Thankful

I have missed seasons. I kid you not, when I pictured being home for Thanksgiving break, I thought the trees would be green or bare. Much to my surprise, as I looked out the window of the plane and saw the runway below, I remembered that seasons do, in fact, exist. Granted, some trees were green (WA is the Evergreen state), but most of them were red, orange, and yellow. Now, I know that makes me sound kind of stupid “I forgot seasons existed,” but you must understand that I have not celebrated Thanksgiving in the PNW in three years, so yeah, Fall really took me by surprise. Anyways, I want to share the wonderful week I’ve had, and tell you all about what I’ve been doing!

Thursday, November 15^th:

Busy day. I had to pack and clean, go to class, and drive up to Santa Cruz. I talked to Larry for a little bit, then went upstairs to the little apartment above the garage, relaxed, and went to sleep.

Friday, November 16^th:

Today I got to show off my adulting skills. I woke up earlier than I’d like to and got ready. I spoke with Shannon before heading off to the San Jose airport. I dropped my car off at a parking place and took the shuttle to the airport (see adulting!). I got through security easy breezy and made my way to Starbucks to buy a Chai Latte (ironically, the Starbucks line took 3x as long as security… yikes). Then I made my way to my gate and watched some TV. I did nothing on the plane. I did not read my book, I did not watch TV, I did not journal, nor did I sleep. I just listened to music and stared into space for two hours. I arrived in Seattle and was greeted by the cold (and my mom!!). We drove home, and I was so excited because I could finally see my dogs again. I really forgot how loving they are. That evening I went to get Pho with Torsten, Mikee, and Alex. It was Mikee’s first time trying pho and he said it was “okay”. It was nice being able to sit down with friends I hadn’t seen in so long and not skipping a beat. I went home and hung out with my dogs before going to bed (early).

Zoe

Kuma

I mean this view... c'mon

*takes picture of sunset at 4pm*

Saturday, November 17^th:

Family time. Today mom and I did a lot of driving (well, mom drove, and I sat, entertained, and slept). We left early in the morning to stop by some shops and pick up some gifts for our family. Then we headed over to Tacoma to pick up my grandma, whom I was ecstatic to finally see again. I (somehow) convinced both my mom and grandma to take her dog, Hana, with us to the Benton’s house. Hana ended up sitting on my shoulder for majority of the ride haha. First, we stopped by Jordan and Carl’s house to celebrate Blaine’s birthday. Mom read Blaine and Blake some books, while I talked with Jordan and observed Bailey (who is the cutest 1 year old). After that we drove over to Taylor and Ashley’s house to celebrate Taylor’s birthday. They served Hawaiian BBQ, and we got to spend some quality time with Ronald and Rose. Then we journeyed back to Tacoma (this is when I did most of the sleeping), and then back home. It was a long day, filled with great family time, and a lot of laughing (and sitting).

If you guys thought I was kidding...

One of the secrets of aging gracefully is to have a great sense of humor, as demonstrated by my Grandma ♡

Sunday, November 18^th:

Mom and I decided to treat the dogs and take them to their absolute favorite place: The Dog Park. (Or as we call it the P-A-R-K). They loved it. They ran, sniffed, played, explored, and tired themselves out (which is a mega plus for mom and me). We stopped by Fred Myer to pick up some groceries, while Kuma and Zoe talked to the dogs in the car next to us. That afternoon I met up with Ethan, and we walked along Clear Creek Trail and talked. It was the perfect way to reunite because there were no distractions, it was a beautiful day outside, and we got some fresh air. It was wonderful. That evening, I needed to go to Target, so I texted Taylor and asked if she wanted to go (knowing full well, she can never pass up a trip to Target). We did the usual of getting distracted by all the aisles leading up to where we need to go (especially with all the Holiday décor), picking out what we need, and then walking through the rest of the store getting distracted and wanting to buy everything in sight. Just like old times.

Post walk 

Monday, November 19^th:

I got my hair done. The first time since Middle School that I colored my hair. It’s nice, brighter, but nothing too crazy. I woke up twenty minutes before I had to leave though and suffered a slight panic as I got ready. For lunch I met up with Ethan at Chipotle and we continued to catch up. Then I drove out to Poulsbo to see Abraham. We went to Poulsbohemian and I had the best chai I’ve ever tasted. Again, it was such a beautiful day and we sat outside and talked, then we walked all through Poulsbo and along the waterfront. It was fantastic. I dropped off some sandwiches to volunteers at my church, and then headed home. That evening I hung out with Brayden, Alex, Mikee, and Ethan and we caught up, and went on a little adventure.

Can you see a similarity?

