The Week Of The Women...

The glorious week started out with a visit from our blog buddies Caitlin, Gabe, and little Nyla. Well, maybe not so little - Nyla is 7 weeks younger than Wilken, yet about the same height and weight (ok, ok, Wilken has been on the move for 2 months now and Nyla, the backwards crawler, is just about to take off). Anyway, they all came down to San Diego to visit with friends and family. We were lucky enough to have them stay with us as we were able to introduce Wilken and Nyla for the first time. We met up at Sean, Becky, and Rory's house (also part of the blog buddy network) to introduce all 3 babies (Nyla and Rory met for the first time too). The festivities began on the floor with toys then moved to a not so baby-centered restaurant down the street. The food was good, but playtime was over for the little ones. The night ended with a speedy trip home and off to bed.

The weekend continued as Wilken shared his toys with Nyla and they parallel played all through the night and day. On Sunday, the dads went to golf while the women had a little get together of their own. We met up with and reunited with old friends, Wilken was even chasing around an older woman ("can't wait to see you again soon Naomi", he says). The day came to a slow end and we parted with our Portland trio. We were sad to see Nyla (and her parents) go, but know we'll be getting together more in the future. What weekend would be complete without a bath with a girl you just met two days prior (we apologize about the "booty-bite" Wil gave you, Nyla!)?

The week continued as most weeks do, a little work for dad, a little swimming for Wilken, and a little more baby talk and singing for mom. Soon came Thursday, 3/9/06, and after a day of work (for both mom and dad) we were off to meet up with Sean, Becky, and Rory again for an Arizona adventure of Padre Spring Training! We decided to drive together as opposed to flying or driving separately and it couldn't have gone smoother. Wilken and Rory both slept practically the entire trip and awoke (2:30am AZ time) to a hotel in Tempe, AZ with renewed energy. After a calming session everyone was asleep and ready for the festive weekend to begin.

Friday rolled around and after a little bite to eat and some waffling around nap time, we decided to hit the field so to speak. We went off to Peoria to watch the Padres take on the Rangers of Texas. Once the final exit approached for the stadium, Elanor informed us all that the tickets were back on the hotel night stand. So back to the hotel we went. Then off to Peoria again to watch the Padres take on the Rangers of Texas (deja vu!).

The wind was fierce that day my friends... Luckily the seats behind home plate shielded us from the torment of the wind, the problem was that we could not escape the torment of the Padres defense! Ouch, we left as the Padres were getting beat 15 to 10!

We bundled up the kids and went out for a nice dinner at Ryan's old college stomping grounds in downtown Tempe, AZ (ASU). The dinner seemed like it went on forever, but Wilken played beside us in the booth and Rory slept the entire time. As we thought our weekend was just beginning, we went to bed with anticipation of a game of golf, another baseball game, more good food, and some nightly festivities.

Saturday morning came early as Ryan & Sean awoke at 6:00am (5:00am CA time) to the beat of rain against the hotel window. Thinking that golf may still be in their future, they showered, ate a little breakfast, and drove to what turned out to be an empty golf course in the pouring rain. It was the first day in 145 days that the Phoenix area received rain. Lucky us (that is sarcastic)! Not only was golf rained out, but all 14 spring training games were cancelled due to the weather (heaven forbid any of these well oiled pro athletes perform their "practice" games in the horrific weather we refer to as "rain").

What to do, what to do. How about drive home back to San Diego? Sure, why not. Let's not even schedule it around any of the baby's naps how about. We'll just stop for long lunches, bathroom breaks, and dinner when the fussiness starts. Well, the kids once again did great. The problem lay once again with the weather. If we told you that there would be a snow storm between Phoenix, AZ and San Diego, CA you'd say we were crazy. Well, call us crazy, because it took us 10 1/2 hours of driving time to reach our final destination. 3 of the hours were at 1-5 miles per hour. Wilken slept a total of 30 minutes and Rory was in and out of sleep the entire trip. They both received an A+ for their behavior. We even got to the point on letting them "loose" on the freeway when we were at a stand still.
San Diego finally came and we had Sunday to recoup. We all had a fun and a positive outlook on the experience. We'll definitely make up for it next year!

Thanks for the fun times ladies. That concludes the week of the women.

P.S. Thanks for the photos Rory.