Day 1 - Saturday, August 13th

Saturday, the 13th started off like every other morning. Shower, coffee, prayer...

...but unlike every other morning, we would be ending the day on the West Coast! Oh yeah!

Chris and Robyn met Jonathan & I at his house at 6. At least Chris did. Robyn came running down the block at 6:20, when the cab was waiting to take us to the airport! That made for some early morning amusement.

Our 8:45am flight was right on time.

I am happy to report barely any turbulence during the almost 6 hour flight. Even more so, because this was Chris' first ever plane ride!

I got a kick out of the fact that Jersey Shore was playing so early in the morning. Hey, I had 6 hours to kill! No judgment right? =P

Chrissy and Andrew met us at the airport when we arrived, although Andrew was driving around trying to find a spot for the car. We were thrilled to finally be there!!

Beautiful airport.

Reunited!!

We had a little mishap at the car rental place when Hertz couldn't pull up our reservation. "Impossible," I said. It's definitely for today!" Indeed it was...just not for Hertz. We actually had a reservation at Avis. OOPS. We went over to the right place, only to accidentally walk into the preferred customer area. The lady took us, taking pity on us I assume, and corrected us for where to go next time. At least we didn't have to wait on a long line! I was already 0-3 at this point. Forgot to mention in the morning, I tipped the wrong guy for handling our bags. Oops, again. Mornings are not really my forte, even if I do love them.

Once we were all in our respective cars, we decided to go to Seaport Village by the San Diego Bay. I absolutely love the rental car we had.

...and the guy in it.

Driving to Seaport Village, we got into a little scare because the car would make a funny noise every time we tried to go over 40mph. Considering this was a) Jonathan's first time driving a rental car and b) first time driving in California, he and I got a little nervous. We had Andrew come in the car and try to work it out. Turns out, we had it in the wrong shift. 0-4 here...

Our first meal did not disappoint.

Too sweet! They had live music as we ate.

The ultimate irony...considering Robyn is the biggest cupcake lover you'll ever meet.

San Diego Bay

I was smitten.

First Coffee Bean visit!!

Robyn tried my blended mocha....DELICIOUS!

Big fans!

After Coffee Bean we drove to the house to drop off our luggage so we could attend Mass that evening, since the next day, there really wouldn't be any time.

The sights were oh so pretty.

Robyn and I got settled into the guest room while Chris and Jonathan camped out in the living room. The couch for Chris and the big air mattress for JD. That pig (Toffee, we named her years ago) came from NY! There was one incident back in, I want to say 2005, where Chrissy spilled a toffee nut frappuccino on it and we spent a good long while cleaning the pig in the bathtub. Since my grandma's eyesight is not the best, she walked in on us and gasped, asking what that thing was in the tub. She thought it was a real animal. Hysterical!

Time to head out to Mass...

Our Lady of Grace was beautiful. It had the most realistic crucifix I'd ever seen. Even Jonathan said the same.

It looked even prettier in the sunlight, LOL.

After Mass we had our first In-N-Out experience! The food looked a lot like Shake Shack when I first ordered. I had really hoped it didn't taste like it. Although I love Shake Shack, I wanted something different! And it definitely had it's own flavor to it.

Day One, you exceeded our expectations! The next day would have Jonathan and I driving up to Los Angeles...a much anticipated road trip.

I'm back!

The day I came back from California, August 23rd, parts of the east coast (including New York) were hit with a 5.8 earthquake. Four days later, we are hit with a hurricane. (Thanks, Irene). And now we are under a tornado watch until 5am.

No big deal.

!!!!!!!!!!

If there's anything to be learned here, it's that God has complete control over the world. He's sending us a flurry of warnings for a reason. So yes, God, I am listening. Even when I'm being a stubborn or lazy or an abundant of other things...I am always listening & waiting!

On a more positive note, California was one of those life-changing experiences.

