Family Visit
This summer, we were very happy to spend some time with two of Matt’s siblings. Matt’s sister Sue started a three weeks long journey cross country, with the plant to visit of of her siblings, and more. She left from North Carolina after the 4th of July, and made it to San Diego on July 10, with her husband Dan. Hannah, arrived the following day.
To say that Keegan was excited is an understatement. He was ecstatic (yeah, we don’t get many visitors)! We saw them pull in just as we got home from school: perfect timing! It was so great to see them. Sue, being an elementary school teacher, was wonderful with Keegan, and so patient with him. She immediately snapped a selfie to celebrate.
After dinner the adults had a wonderful talk outside, under an almost full moon. The next day, I had to go to work, while Matt, Sue and Dan went to get Hannah at the airport. Matt and Sue had the chance to have a great one on one time, which was way overdue. I think it was really beneficial, especially for Matt.
I meet up with them for lunch. We headed to La Jolla…maybe not the most brilliant idea, since it is the middle of summer and it was packed. However, we scored a beautiful table at George at the Cove. It was a beautiful, clear day, and the view was breathtaking. The food tasted delicious too.
After an unintentional stroll through downtown la Jolla (we could not quite remember where we parked), Sue and I went to pick up Keegan. Sue was very interested in checking out Keegan’s school, and Keegan could not be happier to show off his aunt. At home, we all relaxed, and Keegan welcomed Hannah, by getting her to build Legos with him. We all felt still pretty full from lunch, so we had a light dinner, and after Sue put Keegan to bed, we had another beautiful conversation outside.
The next morning, I woke up feeling really sick…food poisoning or some other kind of stomach bug. I really did have enough strength for getting up from bed, let alone going out. I was bummed, but I really could not: I spent most of the day in bed, resting. I guess it worked out, so they could all go out in one car: they headed to UCSD, since Hannah is considering that university for her master. They had a nice tour, and visited the Geisel library (dedicated to Dr. Seuss, a.k.a. Theodor Seuss Geisel ) and many sculptures around campus.
dr. Seuss sculpture
After the tour, they headed over the Glider Point, to watch paragliders and hang-gliders. Nobody gave it a try though.
They got back in the afternoon, and while everyone rested, Matt prepared a wonderful BBQ. Shannon, the step-daughter of Matt’s sister Beth, came over with her puppy, which was a great hit with Keegan, of course. Everything looked delicious and I was so sad I could not eat any of it. I still had a very nice evening with everyone…
I lasted till 9pm.
Keegan was basking in all the attention, but that did not stop him from misbehaving…so he lost his brownies for the evening. He promptly ate them from breakfast the next day. On Sunday, after our morning nap, and Sue’s morning run, we all went to Coronado Beach. The weather was a little hazy, but still beautiful. Keegan did not want to swim, but he played in the sand and built sand castles with Hannah.
After we got home, Aunt Sue and Hannah took him to watch: How To Train Your Dragon 2. What a special treat…for everyone. We just rested. I felt better but still not OK, and definitely tired. We had a quiet Pizza night, and everyone got to bed early. They all left early on Monday morning, but we were not too sad, because we knew we would have reconnected that weekend at Los Gatos, just outside San Jose’.
On Friday afternoon, we picked up Keegan early from school, right during his splash time. He was so excited for the trip, though, he did not even care. We headed straight to the airport. Everyone was a little tired and cranky, but we all felt a lot better when we arrived. We headed straight to Matt’s brother Jim’s house. It was nice to see him, and his family as well as Sue and her family.
Jim’s wife Dyah prepared a great dinner, but unfortunately I could not stay. My college friend Meggie, who lives in San Francisco, drove down for dinner, so we could catch up…it has been close to 4 years! I could not pass this chance up. It was so great to see her, and to have a nice dinner and talk together. I missed her.
I have heard the kids had a blast. Jimmy performed at his violin and piano, and the kids played very well together. They also celebrated Sue’s birthday,which was only a couple of days prior.
Keegan and Matt ended up going to bed really late, around 10pm, and I was later still, but that of course made no difference: Keegan was so excited, he was up by 5.30am. He watched a movie for a little while, and then, fortunately we met up for breakfast (I even drank some coffee). Later in the morning we met Jim, Jimmy and Kirana for a hike. Little did we know, it turned out to be a massive – for people like us who are out of shape – 4 miles hike up a mountain. I am amazed Keegan made it up with not too much complaints…the power of peer pressure. Matt and I were trailing behind. I had a good excuse: I was not wearing appropriate shoes, and my knee was still hurting. Once we finally made it to the top, the view was breathtaking…not sure we could really appreciate since we were pretty tired.
After a few minutes to rest, it was time to go back down. It finally dawned on Keegan: he had to walked down as long as he walked up. It was not a good realization!. He had a major meltdown and refused to go down. Matt tried to carry him, but he was not fast enough. So, Hannah, gave him a piggyback ride…all the way down. Wahoo…I am impressed. I guess, as a reward, they got to see a deer and her baby.
Matt and I slowly made it down, but I did not mind: it felt like it was just the two of us, since everyone was so far ahead, so I enjoyed our alone time, like our time BK (before kids). We finally limped to lunch and met everyone else at a park. We were all so tired, that as soon as we went back to the hotel, we crashed for a nice 2 hours nap. We did not even have to convince Keegan.
In the late afternoon we headed back to Jim’s house. The kids watched a movie and we talked. After dinner, we made ‘smores…in fact the kids had fun preparing them.
One more late night, but after all is summer. The next morning, we had still time for a nice breakfast in Los Gatos. Then everyone went relaxing in a nearby parklet, and we posed for a group photo. CHEESE!
And just like that, it was time to pack up and leave. Keegan got to take a quick jump in the pool, and then we rushed to the airport. We were all sad, but we had wonderful memories. It was so great to see everyone, we promised ourselves not to let this much time pass till next time. Thank you Sue, Dan and Hannah for visiting us and for being the catalyst of this min-reunion. We miss you already.
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