San Diego 2015: Days 3 & 4

We got slapped in the face by reality on Monday since we both had to go do work-related activities. Up until that morning, I had kind of been in denial that that's what we were both there for.  After another leisurely morning of not having to get anyone ready but ourselves, we parted ways and Brian went to his office and I headed to my conference.  The conference was fine, and Brian picked me up there around 4:30.  Another night to ourselves, woohoo!!  We decided to head to the downtown part of La Jolla, which was just a few minutes drive away from our hotel. 

First up....MEXICAN DINNER!!  We went to a restaurant called Puesto, based on a recommendation from someone at the hotel....it did not disappoint!  I am not a huge fan of guac but I could have downed the entire bowl that we ordered.  I also had a really yummy white sangria and tacos.  Puesto for the win!

After that, we headed down to the beach to catch the sunset:

Once the sun went down, we walked a bit further down the beach and stumbled upon some seals just hanging out on the beach!  It was pretty amazing to see them up close.  We also decided that they all looked like they loved sleeping so much, Gracie would blend right in if she were there.

Look how close we were!

We decided to call it a night after that, pretty hard to top the sunset and seal spotting!! View walking back to the car:

On Tuesday after completing our work obligations, we went to the Mission Beach area of San Diego and walked around the boardwalk for awhile.  It was interesting to see such a contrast to the La Jolla area, which is more....I don't know, tropical?  Tropical is not the best word, but more remote feeling, I guess with the giant cliffs everywhere.  Mission Beach felt more Jersey Shore, and I mean that in a loving way since that is where we vacationed for years!! I felt right at home.  After a quick dinner and drink at a brewery, we headed to check out the ritzy Hotel Del Coronado .  This is what happens when you try to take me somewhere fancy:

The hotel itself was gorgeous, inside and out and it was fun to walk around. 

We headed back to the hotel after walking around the Coronado area for awhile, then had to say goodbye to San Diego the next morning.  It was the trip from hell on the way back home, including a canceled flight, numerous flight delays on the new flight, sitting on the plane for almost an hour before taking off, not landing in Pittsburgh until 3:15am only to find that our luggage was lost, and then getting home around 4:30am.  (thankfully, our luggage was delivered to our house the next morning)  However, it was all worth it.

This trip was great for us.  I don't post about Brian's job too often on here, but like many husbands out there, he works really hard for our family (yes, I work outside of the home too, but I can say with certainty that his job is much more demanding than mine).  His days are often booked with clients nonstop from the second he gets into the office until the minute he leaves, and I know there are many days he doesn't even have time for lunch and comes home looking exhausted and starving.  On top of that, he's been building this treehouse for the boys and serving as the head coach for Jake's baseball team....he loves doing those things, but I know it's been tiring for him.  I appreciate everything he does for us and how much he strives to succeed at work to provide for our family.

That being said, sometimes everything we have going on between work, social commitments, sports, the kids, and the house tends to overshadow what we have as a couple.  I've talked about this with a few fellow moms at a recent gathering, and it's not something anyone is purposely letting slip through the cracks, but when it comes down to it, it's easy to put it on the backburner almost by default.  We talked about how days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, and the next thing you know, you're realizing that it's been 6 months since you've been out with your husband with no kids.  It's just easy to do....time goes so quickly that you don't even know it's passing. 

Brian and I talked on our trip about how we both agree it's important to carve out time for each other and we need to focus on making it a priority. It doesn't have to be a fancy date night out or a trip away....something as simple as putting the kids to bed then sitting on the patio with a glass of wine and good conversation is a great place to start.  It's so simple, yet it's also so easy to just go through the motions of the day, put the kids to bed, then collapse on the couch.  Why not collapse on the patio instead? :-) 

So, my overall review of our trip was that I loved San Diego, I loved spending time with Brian, and I loved coming home to see these sweet faces waiting for us.  A huge thank you to Nana and PopPop for making this trip possible by watching the kiddos for us!!