Happy Birthday Grandma Judi!
Aloha San Diego
San Diego!
San Diego has a special place in my heart. I may not have grown up in San Diego but I grew there. I arrived in San Diego in 2004 with a 12 week contract and stayed for 9 years. As a professional I went from being a basically untrusted and unknown travel nurse to a charge nurse the ICU.
To be honest when I arrived at Scripps Mercy the environment amongst the ICU nurses was a little a lot like the photo in the picture above. The nursing staff was the most well educated, highest functioning and the most competitive group of people I had worked with. I struggled but I took ultimately decided it was better to struggle to do the best work than have experience a cake walk of mediocrity someplace else. Plus outside of work there was so much to do.
While in San Diego I learned to play in the sand box nicely with others. More than that actually. I met my best adult friends. Although we now live far I treasure these friendships. I really feel they will be the deepest friendships I will have in this lifetime. Not just because I am too busy trying to keep my children from swinging from chandeliers to be a good friend. I am convinced that the bonds formed while riding bikes for over mountain passes and thousands of miles, running miles, and swimming with seals, dolphins ,and maybe even sharks are unbeatable. This may be a little bit of magical thinking but when I embark on new adventures I take my old friends with me and when I read about my old friends current adventures I feel included.
I met my husband in San Diego. My prophetic Grandmother predicted this. She said I would meet the love of my life in San Diego. He would be an orthopedic surgeon. He would set up his practice at the base of a ski resort....given we live in a meca for nordic skiing I'd say she was right. It was the last conversation I had with her and the last time I saw her. I poo pooed her but don't think I won't teach my children to listen up when Grandma starts talking.
I gave birth to my daughter in San Diego and spent the first year of her life there.
This was Isaac's first visit to San Diego. I true "traveling with children" form both kids got sick upon arrival. Isaac had/caused an evacuation of "Sammy's Woodfire Pizza" so bad both parents had to storm the women's bathroom for clean up. Clothing was left in the trash can.. Famous last words uttered by his Mom prior to going to dinner were" should I even bother to bring a diaper bag it's such a short walk?" Turns out Grandma knows best after all and thankfully said...."I would in case somebody has a blow out" . Turns out bringing just a diaper and wipes was not such a great idea this evening. Approximately 30 seconds into the walk back to the hotel Isaac attempted to wriggle free and crash some middle school soccer practice. The moment he was happily running free with no desire to ever stop playing I looked down to notice a perfect brown shoe print on my thigh. This was a slight disappointment not just because the pants were my favorite skinny jeans but the only full length pants I packed. Sometimes hand washing is just not enough. After weaving my way through the hotel with Isaac's button pushing elevator assistance we made it up to our 3rd floor room. I inserted the key into the lock with a sigh of relief as the key failed to work. It was an interesting conversation at the desk having a new key made while holding my nearly naked child and modeling my "shit print" jeans . Did I mention Isaac had a bruise/goose egg on his forehead and sand stuck in his snot. Awesome! Exhausted we turned in for a night of sleep only to have Annika wake up at 3:45 a.m. complaining of a stomach ache...which of course led to vomitting. I'm not sure if it was the Bisckoff cookie I caught her trying to eat from under the seat on the airplane, e-coli from the previous nights dinner, or the just a community acquired virus. Thankfully, it wasn't the worst bug we ever dealt with, and with a grown up to kid ratio of 3:2 the situation was handled with relative ease.
By 11:00 a.m. all was not forgotten regarding feeling under the weather but a little fresh air and ocean breeze seemed to help.
You can't keep kids down for long and the next day it was off to the zoo. The San Diego zoo is an incredible experience for all.
What a great place.
Carlsbad beach where Tim grew up visiting his Grandparents. So many memories to share. I must have turned my bike ride around here so many times. So many memories.
We had a great time with zero meltdowns. Not having meltdowns nor spending $200 for entry even allowed the purchase of a "stuffy" from the gift shop....When you are 5 years old a stuffy is so important. Annika got about a 40 minute 1:1 session with an educator. She was entranced.
Sprinter 2017!
When caring for a loved one with the stuffies...make sure they are tucked in with a beloved stuffy. Thanks Annika for sharing your germs your Georgie. When you are sick of being sick and after 10 days of amoxicillin you have an ear infection...don't have a pity party.
A Saturday morning date with a Dad, 2 kids and donuts. What could be more all American than that? Isaac is a fairly mellow fellow but don't even think of getting between Isaac and a creme filled long john from the Huron Bakery.
All was going so well until the moment a man walked up and said is that your mini van?...I'm really sorry I backed into and there is damage are not the words a Dad wants to hear moments after his 5 year old daughter has gone to the ladies room independently. Isaac was joyously squeezing the cream out of his long john. From what I am told the children were immediately escorted to the van to be confined into carseats while damage was evaluated and discussed. Isaac's vise like grip on the long john was successful until he was secured in his seat. The creme squirting long john was then yanked from his loving little hands and with the greatest despair Isaac witnessed his father toss his beloved long john into the snow bank to prevent further damage to the inside of the vehicle. Maybe instead of a movie titled all dogs go to heaven there should be one called all parents go to heaven. I'm certain it would be a scream.
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