A Visit from the Vaughns

Dylan's parents came to town for a long weekend, and we had lots of fun during the four-day visit. Clayton and Nancy arrived on Saturday night, their 39th wedding anniversary. We grilled shrimp and veggie skewers and served them over a bed of couscous. Then a special dessert for the occasion - heart-shaped brownies and vanilla ice cream on a bed of homemade raspberry/Grand Marnier sauce. We used Barefoot Contessa's famous brownie recipe that includes coffee and a small amount of flour, giving a velvety texture - not as chewy as a typical brownie, more like a dense flour-less cake. It worked very nicely with the ice cream and the sauce.


Sunday was a hang out day: breakfast at Leilani's, a walk along the boardwalk where we got to see the live pig at the weekly Law St. Park yoga class AND the skateboarding bulldog - perfectly quirky sightings for our out-of-towners! There was also plenty of playtime with Connor, and an afternoon trip to Gringo's for happy hour margaritas and appetizers.


Dylan took Monday off from work, and it was a big day of fun activities! We got a nice, late start and had brunch at our house, then a trip to Belmont Park where Dylan, Clayton and I rode the roller coaster (first time for us) and then put Connor on his first-ever carousel ride. The roller coaster was awesome - we will definitely be back. Check out the picture that Nancy took below - she actually caught us (third car from the front) on our way down one of the hills - don't know how she managed that! Connor was not quite as jazzed about the carousel, but he managed to survive the ride, despite a few tears and protests.

In the afternoon, we took a trip down to Coronado to the Vaughn's new digs at the Marriot Resort. Up until that point, they had been staying at a rental near Windansea Beach, about five minutes up the road from us. We spent several hours at the very nice heated pool with a great view of the bay, drinking beers (we discovered the refreshing qualities of Windansea Hefeweizen) and playing in the water. Grandma Nancy spent lots of time with Connor in the water, playing catch with the beach ball, and even taught him how to splash. Connor also ate his first cookie out on the pool deck - an m&m cookie that was a treat from the grandparents. I think he will be requesting more of those in the future ;) We felt like we were all on vacation for the afternoon - it was an absolutely gorgeous day.

Today was the last day of the visit, and Dylan's parents met him for lunch and got to see his office. In the late afternoon, I picked Dylan up at work and we drove to Coronado for dinner with Clayton, Nancy, Herb & Wendy on Herb and Wendy's pool deck right over the sand at the start of the Silver Strand. We had a bbq feast - chicken, lamb chops, grilled veggies, corn on the cob and salad. Connor even sat in his high chair and ate dinner with all of us, waves crashing right behind him. This was a lovely way to end the visit!