san diego :)

our trip to san diego was over a month and half ago now, so i should probably write about it before i forget all the little details! we went with my parents and brother and sister and stayed in a beautiful house in la jolla, california. my grandma and uncle were also there for part of the trip. it was SO fun and wonderful to spend time with the family. that's the one hard thing about being married is that you don't really get to live at home and be with your family for a long time.

we all flew into california on saturday, june 29 from chicago, salt lake city and minneapolis! that afternoon we explored the house (HOT TUB) and in the evening, we went to brigantine at coronado island for dinner. that's where we began our week of eating fresh seafood! crab cakes and creme brulee-yum. so fun to be with my grandma  june, uncle craig and his girlfriend and her daughter!

sunday, cory and i traveled in our blue open top jeep to corona, california to have brunch with his uncle humberto, aunt teri, cousin sarah and uncle greg and aunt saundy. first of all, why did i bother doing my hair? second, it was REALLY hot having the cali sun blazing down on us on the freeway for the two hour drive. especially in a black dress. brunch was great! we got to chat with our awesome family and eat yummy breakfast casserole, with many flavors of hot sauce!

from there we drove to wrightwood, california where cory's grandparents live up in the mountains! it was a beautiful drive and i was excited to see the house (we always facetime his grandparents and cory always talks about their house). it was so pretty and full of family history. grandma hill showed us around the trails that she hikes and we had a great dinner on their front porch, enjoying the mountain and tree beauty that is their yard.

monday morning, cory, dad and erik went to the uss midway for a nearly 5 hour tour! mom and i decided to scope out the shopping in downtown san diego...unfortunately we didn't find any :) we all ate fish and chips at a fun place on the pier, overlooking the san diego bay. then we went to mission bay beach for some boogie boarding and tanning! we made a big dinner at the house using the grill and the fresh foods of california, and maybe some ice cream after ;)

tuesday, we went to the  state park of some explorer-we went there so many times and i can't remember the name! not cortez...hmm. i was so excited to go to old town san diego and explore the shops! i got some pretty tiles made into coaster-esque things to put your hot dishes on. use them all the time! they had so many fun places to see like the hot sauce store and handmade glass and weird root beer flavors. many minutes were spent on yelp looking for authentic mexican food...which was alright. i think everyone enjoyed wahoo's more!

wednesday was spent jet skiing (my favorite) and paddle boarding. later we went to humphrey's seafood restaurant. these fancy restaurants all serve orzo, chorizo, polenta...etc trying to be all posh. every night was also spent in the hot tub in the backyard patio.

thursday was family pictures (khaki, white and blue!) that went better than previous photo sessions in our family, at least! we had yummy wahoo's fish tacos. happy fourth of july! bbq and fireworks from the house's balconies and hot tub.

friday was another state park day. we went back to the ocean and enjoyed more water activities. this time we rented a boat and drove it all around. i love that my parents try to always do this wherever we go-whether it is just to sit and rest on the boat or to tube or water ski or whatever-it's the best!

saturday we made a trip to wahoo's before we had to go home. SAD DAY. overall, being with family is the best. especially in beautiful san diego, with the beaches and water and palm trees and a lovely house and an open air jeep and good food!