Sunday Funday

Yesterday, my sister came to pick me up (as she usually does on Sundays) and we spent the entire day together (as we usually do on Sundays). It has become our thing…we call it Sunday Funday! It was a simple day but still fun. I always love spending time with my sister and having this one day a week together where I really get off campus is a nice break too! On this particular Sunday, we went to the Farmer’s Market in the morning. And I have decided that when I am older and start a family of my own, I want to live near a Farmers Market where we can all go to together once a week. I don’t quite know how to explain it, but there is something special about a Farmers Market. I think the one of the reasons why is probably because it is outdoors and you are breathing in fresh air. To me, that alone beats the stuffy, fluorescent-lit grocery store and weaving in and out of peoples grocery carts.

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Later that night, we drove out to Santa Monica for dinner and some shopping. We think we have found one of our new favorite restaurants…Tender Greens!

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Girls Getaway Weekend 2012

Ten years ago, my cousin had a “brilliant beyond brilliant idea” (can anyone name that movie?) to establish a tradition where all of the girls on my mom’s side of the family get together for one weekend every year. With all of us spread out across the country, it is a way for us to stay in touch and become much closer than we would otherwise be. We rotate between each of our houses so that one person isn’t hosting every single year, and this year we went to Vancouver, Washington!

On the first night, we had our Nanny’s famous spaghetti in her honor. My Nanny was 100% Italian and I have never tasted a better spaghetti and meatballs in my entire life…even when I ate plenty of it in Italy!

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We hiked up Multnomah Falls. It was kind of a rainy day, but we decided to go for it anyways! We won’t let weather get in the way of our plans.

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We had a Murder Mystery Dinner…the theme was Miss America Pageant! So we all dressed up in outdated pageant gowns, ate a delicious dinner, and participated in the sneaky behind the scenes drama of the pageant.

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We went shopping and then out to a lovely dinner in Portland, followed by a pit stop at Voodoo Donuts, and then on to a Comedy Night.

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This was the first Girls Getaway Weekend since our darling Nanny passed away earlier this year. It was definitely not the same without her and we missed her very much. But there is not a doubt in my mind that she was looking over us during the whole weekend, and I know it made her happy that we are continuing this tradition. It was always so important to her.

I cannot find the words to accurately describe how much I love my family. I am already looking forward to the next Girls Getaway Weekend!

Happy Anniversary Emily and Steve!

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{Photo by: Zofia Crosby}

I can’t believe it has been one year already! Here’s to many more…