The Garber Fam: Garber Getaways: Monterey & Phoenix

Pacific Grove, Monterey, Carmel

This year was wedding season for our family. We attended seven weddings this year, including three out of four weekends in September. We were especially lucky the last weekend of September when we headed down the coast to our friends Brian and Holly's wedding in Carmel Valley. Nana and Papa Garber (my / Chris' parents) met us in Pacific Grove for a long weekend so we enjoyed a great weekend at the beach together -- plus, Nana and Papa got to spend some alone time with Ella while we attended the wedding! We are so lucky and thankful for our amazing family to be willing to travel to see us.

We had a great time in Pacific Grove -- exploring the beach, seeing the lighthouse from a distance (we got there too early due to our Ella driven timeline), and having some amazing dinners out at Il Veccio and the Red House Cafe. We also spent some great family time together with Nana and Papa once Ella had gone to bed each night -- we stayed up late and had game night / wine tasting out on the patio of our hotel. It was so much fun to get to spend time with my parents with such beautiful scenery. And Ella had a blast too -- exploring the Old Fisherman's Wharf, waving at and meeting many strangers, and practicing walking (still holding on to our fingers but getting stronger every day).

Fun date with Nana and Papa in Monterey while we were at the London wedding
Pretty fantastic to have babysitters come so far to have fun weekend!

Hotel fun:

We had a lot of fun on this balcony :)

Have I mentioned that Rick is a great photographer?

Thank you Papa Rick for taking such wonderful shots of our weekend!

...Especially this photo shoot of our little pumpkin.

Thank you Great Grandma Barbi for the darling pumpkin hat!

Brian and Holly's Wedding at Holly Farm in Carmel

Gorgeous orchids covered the bar.

Cigars and Port Tasting

Phoenix, Gilbert, Scottsdale

Two weeks after our trip to the Monterey Peninsula, we jumped on a plane for another wedding -- this time for my cousin Kevin's nuptials in Phoenix. Flying with Ella this time was a bit more challenging now that Ella is so mobile. We were also delayed getting out of SF so Ella missed two naps. But, in true Ella fashion, she was pretty much a champ and still managed to smile and wave her way through the flight (Cheerios also helped).

Although we arrived late to Phoenix, we quickly got back on track and had a great pre-wedding party with the Mulvaney family at Great Grand Nana's house. We had a great time visiting with everyone -- Denver Mulvaney's, Connecticut Mulvaney's, plus Ella's Nana and Papa Garber and Uncle Jeff! It was great to be together with everyone, and Ella got to show off all her new tricks (see the Tahoe Top 10). That night set the stage for the whole weekend.

The next day Ella got to spend some one-on-one time with her Great Grand Nana, Uncle Bill, and Auntie Carol, and she loved every minute of it. She loved exploring the backyard and pointing out all the flowers she wanted her Papa to tell her about. Ella has developed quite the fondness for my dad -- she loves her whole family, but when he is around she says "Papa, Papa, Papa.." over and over. I think the feeling is mutual.

Kevin's wedding was that evening, and we had a blast with all the family. It was a beautiful wedding at the Phoenician hotel, and the bride and groom as well as the rest of the Mulvaney family did an awesome job with wedding duties and speeches. Ella was a star -- every time we thought she was going to lose steam and go to bed, she got a second wind (more like 10th) and got back into the party. She spent a lot of time with Uncle Jeff exploring the wedding venue. But once the band got going, Ella never left the dance floor (neither did the rest of us). She had a blast dancing with her family and watching the band -- she's making me proud to think she might have music in her genes. She sure loves to dance!