Orange County

Carter and I went on a little trip to Orange County a couple of weekends ago. We arrived Thursday, May 4th around 10 pm. I was worried about Carter being horrible on the flight because it was so late, but he was a great first flyer! He checked out everything and everybody adored him, naturally. I sat next to a man with seven kids on the plane, so he completely understood. Carter kept grinning his cheesy grin at everyone at the back of the plane and kept playing peek-a-boo and laughing with the lady behind us. Needless to say, he did quite well on his first flight.

Friday, May 4th

In the morning we picked up my sister, Jessie and her family from the airport. She looked so cute all nice and round and pregnant. :) Which by the way, I think almost all of these pictures were taken by Jessie. Whenever I go on vacation with her, I don't even bother taking a camera since she's so good.

My new step sister, Mia, and nephew, Jed petting jellyfish.

As soon as we got their bags we headed straight to the Los Angeles Aquarium of the Pacific. It was like a mini sea world with lots of little exhibits.

It was also very hands on. The kiddos got to touch jellyfish, sharks, and sting rays.

They also had a bird exhibit. My dad is an animal whisperer. This bird perched on my dad's shoulder like they were old buddies.

Playing in the water

My dad's a fun grandpa. I'm excited for Carter to get bigger to go on adventures with his grandpa just like I did when I was a kid.

Saturday, May 5th

Now, the best part of our trip was a present my stepmom, Liz, had secretly been planning for months for my dad. Early morning (as in midnight) as a surprise for my dad, my brother, Joe, flew in all the way from Italy. My brother is stationed with the Navy in Italy. He has been there for three years and hadn't been back to the states since that weekend. It was so great to see him! I woke up in the middle of the night to his contagious, loud laugh. He hasn't changed a bit. I loved hearing his stories of Italy and the crazy drivers.

Introducing Joseph Leigh Wade, ladies. He's single and ready to mingle.

Later that afternoon, my dad and his wife, Liz, had an anniversary party where they exchanged their vows. They eloped last March and felt that it was time to express their love publicly. As they exchanged their vows you could feel the sweet love they have between them. I couldn't imagine a better wife for my dad. She's everything my dad has searched long and hard for; crazy, fun, outgoing, and very loving.

The "Wade" bunch

Sunday, May 6th

My dad, Liz, Joe, my brother in law, Bron, and I woke up eeeaaarly Sunday morning to do the OC Half Marathon while my sister took care of the little boys. We met up with a bunch of Dad and Liz's co-workers and tried to do our PRP (pre race poop...very important!) before the big race.

Don't we look dapper this morning?

After the race! 13.1 miles baby

So I have to write about the half marathon in a little detail for myself here. I actually did better than I thought I would! Everyone kept saying how I'll be dying, but I really kept my energy up. I never felt freakishly tired. I enjoyed the scenery and the nice beach houses. Whenever it got hard up a steep hill, I walked, then jogged when the hill was over. I didn't train very well. The most I ran while training was 6 or 7 miles...one time...about a month 1/2 ago. I wish I would have trained harder, but I'm very proud for pushing myself. The only hard part of the race was the last .1 mile. People cheering on the side of the road kept saying, "The finish line is just one more block!" Ran that block. Then someone would say, "Keep going, it's just around the corner!" I was about to slap them all in the face and say, "LIARS!!" But getting that medal at the end was worth it. This is definitely something I want to get into! It felt so great! Now if I would have lost that extra 15 lbs like I wanted to, my knees probably wouldn't have hurt so bad afterwards. Maybe next time.

Here's all of our times:

Joe 1:53:06 (yeah, he kicked all of our trashes and he didn't even train)

Bron 2:14:47

Liz 2:23:38

Me 2:29:12

Dad 2:45:42

Love this picture

Other than going to aquariums, partying, and running marathons we did lots of hanging out at the house too. We played at the park, took a night swim at the pool and talked and ate on the patio. It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend. 

I just think this picture is hilarious. Dad being himself, Jed being a cute 2 year old, and Carter....well, a little tired, maybe?

Baseball at the park

Monday, May 7th

Now what kind of a trip to California would it be if we didn't go to the beach?!

These pictures don't happen very often

Yeah, he loved it.

I swung him up every time a big wave came. He giggled and squealed with anticipation! 

Walking the dogs. Buddy has to be on a leash because he'd stay out in the water forever and possibly drown. Funniest dog.

My sister's cute family. They even match!

After our outing at the beach we had a barbecue and I had to go back home. It was an awesome trip! Can't wait for the next one! Thank you Dad and Liz for a fun weekend.