San Diego

For Tyson's birthday, Grandma Allaire (Anne Marie) took us to San Diego. Our first stop, appropriately, was Stone Brewing Company.

I love visiting breweries, but it never occurred to me how beautiful a brewery could be. The garden was amazing, and perfect for Tyler to explore while waiting for our lunch and later, for the tour.

On Friday, we visited Sea World. Neither Tyler nor I had ever been. We had so much fun! First we checked out the porpoises. I've seen them in the wild, but never this close!

We thought we should probably check out the kid friendly area. As luck would have it, the moment we arrived, a musical show began.

But it turned out, Tyler wasn't a fan.

Next was a Sea Lion comedy show. Tyler cried at first, but eventually got into it. It was so fun, and a good reminder that animals, even trained ones, have minds of their own.

Next we went to the shark tank. So cool! I'm trying to post a video here, maybe Tyson can get it to work.


After the sharks, we went on Tyler's first ride. Hopefully we can get that video up, too.

We watched the orca show, which included Shamoo. Tyler cried at the beginning, but just like the Sea Lion show, he soon got into it. Must be that he doesn't like loud music blasting...

On Saturday, our family indulged my intense craving for ocean. Tyler had a blast! He loved destroying sand castles by driving his new car through them.

A big group of young people worked together to build this dragon. They had all kinds of cool tools, and definitely had a good system going. As the day went on, other people joined in, forming a large crowd. The quality of the work began to deteriorate. Then the original group of people left, encouraging the newcomers  to finish it. The crowd dispersed within a few minutes. Tyson caught a couple of snapshots before a kid jumped on the head (no, not Tyler. Tyler appreciates fine art.)

When the boys started getting hungry, I worried my day at the beach would end early. I went foraging for food, and came back an hour later with delicious burgers, dogs, and ice cold fountain sodas. Tyler loved the hot dog.

After lunch, Tyler approached some little girls who had a wider variety of sand toys. He was quickly befriended by the whole group, and played with their toys for a while. Then I took him out to the breakpoint. I was caught off guard by how rough the water was, but even when a wave broke right over us, Tyler was focused, but interested. And so began my spiel, one Tyson will likely grow tired off far before Tyler does..."and when YOU turn 12, we'll go diving together so YOU can see the cities under the sea..." "In 11 years, WE can be dive buddies..." I can't wait!

The bottom line is, we loved San Diego!

Virginia Wedding

In July, Tyler and I returned to Virginia for my brother Eddie's wedding. Tyson didn't get to go due to his school schedule, but Tyler and I had a blast. I'm getting better at flying across the country with a toddler in my lap. I ended up flying in Thursday night, and finally got to meet the newest addition to my childhood friend Susie's family - Allison. It was great to see Susie, Drew, Jessica, and their family dog as well. I didn't get to take any pictures, unfortunately. We spent an hour or two together that night, then hit the road before 7am.

We spent Friday catching up with my mom, sister, nieces, and my aunt, uncle, and cousins. We had a family dinner at Eddie's house that night, and got to spend time meeting Nanci's family. Tyler got to meet his uncle Roger for the first time, and found his beard to be quite fascinating. Tyler also went to his very first bachelor's party (mine, too, I guess) - a pool party at the hotel, where we got to spend extra time with Eddie and my nephew Matt.

Saturday was the actual wedding day. Despite double ear infections and the stomach flu, Tyler was an angel throughout the trip. Except for during the ceremony, which began with the sound of Tyler headbutting me echoing throughout the church. That room has great acoustics.

Here's pics from the ceremony.

After the ceremony, we headed back to Eddie's place for a fun and relaxed reception.

Grandma and Uncle Roger took a moment to catch up.

Here Tyler once again thwart's Aunt Jonell's sinister plan to quench his thirst. Aunt Jonell is still clearly the "Not-Mom". Tyler has not yet forgiven her for his trip to Danvers. It's okay. I was Payton's "Not-Mom" for a while, and she's clearly forgiven me.)

Speaking of Payton...

No, I didn't feed Tyler Mountain Dew. But Payton, Shelby and I DID try feeding him Mug Root Beer, and later, Dr. Pepper. He was begging for it, how could we not? May we always remember his face - the look of horror, then the face of one who's been brutally betrayed by the ones he loves. Clearly, not a fan of soda.

The presentation of Mr. and Mrs. Edward K. Glass.

It was so fun to see Eddie's best friends from high school and college - John, Todd, and Randy.

Here's the latest family photo, with four new members! (Now I just need to photoshop Tyson, Art, Cole, and Jill in. And my father. How'd he escape this? And you can't really see Eddie. Better luck next time...)

Evidence that Payton really has forgiven me for being the "Not-Mom" in her life. I think she got over it right around the time Cole was born...

A discussion between Matt and Roger quickly turns to the topic of music.

Like mother, like son - this kid can sleep just about anywhere. Except Massachusetts.

A touching moment with Grandma Glass...

Congratulations Eddie and Nanci! Thank you for letting us share in your special day!