September. I have been conflicted over my feelings for this month. On the one hand, I have a few more weeks to soak up being with Lilly and Lucy before they leave for college. On the other hand - THEY ARE LEAVING FOR COLLEGE! I was never the mom who was sad on the first day of school, but this is different. At least this year I am only 2 hours from Lilly and 3.5 from Lucy. We can get to them fairly quickly if we need or just want too.
Labor Day was fairly low key. I am not sure we could have handled anything more than hanging out at Oceanside with the Landher's for a few hours and then having a BBQ before heading back to Miramar. Just about perfect. Except Lilly didn't join us. She was putting the finishing touches on an article for the Daily Bruin.
The second week would be Lilly's last with us. She is living in the sorority house this year and has to return a week early to assist with the upcoming rush activities. So to celebrate we decided to have a family dinner at a Twainese dumpling restaurant nearby. Din Tai Fung is famous! Lucy and I first encountered it when we traveled to Twain for a swim meet when in Okinawa. YUM! We had plenty of Xiao Long Bao while living in Japan and everyone 💗 them!! We had to wait for Ben to get home from football practice so while we waited for him, the girls wanted us to check out the sunset from one of their favorite spots near Torrey Pines. It was gorgeous! No green spark tonight. Sure hope we get to see it at some point.
Din Tai Fung did not disappoint! We over ordered (as usual) but no one was really complaining about being stuffed. I have rededicated my quest to learn how to make the soup dumplings.
With Lilly moving into her soroity house at the end of the week, the girls and I had some major items to check off our list. First up is catching a San Diego Waves game. As luck would have it, we made it to Alex Morgan's last game. The Waves were taking on the Carolina Courage and we anticipated a close game, boy were we wrong. The Courage ended up blowing the Waves out 4-1. Alex only played the first 13 minutes of the game and then was subbed out. She did get a few touches on the ball, but most of the players gave her a wide berth since she is pregnant. We enjoyed the game nevertheless and we figured out the trolley system to boot!
Even though we are driving up to LA at the end of the week, the girls went up by themselves to catch Clairo at the Fonda Theatre. Jim and I were a little nervous about them driving up and back in the same day, but they promised to as careful as they could reasonably be and in the end that is really all we can ask. They said they had the best time and I am really glad they are having some fun together this last week.
I gave them a morning to recover since they got home super late after the Clairo show. But by noon I drug them out of bed and we headed down to Balboa Park to check out the grounds and the Japanese Friendship Garden. While the garden was super nice and it did give the feel of what it looks like in Japan it ultimately just made the us a tad homesick for the real thing. Balboa Park on the other hand is going to require a few more trips to really feel like we have seen all there is to see.
In case you weren't aware, the pandas are back in America! Last year China recalled all the pandas and we have been panda-less for a few months. But now they are back and the girls were eager to see them. I got to see them at the DC Zoo last fall and so I had been telling the girls about all the rolls and flips and general buffoonery. The panda at the San Diego Zoo apparently did not get the memo cause this guy was WAY laid back. He was too busy having his lunch to even turn around to the crowds. Quite a different vibe let me tell you. Not to deterred, we visited the other animals and all in all had a lovely day.
Despite our best efforts to stop time, Friday rolled around. Per usual, Lilly waited until the 11th hour to finish packing. We were able to get all of it in the car without having to use the roof rack so we feel like we are the Jenga masters! Jim hugged Lilly goodbye since he wasn't making the trek up to LA this time. We feel like we barely saw her this summer!!
Moving in to the sorority house is a vastly different experience than moving into the dorm last year. Way better in some respects, but also worse in others. At least when moving into the dorms you had parking. I spent way too much time worrying about the street parking and if I was going to get a ticket. The house is awesome and Lilly has SO MUCH MORE SPACE this year! Her roommate is adorable. And one of her roommate from last year is in the room next door! Perfect!!
Lilly basically threw us out after a few hours. The sorority had business to discuss and we had a football game we needed to get back for. I was going to get to see her after Lucy's move in the following weekend too so that took some of the sting out of saying good bye.
Ben's team was playing La Jolla Country Day and it was predicted to be a hard game. Lucy and I arrived about midway through the first quarter and the Falcons already had the lead.
The score was pretty tight most of the game but the 4th quarter things really got crazy. It looked as though Scripps Ranch was going to win this handily but then an interception gave the ball to the other team. On the very next play, Ben causes a fumble and then scoops up the loose ball and takes off to the end zone! Here is a video of his touchdown! It was incredible! After a few tense moments, the game finally ended with Scripps Ranch Falcons holding onto their undefeated season for another week!
The following evening to kick off Lucy's last week in the nest, we headed down to SDSU amphitheater to catch Ray LaMontagne and Gregory Alan Isakov. GAI, as I am now calling him cause his name is entirely too long, was an opening act for the Foo Fighters but we didn't get to the stadium in time so this is perfect that we get a second opportunity to see him. Boy! what a show. The amphitheater was a perfect venue for both these artist. We just couldn't stop smiling the whole night. It was perfect. I hate that Lilly and Ben both missed it.
I would be remised if I didn't mention we had the last birthday in the immediate family also this month. That is right - Yoshi is now five! What a difference a half a decade makes! HA HA HA But seriously he came to us a broken feral kitten of about 3 months old. While he will probably never be totally loving cat, he is a great companion and we appreciate all his idiosyncrasies.
Lucy and Ben are trying to enjoy their last week together as well. They have been catching as many sunsets together as they can. As much as I would love to join them, it is important for them to have this time together.
Too soon it is Lucy's turn to pack up her life. We didn't get the early start we wanted and are late for her dorm move in. This is a far cry from the control madness that was UCLA move in last year. As much as it is different, the end result is essentially the same. We get her moved in and then we explore the campus. Her dorm sits right on the edge of the campus and the beach! It is a pretty sweet location. Afterwards we leave her with her roommates with plans to meet up with them and their parents for dinner on State Street in downtown Santa Barbara.
Since I would be driving right past UCLA, I had packed a few things in the car that Lilly forgot and had to pick up some items that she no longer wanted. I feel lucky that I get to see both girls in the same trip. I have a feeling that will be a reoccurring thing.
Lilly was all smiles but as soon as I arrived she said she didn't have a lot of time since Rush was starting the next day. We did have time for a quick visit and even quicker stop by the grocery store. The drive from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles was hard but the one from UCLA to home was harder! I can't wait to see them again.
So that just leaves Ben. I am not sure how he feels about it. No where to run, no where to hide Ben! Hopefully we won't drive him crazy.
The last weekend of the month is the Miramar Air Show weekend. We have been anticipating this event since before we even moved to San Diego. The base has been prepping for it non-stop. Boy did it not disappoint! All the demonstrations were incredible (who doesn't love the Blue Angels) and so were the crowds! We were fortunate to share this experience with several close friends who are practically family (Jesson's, June, Kitagawa's, Landherrs', Wenker's). Can't wait until next year to do it all over again!
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