Thanksgiving and All It's Meals

Thanksgiving was well spent with my friends and family this year. Of course I had different meals with different people and Thanksgiving almost always becomes a week-long (or more) event. And of course I never mind that. This year was wonderful because I had all my loved ones at home and obviously because I AM HOME. :) It was nice to be with my sister and my mama, the Amaro and Garcia/Trowbridge families, and my dearest friends that I got to see this past week. I haven't even mentioned all the delicious food that filled my belly but here are pictures...

Friendsgiving started way early this year. KBBQ!

On Thanksgiving Day the Amaro and O'Connell families met in Claremont for the annual 5K Turkey Trot tradition. I'm happy I finally got to be a part of this tradition. It was fun and tiring and I realized how much of a runner I am not! haha (Thanks Tare, for jogging with me even though I held you back!) After that Trenton and I drove up to the mountains to Mountain Lakes in Lytle Creek. We spent the day with some of his family and had a yummy lunch followed by fun and games in the most beautiful Autumn setting. So pretty.

Pre-trot

Post-trot

Same Turkey as the one in Claremont!

Thanksgiving meal at Abuela's and Thanksgiving meal with my mama and sister. SAME DAY, two hours apart! 

The best homemade Indian food from my second family (aka best friend's parents). 

YUMMY food eaten with our fingers. And yes, we need 4 different types of ice cream.

I love it when I facetime with the best friend! Sorry we're eating and you're not! :( Miss you V and J!

I can't even count the number of meals I've eaten with different people this week. There are some pictures I left out and I know I've seen a lot of my friends recently. It's crazy how much someone can take for granted. I am very thankful for my family and all my friends for the love and support they continue to give me. It has been so real seeing them after being away for two years. I am thankful for Trenton who continues to love me and pushes me to be a better person. I am thankful for change and opportunity. I am thankful for rain and hot showers. I'm thankful for life and love. And of course, warm food in my belly. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Continue to be thankful for the small (and big) things in your life!

Thailand With My Favorite Men

Woah, it's been a while...

To those of you who follow my blog, I'm sorry! I try and update and I get busy and internet is unreliable and all the excuses I can think of blah, blah. Don't hate me! :)

Last month I had one of the best vacations. Trenton met me in Thailand where we both met my dad. You don't even know how ecstatic I was for them to meet and for us to be spending those next couple of weeks all together!

I haven't seen my dad in 6 years and it was so nice to have him see me with Trenton. He had recently been in the hospital after a car had hit him and is recovering. He was extremely happy that I was there and asked me why it took me so long to bring Trenton with me. Haha 

It was so good to be with the both of them. Since we were there on Valentine's Day Trenton planned a (semi) surprise with my dad and tried to be sneaky but I know everything so it only kind of worked out. haha (Love you Bub) My dad helped him with transport on the buses and told him where to go. We passed the place earlier in the week and I saw my dad give him a crazy look. Thats how I knew. haha It was really cute to see them scheming not so low key. I'm so glad that they spent time together and got to know each other. It makes me the happiest girl in the world! 

Don't be surprised that most of my pictures are of food. I was in heaaaaaaaaaaveeeennnnnnn. The food was great, the weather was decent and I did not want to come back to Botswana! It was so cool to hang out with family and see how everyone has grown older. It was also really fun to hang out with my dad's friends and see how much of a close knit group of guys they are. I'm really glad he has great friends who support him while I'm away. It means a lot to him I'm sure, but so much to me too. My dad says we must promise to come there again in the future, like next year specifically. (Hey hooch, you coming?) He was really emotional when we had to leave and that, in turn, made me cry like a baby. To make it worse, I had to do this all over again with Trenton 3 hours later. But I know the three of us will be together again, soon.

Daddy, I hope you keep wearing your brace and stop being stubborn and recover very quickly so you can go back to riding your bike a crazy number of kilometers around Thailand. You are so strong physically and emotionally and I'm proud of you for staying healthy.