiday Bowl Big Bay of Balloons Parade on Monday morning. It was fun! We took the trolley to the bay and then watched the two hour parade. 

Watching the balloon floats. 

Sitting on Daddy waiting for Thomas!!

Waiting at the trolley station. Their poses are killing me!

After the parade we had lunch with our friends Kyle, Amy, & their daughter Kaylee at a fun place called Fudruckers! 

Kaylee and Maryam!

After lunch Brett & I took our kids to visit their NICU. They sure were a hit! It's great to know that even after 7 years they still love their little Miracle Maryam!

Dr. Matt Sebald was one of Maryam's and Jax's doctors. He was head of the NICU by the time Jax was born. We LOVE him. 

After the NICU we checked into our hotel.  The kids took advantage of the 77 degree temperatures and the heated pool! They swam through nap time! Hehehe

Jax and Maryam in the pool. Jax flashing a "v" for victory!

The bunk beds in the kid suite. They had their own room with tons of floor space to play! 

The view from our room. In the distance is USD. San Diego sure is beautiful. We miss it!

Our friend Koz gave us four tickets to the Holiday Bowl! We didn't want to take Maryam out in the cold, damp night air, so we asked Brett's parents to go along. Jax was super excited to go to a football game!

Warming up with some cocoa! 

Chowing down on popcorn with Momom! Daddy told me that Jax was asleep during the 3rd quarter. :)

While they were at the football game, Maryam & I hung out with our friends Jennifer & Mike. Jen was one of the kids' nurses and even took care of me after Jax was born. They're amazing people. Maryam & I had fun catching up with them. 

The Duca Wedding

Brett's cousin Kristi got married on the beach at the Hotel Del Coronado.  It was beautiful.  Easily one of the best weddings I've ever been to.  Brett says its his favorite wedding, besides ours of course. It was lovely. 
After the ceremony we had dinner at a restaurant across the street from the hotel called The Boat House. Our family took up the entire top floor of the restaurant.  Maryam discovered the magic of the chocolate fountain and now asks for one everyday.  I think we're going to buy one to have at the kids' birthday parties!  Everyone had a wonderful time.

 Aisle decorations.

 Maddy and Jax playing in the sand before the ceremony started.

 Maryam playing in the sand.

 Ian, the groom, escorting the moms to their seats.

 The "Best Man". Hehe

 Matron of Honor.

 Flower Girl

 Flower Girl

 Watching his bride.

 Father of the Bride and the Bride.

 Ceremony.

 Vows.

 Kids.

 Enjoying the chocolate fountain.

 Jax crashed out above.  Below is the only picture Brett and I got with the bride and groom.  Not my best picture, but who cares? Its about them, right? Ha!

It was a great experience for me because the only other time I've met this side of Brett's family was last summer at Grandpa Langdon's memorial.  So it was nice to hang out for a happier occasion. We all agreed we should get together again soon, and not for an "end". 

Beach Day!

Brett and I took the kids to Breaker's Beach on Coronado.  We love that beach because its clean and its unpopular, therefore its not crowded!!!  Yay!  Our friend Jarrod came along too!  It was so much fun.  Jax got to see a bunch of jets take off and land and a bunch of helicopters too!  He was in heaven.  Dirt and aircraft in the same spot, awesome. 

Sea World with Cousins

 Watching the trainer feed some penguins.

 Hand-in-hand with her new cousins.

 Kaitlin the natural born babysitter hanging with her cousins. 

 Jordyn and Maryam.

 Kaitlin and Jax.

 Mommy and Maryam watching Shamu.

 Shamu!

 Kaitlin and Maryam.

 Daddy and Jax.

 A shark!

 Maryam wearing a flamingo hat.  So silly that I HAD to take a picture! Ha!

 Sea Turtles!!

On Friday we took the kids to Sea World.  We met up with Brett's cousin Laurie, her husband Zak and their two children Kaitlyn and Jordyn.  They're a real fun family!  We were selected to go in the back of the Penguin Encounter and actually pet a penguin!  None of us had ever done anything like that before, so it was really cool.  The exhibit was super cold.  We were dressed for 80 degree weather and it was 27 degrees in the exhibit.  Jax was the first to complain he was cold. Ha!