By the end of the weekend she had managed to pack my suitcase, as well as Macie's, but hadn't yet packed her own suitcase or any of the carry-ons. Monday and Tuesday were spent getting our affairs in order, and Wednesday was going to be spent cleaning up the house, and getting food and laundry prepared for Hayley and Dad who were going to be left unattended for 3 weeks.
On Tuesday night Aunt Hayley graciously stayed home with Macie while she slept, so that Mom could take me to gymnastics. We had tons of fun together, and I took advantage of having her all to myself by showing off some of my moves:
That night we had a pizza party to celebrate our wonderful family, and went to bed with the mindset that we would spend the following day saying our goodbyes and preparing to leave.
While I was in bed that night Uncle Will flew in from California, and had intended to hang out with me before we left. The next morning began with our usual routine; an episode of Little Einsteins, some eggs for breakfast, and some playtime with the princesses. Mom was busy working on another one of her preparation lists for our trip when she decided to go onto the Southwest website to find out what time she needed to check in for our flight the next morning. While doing so, she found a small discrepancy... Instead of telling her when she could check in, the website told her that her seats were available for immediate check in as the flight left in 3 hours. Mom panicked! I don't know how she managed, but amidst all her lists, calendars (all of which had us leaving the next day), etc. she had screwed up the date. That wasn't a little oops. She ran upstairs to wake up Dad and Will. The next half an hour was utter chaos! Mom frantically packed all 4 carry-ons, her own suitcase, all of Macie's eating accessories (formula, bottles, etc.), and stuff to keep us occupied on the long trip.
Lucky for her lists, the family as able to get everything together in under 20 minutes, and thanks to help from Dad and Will, we were in the car and on our way to the airport in under a half an hour.
The drive to the airport was anxiety ridden. Mom couldn't believe that she had made such a big mistake. She was mostly upset that she wasn't able to get her home affairs in order prior to leaving. The whole day had been set aside for cleaning, cooking, packing, and spending some fun time with Dad, Hayley, and our Manny Will. We had left quite a mess in the house during our quick exodus and she felt guilty for leaving so many things unfinished. After she came to terms with the situation she calmed down and out of the blue adopted a new, and uncharacteristic, mantra which was used throughout out trip whenever things got hectic; "it is what it is." (a tough one for Mom since she is always in control of everything.)
We got to the airport in record time, and made it through check in with over an hour and a half to spare. Will persuaded the lady at the ticket counter to let him help us to the gate since we had 4 carry-ons, 2 car seats, a stroller, and 2 kids. After unassembling all of our gear at security we made it to the gate with plenty of time to feed Macie and myself before boarding the plane.
Thanks to BIG help from Will Mom got to relax and Macie enjoyed some one on one time with her Manny.
Will and I even managed to find time to eat, run, and play together.
The first leg of the flight was awesome! We all had our own seats, and not only did Macie sleep the WHOLE fight, but, THANKS AGAIN to Will, I got to watch Little Einsteins on the computer!!! The flight to Chicago was a breeze, and both Macie and I were on our best behavior. The second leg of the flight was a LOT longer, and not as pleasant. Mom laid her pillow on the floor and made a bed for me. It took me a while to get comfy but before I knew it I was out cold and ended up sleeping for almost 2 hours. While I slept Mom fed Macie some baby food, and the two of them spent some alone time together as Mom tried desperately to keep Macie occupied and quiet.
After 7 hours of travel we made it to San Diego. Despite a rocky start to the day, it couldn't have gone any better had we left on what we thought was our scheduled day. Thanks to Moms over planning we were prepared for any catastrophes. Mom was overly impressed with our behavior throughout the whole ordeal, as were all of the passengers that flew with us. After getting all of our bags- 2 large suitcases, 2 small, 4 carry ons, 2 car seats, and one stroller, we waited on the curb for Pa. When I saw him I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. I ran shrieking into his arms and greeted him with a BIG hug. Macie and I rode in Pa's truck while Mom got the rental car situated and we all went to a park to play. Pa and I burned some energy till nightfall and then we all had dinner at Outback (Mom's favorite restaurant). We made it to Grandma Judy's house around 8pm, and although it was dark I still let out a big "yowee yow hooee" when I saw the beach. Macie and I both passed out immediately, exhausted from the mental and physical exertion brought on by the events of the day.
The next morning we woke early (still on east coast time) and watched the sun come up as we played in the sand. At 10am we took advantage of our "free day" (a day which Mom hadn't accounted for) and went to Sea World.
Seeing the flamingos was exciting, and I showed them some of my gymnastics moves:
Even though Mom hadn't even had a free moment to shower, brush her hair, or worry about her clothing since our last weekend in Ohio, she took one for the team and took a picture with Macie and I. She laughed when she looked back through the film, as the pictures were as raw and natural as they could be; I was avoiding the camera and being silly, and Macie was doing a scorpion as she desperately wanted to get out of the Johnny and move around. If one didn't know better they may think she has taken a big turn to the left and decided to join the hippie movement...
