Bug's 26th Birthday.

I cannot believe my little baby sister is 26. Holy Lord.

To celebrate, she had a get together with her med school friends on Friday night. Josh and I drove out there after work and hung out with a bunch of her pals. There were a ton of people (duh, everyone loves Bug!), and my sis was mouthy and bouncy as ever.

Saturday, we had a family bbq to celebrate her birthday. The weather was beautiful. That, plus family and a fridge full of beer and wine, what more could we ask for?

Grandma making her famous stuffed mushrooms.


Grandpa, drinking a beer by the pool.


My little cousins came along with my aunt and uncle. They didn't leave the pool from 1pm until 8pm. They are so darn cute.

Hailey in her pink wayfarer knockoffs. So hip. :)




Vegging by the pool.


My dad and Uncle Frank were all over the bbq. They cooked up tri-tip and Italian sausage, which were so delicious.


Jackie and PJ.


Some excellent pool action shots by Jackie (featuring Josh in Hailey's glasses)






My grandpa and Ella, taking a break from the excitement.


Josh and PJ goofing off, as usual.


The Birthday Girl!




Grandma and Ella.


After dinner and birthday cake, the fam started packing up and heading back to their respective homes. Bug decided that she wanted to karaoke once the fam had left, so we loaded up in Jackie's minivan and headed to the best place we know of for karaoke.

Unfortunately, there was a cover band there instead. Boo. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, we finally found karaoke at the cheesiest dive bar (if you can even call it a bar) in the Valley: Canoga Bowl. Luckily (?) we were some of the only people, so Josh and Bug got to sing their hearts out. A few more drinks led to stellar performances by both. :)



We got home late and did a little night swimming before hitting the sack.

Today, I woke up and went to Connie's baby shower (I'm sure there will be a fabulous photo post from either Wan or WeeMo who were snapping away) and then to the mall with Bug and Josh. I have a little work to do tonight, and then time to turn in early -- it has been an action-packed weekend!

Happy Birthday to my fabulous baby sister -- I love you!

Merry Christmas from Oly.

Merry (belated) Christmas! We spent Christmas this year with Josh's parents in Olympia, Washington. This post is a little delayed, but if I procrastinate it any longer, it'll never happen. So, because I am lazy, here are a few pictures from the day and some captions:

As usual, all of the family dogs were present, and Josh went crazy for them...

Josh and his parents' massive Airedale, Teddy.


Josh and Kitt and Arian's dog, Boutros. (Josh really wants a big dog ... can you tell?)


Josh and his mom prepping the Christmas feast.


Josh's grandparents showing off their Christmas present -- a trip with the kids. I love his grandparents so much. They are the sweetest people. And, they are such an inspiration to given they just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary!


Josh's brother, Kitt, and his wife, Arian.


Josh's nephew in a hamburger beret he won in the white elephant gift exchange. (I made away with a bunch of Lindt chocolate -- score!!)


Josh's cousin playing with his new toy -- a car with a balloon on top. He and his sister are so stinkin' cute, I swear.


After dinner, Josh and Jason decided to play ping pong in the garage. Josh found an old Viking hat with braids.


This picture makes me laugh so hard, my side hurts. What can I say, he's special. :)


I hope you all had wonderful holidays, full of family, friends, and good times. Here's to an even better 2009.

Thankful.

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! We had a whole mess of people over at our house to celebrate our day of gratitude and gluttony. Nineteen people, to be exact. This was especially ambitious given I had (very routine) surgery on Tuesday. Thank God for my mom who flew in from Alaska.

My grandma's first reaction was, of course, "Where are you going to put all of those people?!" Well, we cleared out our formal living room and rented some chairs. It ended up working out pefectly.

Some pics of our Thanksgiving table.




It was wonderful to have so many people in our home. It felt like the holidays when I was little with all of the family and friends piling in.

And, this was the first turkey I have ever cooked! Well, correction: We cooked two turkeys! (I couldn't risk running out of turkey!). Luckily, dinner turned out well, and I didn't burn anything or have any major snafus.


Per family tradition, we had holiday crackers. As usual, all of our holiday pictures are of us in those ridiculous paper crowns. (Remember last Christmas?)

Bug and Anthony.


Mom and Grandparents.


The whole fan-dam-ily (and some dear friends).


This Thanksgiving, I feel especially grateful for Josh, my sister, my parents, grandparents, and my dear friends. With all of the turmoil in our country and economy, I feel blessed to have my job (despite how stressful it might be at times) and especially blessed and hopeful for our new president.

And, now with Thanksgiving behind us, you know what that means... It's officially Christmastime! Let the present wrapping, light hanging, and carol singing begin!

Strolling about Santa Barbara.

This week has been long and trying. But, one thing that I have been looking forward to all week: spending today in Santa Barbara with my cousins from Italy!

I meant to get up early and get things done around my house before my grandparents arrived with Pino and Rosanna. I really did. Instead, the house phone rang at 8:15. Groggily, I answered. I didn't really sleep well because I kept waking up worrying I messed up something I served on Friday at work. (Maybe I should look into medication.) Anyway, when I heard my grandma's cheery voice saying they had just left the San Gabriel Valley, I knew it was time to get my butt in gear. I took a shower and picked up my house in record time. And, just as I was shoving the last random piece of scattered junk from my living room into the hall closet, there was a knock at the door.

My cousins and grandparents came in, and we gave them a little tour of our casa. After a quick shot of espresso (courtesy of the awesome espresso machine from Jackie), we were on the road, headed north.

Instead of taking the 101, we went down Malibu Canyon and drove up the Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu.

We stopped at Zuma Beach to take some pictures and a little stroll.


The weather was absolutely perfect today. And the water at the beach was a gorgeous, deep blue.


"The Italians."


You know these folks by now...


We said ciao to Malibu and continued north. About an hour later, we stopped for lunch at the Summerland Beach Cafe, a favorite of Jackie's that serves some pretty kick ass breakfast (the bacon, especially).


Josh and Pino each had una birra.


We sat outside and soaked in the gorgeous weather and the smell of the ocean.


I had a breakfast combo with eggs, bacon, and french toast. The bacon was, of course, outstanding. The french toast was a little gooey for my taste, but that didn't really stop me from eating it!


Rosanna really wanted to go to the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens. I had never been, but she really, really wanted to see a Redwood tree, so when she read in her guidebook that there were Redwoods at the Botanical Gardens, off we went.




I really liked this oak tree.


My grandma rounding the bend with Rosanna.


Finally, we found the Redwoods.






Pino and Rosanna were really excited to see cacti. Weird to us, but I suppose it makes sense since there really isn't much desert plant life in Italy.


Our last stop was the Santa Barbara Mission.


The fountain outside.


Padre Serra.


I love this chandelier.


Say formaggio.


Inside the mission.


I thought this sculpture was especially beautiful and powerful.


The mission garden.


The palm trees surrounding the mission. It was an incredibly beautiful day to be outside.


After touring the mission, the cousins and grandparents were pooped. They headed south on the 101, and Josh and I stayed to wander around State Street. We window shopped and then stumbled across this little wine and cheese shop. Wine and cheese? Yeah, you know we stopped.

After sampling some pairings of wine and cheese (only one small bite for Josh since he really shouldn't have cheese), we bought some of our favorite things we sampled and headed to the car.

It has been a long, but wonderful day. One of those days that all my worries about work and life dissipated and my mind was calm and present. Soaking in the sun, family, and a little sightseeing in our own backyard has got to be one of the best ways to spend a Saturday.