Grandma and Papa Visit

Grandma and Papa came down for a few days to visit before Taylor heads back to school.  Grandma watched some of Allie's soccer and we enjoyed a few meals out with Papa. 

 We had a nice lunch at Southcoast Winery 

a got some nice photos on their pretty grounds!

Visit with the Houston's

Scott, Elizabeth and Jack came down for a weekend visit and we packed a lot into a few days.  The girls met them at Legoland on Friday and then we went to Carlsbad on Saturday for a beach day.

Jack loved digging for sand crabs 

and building sand castles.

Saturday night we all went to see the new Lion King.  What a cute movie and Jack loved it!

Sunday morning we did an early trip to the park

 and cooled off with a quick dip in the pool before they had to leave for the airport.  We always enjoy the time together!!

A Girl and Her Pup

I'm not sure how Taylor is going to leave this pup in a few short weeks!  They have become the best of buddies.

Going to try and fit in a few more beach days before she leaves!

4th of July

It only took us 19 years to get to the Temecula 4th of July parade!

We found seats along a bench in front of 1909 and sat with the Host family.

The parade ran from archway to archway along Front St. and featured law enforcement agencies, local sports teams, politicians and some fun floats!

In the evening, we parked at GOHS and loaded everyone into the back of Allie's truck to watch the Pechanga fireworks.  They were actually terrible, but luckily we were able to see the Sports Park fireworks from the same parking lot and they were terrific!

Kansas Visitor

Taylor's friend from KU, Megan, came to visit us for a few days.  It was her first time in SD and Taylor was a great tour guide.  She took her to Little Italy, hiked Torrey Pines, watched World Cup in Encinitas and went to the beach in Carlsbad.  That was just Day #1!  Allie and I joined in for a tour of a few wineries and they also hiked Dripping Springs, did some shopping in Old Town, went to Jacob's 4th of July party and joined us for fireworks.  We really enjoyed our time getting to know her and I think she loved it here!

The Shenani-Games

Our friend Adam hosted the 1st Annual ShenaniGames today!

We were broken up into teams of 2 and played against other teams in Corn Hole and Beer Pong.

Turns out I'm not very good at either, but it was a fun day nonetheless!

Curtis Visit

The Curtis family was in SoCal to tour some local colleges so we met up with them for dinner at Pizza Port, ice cream at Handel's and a walk around Carlsbad.  We may not see them very often but we pick up right where we left off and love having the opportunity to catch up!

Killer Queen

We made Taylor's dream come true tonight!  She has become the biggest Queen fan so we got tickets to see Killer Queen at Balboa Theater in SD.  We started with dinner at The Blind Burro

and then were blown away by the Killer Queen performance!  Taylor's expectations were low as who would be able to pull off properly portraying Freddie Mercury, but these guys were amazing! They had the crowd on their feet most of the show and we all sang along to some of the greatest hits...Bohemian Rhapsody, Someone to Love, Another One Bites the Dust and We are the Champions!  All 3 of us loved it!

The Producers

It was the start of another summer season at Moonlight Amphitheatre!  The first of the 4 show series was The Producers and it was wondeful...so funny and great music!

Tami was out of town so Darian joined me and Leslie for the evening.  We packed salads and bundt cakes for intermission and the weather was just perfect!  Next month we look forward to seeing Matilda...

36th Annual SDSI Course

It was another gorgeous view and successful week at the SDSI course!

We started off with our traditional Monday night dinner at Donovan's to kick off our week.

I get the same filet and shrimp scampi every year, but why mess with perfection!

 As always it is a busy week with long hours and lots of activities, but we thoroughly enjoy it.  This year was the largest registration with over 400 attendees!

 The course is jam-packed with faculty led lectures, cadaver labs and breakout sessions.

 It was a special treat having all of the girls work with us again too...although I think they preferred the years when they just got to play around SD while we worked!

The Hilton spoiled our crew with daily Starbucks runs and a special treat each afternoon.  Look at this super cute build-your-own trail mix bar!  

We also got "spiked" root beer floats one day, chips/salsa and margaritas another day and a cheese/fruit platter with sangria as well!  So nice!

Friday night we attended the Faculty Dinner with a delicious menu of chicken, steak, sushi, and all of the side dishes you could think of.  We were spoiled with several different flavors of creme brûlée and an open bar too!

The Board gave each of us gorgeous bouquets of flowers and called us each up individually to thank of for all of our work throughout the week.  So sweet!

By Saturday afternoon, all of the registrants had left and the displays were removed, so we enjoyed some time by the pool and an evening in Gaslamp before heading home Sunday afternoon.  Until next year...

Father's Day on the Battlefield

We surprised Matt with an afternoon of paint ball on Camp Pendleton to celebrate Father's Day!

I think he was impressed that we were all up for the challenge and actually did quite well!

We played a few different rounds on different courses with breaks in between.

 I couldn't believe how intense it would get the second the whistle blew and those suckers hurt!

We all left with at least one battle welt, but had a great time and I think Matt really enjoyed the surprise.  Happy Father's Day Matt!

Colorado Day #7

We checked out of our hotel and made our way back down towards Denver for our flight tonight.  We fit in a few stops along the way.  First stop was the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater!

Pictures don't do this place justice!

 We need to come back for a concert!

We ate lunch at Red Rock's Ship Rock Grille

 and then drove to Golden to explore the Coors Brewery.

 We didn't think we had time for the full brewery tour, but walked around the grounds and got some items in the gift shop.

 A quick drive past Coors Field

and donuts from Voodoo for our flight home.

A most amazing week in Colorado!