Reunited!

After a crazy 2 months, Joey has finally joined me in San Diego! He spent his last weeks visiting with family and good friends before packing up the car and driving cross country. He didn't take pictures of all of his fun (big surprise!) but this is what I got. Enjoy his adventure...

WEEKEND FUN AT BETH'S

The weekend before he left, Joey spent a few days playing with the kids and hanging out with his sister Beth in Rome. It looks like it was the usual hot Georgia summer and they spent a lot of time outside and at the pool. Here are the girls getting ready to go swimming.

Nice face, Brianna!

A good shot of mommy with the little one. How cute!

It looks like they did some gardening after the pool. Aren't they just the best little helpers!

And here is Sam looking suspicious...

They spent some time playing in the cul-de-sac. Here is Katelyn on her little scooter!

And Brianna on her bike. She is WAY better than me!

Mom put the kids to work to make them earn their dinner. Shuck that corn, Sam!

It looks like it was a fun weekend, as always. I'm sad I wasn't there with him. Although I did get my visit in before I moved. We really will miss everyone...but we'll be back soon enough!

GOLF TRIP OUT WEST

Wednesday 4:30 am

The boys wake up and hit the road! Here they are with their groggy pale faces ready for a week of driving, golf, picture taking, fast food, and motels! Wooo!

Since I was not on this trip (obviously), I can't really tell the story. So I've asked each of the guys to share their favorite memory....

Dad's Memory

My favorite memory of the trip was the first night as we drove from Alabama toward Oklahoma. I was driving and Joey and Chris are discussing where we will spend the night. They are using the Garmen to figure out how far we can get and possible hotels. Chris is in the backseat on his Iphone checking out the Hampton Inn to see if he can get a reservation and use his points. It was wonderful to see them use the technology they are both so comfortable with and to be able to set everything up. I could not help but remember the times that we had to wake them up, feed them, balance their check books and make sure they had money, etc. In the space of that few hours I really experienced in a new way how grown up they are and capable of taking care of things.

There are so many great things from this trip -- how we all get along, how we loved sharing stories (they were kind enough to act like they wanted to hear me reminiscing), how much fun golf with your sons can be, and so much more. Jan and I went through the pictures last night. Besides all the beautiful scenery and golf courses, my favorite ones are of us in the car (yes I was very well rested by the time we got to San Diego) and at the golf courses. Playing Kickingbird I will never forget and the picture at 11 where I had my only hole in one to date is very special. We are so blessed as a family.

Chris's Memory

My favorite part of the trip was at Kickingbird golf course. I imagined taking a road trip with my kids in the future and going somewhere that I had grown up and hadn't seen in along time. It was really neat to see Dad live through those memories again and tell us all about them. It was the least scenic part of the trip and was the least impressive golf course, but playing it 25+ years later with my Dad was the highlight of the trip for me. Seeing his first house would be like taking my kids in 30 years to the house I live in now. I can only imagine how it will change and the groans they will give about going to see it!

Joey's Memory

There were so many great memories it is hard to pick just one.Whether we were trying to take pictures of each state welcome sign, wedging our golf bags and clubs into the car after every course, being racially profiled by the boarder patrol, or the gps leading us into the ghetto while trying to find our hotel, we were always having a great time. But if I have to pick just one it would be our journey through Oklahoma. Dad always gets excited to show us where he used to live but I am finally old enough to truly enjoy it. Driving through Edmond, seeing the house my sisters were born in, and playing golf on the only course my dad has ever had a hole in one was a great experience. The golf course definitely wasn't the nicest we played but seeing the smile on my dad's face and hearing him reminisce about the memories he had there made it well worth it. It was a great trip and hopefully one that we will get to do again.

So there you have it. The best part of the trip was the company. :) But it looks like they saw some pretty cool things too. Here are some pictures that I enjoyed from the 300+ they took!

THEY MADE IT!

...And, MAN, were they hungry when they got here!

They arrived in San Diego on Saturday night around 7pm. I went out to my favorite pizzeria in Little Italy and got a delicious pie to welcome them. I think they enjoyed it!

After dinner we relaxed a little bit and talked about the trip. They were definitely no longer pale. Here are Chris's legs. Someone didn't wear sunscreen in Arizona!

The first time EVER I've had guests in the new apartment! I'm no longer alone!

Even though the guys were tired, they were excited to celebrate their arrival so we decided to go out. We went to the Waterfront bar 3 blocks from the apartment that has a great open air patio and is always packed!

Chris was especially excited since this was apparently his first Saturday night out in a bar in like 5 years so he started us (well, really just them) off with a round of shots, followed by an endless supply of pitchers. Needless to say, the night got a little crazy. We were all very ready for bed at 1 am!

SIGHTSEEING LIKE A LOCAL

On Sunday morning, I wanted to show off my local San Diegan muscles so I planned a full day of San Diego fun. I started off the morning with fresh handmade pastries and cherries I purchased from the Farmers Market the day before, which were a total hit! Then we went to church at a really cute historic Italian church in the heart of Little Italy.

After church we stopped by the italian deli for some subs to go and headed to the beach! We went to the remote end of Mission Beach where it was nice and relaxing. We enjoyed our amazingly delicious subs and the guys passed out. I think they had a little too much fun the night before!

Here I am on the bay side of the beach. It was a little gloomy this day unfortunately but still nice. San Diego is know for its "June Gloom" where every day is cloudy and cool and it is not a myth. I can't wait for July...

Chris represented the south with his WaHo camouflage hat. Nice...

After the beach, we came home, got showered and headed downtown along the bay to the historic downtown Gaslamp district (not Gaslight :)). Here we are in front of the OFFICIAL entry sign. Joey really wanted our entrance to be grand...

There are a million restaurants in the area but somehow we could not find a place. Everything was too fancy, expensive, or unhealthy! Finally after a lot of back and forth, we decided on Dick's Last Resort, which unbeknownst to us, is a chain famous for their incredibly rude service. But they had large beers (see below!) so it all worked out :)

To end a long day and an even longer trip, they guys headed out to the terrace in our apartment complex for some scotch and cigars. I had to say goodnight because SOME people actually had to work in the morning!

So that's it. The next morning Joey drove Chris and Dad up to LA for their flights and they were off. It was an awesome time and I'm so glad it all worked out. Now Joey is here with me and we are learning to be married again (it's weird having a stranger in your bed...especially one that gets to sleep in all day!) We have already done a lot of fun stuff - hikes, dinners, walks, the county fair, but you'll have to wait for the next post for all of that - I'm pushing my limit already with 30 something pictures! Tomorrow is my birthday and then Sunday I'm off to Europe for work for 3 weeks. Times sure are crazy! Just when Joey gets here, I'm leaving again. I guess that's just the way it goes.