Travel

Welcome Back to Walla Walla

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Kaili was cranky as we drove to the Walla Walla airport early Friday morning, can’t blame the girl, we woke her up at 5 am. When we got to the check in counter to check our bags, our flight was about to board. Great thing about small airports I guess. The bad thing, I was hoping Kaili could get some energy out before  we hopped on the plane, no such luck. Of course once we were all settled on the plane, we were told the flight would be delayed due to the fog, so we sat with an impatient toddler on our laps. About 30 minutes later we were taxiing down the runway, and then we stopped. The fog  was back and we weren’t going anywhere. 15 minutes later we headed back to the gate, deplaned and our flight was cancelled.”Welcome to Walla Walla”, the smug flight attendant announced, I’m sure she thought she was being cute, but in the freezing cold, in the early morning with a toddler whom you woke up, that shit isn’t funny!

The next flight we could get on was Sunday morning, same flight, same early morning wake up for K-bear…can’t wait! No really, I can’t wait to go HOME!

We took advantage of having one more Saturday in WA. A  lot of the small wineries are closed during the week, along with everything on Main street. We were able to hit a few that we missed and I was impressed with all of them.

We saw horses and dogs, oh my.

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sweet gal
sweet gal
Golden -Doodle Relic Winery dog
Golden -Doodle Relic Winery dog

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The winery dog at Relic was a hyper pup, and a big one at that. Kaili really wanted to play but she wasn’t quite big enough to hold her own. I was a little more lenient with Kaili and the pup than Grandpa G.

Fingers crossed the weather cooperates for our flight tomorrow. I have a NYE party to plan, oh and a Seahawks game to watch, and grocery shopping, some cleaning to do, laundry, and wine to drink, you know the important stuff.

Off Duty Reindeer

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Sunday we spent some time with Shane’s step-brother and family. It was a short visit but we always have a good time with them. All three of their kiddos were great with Kaili and she loved them right back.

K Bear and Andrew's self portrait
K Bear and Andrew’s self portrait
What's the best kind of work? Teamwork!
What’s the best kind of work? Teamwork!

We got out of the house for a few minutes to show the kids the Reindeer at Klickers. Santa must not need the extra help this year.

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At the end of the day we all gathered around the TV to watch Seattle send a message to the Niners, the house was a’rockin.

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Cousins

Christmas eve and Christmas day were spent in pajamas. Presents were opened, food and wine were consumed and we got to play in the snow, well for a little while

Kaili waiting patiently for Uncle to open her doll.
Kaili waiting patiently for Uncle to open her doll.
Kaili, Grandma and Great Gramndma
Kaili, Grandma and Great Gramndma

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Santa came
Santa came

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someone found the chocolate
someone found the chocolate
You can't see it, but it's snowing.
You can’t see it, but it’s snowing.

Today is Shane’s birthday and we are going to hit Main St. for some wine tasting and window shopping. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas

Drinking at the Airport

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I got my nails done….Oh and I had the most delicious caramels ever.

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I don’t care if you don’t like maple, or bacon or salt…you will LOVE these things. Stop being so picky!

We spent a good part of Saturday tasting wines out at the airport.

ready for wine tasting
Hat…check! ready for wine tasting
Ringing the bell for good luck at Walla Walla Vintners
Ringing the bell for good luck at Walla Walla Vintners…without the hat.
Sip and sit....good girl!
Sip and sit….good girl!
Buddy the Terrior
Buddy the Terrior

Notice how my daughter will wear her hat inside where it’s warm but not outside in the cold…just like her daddy {who wore shorts all day}.We took Grandma Jo to the Brik { a local restaurant} for her birthday dinner. Eh…. we wont be back there! After dinner Kaili helped Grandma Jo open her presents, I swear this child is attached to her hip!

Grandma's birthday
Grandma’s birthday

Fun times with family planned for Sunday, snow is in the forecast and so is a Sherry cake, the best holiday dessert EVER!

From OC to Walla Walla

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I have been waiting to write anything because, well nothing has really happened. That’s the life here during the winter in Walla Walla.

We left John Wayne airport early Monday morning. Kaili was a champ throughout the 2 1/2 hour flight, although it seemed a lot longer to me. We had a small layover in the Sea/Tac airport where we had a little lunch and Kaili met an elf and Santa.

