Grads and Moms

This Mother's Day was a special one as Matt and I were both going to see our moms. It rarely happens that we actually get to be with one mom on this day, so it was a nice treat. And, it was my cousin Brandon's graduation at Loyola Marymount where he was getting his M.B.A. As you could probably tell, it was a very busy day. We got up early, had breakfast, checked out of our hotel and headed to the campus which was just down the street. The campus was nice and quite festive. Once there we met up with my mom, brother, aunt and cousins and all were excited to see Mateo. He had fun running around the grassy area during the ceremony. Afterward we met up with Brandon for some family pictures. I'm really proud of him as it's the first MBA in the family, and I know he worked hard for it. Congrats, Bran! Here are some family photos...







Soon after we jumped in the car for a long car ride to Stockton which was the last leg of our family vacation. We had a lovely Mother's Day dinner with grandma Karen. It was a long, full day with lots of family!

Next Stop: LA

After saying so long to the O.C., we continued north to LA. Our first stop was the Huntington Library in San Marino. In addition to being a library, there is a wonderful botantical garden, with Japanese, Chinese, tropical, and desert settings. It is truly a beautiful place where you could hang out all day. We had lunch there and took a stroll along the gardens. It was a really hot day and we just enjoyed being outside and resting on the grass along the way.

After the gardens we visited with Matt's cousins, Jimmy and Craig. They lived not too far away in Pasadena. They have twin sons who we had not seen in about 2 years and were amazed at how big they got! We went out to dinner at the Yard House in Pasadena. I was so glad we got to fit in this visit with them, as it was unplanned.
From Pasadena we continued on to our hotel in L.A., near LAX, where we stayed a couple of nights. The following day we ventured to Griffith Park. We met Kim and Kelan again at Travel Town, which is a train museum. Mateo likes the Thomas the Train right now so he enjoyed playing among the real things. We took a ride on the little train that goes around the park and played for a while.




Soon after Kelan had a birthday party to go to, so Matt and I took Mateo to another little train area that was just down the road. It had another train ride that we went on and we also took a short hay ride.
We continued upward and visited the Griffith Park Observatory. Matt got some great pictures of the sights and we enjoyed the views from above.

Northward bound to old stomping grounds: the OC

In San Diego we rented a car and headed north to
Orange County...in particular to Irvine - my ol' alma mater. On the way we stopped for a short visit and lunch with Mateo's great-grandparents. It was the first time they met Mateo, and I hadn't visited since my move to Oregon so it was a nice reunion. Oma made a lovely lunch, even though Mateo was too busy fascinated with all the stairs in their house! From there we continued to my friend's Diana and Doug's place where we stayed a couple of nights. Diana is newly pregnant with her first baby, so it was very exciting to see and spend time with her. They have a lovely place that has a nearby park, pool, and shopping area all within walking distance! We really never had to get the car if we didn't want to! Below you can see Mateo with their friendly dog Ezra...
That evening we had dinner at Cheesecake Factory with Diana, Doug, and our friend Sean. The next day we went to Wahoo's fish taco for lunch (one of my old local favorites that I miss in Oregon) and emptied all the stuff I had been storing in Diana's garage for the last 5 years (umm, thanks Diana - didn't mean to take that long!). In the afternoon we took Mateo to the pool. He had the best time! They have a kiddie pool especially for kiddos his size. We also blew up a floatie and took him in the big pool. That was very exciting for him!
That evening we went to an Angels baseball (my FAVE team) game with Diana, Doug, and our good friends Seanny and Charlie. It took a while for Mateo to get settled, but then he enjoyed the ballpark. We even got a beachball hit our way and Matt held up Mateo with the ball and the whole section cheered! It was a nice evening with friends...and the Angels won too! We had a lovely stay in OC, thanks Diana and Doug for letting us stay with you! Miss you already!

Family Vacation - First Stop, San Diego!

Last month, we packed up the family (ok, well, Mateo) and headed south for a tour de California! We flew to San Diego and spent time with Matt's dad and step mom in their lovely home in Encinitas. They live just a couple of miles away from Legoland, which was first on our agenda. My friends Kim and Chai, and their cutie 2-year old son Kelan, met us there for a day of fun. It was a lovely sunny day which was a welcome change from the then rainy Oregon weather. The boys had a lot of fun there! Unfortunately Mateo fell a bit short (literally) on being able to go on a lot of rides, but there was plenty else for him to do. There was a playground area, train and boat ride, and several mini cities constructed all out of Legos! And the fun didn't stop there! Just down the street are shopping outlets in Carlsbad. Kim and I took the kiddos there and dropped off Matt and Chai at a local brewery. Everyone was happy! We had a great time!

In mini Las Vegas!Mateo's first visit to the White House (sort of!)
Fun at the outlets!

We of course couldn't go to San Diego without hanging out at the beach. It was Mateo's first trip to the ocean. He loved playing in the sand, but found the ocean water a bit cold!

We spent the rest of our time in San Diego relaxing with Terry and Florie, eating great food, celebrating Cinco de Mayo, watching American Idol and basketball, and singing Cherry Pie (don't ask). We had a terrific time!