Lilly time!!! - Monterey, CA
Monterey, CA
Saturday, September 14 - Today is the day we get to see Lilly! We left Sacramento and drove by Suisun Bay just northeast of Oakland and San Francisco, CA. This is where many of the Navy ships are left at anchor when they are de-commmissioned. It is called the Suisun Bay Ship Graveyard. Hard to believe these ships can't be used for something because there certainly are a lot of them!
We arrived in Monterey just after lunch. We called Josh and Wanda and they were out doing errands and said they would stop by about 3:00. We got all settled in and waited and when they arrived, Lilly burst from the car yelling, "Gramma! Papa!" with big hugs all around – couldn't have been better.
Josh and Wanda had bought tickets to the Oktoberfest which was being held at the Fairgrounds right next to the campground, so we walked there for dinner and beer. Very fun place with an Umpah band playing, lots of people in German dresses & lederhosen, and pretzels & bratwursts. Of course we ended up in the kids’ area for Lilly and there was this neat ball that Lilly got inside and then rolled around in a pond like a gerbil in a cage. What fun! The bouncy house was next followed by a balloon Ariel made by men with balloon beer hats and suspenders. Josh tried on the beer hat but didn't buy it, however he looked awful cute in it! The day ended with Italian ice (at a German festival?) and then Lilly stayed overnight at the RV. We read stories, watched a short video on her I-phone and then off to bed.
She said to us going to bed, I hope you never sell Big Mo - I really love him". How cute is that? We're so glad we are here to enjoy her.
Sunday, Sept 15 - Books in bed, sleeping in the pretty pink polka dot sheets (with the Red Sox blanket Jess made for warmth) and breakfast in the RV - great way to start the day. No church this morning because today is the big Sand Castle Building Contest on the Carmel Beach. The theme this year was castles. Josh is working with a team from the Carmel River School Dad's where Lilly goes to school. Wanda had a Vestry meeting after church, so we took Lilly to the beach to help. There were probably about 20 entries - some big, some small - but everyone was having a good time. It was a beautiful day and eventually, Lilly was in the water with her friend Sofia.
The Carmel River School's entry was a huge castle wall with a dragon coming out of it, surrounded by a moat. They did a great job and Carol helped smooth out some of the castle walls, but the best part was how they involved the kids. The kids’ job was to bring water and seaweed to the moat. They worked on it for 4 hours and then the judges came by wearing big sun hats with kid's sand pails turned upside down on them. Lots of people were walking around looking at the entries and it was a really fun day.
Back to the Green's for lunch and Sofia came over for a play date in Lilly's backyard that Josh has built for her. Hot pink monkey bars and bright purple swing set. Next to be added is a rock climbing wall with pink hand/foot holds - a little girl's dream. Carol and Lilly played paper dolls until dinner time when Wanda served us a delicious dinner. Once Lilly was in bed, it gave us some time to relax as adults and talk over a glass of wine and then back to the RV to rest!
Monday, Sept 16 - We got up early to do a trial run with Wanda for taking Lilly to school. Boy, do you forget how busy and quick kindergarteners can be! We have to arrive a little early so Lilly can play with her friends - they are all kindergarteners but some of them are not in her room - so when it is time to go to class, they say "See you at lunch!" Very cute.
Josh and Wanda had given us a Wine Tasting Tour for my birthday, which consists of doing wine tasting at 10 different shops in Carmel. We found one that opened at noon and did some wine tasting for an hour or so. The owner of that vineyard was actually the man doing the tasting so he was full of great stories about his family and wine making. We decided to have lunch in one of the outdoor restaurants there and finished just in time to pick Lilly up from school. She was so excited to see us! Back to the house for playtime, another delicious dinner made by Wanda and back to the RV.
Tuesday, Sept 17 - Today, Fred helped Josh teach one of his classes. Fred loves to do this and it is very special that Josh asks him to help. They also signed us up for storing the RV at Fort Ord when we go home (we are babysitting for Josh and Wanda for 5 days while they have a 10th anniversary vacation, flying home for a week because of some CEO Club commitments, and then flying back to get our RV so we have to store it while we're gone). This gave Carol the morning to work on the blog, pay some bills and do laundry.
Carol picked Lilly up at school and came back to the RV. They played paper dolls all afternoon creating an ice cream stand and then ice cream cones in every flavor possible - such an imagination. Wanda had to work late so she and Josh joined us at the Black Bear Diner for dinner. Another great day in Carmel.
Wednesday, Sept 18 - We did another trial run dropping Lilly off at school today and we got her there in plenty of time - Yeah! Josh came over after finishing up his classes for the day to work on our computer. We spent a lot of time organizing and packing because we are going to stay at Josh and Wanda's while they are gone, and then we leave to fly back home. The RV is getting an oil change and the brake sensor fixed, so we won't have access to it for a while, so we tried to think of everything we needed.
Wednesday's are Lilly's busiest day with Aikido (like Karate) at 3:00 and then soccer practice at 5:00. She is playing with the 6 - 8 year olds, so not many from her kindergarten class, but she is holding her own. Lilly's just learning the game and loves to run, so she will do fine. We had dinner at the Green's - pulled pork – one of Fred's favorites and then back to the RV for one more night.