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Tuesday  morning I hit the local YMCA to get some exercise , the weather is SO COLD and the equipment is outdated but the little old ladies playing cards and drinking coffee in the lobby remind you that you are in a small town and then it’s all good.  We ran a few boring errands, hit 3 Rivers Winery to ship some wine home and then called it a day. See, not very exciting.

Wednesday morning we took Kaili to meet her Great Grandma and then proceeded on to some wineries.

L'Ecole
L’Ecole

L’Ecole is a long time favorite. It’s an old school house and has some pretty tasty wines.

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Just  a few more wineries before bringing home dinner.

Found one of my favorite blogs cookbooks in the Woodward winery tasting room
Found one of my favorite blogs cookbooks in the Woodward winery tasting room

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Hassleback #8
Hassleback #8

Kaili found a nice doggy to keep her company while we tasted some really big red wines at Skylight Cellars.

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The last tasting room we hit was in downtown Walla Walla. Yes there is a downtown, it’s not big but it’s promising. Charles Smith winery was quiet, had the urban loft vibe and put out some great wines….oh and there labels were nice.

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We ended the day with Ice-Burg, a local hamburger joint that puts out great food, well pretty good food.

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A quick video with grandma and a kiss goodnight. Until tomorrow!

Grandma and KBear
Grandma and KBear

Paso To Solvang

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We ended our trip with a couple of days in Solvang. We stopped at a few wineries on our way in. Phantom Rivers, Firestone, Lincourt, Blackjack and one more but the name escapes me.

Our last day was spent wine tasting in Solvang, buying goodies {spicy mustard and spicy chocolate} and then we ended the day in Los Olivos for dinner. Next time we head up there I would like to stay in Los Olivos. Maybe that will be a good anniversary gift. 😉

spicy chocolate. Yum!
Getting the girl some exercise.
playing with uncle Brian at Solvang park

The tasting rooms with toys are the best. Not sure who is having more fun…

Sunday we packed everything up and headed out to Foley winery for a taste. Good stuff but overly priced. We continued down the coast to Summerland winery and a Thai lunch in Carpinteria.

Kaili and I left Shane in Ventura and headed home. Now it’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. Is it really next week?

Destination Paso!

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We are taking a little wine vacation this week. To start, Kaili and I made our way to Orange County  to meet a friend for lunch and visit with my dad. Kaili has adjusted just fine to the time change. She has woken up a little earlier than normal but everything else is right on track.

Enjoying the warm Fall weather
Sunset over Laguna
Talking to daddy during dinner

The next morning we hit the road to meet Shane in Ventura and visit with his co-workers. <—which actually means they wanted to see Kaili. After a nice little tour of the county building, Kaili and I headed back to the hotel for some R&R. After a little rest her and I headed out to the beach. The weather has been absolutely perfect.

It’s been about a year since we have spent some time in Ventura. These days Kaili is a big girl and can walk the pier all by herself.

See ya mama!
checking out the scene

Did I mention the weather? I know I did,  but you have no idea how amazing it was out there. After our little stroll, I talked Kaili into a photo shoot…

The “oh my” look
the “concerned” look
the “anticipation” look
happy girl

After our beach fun, we headed out for a nice walk around town. Then headed to the park. The great thing about where Shane stays in Ventura, is that the beach is across the street to the west and a nice big park is across the street  to the East.  Oh and a ton of fun bars and restaurants just a few blocks up… not too shabby

she slid down all by herself. Then I attacked her with my sunglasses, apparently!
love her face when she swings high

Once Shane got off work the three of us headed back out to the pier for some Tuesday taco’s. The food was good but the weather made it great, sitting outside in the warm weather and the waves crashing can make anything taste good….almost anything.

We ended the night with my Aunt and Uncle, sitting in the room, sipping wine and watching Obama bag four more years. Awesome day my friends!

Obligatory Pumpkin Patch Photos

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Saturday we headed out to Bates Nut Farm to do the pumpkin patch thing. Kaili wore her Seahawks cheerleader costume and actually kept her hair in pigtails for me.

I took her into the petting zoo. When I was a little older than Kaili, my parents took me to a petting zoo where I was attacked my a goat for the food I was holding, luckily I survived. Kaili almost had a similar experience when she nearly got head butted by a greedy goat. Fun was had by all.

