Vacation...

Before leaving for vacation last week I was blessed to meet up with some former teammates of mine from APU. We had a great time catching up on the last few years of our lives!! It had been far too long.

My family and I took off for vacation, one last hurrah, before I head out to Japan. We took a trip up to Half Moon Bay and San Francisco. Never a dull moment! Here are some pics...

The girls on the way up...

Our view from the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay

Funny face time

Family...My precious niece and nephew whom I will miss terribly!

We went on a boat cruise in 58 degree weather which we were SO unprepared for... here we were about to go under the Golden Gate Bridge

Here we are on the field at AT&T Park (home of the Giants) where we took a very cool tour, even for a non baseball fan. :)

My buddy Austin and I

...Things are winding down with only 5 days before departure. Planning on getting in some more family and friends time with not much else to do except pack, which I suppose is kind of an important thing. :) I'll be back with an update before heading out!

Only the beginning...

14 days...The "goodbye for now" process continued this weekend with a farewell party thrown by a few fabulous friends. They threw Alison and I our last "American BBQ," complete with the flag hanging out front, hamburgers and hot dogs, party games (see below!), bouncer (yes we all jumped!), and an American flag cake! It was good to have another laughter filled, LD (lower division) and friends hangout.

(It was just a LITTLE crazy!)

The weekend concluded with a trip to Olvera Street with some of my closest friends! We hopped on the Metrolink (my first time) and rode down to Los Angeles. It definitely felt like a vacation considering my lack of public transportation use here in Southern California. It felt so nice to sit in a comfy, air conditioned train, with NO traffic! Why in the world did I spend the last three years sitting in traffic?!?! :)...It was a beautiful day filled with YUMMY food and lots of laughs, mostly involving donkeys! hehe

Whirlwind...

And the countdown begins with 17 days...Big news for the week, Alison and I know when we're leaving! woohoo! It feels so real now. We made a quick stop yesterday in Japan to request our visas (it was great Amy and Tash could join us for our first visit hehe) and then headed off to Chilton (east coast "school" from Gilmore Girls), aka Beverly Hill's Greystone Mansion, to get our fill of "big" before heading to Japan. :) I've gotta admit we felt like stalkers as we peeked in the windows of the mansion and walked down secret pathways behind the property... all while reliving funny Gilmore Girl phrases. From Chilton we headed to the Santa Monica Pier and 3rd st. Prominade. It's great to be productive and have fun at the same time!

Then there was today which involved a mix of emotions... I enjoyed a last sit down with Grandma (aka Karyn) and Ruth, finished up summer school, turned in my school keys, began a long set of goodbyes, had lunch with my friend and prayer buddy, Cheryl, and Alison (my Japan mate), and finished off the day with a last minute Angels game with my parents (I'll have you know my mom is quite the cheerleader!!).

Thoughts...

I've been thinking about my first grade pals and how strange it will be not teaching with them next year. They have been more supportive than I ever could have imagined. So many laughs have been had in passing and in our "meetings" which lasted for a few hours because of our issues with staying on topic. I have learned so much from them and am forever grateful for the last three years! Here's a picture of the three of us at Grandma's wedding last weekend. Let me clarify, Karyn is forever "Grandma" since she became so concerned with my well-being on a trip to Mammoth a few years back. :) And I'm estatic to say that I now have a Grandpa too! Anyways, I thought you all should know that they are the best!

On another note, two weeks of summer school down and two to go! woohoo! Time here in the states is winding down and I'm making my lists and checking them twice. At the top is a trip to Olvera Street with my best buds, transportation provided by the Metrolink, and a relaxing week away with the fam in the bay area. I'm sure there will be pics to come!