Thursday, Sept 19 - We took Lilly to school this morning because Josh and Wanda had to leave early for the airport for their 5 day vacation in Las Vegas. Hugs and kisses goodbye and then we got her to school in plenty of time. We had to bring the RV to Salinas, a town about 35 minutes away, to get the brakes fixed, oil changed, etc. Then back to the Green's to get settled in to their house for the next 5 days. We had just finished that when it was time to get Lilly from school. It was a beautiful day, so we went to the Dennis the Menace Park - she has loved this Park since they moved here. After that, we ate at Denny's - her other favorite restaurant and then home. We were following the evening routine - 20 minutes of TV, 20 minutes of reading, PJ's, teeth brushed - when Josh and Wanda called from Las Vegas. Lilly talked on the phone for almost 1/2 hour, walking around with the phone, lying on her bed, sitting in the chair. She started the conversation with, "So Mom, how was your day?" So cute. When she hung up, she got into bed and we didn't hear another word from her all night. Day one done and successful!!!.
Friday, September 20 - After we got Lilly to school, we relaxed a little and then went to a Wine Tasting for lunch - very nice way to spend the day. We picked her up from school and then went to the town library. We got lots of books and when we got home, her best friend Sofia and her Mom stopped by to give Lilly a picture of the two girls together. They wanted to play in the back yard, so we invited Sofia to stay for a while and have pizza with us since Friday night is pizza and a movie night. So...we were babysitting two 6 year olds - how did this happen?!? They played very well together, ate their pizza and Sofia left around 7:00. Wanda and Josh called again and had a good conversation. Then movie and bed - Day two and things are going well
Saturday, September 21 - Happy 10th Anniversary Josh and Wanda! We love you both so much! Lilly woke us around 7:00 and we read books until about 8:30. We decided to get dressed and have brunch at Lilly's favorite Carmel restaurant, Cathy's. We walked down the street two blocks and there we were. It's so cute - the waiters all know Lilly, so they showed us to her favorite table in the corner and said, "Do you want your usual 2 pancakes with blueberries on the side and apple juice?"
We played around the house until lunch and then we went to her soccer game. Lilly is number 8 on the Silver Hawks. Cute game: 0 - 0 tie but Lilly played much better than last time. We learned two things today. One, make sure Lilly goes to the bathroom before you go to the game on the field farthest from the school, and two, bring comfy shoes to change into for the ride home.
Josh and Wanda called and told us they spent the day at Valley of Fire where they were married. They even found the stairs where we took a wedding picture 10 years ago. How special! Stories, bedtime and we survived Day 3!
Sunday, September 22 – Lilly woke us about 7:00 so we had time to do a little reading before church. She is into "chapter" books now, and loves the series “Magic Tree House”. For those of you who are not up on the reading preferences of 6 year olds, this is a series about a brother and sister who discover a magic tree house that contains lots of books. When they open a book and wish to go there, they are transported through time and space to that spot. They have lots of adventures, and it is right up Lilly’s alley – using her imagination to create wonderful stories. We walked to church and for the first time, had communion with Lilly – very special. Lilly played with some friends at the coffee hour after church, and I think we were the last to leave!
We were able to watch the Patriots game and Lilly and Carol played with paper dolls again. Lilly decided that the dolls needed a bus to travel in, so she made a rainbow bus and bedazzled it with jewels! After the Patriots won, Lilly thought it would be a good idea to walk to her favorite dessert place to have chocolate mousse to celebrate. Since it was a little late, we had pizza there first, and then shared a big dish of chocolate mousse with white chocolate shavings on top – delicious! We went for a walk around downtown Carmel for a while - such a pretty place.
Home to bed because it was a school day in the morning – Yea! – another fun day for Day 4!
Monday, September 23 – Lilly picked out her own clothes and off to school. Her friends were waiting for her and they had time to play before the bell rang. Back at home, Fred and Carol packed up because Josh and Wanda would be coming home tonight and we had to get our things together to leave for the hotel. (Josh and Wanda’s home only has 2 bedrooms, and they are both filled, so no room at the inn for us!) Our flight was leaving at 5:45 am so we were going to take a cab to the airport at 4:00 am – Yuck! We got Lilly from school and went to have a pedicure together. After that, we had dinner at the Subway next door and back to the Green’s. Lilly decided that she wanted the paper dolls to put on a play for Papa. It was going to be set in a castle and she assigned all the parts to the dolls. Of course, that meant we had to design costumes for them, so that’s how we spent the evening. We only got half of them done, so we’ll finish them up when we get back.
Tonight was the only time we had trouble getting Lilly to bed. Josh and Wanda were due about 8:30 and she knew it. Every time she heard a noise, she was up asking, “Is that them?” They finally arrived home to hugs and kisses all around. They had a great trip and really enjoyed themselves, and we had fun with Lilly, so it was a win-win situation for everyone! Josh drove us to our hotel and we were ready for the next trip. We are flying home so that Fred can do some CEO Club work, and will fly back to CA on October 3. We plan to spend the weekend with the CA Green’s and then take off for home on Monday, Oct 7. We’ll pick up the blog after that. So until then, have a wonderful fall!