Oma and Papa come to visit!

It has been far too long since I last wrote. It is my goal to be a little more on top of things now. Many things have happened since I last wrote. The most exciting thing I want to write about is when my mom and dad visited at the end of July/ beginning of August.

When Chris and I drove across country, we had about 4 days to do it. We felt it was better that we drove together since we had to drive so far each day rather than each drive a car. So, that left our van in PA/ NY. My parents agreed to drive it across country for us. This way, I knew I would see them soon, and they could see some church sites they've been wanting to see for years. It was one of those "someday" things that I thought I could help make "today!" They had a great time traveling across the country and saw many church sites they had never seen before like all, or most of the sites in Missouri - Independence, Far West, Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Liberty Jail, etc. They also saw sites in Omaha like Winter Quarters. They saw a site for a handcart company in Wyoming and some other general pioneer sites along the way. They had a wonderful time on their trip and was excited I could provide a car and an excuse to finally do it! I was of course very grateful they were willing to drive our van across for us.

My dad stayed just for the weekend because he spent his week off from work driving across country, so had to be back to work on Monday. My mom was able to stay until the following Friday. Yea for summer vacation!

Warning: we love food, so the next paragraph will be devoted to food.
On Friday night we took them out to Gianni's pizza. People say it's the best pizza in town, and much to our dismay, my dad agreed! My dad is the kind of guy where food is fuel. It's nothing to get excited over. Even the stuff he really likes rarely gets a reaction. So you know you've hit the jackpot when you get an enthusiastic reaction from him. After the meal, he said that was the best pizza he has ever had. He likes other crusts better, but overall, it was the best pizza ever. Score! Later we took mom to try my favorite pizza at Round Table - bbq chicken (with green onions, bacon, chicken, tomatoes, etc. So good!) We also took an opportunity to have mom try a new cuisine. She really likes Chinese food but hasn't tried other Asian cuisines. We decided to take her to a Thai restaurant. Chris and I had curry while she tried the pad thai (classic dish.) She liked it a lot. Mmm...Thai food. :) Ok, I'm done with food now.

On Saturday morning we took them on a whale watch. It was something my mom and I have always wanted to do, but never had a chance. What better opportunity when it is right here in Monterey?! Unfortunately, by the time I bought tickets, the only time slot left was 8AM. We got up early and headed out there. It was about a 3 hour boat trip to get out to where the whales were, watch them for a while, and back again. We all took some dramamine before hand, but I think all of us felt at least some motion sickness. The boat wasn't as large as some, and the waves were pretty rocky. I think Chris got it the worst (or maybe Claire. I couldn't tell - she just sat still like a rock, not knowing what to think, and then eventually fell asleep.) We saw some awesome views of whales and dolphins. The dolphins were so quick though, that I couldn't get a good picture. My camera wouldn't react fast enough. We found one whale that jumped about 50 times! (No exaggeration.) That was so cool, and I got some cool pictures and video.

Mom and dad borrowing our sweaters for the very chilly whale watch and cool day. Yes, it was July, and yes, that's pretty normal here. Crazy.

These are all the wild sea lions on the shore of the Fisherman's wharf in Monterey. They bark a lot. It's so weird to me that they are wild. I had never seen them except at an aquarium or sea animal show.

The whale head jumping out of the water!

One happy whale, jumping and flopping in the water.

whale tail

It was a unique, fun, and cold experience and we were glad we did it. It's not something I would do many times, but I'm glad I could experience it, and was glad I could experience it with my parents here.

Later that day, my aunt and uncle came down to visit from San Jose. We had a great afternoon with them. Mom and I went up later in the week to celebrate my uncle's birthday which was also a lot of fun. My mom got to meet my cousin (who I had met about 10 years ago) for the first time. We are very blessed that even though we're so far from home, to have great family close by.

While mom was here, we discovered there is a Thomas Kinkade museum in Monterey and it was free! I know my mom loves Thomas Kinkade so we made sure to go. We really enjoyed looking at all the beautiful paintings and even got a calendar there for free! It was actually this year's calendar which of course is almost over, but we decided to pick a few pictures, frame them and put them up in our bedrooms. So I have a beautiful cottage picture and a cool NYC Brooklyn Bridge picture framed in my bedroom now. My mom hopefully has, or will soon have, the same.

On another afternoon, we went to the Monterey Aquarium. Chris was even able to meet us there after class that day. It is a fantastic aquarium and we had a great time. They were featuring a new sea otter cub and a sea horse exhibit. There were also jellyfish, all sorts of fish, sharks, penguins, flamingos, a sting ray you could pet, etc. My personal favorite were the jellyfish and the sea horses.

Sea dragon, a type of sea horse. This looked like a creature out of a fantasy book. It looked more like a plant than a creature. Too cool.

Jelly fish are so cool (as long as they don't sting you!)

We're hoping to go back to the aquarium next week. I'll have to make sure my camera battery is fully charged because my camera died after taking a dozen or so pictures. Ooops!

My favorite part of the aquarium trip was what happened almost daily for a month after, and still occasionally to this day - Claire's excitement for the trip. Towards the end of our time there, there were three men in scuba gear cleaning the huge tank. Claire thought it was the coolest thing and kept saying, "guy, guy!" She waved to him, and he waved back. When she recalls the trip, she speaks in a very excited voice and says, "guy, guy! awbrrr [water] awbrrr! Shish [fish], shish! awbrr, awbrr! Gengin [penguin] gengin!" It is precious to see her so excited! I'm excited to take her back.

We had such a wonderful time visiting with my parents. Claire had her Oma read her lots of books. When I read her certain books that Oma read to her a lot, Claire still reminds me of it. Oma also treated Claire to some special little toys while she was here, including some specifically sought out people to live in her doll house. Claire loves her "guys" and plays even more with her doll house now that there are people residing there. The saddest part was even weeks after they left, Claire (as well as Chris and I) still miss them. When we ride in the van, she remembers when Oma and Papa were in the back keeping her company. She tells me of special memories she had with them. One day she was in tears because she wanted to give them a hug. It just breaks my heart! I can only hope that one day we'll be back on the east coast so she can see family more often.

Oma doing one of the things she does best - reading grandchildren stories!