A Week in SoCal

We recently had the chance to spend a week in Newport Beach & San Diego with my parents. It was our last chance for a vacation during our busy summer and we squeezed it into the last week of August.

The trip began with apprehensive smiles as we got ready for take-off. We weren't sure how Mia would be on the plane at 15 1/2 months.

We were able to borrow a few key survival pieces from friends who have a daughter the same age. These puppy dog headphones were a big hit. I think we are going to have to get her her own pair.

Once we arrived at the resort, we spent a lot of time lounging & taking advantage of the recreational activities. Every time we passed the Koi Pond, Mia had to stop. She really wanted to jump in there with them.

Learning the correct putting stance & grip from Dad.

Picking up everyone's golf balls just before they were about to hit or midway to the hole.

What can I say? She's a genius.

Swimming was Mia's favorite activity. She always wanted to be in the "wawa". Here she is with Grandma Sue, swimming in the "poo".

Of course we decided to spend time on the beach the one day it was kind of cold and foggy, but we enjoyed it just the same. Grandpa Wally showed Mia around and pointed out the wildlife (birds), which Mia loved.

Mia preferred to walk everywhere instead of being carried...

...but she usually walked in the opposite direction of where we wanted to go.

After Newport Beach, we had to say goodbye to Grandpa Wally and Grandma Sue and we headed down to San Diego for the weekend.

One of our first stops was Old Town for a little Mexican food. Mia spotted the gentlemen serenading the patrons and clapped and danced until they noticed and came to our table.

She was in awe.

One evening was spent along San Diego's harbor. Once again, Mia was anxious to get in the water. The girl scares me.

The area was pretty fun to explore while we waited for our table at The Fish Market (great restaurant right on the water).

Once seated, we became really grateful that Mia is finally old enough to play with crayons without too many mishaps. Even so, Nick and I have become really good at taking turns & eating fast at restaurants.

The next day we spent some time in La Jolla, showing Mia the sea lions.

Nick was giddy at the thought of Great Whites being nearby since there had been several sightings in the area lately.

Then Mia took a dip in the ocean (which was freezing, but she didn't care).

She could probably have stood on her own, but the combination of waves and her desire to dive in head first to any body of water meant we had to hold her the whole time.

After some time at the beach, we went up to a grassy area where there was an outdoor concert. We enjoyed the perfect weather & Mia danced and worked the crowd harder than any politician. She recently learned how to shake hands and went around introducing herself to just about everyone... multiple times...

Our trip would not be complete for Nick if we didn't make one little pilgrimage to Torrey Pines golf course. He didn't take the time to play this time, but still picked up a few souvineers in the pro shop & a newfound resolve to play there the next time we visited southern California.

We all got a little taste of heaven on our trip & a reminder of why we love California so much.

It's A...

....another GIRL!

We think Mia will be glad to have a sister so close in age. I'm sure they will play & fight well together, but when they are older they will always be the best of friends.

Here are a few of this child's early glamour shots. It's always a little tough to know what you are looking at, so I will provide captions.

This is a lovely between-the-legs view from underneath, providing the evidence that Mia will indeed have a little sister come January 6th or so.

Here is a foot.

Here is the scary-looking skeletal face shot.

Baby Girl's profile, face down

Profile, face up

And a thumbs up from #2. All looks good and everything checks out so far for a healthy baby girl!

The Indiana State Fair

All we have been hearing about for the last month is the Indiana State Fair. It's kind of a big deal here. Mia and I have never been to a state fair & Nick couldn't remember the last time he had gone. We decided that we needed to go check out what everyone was talking about & give Mia a little first-hand exposure to some of her favorite farm animals. Even so, we entered the fair grounds a little tentatively.

Mia lit up immediately, however, once we were in sight of the piggies.

Ok, these ones are kind of cute, but...

...this little piggy isn't going anywhere. I don't think it can even stand up on its own. Welcome to the World's Largest Boar.

Here is a nice rear view of the pig named "Tickle Me Elmo III", weighing in at a whopping 1,277 pounds. It honestly looked like a baby hippo.

So although nothing else could really compare with the World's Largest Boar, we moved on to the cows...

...the sheep...

...and then the horses.

These horses were probably the biggest and most beautiful horses I've ever seen & they were easily Mia's favorite animal.

She spotted these beauties as they waited for their turn at the horse show & was instantly enamored.

The nicest grandfatherly type saw how excited she was & let us back behind the rope to have a closer look. At first Mia was a little nervous, but soon was reaching up to pet the horse too.

Besides the awesome people-watching, there were a few other things to watch too. This is a sheep shearing contest where they had to wrestle & shear 3 sheep for time.

And here is the horse show.

Probably the best spectacle for me, however, was the crazy food. If there was ever a time to have weird pregnant lady cravings, it was at the state fair. Here are a couple of my favorite options:

Deep fried butter, brownies... and Pepsi. It's not just a beverage option at this stand. How they do it, I still don't know. I was also really tempted by the chocolate covered bacon. Anyone who has had bacon in chocolate fondue knows what I'm talking about. Mmmm.

And my personal favorite, the doughnut burger. You can get a regular bacon cheeseburger here, except the bun is actually two Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts.

Sadly, I can't say that I could justify any of the really horrifyingly good stuff. The lines were too long & I knew Nick would never look at me the same way again. I couldn't walk away without getting something though. I ended up with a classic corndog. It was still a good thing I went to spin class the next morning.

Loved the state fair...

Erin Inzerello becomes Erin Poyner!

On July 16th, Nick's only sister became Mrs. Poyner. We had so much fun heading back to Omaha for a long weekend to officially welcome Stuart into the family with a beautiful wedding and lots of fun parties & gatherings!

Mia had a great time at the rehearsal with her partner heading down the aisle, Stuart's nephew, who is just 5 days older.

At dinner afterward she loved dancing to the sweet sounds of the background music (and she really wanted to pull on some of those cords she was eyeing, but she restrained herself).

The happy couple with Al and Linda

Keeping Mia occupied before her big roll down the aisle

Erin and all her flower girls

Al moving in for his turn to dance with the bride

It didn't take long for Mia to find the mirrored doors at the reception.

She was obviously pleased with what she saw.

Then Mia danced the night away...

Song, after song...

...after song.

She was up pretty late and was such a trooper through it all. She absolutely loved wearing her poofy dress and new shoes, but near the end she was hot and a little tired of all the formality.

She was much happier with a little freedom from the day's dress standard.

The next day was filled with more fun times with family as Nick's parents hosted a party at their house for all the relatives. That's a pretty big crew, so it was action-packed and a lot of fun!

The last day we were in town we took the opportunity to just wind down a little bit.

Grandma & Grandpa spent as much time doting on Mia as they could. The goodbye was softened by the fact that they were coming to visit us at our new house in Indiana the following week.

We are so happy for you, Erin & Stuart! It was such a nice weekend.