Memorial Day Weekend 2013

This was one of the best weekends in a long time.  Sam had the entire holiday weekend off!  We spent all three days together as a family- Sam, Hunter and I.  And lots of friends.  It was perfect.  I am very thankful for all that I have and all those who have given their lives so that I am able to lead the life I live.

At The Olde Ship

Friday I went into work early so that I could get out and to the lab for my last blood draw.  Of course I got a nasty bruise which makes me think that I'm not doing very well following the "reduce bruising techniques" that Kaiser has provided me.  Oh well- the point is that I am back down into the normal range of WBC!

Armed with that news, we spent a quiet night at home on the couch just the three of us.  Both Sam and I were pretty exhausted from long weeks and he hadn't taken a day off in 3 full weeks. 

Saturday morning I woke up with Sam snuggled on my left side and Hunter snuggled on my right side. It was fantastic.  We had a lazy morning and met up with Nate who came down from Santa Monica to spend hang out.  We went up to The Olde Ship to watch some European Soccer and then took Hunter down to Newport Harbor to go paddle boarding for the first time.  It was a blast!  He did pretty damn well and I think we'll do it again.  The sweetest thing was when Hunter leapt off the front of Nate's board and swam to mine.  So cute.  He also jumped from Sam's to mine.  It made me feel so loved.  Eventually the boys got up but I slept until 9:30 and felt more refreshed than I had in days.  

Saturday night we hosted a BBQ for our friends.  Jenners, Aaron, Nick, Amy, Nate, Jen and Ryan came over.  We made salmon, ahi and halibut along with a bunch of grilled veggies and Amy brought appetizers and salad.  It was great.  We went to the hot tub after dinner and relaxed and vegged out.  It was so fun and laid back and one of the greatest evenings I've had in a long time.  No stress, just great people and great food and not a care in the world. 

At The Vortex in Manhattan Beach

Sunday morning we went over to Brugglers Bagels and picked up a dozen bagels for breakfast.  We ate, packed up our stuff and headed up to Santa Monica to check out Nate and Jazzy's place.  After we got settled in, we drove down to Manhattan Beach to meet up with some of Nate's buddies from dental school and participate in a big Memorial Day Block Party BBQ on 35th Street on the block called The Vortex.  

It was quite an experience.  There were tons of dogs around so Hunter was in good company.  He made lots of friends- what a freakin' adorable puppy we have!  So we had a great time eating, playing some games and hanging out.  Eventually, Carrie came and picked Sam and I up and saved our asses by taking us back to Santa Monica where we changed clothes and then picked up some food.  Just about the time we got back to Manhattan Beach, Nate was ready to go back to his place so Sam got us a ride using Uber (which is so freaking awesome).  

Sleeping in a strange place with Hunter is always tough the first night.  So needless to say, we didn't sleep so well last night.  We got up, had some more bagels for breakfast, and took a long walk through the beautiful Santa Monica neighborhoods.  

Then we dropped Nate off at his car in Manhattan Beach and headed home to shower and clean up.  Oh my God, the shower felt so freaking amazing.  We started some laundry and got things situated around the house before we headed over to Nick's place for a little more fun.  Ryan and Jen and Arya were there along with Nick's roommate and his girlfriend.  

5th Street in Santa Monica

Sam and I wanted to go down to Laguna for dinner and Nick and Amy were going to join us, but they backed out at the last minute.  Then, Sam decided he would like to hit up Bandera in Corona del Mar instead of going all the way down to Laguna Beach.  It was really nice.  We had mojitos (which I had been craving) and salad and salmon and their amazing jalapeño corn bread.  

After we got home we continued to do more laundry and decided to watch a Memorial Day movie... Black Hawk Down.  It's amazing how much respect I have for the men and women who fight wars for us.  I am so thankful for the land of the free and the home of the brave.  I am thankful for the people who have given their lives willingly so that I can live in a democratic country and support my family.  I am so lucky.  Part of that may be due to my family and where I was born but it's also due to the fact that we have people are willing protect those "rights".