Not quite what I wanted.....

Months ago I decided to make a gift for each of my nieces and nephews. My last gift, until the next baby is born, is for Ava. A week ago I painted a bowel for her. I picked it up today but was disappointed with how it turned out.

The yellow and brown both turned out the wrong shade. I am currently deciding whether to give it to her and her parents or make a new one. I don't know; what does everyone think?

San Diego - day 4 (the end)

I awoke on Saturday morning with the sad knowledge that I would have to fly home later that day. As I was getting dressed Mom called to tell me that the Sunday Mother's Day celebration was off due to her being sick, and not wanting to infect her dear children and grandchildren. I got dressed, attempted to look pretty,and met Josh, Brooke, Tanner, and Ava for breakfast. I gave them the news of the rescheduled celebration, to which they were pleased to know that they could now be included in the party to be held next weekend. They were sad that Mom was sick though.
We ended up at the Corner Bakery Cafe again where I, once again, bought a cinnamon crumble muffin and a hot chocolate. Even though I also ate eggs and potatoes, the muffin and hot chocolate were the best part. After breakfast, during which Ava had fun sitting with her Aunt Jess, we went to the gaslight district. (Every time I held Ava she had a good time playing with my shark necklace which I had purchased at the Sea Life Aquarium on Thursday.)
It was mentioned by either Josh or Brooke that the gaslight district was once known as a den of harlots (or a place where women of ill repute sold their wares.) The area has been cleaned up since then. There was a great five story outdoor mall where Tanner had a great time riding the escalators. Ava slept through most of it. I loved walking around. Afterward, we were trying to figure out something to do before I had to go to the airport. Since there wasn't anything that would fit into the slot, it was decided to drop me off early at the airport. Since I had a bunch of work e-mails to wade through and the kids were getting tired of getting in and out of the car, I thought it was a good idea. I bid my dear family adeu and went into the San Diego airport. It was sad to see them drive off, knowing that the rest of my weekend would be a big bore compared to playing with them.
I waded through a bunch of e-mails, set up some meetings, and then started listening to the book on cd I had brought with me. (I would highly recommend the non-fiction book Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, who is a contributor to This American Life on NPR.) We loaded onto the plane where I had a whole row to myself (how boring) and I watched tv. We hit some turbulence and I got airsick. I just barely managed to keep my lunch inside my stomach. By 5pm I had landed at the airport. I waited for my luggage to arrive, trying to pretend that my stomach felt ok.
I stopped by the post office and the store on my way home. The stomach ache was briefly ignored when I found that I had received three books in the mail (that I had been waiting almost a month to receive.) I started Pride and Prejudice and Zombies last night and should have it completed by Thursday. Afterwhich I will most likely begin Dead and Gone, which is part of the Southern Vampire Series. (Not to worry, I will review both books for your amusement.) Lest anyone think that I only read science fiction or fantasy, my order also contained The Complete Book of Questions. I was sick to my stomach all night and awoke on Sunday with a huge headache and fun bowel issues. My roommate, E, let me know that she had found ants in our kitchen the day before. (I guess that's what happens when I take a week and a half off from cleaning and no one sweeps, vacuums, mops, finishes all the dishes, or cleans their food off the counter.) Luckily, roommate M had at least thought to buy ant traps and put them out. I hope to have the pesky insects gone by the end of the week. I was still feeling airsick by the time I went to work on Monday morning. Luckily, I have since recovered.

San Diego - day 3

After the heat of Legoland, we decided to go to the beach on Friday. I dressed in my swimsuit, my new shorts, a t-shirt and flipflops and opened the door to find an overcast and windy day. Such is life. We had breakfast at a great little place called the Corner Bakery Cafe and made our way to Mission Beach. The wind was pretty stiff but we went down to the waves anyway. One foot in and I pulled out of the Artic Circle/Pacific Ocean water. Josh was brave enough to actually go all the way in while I stayed on the shore and held Ava, who looked ever so fetching in her hat. Tanner, come to find out, was afraid of the waves. He didn't like them coming towards him and he definately didn't like his father going into the ocean. He would point to his dad in the ocean and yell a horrible warning and start to cry. It's almost like he had drowned as a sailor in a former life. I got some pretty cute pictures of Tanner running away from the waves and holding on to his dad, as well as a picture of Josh sitting on the beach looking at the ocean with Tanner standing behind him (see left.)
Anyway, after hanging around the beach for a while we walked around Belmont Park and decided to go back to the hotel and go swimming in the warm pool. The pool turned out to be warmer than the ocean but still not warm enough for my tastes. I retired to the hot tub. At least Tanner and Ava were able to get in and splash around a little. Having had enough of the water and the overcast sky, we decided to find something else to do. After showers and new clothes, we drove down to the Maritime Museum, which we discovered cost $14 per person and was very stroller unfriendly. We decided to not go in and wandered the pier until we were all tired. The pier had some great sculptures (see right.) After Tanner and Ava fell asleep in their strollers and the adults were all tired we headed back to the hotel. Overall, the sights were lovely but the weather was not. Tanner actually started to say "Hess" when pointing to me, which I considered a great compliment, and Ava wasn't shy around me at all. I love being an aunt.

Rainy Saturdays aren't so bad

On Saturday I drove up to Mom and Dad's house. The rain was pouring down so I had the fun experience of hydroplaning twice. I got a late start and didn't end up leaving until the end of the first session of General Conference. By the time I got there, Tanner had gone down for his nap so I regaled my parents with stories from work and my life. Tanner woke up, we played a little, then Josh and Brooke came home from the hospital. I couldn't believe how great Brooke looked after having a c-section. They let me hold Ava, who was sleeping soundly. She is so darling. It is always strange to hold a newborn since they are so small and generally are asleep. I love the way that they curl into a ball and snuggle into you. Anyway, after a diaper change, Josh, Brooke, Tanner, and Ava were off. I listened to General Conference while I was on the computer, then Mom and I went to dinner at Crown Burger while Dad went to the Priesthood Session. It was nice to talk with Mom about everything. At night, Mom taught me how to make cinnamon rolls and I stayed up a little too late.

Welcome baby Ava!

I would like to announce the birth of my newest niece. Ava June was born on Wednesday morning. She weighed 6 lbs and 14 oz and was 19 inches long. While I haven't seen her in person, the pictures show a dark-haired beautiful baby. I can't wait to see her. Congratulations to Brooke, Josh, and Tanner.