Life is a Highway

We just got back from our first family vacation.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Babies "need" SO much stuff!  Ben and I packed 1 carry-on size suitcase for the 2 of us yet the car was packed absolutely full.  I regret not taking a photo.

 

Anyhoo, we left Friday morning at 5 am with high hopes of making it to LA by noon.  Michael helped Ben drive while Andy slept and I pumped milk for the twins (no photo available).  We arrived to Paramount EARLY.  We haven't been early to anything since October 17, 2010 so this was a huge accomplishment for our family.

We ate lunch with Ben's old boss, and then walked around hoping to spot the cast of Glee but unfortunately they were shooting off of the lot that day. 



Andy pitched some genious
movie scrpits but unfortunately
no one could understand him.



After all the Hollywood excitement we hopped back in the car to head to our final destination, San Diego.  It was a long day but we all behaved in the car and were happy to arrive at our beautiful hotel.


"Dibs on the bed.  Mom & Dad can squish into the Pack & Play"



The boys surprised me by sleeping relatively well in the hotel, and Ben by fussing a lot around 4am (I usually handle this at home so he can sleep).  The next day were were really excited about meeting up with Sara and taking the boys to the ocean for the first time.
 

Sara recently got promoted to manager so we had to celebrate.  Congratulations Sara!!  We loved spending the day with you.

 


The following morning, we went on a walk around our hotel before heading to downtown San Diego.

A few years ago I saw a fish restaurant on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" that I thought I'd never be able try out.  Hey, you never know where life will take you and I found myself at Bluewater Grill.  We had delicious fish tacos which were pretty much impossible to eat while holding a squirmy baby but we did the best we could.


Andy was really interested in my food



Mikey was more interested in Ben's beverage

After our speed-eating lunch session, we headed downtown where we took the boys to see their first baseball field.  They were sleeping, but we saw them see it which is what really matters at this point, right?

We ended our day by visiting Coronado Island, which was as relaxing as something can be with 2 five month old boys in tow.  We found a place to sit where I could see the ocean, Ben could watch UNC lose, and the boys were out of the sun. 

After our long day of sight seeing, we returned to the hotel to relax and get ready for the big drive home in the morning.

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to eat a Pink's hot dog, so we left early enough to drive through LA around 9:30 am, when they opened and there wouldn't be a huge line.  That's right, we ate hot dogs and onion rings for breakfast and it was delicious. 



They should add a "Petey Pair" dog -
2 hot dogs covered in milk and rice cereal.



Will we be venturing out on 10 hour road trips with the boys often?  NO WAY!  But we had a great time and Michael and Andrew were good little troopers.  Other than the ride home they were in great moods and really enjoyed seeing new things.  Oh, and don't worry, Mikey really didn't help Ben drive the car, he just sat in his lap in a Burger King parking lot.

Boys = Sports

We all know that Ben was THRILLED to discover I had two boys in my belly, and there were two reasons why.  The first was that if we had a girl she would grow up and go on dates with BOYS, and he couldn't stand the thought of that.  The second was they could (hopefully) share his love for sports and competition.  I've probably made the joke over 100 times that if the boys aren't good at sports we all know who to blame - I mean, if you throw something underhand to me from 5 feet away I'll probably cover my head and jump out of the way.  Since I couldn't help them by passing along "athletic genes" and I can't help them by demonstrating any sort of coordination or athleticism, I am encouraging them in the best way I know how... dressing them up in adorable team gear, of course!

I'll start with the most obvious.  They ARE twins.  Ben was born and raised in Minnesota and has been a Twins fan since he was little.  As a Cubs fan in Chicago pointed out, "Wow - you're a Twins fan and you're having twins!?!?  That would be like me giving birth to a baby bear."  As you can see, almost immediately they were shown which baseball team they will cheer for.  I'm a Cubs fan, but loving the Cubs sets you up for a lifetime of disappointment so I'm OK with the boys liking the Twins more.  We'll all hate the White Sox equally.

Next the boys had to learn which pro football team they would show their allegiance to.  Uncle Brad bought them these Vikings jerseys and no, he didn't have them specially made, there is a player on the team with our last name (no relation of course).  Unfortunately, the Vikings had a pretty bad season, and Bret Favre was all sorts of embarrassing, but hopefully by the time the boys are old enough to watch the game (next year?) the quarterback will be Tim Tebow and he, Percy, and cousin Adriane will give the boys a reason to be proud to wear purple and gold.

Although the boys are set to grow up in California, hockey will be as much a part of their lives as if they were in Minnesota.  Ben has already researched mini mites teams in the area and plans to have the boys on skates the same day they can walk.  We do have a San Jose Sharks team, but Andy and Mikey will support the Minnesota Wild like their Daddy. 

Since this is the only team I'm bringing to the table, I am going to lobby pretty hard for the Petey Pair to be Florida Gator fans.  I've been singing "We are the boys" and watching all the football games with them, but after the season we had I can understand why the boys aren't too happy wearing orange and blue.  I will enjoy telling them how we destroyed Ohio State (41-14) and beat Oklahoma (24-14) to win 2 national champoinships in 3 years.  Hopefully they can experience similar Gator greatness in the near future.



"Let's go Duke!"  I hear this a lot during college basketball season, and expect to hear a lot more of it once the boys are talking (perhaps in time for March Madness.  They are very advanced, you know).  Since we found out I was pregnant, Duke has only lost 1 game and they are the current National Champions so the boys are thrilled to wear Duke Blue.

Michael and Andrew will always know that we love them no matter what choices they make in life.  They can pursue any interests they have, be whatever they want, marry whoever they choose... as long as they are fans of these teams.  Just kidding...  well maybe except for Duke.