I had lots of fun seeing all of my animal friends again, especially the dolphins whom I was able to see up close and personal.
We spent the WHOLE day at Sea World laughing and having fun. Back home at Grandma Judy's Macie occupied herself by working on her jumps in the Johnny while I ate some sushi and reveled in all the fun that we were already having.
The next day spent the morning at the beach enjoying the warm sun, and in the afternoon went out to the Umbarger's to see everyone. Macie was super excited to meet the family, and they more than lived up to the amazing stories Mom and I had been telling!
After hours of playing and catching up Macie was tired and had to be put to bed. Mom short on options, so she placed Macie down in Chloe's dog bed. In her defense Chloe hadn't been using it, but Dad still got grossed out when he saw the pictures...
Regardless of the bed, Macie still slept like a baby. After her cat nap Macie woke with a smile ready to eat the smorgasbord that had been prepared for us!
I dove straight into the olives which I ate on my fingers as Uncle Ryan had taught me over a year and a half ago.
Dad flew in to San Diego later that evening and the next day we hung out out at the beach as a family and went back to the Umbargers for round two. We had an awesome time seeing our family, and I LOVED playing around with Aunt Connies new dog Chloe!!!
In the morning we met up with some of Mom's friends she went to High School with. It was lots of fun meeting all the kids and having buddies to run around with. Here I am with Trevor (Julie and Casey Murphy's son), and Lia (Jolynn and Greg Brown's daughter.)
Mom really enjoyed seeing everyone and playing catchup. It was amazing to Mom as she pondered how far everyone had come in the last 10 years; Careers, marriage, babies, she couldn't believe how blessed everyone's lives really were.
After a fun picnic at the park the family packed up the car and drove straight to Mammoth. It was a long drive, but thanks to the computer and some new toys from Kristin and Stu we made it to the mountains without incident. The family went straight to bed, but we all woke up early eager to play in the snow with Grandma Judy.
While Macie was busy eating breakfast with Dad Mom let me open my new ski's and try them on for size. Macie is doing an AWESOME job eating, and can't seem to eat enough!
The fit on my skis was perfect, but Mom said we would have to work on the apparel a little bit...
Before getting dressed in our snow gear Grandma and I sat down together and put on our makeup.
After a few runs I was tired and ready to get some rest. Dad and Grandma stayed on the hill and Mom, Macie, and I got to ride the bus to our car!!! It was amazing- I had never ridden on a real bus before and couldn't have been more ecstatic!
Before getting dressed in our snow gear Grandma and I sat down together and put on our makeup.
Ready to be seen by the public we all made our way to the mountain. It's quite comical, when you think about it, that we would be excited to go out in the snow when we have been held captive by the Ohio climate, but as you can see the snow and cold is quite tolerable when it is accompanied by the warm sun.
At the mountain we laid in the lawn chairs and basked in the sun. At lunch time we loaded the family in the peanut and rode down to the village.
It was Macie's first gondola ride, and boy did she like it!
At the village we sat in an old school chair lift and felt what it was like to "rough it" as Mom did back in her day just to take some runs down the mountain (now days the high speed lift chairs are like riding up the mountain on a lazy boy.)
We all ate some lunch together, and Macie got to sit in her very first high chair!
The day was a big success and in the evening Grandma Judy and I even went to the big spa for a swim. I was so excited to be in the warm water, and I even went under like the big girls do!
The following day the family went back up to the mountain for a gondola ride to the top.
We all enjoyed watching the people below as they played on the mountain.
As usual, I hammed it up on the gondola and provided some much needed entertainment throughout the long ride.
Macie seemed indifferent as we ascended the mountian, but Mom was thrilled that the whole family was able to share this experience.
At 11,000 feet we rose into the cloud bank and the top of the mountain was completely socked in. Snow was beginning to fall so we hurried outside to take our annual picture next to the big sign.
Back inside Mom fed Macie a bottle, and her and Dad couldn't stop laughing at Macie's excitement when her bottle comes into view.
For 5 months old Macie turned out to be quite a trooper.
Back in the gondola I was upset that Dad and Grandma Judy didn't join us. Instead they rode down the mountain. I wanted to strap on my skis and go with them, but the mountain nazi said that I wasn't old enough...
Tuckered out from all the excitement Macie slept the whole way down.
Back at the bottom while we were waiting for Dad and Grandma Judy to finish their run I practiced sliding around on my new skis.
After a few runs I was tired and ready to get some rest. Dad and Grandma stayed on the hill and Mom, Macie, and I got to ride the bus to our car!!! It was amazing- I had never ridden on a real bus before and couldn't have been more ecstatic!
Our trip to Mammoth was a success, and the whole family got to enjoy the town- Mom and Dad even got to ride together for a couple of hours!!!
As much fun as we had in Mammoth we are all eager to get back to the beach to take in some sun! Check back soon to find out all the exciting things that I did on week two of my trip to California!!!
