IM & IM
So, my California trip ended like so:
Monday, July 5: Andy and Dad fly to Las Vegas
July 5 – July 9: Hang out with Mom and Lily in San Francisco
Friday, July 9: Put Mom and Lily on a flight in Oakland back to Eugene for the weekend, as I stay in San Fran
Later that Friday: Pick up Ann and Isabella at the Oakland Airport
Friday Evening: Go with Ann and Isabella (and another friend) to the Idina Menzel concert — who was performing with the San Francisco Symphony
Saturday: Spend the day in the city / Chinatown / shopping / walking / eating
Sunday: Drive home with Ann and Isabella (12 hours of travel)
This all worked out better than anyone could have imagined. Smooth transitions all the way.
Putting Lily on a plane with my mom was very hard. Friday afternoon — Sunday night is the longest that I have been away from Lily! I was very nervous until I had heard that they had landed safely. I ended up doing ok and enjoying my time as a “free woman”, but it was very hard to leave my little girl. I missed her tremendously and thought about her constantly. I was so distraught from putting her on the plane that I had to get a manicure, pedicure and a haircut 
The Idina Menzel concert was fabulously fun, and the San Francisco Symphony was incredible. And, waiting outside by the musicians entrance for who-knows-how-long was worth getting the autographs in the end, right Isabella? (Sunday, the day we drove home was Isabella’s 15th birthday — so we had a fun birthday weekend in the city).
