A late Thanksgiving

So as I said, it's been a while since I posted anything, so a lot has happened since then.

For Thanksgiving, OJ took off 10 days and we drove up to spend some time with his family. We got up there on the 19th of November and stayed through the 30th. Man what an eventful 10 days!

The first night we were there was our resting night. We didn't go out or anything because we had just driven for 9 hours. So we rested up for the rest of the week because once the next day hit, man were we busy!

Friday morning we went to our favorite little sandwich shop just around the corner from his parents house called Upper Crust. Wonderful stuff let me tell you. Then we lounged around and then that night we went to dinner with his best friend Kevin and his girlfriend Alex. Man the food I got scalded my mouth! Every bite was hot! The veggies just held the heat I guess.

Saturday, there was a huge gathering. OJ hadn't seen some of his family in years so there was a welcome home / thanksgiving / family reunion. Bruno would not stop barking, so we had to put him outside. After a while I got a massive headache and had to lay down for a while but over all it was an enjoyable evening. I got to meet family I hadn't met before.

Sunday we went to a motorcycle show in San Mateo. OJ and his friends Joey and Kevin, his dad and I all went and had a blast. OJ ended up finding a bike he was interested in. It was a Kawasaki Ninja. But he wont be able to actually get it or even ride it until he is out of the Navy because the Navy has so many restrictions when it comes to motorcycles. But He did buy a helmet that suits him. He wants to get all his gear first, that way when he does get a bike, he doesn't have to wait to ride it.

Monday was OJ's birthday! OJ turned 22 and for his birthday wanted to go to Dave and Buster's. So we gathered a group of friends and family, namely his mom, sister Selina and her ex Karim, Joey and I, and we all had a blast. He got a $50 gift card to best buy from his parents, a workout mat from Selina (which he had asked for), Step Brothers on blu-ray from his Grandma, and Star Trek on blu-ray from me. Over all it was an awesome birthday for him.

Tuesday we went to the movies and saw Paranormal Activity with Joey. OJ didn't like it because it reminded him of a story his sister told him about a personal experience and so we still sleep with the light on.... I love him though.

Wednesday his Grandma and Pop came up from Lathrop and so we were kicked out of his parents house and stayed over at Selina's house. Wednesday was "Guys Night Out" and so Selina and I went to the Mall for a little while and had a girls night.

Thursday was Thanksgiving! And what a wonderful evening it was. The food was great, company was wonderful and the atmosphere as a whole was fantastic. That reminds me, I must get that recipe for sweet yams from his mom...

Friday we went to my Grandma Norma's for another Thanksgiving Lunch. What a gathering! I got to see my Uncle Calvin and Aunt Brenda and my twin cousins Nick and Trevor. Heather and Jake came down from Oregon and brought my niece Paisley, who is the cutest little thing! My dad also showed up but as soon as he got there, he started chopping down an old tree in the back yard. Just like dad. And then some of my Grandpa Joe's family showed up. It was an awesome time had by all. My cousins are a blast! Every time I get together with them I have fun. And I think OJ had fun as well.

Saturday we got to catch up with some old friends of OJ's who were in town from Colorado. Their names were Kevin and David, and they were actually part of the reason I met OJ back in 2003. Then once they left we went out to dinner with his family one last time to this place called Lisa's. It was a little Mexican restaurant which was really just a small whole in the wall, but produced the best Mexican food I have ever had! We were going to go to the gun range, but because of our unexpected visit from Kevin and David, we had to scrap that idea.

Sunday was the day we were to leave, but we went to Church with his parents first. It was this old theatre turned church gathering and it was a ton of fun. Made me want to start going to church again. After church, we quickly packed up our things and said our last goodbyes to his parents. We then stopped off and said goodbye to Kevin and Joey before he hit the road.

It was a long drive home. We made several more stops than we needed to, but we got home eventually.

Over all we had so much fun this past Thanksgiving. I wish I could have spent a little more time with my family, but at least I was giving the chance to see them at all. I am so thankful for the many blessings God has graced me with and I can't wait to see what he brings me next.