Kaili roamed around the pumpkin patch and got a kick out the pumpkins that were twice her size. We let her pick out one pumpkin and then we hit the road. We had wine tasting to do.

Kaili has become a pro in the toddler -wine -taster- side kick role. She loves meeting new people and checking out new places, which is good because we are heading to Paso Robles for a wine-vacation next week.We hit up Vineyards winery where we sat on the patio, sipped wine and listened to music. Then we went to Vesper winery where we sat on the patio and sipped wine. Do you see a pattern here?

Vesper Winery

entertaining herself

I guess next up is carving the pumpkins, that is why we got one right? Oh and the pumpkin seeds, I think that is my favorite part.

Semi-Finals and Some Notting Hill

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Yesterday was the men’s singles semi-final. As exciting as that seems it was actually an anti-climatic match. David played his doubles partner Nick Taylor, I imagine that  must be hard to face after just winning a gold with him the day before. David said he didn’t sleep well from still being on cloud nine and now he had to face the guy who helped him get him that medal.

David serving

After playing each other 67 times and Nick only winning 7 of them we knew what to expect. The outcome was good, David won 6-2 6-1.

While we were waiting for the match, Kaili got to play with some other kiddos on the grass and even got to play with the ball boys and girls on court 6.



After tennis, we headed out for some Indian food. We hit up Masala Zone, I had butter chicken and it was delicious, Kaili agreed.

yummy yummy

Indian food is good

The next day my mom, Kaili and I stayed back from tennis to check out Notting Hill. As fun as it was to do some site seeing, we missed Nick’s bronze medal match. He won!! So happy for him!

We walked along the Portabello market checking out all the food and vintage clothing. We stopped for some sushi that was really good.

Notting Hill’s Portabello Market

After Kaili’s afternoon nap my mom, Kaili and I headed to Islington to meet the rest of the gang plus Cathy, Tracey, Terri and Wag’s aunt and uncle. We met at a Turkish restaurant that was recommended by some locals. I am so mad I didn’t take any pictures, I am bad about that this trip. I ordered the lamb tagine with fruit and nuts it was very good!

Nerves are  high as we anxiously wait tomorrows gold medal match. He is 2nd on after noon. It is aired live here, I hope you all try to watch. Check out NBC.com

Gold in Doubles

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Today was a long and great day. We got to the park close to noon and good thing because the place was packed. There were two matches to be played before David and Nick went on but the Brits were filling the seats. Our seats were saved so now it was time to keep Kaili busy for a few hours. She did amazingly well for how long we were there.

Kaili and Terri
Center court is filling up.

I got Kaili to nap a little before the boys went on but unfortunaley the nap didn’t last long. My mom and I took turns watching her behind the court during the match.

It was another stressful one, USA took the first set, lost the second and then won it in the third. They played so well together and deserved the win!

David
Congratulating and Celebrating each other
Sorry for my hand in the way
Gold Medal Winners!

Next up was the medal ceremony. This is such a cool thing to witness, especially when it’s our national anthem that plays!

Setting up
Getting their medals

After the cermonies we headed behind the courts to wait for Uncle David and Nick to come out so we could congratulate them. Kaili was the star of the show this time. It was getting close to 6:30pm the weather was getting cold and she hadn’t eaten dinner but she was a trooper.

Keeping her entertained
3 time Gold medal winners
Nick, Me, David, Kaili and Shane

Doubles Match

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Today was David and Nick’s doubles match. We got to Eton Manor a little early to watch another match and we knew right away it was going to be hot out.

Eating animal crackers while waiting for David to play tennis

They guys played on the center court. I was worried about having Kaili in there but it actually worked out really well. Cathy, David’s mom found the perfect family spot to sit. The area up behind the seats has an open area for Kaili to walk around and she even napped in her stroller up there. It worked out great.

They played Israel and the match was intense. They won the first set but went to a tie-breaker in the 2nd set finally winning it 8-7. It was a relief when it was over.

Big Head

After the win we were all wiped from the stress and sun. Shane, Kaili, my folks and I ate at a hopping place next to the Olympic Park entrance, it was just OK, once again.

Tomorrow David is on at 11:00 on Center court and it’s supposed to be even hotter. The weather has drastically changed over the past few days. I didn’t know that happened here.