Day 17: Home Again, Home Again

Aha:

Reunited and it feels so good!

We made our travels back to Calgary without a hitch. Coming through customs was fast and simple, our luggage arrived to each destination on time, and our flights were all smooth and punctual. 

It is freezing here, but being here means we are again reunited with The Boy. He was so happy to see us that he just kept rubbing all over us like a cat, and he's been snuggling and licking us ever since. :)

We've been pretty darn happy to be back with him too, though we've refrained from licking him and opted for lots of pets and loves instead.

Haha:

When we got to the Calgary airport I texted the couple that's been watching Peter for us. The conversation was pretty cute so I thought I'd share...

This couple is so sweet! They loved him like he was theirs and he was totally zonked when we got him home. He had so much fun with them!

Thanks, Monique and Greg! Our boy thinks you're pretty great, and so do we!

Day 16: Last Day in California--San Diego and Reminiscing

Aha:

Our last day in warm, sunny, bright, warm, beautiful and warm California. Did I mention it's warm and lovely here?

Well, we went out on a bit of a quiet note and spent the day in Old Town San Diego and in Seaport Village. What a warm and lovely day!

First, a tour of the Mormon Battalion Center. The church actually did quite a good job at putting this center together. It started with a movie about the battalion and their trek across the US, and ended with gold panning and other fun activities for the kids. There was also a panoramic view of Old Town from a tall tower on site.

(Maddie and her two gold nuggets.)

(And then Sam's.)

After the 2,000-mile trek at the historical site we decided we'd worked up an appetite and stopped for our last bout of Mexican food before heading back to Canada (the land of no good Mexican food).

The restaurant was all outside and the weather was perfect for it!

We even had time for a proper tickle session. :)

After lunch we toured through Old Town and enjoyed the cute shops and beautiful weather.

We even stopped at an old-timey candy store where Maddie and Sam scored some giant chocolate coins.

And Rennie saw her first real cactus.

After Old Town we wandered over to Seaport Village and walked the shops there. I actually remember coming here when my high school choir came here for a trip about 13 years ago.

We saw this cool looking cactus tree. The bottom looks just like a tree trunk and slowly fades into a cactus. Pretty neat.

We posed for one last pic on the boardwalk and then headed to Noodles & Co. for a quick bite.

Once dinner was over we said our goodbyes to my brother and his cute family before traveling back up to Los Angeles.

We leave early tomorrow morning, but this has been an absolutely wonderful trip. We've seen so many touristy things, eaten too much food and had a great time together. I am so glad we could show Rennie what a warm vacation feels like and it was so fun watching her enjoy her surroundings. I am so glad my brother and his family could meet us in San Diego and that we had a few days with them. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by people I love so much...especially in a warm and lovely place. Makes my heart feel all warm and lovely too!

Haha:

I was reminded of something cute today that my nephew, Paden, used to call Clinton.

At dinner tonight Anton, pointing at Clinton, asked Maddie, "Who is that?" She looked at him unsure. Anton said, "That's Uncle Clinton."

Jen turned to me smiling and asked, "Isn't he Uncle Plinton?"

I smiled and remembered how cute that used to sound back when Paden was starting to talk. The closest he could get to saying "Uncle Clinton" was "Uncle Plinton". It lasted for a year or so but it was so cute while it lasted!

Day 15: Fifth Day in California--Coronado Island

Aha:

What AMAZING weather we had today. I actually whipped out my shorts and my less-white-than-usual-legs thanks to self-tanner. The sun and cool breeze combo were ideal.

We hit the beach and played jump the waves (game Maddie created, object: jump over the waves...clever, no?) 

(Digging our feet deeper.)

We also walked around the cute town and had some Mexican food for lunch and some yummy ice cream afterwards.

(Picture of some famous hotel here.)

(Full view of the hotel.)

And we even had time to break a rule or two. ;)

Overall, it was a great relaxing day at the beach. :)

Haha:

While we were sitting having lunch outside we heard Maddie and Sam almost chanting, "Pants on fire. Pants on fire. Pants on fire.", repeatedly behind us as they circled around an umbrella pole. It sounded almost creepy, like those creepy kids you hear in scary movies.

Anyway, once we caught what they were saying we started laughing as we imagined their chants getting progressively faster till suddenly their eyes opened wide into a creepy stare and someone's pants actually caught on fire.

Maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty funny.

Day 14: Fourth Day in California--Sea World in San Diego

Aha:

Another fun day. This one was extra fun because we met up with my brother, Anton, and his family at Sea World! We haven't seen them since last summer so it is so nice seeing them!

The weather was great and we had fun watching all the shows and riding the rides. Here're some pics from today.

(There was a whole acrobat show on top of the dolphin tricks...really neat!)

(Splash zone!)

(Waving to the audience at the end of the show.)

(Pretty but very smelly.)

(Petting the black bat manta rays.)

(Anton and I on the roller coaster. We had a good laugh at Anton's rather effeminate pose.)

(So close!)

(Victory! Felt just like a wet rubber mat. Pretty cool! I've pet a dolphin!)

(Beluga whales.)

(Waiting for a close up that never came. :)

All in all it was a pretty great day. We had lunch at In-N-Out and decided the burgers were fairly good but the fries were nasty. Clinton described them as tasting like oily sponges. Not worth it.

We had Chick-Fil-A for dinner and though they're still not our favorite they were much better here than in the Minneapolis airport (shudder).

Last but not least we also drove past the San Diego temple on our way into town. So pretty!

It's been great being with my brother and his family; looking forward to another day with them tomorrow!

Haha:

We arrived at the San Diego military base and when we got to our room Clinton turned on the tv. And guess what was on...M.A.S.H! 

We thought that was pretty funny. :)

Day 13: Third Day in L.A.--Conan

Aha:

Well, today was another great day! When we woke up this morning to get ready for our trip Rennie said she was feeling pretty pooped and thought she'd just hang back at the hotel while Clinton and I went ahead to the show. She didn't want to have to ride a wheelchair but I couldn't just let her stay behind. So, I called the studio and asked what our options were for helping our group all stay together. They kindly offered us some special accommodation passes which included a shuttle ride directly to the studio doors.

We all thought this was a pretty sweet deal, that is until we realized it was an AMAZING deal. Not only were we given a ride to the studio, we were also given a guided tour of the whole WB Studios lot! So cool! Those tours typically cost $60/person and we got it for free!

Here are some of the highlights:

(This is Anytown USA, named this because it is used in many productions. This gazebo is where Harold Hill sings "Trouble" in Music Man and the church is used in Pretty Little Liars.)

(And this city hall is also from Music Man; it's where they started the "76 Trombones" musical number.)

(This house doubles as Ross and Monica Geller's house growing up. The scenes when Rachel and Monica are getting ready for prom were filmed here. This house is also Emily's house on Pretty Little Liars. Just behind the golf cart is the window the car drove through.)

(This is the Siever's house from Growing Pains.)

(This is the mayor's house in Music Man. This is also Toby and Jenna's house in Pretty Little Liars.)

(This is the manufacturing room where they make lots of things for movie sets, and the Oscar awards as you can see in the corner there.)

(This lamp is from the ship in Pirates of the Carribean.)

(Town sign from Suburgatory.)

(Largest sound stage in the Western Hemisphere. Inception, Perfect Storm and the Hangover movies are just a few filmed here.)

(WB water tower. It's being repainted.)

(Shoutout to Chels: this is where Friends was filmed.)

Because we came in on special terms, we also were able to take pictures of the set. It's so much smaller than it looks on tv.

We were in the second row right next to Andy's podium. He was about 3 feet away from us.

So much fun! We were even on tv for a split second just after Mel Brooks was announced. The audience starts cheering and the camera pans right to us. Kinda neat. 

The best part of it all was watching Clinton and hearing him cheer! He came into the studio and his first words were, "This is crazy. I can't believe I'm actually here." He wooed and laughed and smiled so much. I don't know which was more fun for me see, Conan or Clinton.

Haha:

There's a clip they showed from The View of Barbara Walters talking about what she does on the weekends. Anyway, as she's talking the video "cuts" to the audience and a whole series of edited reactions are shown. They were obviously not accurate portrayals of her talking but just put in to be funny. Well, when we got back to the hotel tonight we were all laughing about the show and I mentioned this scene. Rennie laughs and says, "I thought that was funny too, but what was with those people crying? Why would they cry over that?"

I told her it was all fake and we had a good laugh...at her innocence.