San Diego

Daniel was definitely the hit of the weekend in San Diego! Layne, Dan, and I flew on the red-eye on Friday night and arrived at about 7:30 in the morning on Saturday. No rest for us because we had a fun family weekend ahead. My parents had already flown in, so they picked us up. Then my other sister, Lauren, arrived around 10:30; Aunt Earlyn, Uncle Verl, and Grandma Randolph arrived around 11:00. If you're wondering why we picked San Diego for a mini-reunion, it's because my uncle had a convention for his farm credit board there. It was too long of a trip for my grandma to get all the way to Hawaii, so we all met halfway between Hawaii and Kansas/Oklahoma. Confused yet? (Me, too.)

Trying to get some caffeine after the long flight:

In his new hat from Uncle Verl:

Checking himself out in the mirror with Grandpa:

Ready for a hug:

We had a great time, just hanging out at the hotel and doing a little sightseeing on Coronado. My grandma got to see my helicopter and my old house. And she really wanted a 4-generation picture, so we took one on the beach in front of the Hotel Del Coronado. Daniel was the center of attention the entire trip, which was a little weird for Layne, since she's used to being the baby. Just kidding, Layne!

Four generations of Randolph/Alexander/Rashman (my grandma was 30 when she had her first child, 60 when I was born, and 90 when Daniel was born):

Dan was a great baby, adjusting easily to hotel living. Zach always says that if we become billionaires, we're moving into a hotel. Movies on demand, ice cold air conditioning, maid service--does it get any better than that? So it's good to know that Daniel likes hotels just as much as we do. It was fun trying to give him a bath without his little tub. He really liked laying on his back in the water and kicking his feet as much as possible.

In the bathtub (yes, I need a pedicure):

With Aunt Lauren:

Itsy-bitsy spider with Aunt Layne:

San Diego has some great restaurants; my favorite one for breakfast is Richard Walker's Pancake House. It's right in the Gaslamp District and it is amazingly delicious. I ordered the German Apple Pancake, which is cooked in the oven and is about 4 inches tall when it comes to the table. It quickly deflated to normal size and it was awesome. I'll be dreaming of Richard Walker's for a long time!

Yep, I managed to polish off the whole thing:

Uncle Verl, Aunt Earlyn, and Grandma:

At the Yard House:

Fun on the playground:

Of course, I had to make time for some shopping, especially since I had so many hands to help out with the baby. Target was my first destination, followed closely by Anthropologie. I miss Fashion Valley Mall!

My little shopper:


(A big thank you to my friends Matt and Arlene for letting us borrow a car. Having nine people made it a little hard to get around but we made do with a rental van and their car!)