I can't decide if what made it so special was seeing my aunt again or if it was just California itself but to be honest, as wonderful as Disneyland/San Diego/Los Angeles/SummerSlam was, getting to hang out with Chrissy again was a breath of fresh air! I miss that girl terribly and can't wait until the next trip out there. The lifestyle down in San Diego just seems much more relaxed. Jonathan and I had been joking since the trip that we'd like to move there. And by joking I mean contemplating it, LOL. Ya never know...

Seaport Village by the San Diego Bay

L-R: Jonathan, myself, Chrissy, Andrew, Chris and Robyn

Chrissy and Andrew were the perfect hosts. They welcomed all four of us into their home and enjoyed having us as much as we enjoyed staying there. They went out of their way to show us a good time and their generosity was not gone unnoticed. God bless both of them for their kindness! Chrissy has always been that kind of person and it makes me happy that she found someone just like her to spend her life with. They hit their 4 year wedding anniversary a few days ago too, so that was cool, being able to get them a little something while we were out there. In fact, when we spent our last full day in California, at Disneyland, they joined us and made that their anniversary celebration. Cool!

I will definitely update about each day and what we saw...but seeing as how it's waaay past my "bed time", I should probably hit the sheets before Irene hits us.

What's the worst part about making your big summer vacation at the end of summer? Spending the next two months counting down the days! That drives Jonathan nuts, LOL. But, that doesn't mean I won't be enjoying these next 44 days....it just means I'm aware of what day it is! :D

Some things that have happened since my last post, which now feels like eons ago.

Like this little miss getting so damn big! (and long)

In the beginning of June, my Opa's niece from Switzerland and her friend came in for 10 days. I had a blast with them and wished they could have stayed longer! In fact, coming to visit THEM was a hot topic! I'm pretty sure there's a whole army of us waiting to go visit that beautiful country....it's never too soon to start another count down, right? ;-)

Some pictures from Milena and Morena's visit:

This bar in South Seaport, Jeremy's, had bras hanging all over the ceiling. Really. I think it's actually an honor to get your bra up there or something. I don't plan to test that theory though, haha.

The final group shot :(

I have to say, those girls were absolute sweethearts. Maybe it's a European thing and everyone there is just friendlier? But they were so warm and friendly. It was fun to see the city through their eyes.

Mid June, we had something called ParkerMania XXVIII to celebrate one of Jonathan's oldest friend's birthdays. Parker threw it together at Manor Oktoberfest, one of my favorite local German restaurants. There were a bunch of musical acts, one wrestling match, and stand up comedy set. All together, I'd say the night was a complete success and give Parker a lot of credit for throwing something like that together!

Parker (center) with co-hosts, Pete & Kyle.

Joshua Smithson

Ted McAdams

YOUR BOY FOR LIFE.

Maximus Sex Power vs Yolanda

Not sure of this band's name.

There were a lot of special events too, these past few months: weddings, graduations, baptisms....

Remember that beautiful baby I went to visit the day after she was born in January? Alexandria is an absolute doll. Congrats to Matt & Christy on her Christening. God bless.

Towards the end of May I attended a gorgeous wedding for someone in Jonathan's family. My second to last wedding of the year, and third overall this year I think)

I loved the inside of the cathedral Joe & Lil were married in.

The reception hall was gorgeous too.

Speaking of weddings, two couples I know are engaged to be married next summer. These weddings never end! (Don't worry - I love it!)

My youngest brother Michael graduated (at long last!) from H.S on June 27. Although he is 19, he stayed two extra years in school to finish up because he was behind. He attended a public school for the deaf and his classmates were all so cute together! It was a class of 21 or so graduating and they all seemed like such a close community. I already had some glimpse of that when I tagged along on his class trip to Yankee Stadium back in March. They're all a great group of kids. I have to say, I was surprised to find myself getting teary watching Mikey walk down the aisle! It's either a girl thing or a big sister thing, LOL.

And what celebration is complete without grabbing a bite to eat.

Highly recommend that place!

I did manage to sneak in a beach visit earlier in the month too and completely BURNED the back of my legs. Let's just say the marks from the burn are still there :(

I will leave you with this adorable picture...