Spring Break 2009 - San Diego, CA

Scene 1: Take Gavin to G&G Robinson’s house for a six day stay. So strong while inside. Said goodbye. Not so strong when we got in the car. I wept. Brian kept driving.

Day 1: Flew to San Diego. Drive to sister Anne’s house two hours away. Listened to Wicked. Sang loudly to Ipod. Got carsick in a wretched canyon. Arrived and hugged cute nephew Cohen.


Day 2: Easter Sunday. Went with sis Anne to brother Dave’s (and Rachelle) house in Indio. Ate yummy food. Took pictures of more nephews. Forgot to take one of Anne and Paul. Shoot.

Day 3: Drove to Escondido. Wild Animal Park.

Beautiful sunny day. Free tickets from Brian’s friend. Saw elephants, parrots, vultures, gorillas, snakes, butterflies, tiger, etc.


Decided I’m not in shape - a very hilly park – lots of huffing and puffing. Will work out when I get home. Brian fed birds (lorikeet?) – Natalie just took pictures.

Brian swam in the ocean. It was freezing – he didn’t seem to mind that he was the only one out there. He was like a little kid.

Day 4: Took it easy. Chilly day. Old Town. Best Mexican Café I’ve ever been to – homemade corn tortillas. Speak to my soul – I haven’t had a tortilla that good in six years! (allergy…) Drove by the temple and to La Jolla. Freezing by now. Went to hotel and flipped between American Idol and Biggest Loser.

Day 5: Sea World! Atlantis rollercoaster – 2x – first thing in the am. Still to cold for everyone else, so line was so short. Saw polar bears, beluga whales, penguins, sea otters, flamingos, sea lions, dolphins, and killer whales. Felt like we were alone in the park – not crowded.

Best part: Brian’s friend from work has a cousin who is a killer whale trainer. Met with her. She let us in training facility – behind those locked gates! Personal chat – answered all our questions. “Do you know how cool/totally unusual your job is?” She does. Watched her in the next show. She was the main swimmer – very talented (and brave!) Afterwards she got us a free table at “Dine with Shamu” dinner. Yummy food. Whale up close. And again, free. So fun. Went home for two hours to rest.


Came back for nighttime dolphin then Shamu show. Way cool. Perfect ending to a sweet day with Bri.

Day 6: Beach. Getting warmer outside, but still chilly. Brian boogy boards. Comes and tells me it’s my turn. So scared. I don’t love the ocean. Fun to look at, awesome to listen to, but NOT fun to be in. Big waves, salty taste, possible sharks. Bri dragged me in. I cried. Later told me he thought I wasn’t going to make it. I calmed down. Boogied three waves and called it day. Scary, but fun 10 minutes. Walked down pier. Got minimal sun. Checked out of hotel and drove to Seaport Village. Ate at a BBQ place across the street. “Great Balls of Fire” scene from Top Gun was filmed there. (Came home and watched movie – confirmed – it was indeed filmed there.) Flew home.

Final scene: Gavin asleep at G&G’s house. Woke him up and he smiled. He remembers! Happy to be home. So happy to see my baby. Sad to feel like I forgot his face (not too much, but just a tiny.)


Best part: Reconnecting with Brian. Nothing else to worry about for six days – no obligations or interruptions—just us. He is still my very favorite person to be around. We have a lot of fun together. Happy five years to us!

Sun

It's been away from us here in UT for a very long time now. I was just about to get violent about it when all of a sudden, (I think it's safe to say) Spring arrived.

My tulips are about ready to show their color, the chapstick in my car is melty, and flipflops and capris are all over the place. It does my heart good.

Oprah

I am a loyal watcher. Wondering if any of you saw the show yesterday on moms... What did you think?

I know I've only got one kid and don't know a whole lot about the whole mommy thing, but I still related to a lot (minus the lady who shared that she peed in a diaper mid drive so she wouldn't wake up the kids...I didn't relate to that at all). I'm can be one who totally overdoes it and sometimes has beyond unrealistic expectations of myself. I think I have to be perfect at EVERYTHING. Turns out I don't.

I'm thinking I'm feeling better about saying no sometimes. Also, it's nice to know that my house doesn't have to be perfectly clean with a gourmet meal on the table every day - because let's be honest - that just is not true of me or my house. And I'm allowed to be tired after work. And that being a mom is hard and takes up a lot of brain time and physical and emotional energy. And that I'm not the only one! Yes, I indeed feel good about all of this.

I'll still working on making my house clean because it isn't a gift of mine - and the truth is that it's nicer when one doesn't live in filth. I just won't think that I'm the lowliest person on the planet anymore. :) I think they were right when they said you have to redefine yourself after a child. I want to be a mom more than anything, but I think the definition of me will always be a work in progress as I continue to learn and grow.