Labor Day of Love

This weekend I drove out to California for my aunt's* wedding with my uncle/aunt and their four kids aged 12, 9, 7 and 3. It was an adventure, especially once the seven-year old started throwing up. They're good kids and they like me so it was a good drive even though it was long.

We spent the night in Reno at Circus Circus (where I almost gambled the $5 voucher my 18 year-old cousin picked up but we didn't have time) and a couple of hours in Tahoe catching crawdads (or crayfish for you southerners) and swimming. I love Tahoe. My dad's parents owned a cabin just outside there in Truckee so the Sierra Nevadas definitely say "home" to me. Plus the warm weather, chilly water and the adventure of catching crawdads brings back really good memories. I almost stayed in Tahoe, but I wanted to see my parents and sister/brother-in-law so I didn't.

The wedding was fantastic! My aunt is beautiful. I know everyone says that about the bride, but Ashley is exceptionally gorgeous. See for yourself:

 I love my family. All the time I spent chasing the little cousins (on my mom's side we have cousins almost consistently from age 26 to 1) and talking with my grandparents is special to me. Especially as I watch my grandparents get older I take time to appreciate them more.

This is my mom's dad with my youngest cousin:

Some fun highlights from the trip:

• Ate peach cobbler for breakfast with the Hursts.
• Enjoyed the wedding ceremony because it was personal, tender and appropriate.
• Watched personalities clash in ways I never recognized before.
• Found out Grandma Hurst still has her wedding dress. It's beautiful.
• Received one of Grandma Hurst's turquoise necklaces. It's a newer one Grandad bought her two years ago and she asked me if I would enjoy it. Ummm...duh.
• Realized my three-year old cousin (whose birthday was on Sunday) was almost a carbon-copy of me on my third birthday.
• This is us:

There's really no way to explain my family except that they kick ass. No, really.

*She's technically my aunt but she's 21 years younger than my mom, her sister, and she's only six years older than I am so our relationship has definitely not been the typical aunt/niece one.

Focusing on Finishing

I've been thinking a lot lately about being a finisher. I am a really driven person, but I want to be a better finisher. Someone who is as excited at the end of the project as at the beginning. I am that person when I am involved with a lot of things so I am constantly staying busy, but I want to be that way no matter what. I'm using my job application process to begin that change. It's feeling really good.

Speaking of job applications: I am so excited for the next step! My interview last week went pretty well. I don't have all my eggs in one basket though, so I am constantly on the look out for anything exciting!

My parents came out this weekend. Two of my cousins are moving away so we had a family get-together. It was so much fun to be with everyone! Except, (warning: mean cousin ahead) I made my cousin cry. He's three and he was really tired and he lives in San Diego so he doesn't remember me well. Anyway, I grabbed him and tickled him and he started to cry! That was a first for me. It made me feel bad. Thankfully his mom just told him to stop being a baby. This was after she grabbed my butt as a hello, so you get the idea of what my family's like. (Awesome, is the correct answer.)

Yesterday, lover made pizza.

Traditional, margarita pizza. We were at the store and we found this mozzarella cheese that is made in a sheet then rolled like a cinnamon bun. So, I unrolled it, put the tomatoes and basil in the cheese, rolled it up, cut it into wrap-like rolls and put them on the pizza. Sadly, you can't see it in the finished product, but it made me feel sophisticated. 

Put some oil and salt (see below) in a bowl then dip your pizza as you go along, you will change your perspective on traditional Italian cooking.

Today we went American. We are trying to get rid of food we have stored in the house, so we used our cornmeal to make baked corn dogs. Obviously it doesn't look the same, but they were delicious none-the-less.

(hahaha. Every time I look at this picture I laugh.)

Life is great! For reals.