I've been looking forward to this weekend for a long time now--Family Weekend at San Diego State! I took Nicholas and Danielle down with me and we had a nice long visit with Bree. It was the first time brother and sis got to see her dorm room and the rest of the campus. We left after school on Friday and got to our hotel pretty late. After having breakfast at the hotel's diner, we met up with Bree at SDSU. We got to meet several of her good friends and had a chance to just sit, chat, and catch up with each other.
One of the things Bree was looking forward to was having lunch at Pick Up Stix--her favorite food place--so that was our first stop when we headed off campus. Naturally, we found our way to Target shortly thereafter, because even in a different city, Target calls out to the Lutjens girls. (Nicholas, to his credit, was a good sport about our shopping venture. Just point him toward the video game section, and he's good.) We tried on lots of clothes, Danielle, Bree, and me, and got Bree some new baking supplies and a few groceries. (Bree is the resident 'baker mom' for her dorm, so she's always in the market for baking supplies.) Bree's good friend Aaron, whose parents were also visiting for Family Weekend, also happened to be at Target, so I got to meet all of them as well. Aaron is another one of Bree's new school friends that seems like a great kid--they seem to really enjoy each others' company and have a lot in common. It really makes me happy to know that Bree continues to surround herself with the kinds of friends who are positive, encouraging, and motivated people, just like she did in high school. The people you spend your time with really help you shape your outlook and your attitude, and Bree's always been really astute about that.We continued our shopping day by searching out a thrift store (we're looking for a costume for the play Danielle's in) and a Halloween store (Nicholas still hadn't found a Halloween costume). We were planning on spending the rest of our evening at Sea World, but after doing a little fact-checking, we discovered that since they are no longer on summer hours, Sea World closes at 7:30. We decided it made more sense to postpone Sea World until the next day, because it would give us more time to run around there. Instead, we continued with the shopping and eating theme. All of the kids were really interested in going to Horton Plaza, a really whimsical and unique-looking outdoor mall, which kind of reminds me of a cross between something out of Alice in Wonderland and Dr. Seuss. We ate our dinner there at a wonderful little crepes place, and did some window shopping before the mall closed down for the night. By that time, it was time to drop Bree back home at her dorm room, and Nicholas and Danielle and I retired to the hotel room and curled up to watch a movie before turning in for the night.
The next day, we picked up Bree and Aaron, who joined us for an early lunch at a little Mexican restaurant near the campus. After lunch, I took all three of the kids to Sea World. Although they've been fairly recently with their dad, it had been a very long time since I had been to Sea World with them. They got to show me all the updates and additions, and of course, show me all their favorite attractions. I let them lead the way and tell me what all they wanted to do while we were there. It was a great afternoon!
Too soon, we had to deliver Bree back to life at college--her home away from home. She had baking to do and meetings to attend, and we had to get back on the road. Big hugs, big kisses, and we were off, and I was already counting days until our next visit. It was a long drive back home, but the kids were both in a good mood, and we split the drive into two shorter drives by stopping for a long leisurely dinner with Lisa on the way. This way, we actually got two visits in on one trip--with two of our favorite people! All in all, it was a wonderful weekend: )
Horton Plaza
All of us at lunch on Sunday.
Aaron and Brianna
Bree's lovely roomate Anna.
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