The Moody's Going Away Party

With great saddest this weekend we went to the Moody's going away party, as they are moving in a few weeks.  For those who don't know, we met Jen and Hank through JB.  When most of our friends started moving out of San Diego we made our way into JB's circle of friends, which included Jen and Hank.  They are such a wonderful couple and we always have a great time with them when we all get together.  The best part is that they have a little boy, Harrison, who is only a few months older than Skylar.  Being first time parents together was a plus to our friendship.  It was nice being able to relate to them in a different way and experience parenthood together.  Harrison and Skylar have been best buddies most of their short life.  I know that Skylar has learned a lot from Harrison because as he started to learn new skills, (i.e. crawling, holding a bottle, walking), Skylar would pick up the same skills fairly quick.  When we found out Jen got a job promotion and they would be moving to Denver I was so sad for us as we were losing dear friends, but especially for Skylar to be losing her first little buddy.

Evie and Brandon hosted the farewell bash.  Everyone brought a side dish and pictures as Evie had a great idea to put together a scrapbook for the Moody's of all their friends here in San Diego.  There probably isn't a more uncrafty person than myself so I had to put Jake in charge of putting together our page.  He did a great job making a super cute page from Skylar to Harrison.

Harrison and Skylar definitely were a handful most of the night as they just wanted to cruise around the backyard the whole time.  Knowing the party was for him as well, Harrison was having so much fun when it was nap time he refused to go down and I think he was up way past his bedtime.

I know we will see Jen, Hank, and Harrison again and it's not good-bye forever, it's just that many people have been apart of our life, but I feel that true friends leave footprints that can't be erased and I feel the Moody's are those kind of friends.  I wish we would of hung out with them more during the past year, but the times we did spend together are very memorable.  We wish them all the luck on their next chapter and look forward to frequent visits back to San Diego.

Padres Game

Last Friday Erin and Matthew invited us to the Padres game, which if you know me, baseball is my worst nightmare and going to a game isn't my idea of fun.  However, I figured I would have my hands full with Skylar so she would be a good distraction.  We had great seats right behind home plate and lucky for us half the aisle was empty which gave Skylar plenty of room to roam around. 

Skylar had her first taste of ball park food when she munched on a pretzel and a churro.

Skylar was so entertaining during the game.  All the fans in our section couldn't stop laughing and smiling at her.  She would scream, cheer, and clap with the rest of the crowd whenever the Padres got a hit.  She even made friends with the guys sitting next to us, when she decided to enjoy the game with them. 

Skylar was such a trooper the whole game and I think she was even the Padres lucky charm because they had a season high runs in their win over the Braves.  It was the top of the 8th inning when Jake and I decided it was time to head home and put our All Star to bed.  I must admit this was the first baseball that I actual had a good time at and I hope that we can attend more games with Erin and Matthew in the future.     

Father's Day 2011

OK, I will totally admit that I dropped the ball on Father's Day this year.  I knew with us traveling back home that day I wasn't too sure what we would be up too, but that still isn't an excuse and I should of planned something.  Needless to say, we ended up just having a mellow day at home.  Skylar gave her Dad a musical card that played the Tina Turner's song "Simply the Best", which she decided to take over herself and continue to just open and close until the card stopped playing.  I cooked Jake homemade lasagna for the first time which turned out so YUMMY and made a delicious frozen Oreo ice cream dessert.   

A message from Skylar to her Dad:

Dada I have to be the luckiest girl in the world to have you as my Dada.  You are my hero who I love so much.  You gives me tons of kisses when something hurts.  You lift me up when I'm down.  You make me feel safe and loved.  The GREATEST gift I have received is having you as my Dada.  I love you with all my heart! ~ Skylar

Skylar Meets her Great Grandparents

It is pretty amazing how fast time flies and with Skylar being over a year now and still never meeting her Great Grandparents, Jake and I decided it was time to make a trip up to see them.  Great Grandpa Fred's health hasn't been the best lately and we figured it would be a good idea to visit with them sooner rather than later. 

Skylar was such a trooper on the plane flight up.  Lucky for us the flight wasn't full so Skylar got her own seat right between Mom and Dad.   