I sat in a chair and wrote in my journal, while looking out at this view

ABRAHAM

Mid-walk

We had a little photoshoot

More of the photoshoot

LOVE the PNW during fall

like HELLO!! LOOK AT THIS

Practicing for their album cover

Alex told me I was his fourth best friend :)

Tuesday, November 20^th:

Today mom and I went to Seattle. First, we stopped in Tacoma to help grandma with some paperwork. Then we drove to the city. It was lovely, we walked around and explored, did a little bit of shopping, and ate lunch at Veggie Grill. Sadly, the days are short in WA so at around 3:30 we decided to head back so mom wouldn’t have to do all the driving in the dark. Jokes on us, because it ended up taking two hours to get home! (Usually it takes one hour). That evening Torsten, Micah, Blake, and Ryan came over and we chilled downstairs and caught up (are you sensing a theme of catching up?). Once again, it was like we had just hung out the day before, not a single beat was skipped.

Seattle

Wednesday, November 21^st:

This was the chilliest day of them all. I took care of the dogs and watched some TV in the morning. I went out to the Stores and Central Market with mom for a couple of hours, while she took care of some business. Mom and I decided to go see Bohemian Rhapsody, and it was awesome! The acting was great, the story line was interested, and of course the music was phenomenal. I recommend 10/10.

Thursday, November 22^nd:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING. This morning I participated in my first 5K race. I finished it in 31’34”. My goal for next time is to run it in under 30min, which will be tough, but if I walk a little less, I could make that happen. Austin and Drew ran it too, and (as I’ve said 100 times already in this post) it was so good to see them! We hung out for a short bit after the race, but being Thanksgiving there was a lot to do and so we parted ways. Once home and showered, I took the dogs to the Dog Park, while mom cooked the most delicious feast. The dogs were so happy and muddy when we got back. The house smelled like carbs and happiness. We packed everything up and headed over to Grandma’s house. There we celebrated Thanksgiving and ate a delicious meal (that was all vegan btw). Then we headed home, where I did laundry and packed, while watching some “bad TV” (as mom likes to call it… most people call it Bravo TV).

Pre-5K

Post-5K (I thought I was going to throw up hahah)

Finished "our" first 5K

Yummy vegan feast

Honestly, this was a lot better than I was expecting it to be

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

The first time I've ever tried pumpkin pie

Bet you can't guess how old she is (hint: it is older than 50... shocking, I know)

Friday, November 23^rd:

I woke up early and got ready to head to the airport. My time in the PNW is over (until Dec 14^th). Everything went smoothly, and I spent my plane ride reading and writing. I arrived in San Jose, picked up my car, and drove to Santa Cruz. I spent time talking with Shannon while Samantha and Perry were out Black Friday Shopping. Once they got back, Perry made some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, while we sat around and talked. Keith and Cheryl came over for dinner and we had a leftover feast (all vegan, again). It was delicious. We spent a lot of time talking, looking at photo albums, and telling embarrassing stories. Larry came to join us just in time for dessert, which was Samantha's apple crisp, which was delicious. After dinner, everyone was full, happy, and tired, so we called it a day and headed off to bed. 

Perry

Sam and I noticed that older people always wave at the camera haha

"ELLA BELLA"

Louie is jealous that Brody is getting all of Sam's attention (while she brushes his teeth)

Corky and Brody

Saturday, November 24^th:

Another busy day. I woke up early, went for a run along the water in Capitola, and grabbed a chai. After getting ready, I joined Samantha and Shannon at the house and we ate breakfast before heading out to help set up for a vegan Thanksgiving feast. We set up some tables and made labels, and then waited for other people to join. The food was so good!!! I definitely ate way too much, but that's okay because its basically a requirement of Thanksgiving. Then we went and got a Christmas tree, which was really fun (and the second time I've gone out to get a Christmas tree). We came back and hung out, ate dinner (though I don't understand how any of us could be hungry), and relaxed.

Morning in Soquel

Get it? Because "non" is no in French and "oui" is yes in french haha

Vegan feast #3 this weekend

Larry is excited to find a Christmas tree

Searching for the perfect tree

I think we found it

Woohoo! We did find it!

Sunset in Soquel

The two most awkward people you will find in this house

Sunday, November 25^th:
I woke up, got ready. Celebrated my last day of break by getting bagels for breakfast, and drove back to SLO. Now it's back to reality (ie, cleaning, grocery shopping, and studying)

I experienced so much love this break and realized how lucky I am to be surrounded by such great people. If you've read all the way through, thank you. I hope you experience joy today, tomorrow, and everyday thereafter. Happy Holidays.