goodbye summer

is mid-october too late to write about the rest of my summer? no? okay, good.

after spending two weeks in san jose supporting my friend and spending time with my neice and nephew, i returned to reality - for a little while at least. after just a few short weeks, i was able to return to san jose for another visit (yay!) this time, my sister was in town, too, so it was lots of fun family time! we went to the monterey bay aquarium, played games, and just had a great time. my dad made a special request that the four kids take a picture in the park, where we had taken one a few years ago. we all agreed, but didn't realize until we got to the park that my dad didn't just want another picture in the park, but he wanted to recreate the photo exactly. we spent at least thirty minutes trying to triangulate the location, based on the original photo. one of the inadvertent highlights of my visit! honestly, i am so blessed to have a great set of siblings. :)

a few weeks after my mini family vacation, it was time for my birthday. this year, i actually felt older - strange that 31 felt old, when 30 didn't! i had a great birthday - dinner at my favorite place (mi nidito), presents from the boyfriend, and drinks and dancing downtown. it was a ton of fun! just two days later, my friend took a break from her life to come and visit me for my birthday. we spent the first day driving up nearby mount lemmon, which has fun scenic sidetreks. then, we had a spa day, which was heaven on earth. we spent most of the day lounging by the pool, which is one of my favorite favorite things to do. the third day of her visit brought us to the desert museum. we had a good time, but it was H.O.T.

just a few weeks later, it was labor day weekend, and time for my first 5k run! i was really nervous, but it was fantastic! i drove in to SoCal on friday, got to spend time with friends (and my brother!), and tried to hit the sack early. saturday morning - bright and early - i headed down to disneyland for their 5k fun run. it was star wars themed (thanks to the re-opening of star tours), with darth vadar at the starting line, themed mile markers, and the classic disney characters dressed up as star wars characters at the finish line. i had a great time running through (and around) the park, and i took a TON of pictures (surprisingly, the mid-jog photos turned out okay!). i celebrated my run with breakfast and a nap, and then headed off to see more friends. saturday night chris flew in to town and we spent all day sunday in the parks. i LOVE disneyland, and we had a wonderful time. i think it will be our new annual tradition!