Once we arrived at the Great Grandparents house they couldn't of been happier.  I believe Great Grandma even cried because she was so happy we were there.  Skylar felt so comfortable with them right away and loved running through their house.  Great Grandma Mary gave Skylar a cute little stuff animal as a welcome gift and Skylar gave Great Grandma a new photo of her from her 1st Year Photos.  I really don't know if that was the best gift because their little house is already full of dozens of photos of Skylar.  It's pretty cute how many photos up they have of her.  Mary said they have been admiring every photo we have sent them and that Fred even talks to the photos telling Skylar "Good Morning" everyday.  Skylar took a major liking to her Great Grandpa because she just loved running up to him and wanting him to pick her up so she could sit on his lap.  It was almost like she could sense that he wasn't feeling well and she just wanted to give him all her love.

On the second day of our visit we arrived at the Grandparents early the next morning and the first thing that Skylar did was run into her Great Grandparents bedroom and give her Great Grandpa a big morning hug, it was pretty cute! 

With the weather being was so beautiful we decided it would be best to get the grandparents out to enjoy it.  Mary had been saving pieces of bread for over a month now to use for feeding the ducks so we decided to head over to the duck pond.  Unfortunately there was not one duck in sight to feed which was probably a good thing because what duck wants to munch on hard, stale bread.  Either way, we made a good time of it and just walked around the bridge and watched the planes fly in.   

Next we met up with Jake's cousin Clint and his girlfriend Dallas who were so sweet to drive in from the city to meet us for lunch (of course, I forgot to get a picture of all of us).  When Jake was little and would come to visit with his Grandparents they would always make a trip to Preston's Ice Cream Parlor which is a staple in downtown Burlingame, so we wanted to make sure Skylar could experience it as well.  When we got there, the was a line out the door so I knew we were in for some amazing ice cream and it didn't disappoint.  Skylar even got her first taste of ice cream which she seemed to enjoy, but not as much as her Great Grandma Mary.  Mary keep saying how she was so full from lunch and there was no way she would be able to finish her sundae, but before you knew it her bowl was totally empty.

After ice cream we headed back home because Great Grandpa needed to rest after being out for 5 hours which is a big day for him.  Sadly our weekend with them was coming to an end and we had to call a cab to come take us back to our hotel.  They were both so heartbroken to see us go and Mary even started to cry as she helped us into our cab.  Even if it was only for a few short days, I believe that spending quality time with Skylar was just the right medicine they needed to help take their minds off their recent health issues.  I'm so glad that Jake and I decided to make the trip up to visit them when we did, just seeing the big smiles on both their faces when admiring Skylar made it all worth it.  I believe that having great grandchildren is really life's way of compensating for great grandparents having to grow old. 

Darci's 30th Birthday Celebration

Finally someone else has joined me in the 30 club! Darci just turned 30 so we were excited that we could all get together and celebrate.  Darci picked this super cute, casual place in Cardiff where we got to sit outside and dine on pizza and beer, of course, no beer for the birthday girl who is 3 months pregnant, if you haven't heard the great news. 

We picked up some cupcakes from Sprinkles for dessert.  They turned out super cute and tasted AMAZING and were perfect for the mommy to be who has been craving sweets.

The girls and I were talking at dinner how this is the 12th year of birthdays we have spent together.  It's so crazy to think that we have all been best friends since we were only 18 (17 if you are Dianne) and that we have all been a part of each others major life events, i.e. birthdays, weddings, and now motherhood.  We are all so excited for Darci and her little bundle of joy.  She is going to make such an amazing mom and I don't think she could ask for a better 30th birthday present then her little bun in the oven.  Happy 30th Darc! Love you!

Wild Animal Park with Unc and Auntie

Matthew and Erin were so sweet to come down and spend the whole day with Skylar, and what a day they all had.  First stop was the Wild Animal Park, which was Skylar's first time visiting.  The trip started off a bit rough for Skylar since she got pooped on by a bird right when they got there.  Luckily she had her hat on which saved her.  Erin and Matthew said that even after getting pooped on, Skylar still loved watching all the birds and they said it was her favorite part of the park. 

The petting zoo wasn't as big of a hit as I would of thought it would of been, especially since she loves petting dogs.

She did enjoy all the ducks. 

Skylar had such a great time at the park with her Uncle and Aunt.
 

After the park they took her out to Uncle Matthew's favorite spot Fidels where Skylar dined on quesadillas and chicken.  Before heading home they made a quick stop at the Carlsbad outlets where they picked up Skylar some cute new summer clothes.  Skylar was having such a great time with her Uncle and Aunt that when it was bed time she didn't want to go to bed and was up crying for 15 minutes before she fell asleep.  I was so happy to see she had so much fun with them and was on her best behavior the whole day.  I hope Skylar gets to spend more days like this with her Uncle and Aunt.