Next up: California! My cousin Pippa was getting married in Ojai, CA, so Grandma India came down for Halloween and then stayed through the week so she could travel with Sadie and me. Papa and Sawyer took their own special trip to Santa Cruz while we were gone, but that will be a separate post.
First we all got our nails done! A first for Sadie, and now I'll never hear the end of it. It was cute though. She went with a rose gold color.
Next, the flight. First of all, this kid is a great traveler. Look at her. Sidenote: she can READ. Like really read. She has always been able to sound things out, but since kindergarten started, she is super fluent. She can hold the beginning of an idea in her head while she gets to the end, and she recognizes patterns like repeated names. Here she is reading a CHAPTER book from Grandma Vicki - quietly, to herself, like a big kid, in the airport.
Next: the wedding! It was held on a beautiful estate in Ojai. The ceremony was at the top of this long spiral path leading up a mountain. Sadie takes in the view.
I took this one off facebook so you could see the full effect. It was gorgeous!
Sadie and her cousin Truman totally not trying to steal the Just Married boat.
We had heard lots about cousin Tom's daughter Adina, but never met her! She's a swell lady.
Sadie spent a lot of time in the hot tub at the hotel, and even worked on her pool swimming!
Sunday we explored Ojai, said goodbye to Pippa who was off for her honeymoon in Mexico, and met some family at the playground for cousin Truman's birthday party (didn't get pics, but it was nice to have a little more time for the kids to play together).
Monday we went to Santa Barbara to check out Mom's old haunts (she is from there originally). We went to the MOXI museum of science and exploration, where Pippa recently started working as a volunteer coordinator. It is a great place.
After lunch at the old school Joe's Cafe we got a special treat. Cousin Tom works as an arborist at Lotus Land, a giant estate once owned by a Polish opera star. He gave us a private tour and showed us all kind of neat plants he works with. His main thing is the cacti, which are extraordinary as you can see.
That's Tom!
Tom got us a pomegranate right off the tree. Messy but delish!
P.S. This kid is great.
The flight home was smooth, and it was nice to have Sadie to myself for a couple days before the boys got home. As a last hurrah, I took her to see Disney on Ice at the nearby Barclays Center. It was pretty exciting.
Dancing cakes! I'm glad we are all home for a bit, but I'm so glad we had this time together with my mom and my California family.
