Come Sail Away

Last Thursday night, Nana, Grandpa, and Great Grandma Velda flew in to spend a couple of days with us. Unfortunately, we were pretty sick around here so they elected to stay at a hotel. It definitely made things easier for us but if you know me, you know I hate the idea of "wasting" money so I do feel badly that they had to add expense to their trip.

Anyway, on Friday morning Emily and I picked the three of them up and we were off to the beach! Lots of fresh, non-germy air around there I figured!

Emily had been talking over and over about how she "loved me when I saved her from sinking." It was two weeks earlier and we had been to the beach since but with her genetic disposition to worrying she had thought about it enough to keep her out of the water that morning. (She had been knocked down by a wave and was being pulled backwards, not in any real danger but she was scared.)
I have never seen her more content to dig in the sand and not splash in the water.
She even spent a good deal of time stirring up and watching sand crabs bury themselves.
It was a pretty warm day at the beach, especially in direct sunlight with little breeze, so we moved Nana and Grandma over to the little shady area under the lifeguard stand. I also decided that some cold water on their feet would only be beneficial. Emily wanted to get in on the action too and excitedly waited for Grandpa or myself to dump some on her.
But, because I knew it was important to only have a healthy fear of the water and not a paralyzing fear, I coaxed her to jump in the waves with me. Before long she was back to her old self and having a great time...

only leaving the water to deliver an ice cold treat to Nana and Great Grandma.
Nana thought it was pretty cold... Emily thought it was really funny.
Shortly before we were done playing at the beach we saw a seal swim by... RIGHT in front of us. We had heard him barking on the rocks the whole time but couldn't spot him - wasn't hard when he was about 20 yards away though!
On Saturday we spent a lot of the day playing around the house...


and before we went out to dinner, Emily played a little catch with Great Grandma.

After dinner, much to my surprise, we had a birthday celebration for me! They know how Emily likes to celebrate everyone's birthdays (and that they won't be around on the actual day) so Nana and Grandpa got a delicious mint Oreo ice cream cake (from DQ, yum). The bonus? It didn't contain ANY cake! :D
Emily was pretty darn excited, as you can imagine!

Before being put to bed, Emily insisted on one more game of catch with everyone and even pulled up a chair for Great Grandma to sit RIGHT NEXT to her. (My favorite part was Nana ringing the bell any time the ball was successfully caught, which it was every single time.)

Then on Sunday morning, Daddy was off to Nashville and Emily and I were off to San Diego. After all, Nana, Grandpa, and Great Grandma were scheduled to ship off that evening!! There was a bit of a walk from our car to the ship - good thing all the luggage had wheels!
Emily wished there was just a little more room INSIDE them though - perhaps enough for a stowaway?
It was pretty exciting to see them hand over their documents and head back to the REAL security...
but there wasn't much to do while we waited for them to come back.
For a good while Emily pretended she was a gate in the middle of the walkway...
only being brave until they got about five yards away and then she would retreat to a secure area.
After a while, the three cruisers were back out and Grandpa took Emily to see their ship up close.

(please note the fabulous fencing provided to keep small children from falling in... eek, it was a little stressful at times)

Then Grandpa took Emily around to see all of the other boats coming in the harbor...

and Nana helped her inspect the plants.
After a quick lunch together we returned to the car for their carry on items and then separated. Bon Voyage Nana, Grandpa, and Great Grandma!
*They departed Sunday evening at 5PM for a 14 day cruise to and through the Panama Canal. They will end up in Fort Lauderdale Florida and we can't wait to see the pictures!

**Makes a lot of sense that they chose to sleep somewhere other than our house, huh? No sickness for such a big trip!