Parasailing

Parasailing...if you've never been, put it on your list of things to do!  All I can really say is, WOW.   It was amazing.  The take off was the best!  As you get jerked into the air you feel as though you're flying.  Once you're up there though, everything is quiet.  It was so peaceful and calm.  No sounds, no people, just you and the air around you.  The views were gorgeous and the feeling was great.  I can't wait to go again!

 Ferry to Balboa Island

A pigeon catching a free ride.

 There's our boat...

and our captain and first mate.  They were so great!   

 Strapped in, shoes off! I'm ready!

 There goes the parachute...with a woosh.

 We have lift off! 

 So many times we got really close to the water and I could feel my heart sink.  I was so afraid of falling in and getting wet.  They were nice to us and didn't get us into the water, but other's weren't as luck.y

 There goes the brother.  He had to ride solo.  Good thing he did, there was something special planned for him, haha.

 There he goes...into the water...haha...dunk!

 He got dunked twice :D  Completely dunked, soaked...wet...haha. 

Wrapping the parachute was really interesting to watch. As it came down, they started to quickly grab, grab, grab ever inch of it so that it wouldn't hit the water. I have to say, maneuvering the boat the way they did, to bring you close to the water and then allow you to go back into the air and back down to the water is truly an art. They have some mad skills.

What a really great day.

As we were getting off, the captain warned me with a big smile that next time he would dunk me as well.  Haha, I'll have to be ready :D  Thank you Balboa Parasail for such a great experience!

Sheagull, I'm glad you came.  I know it was a hard weekend for you, but come visit me again, ok?? 

Fyi: This is your second chance about you know what ;)    

The Brother Visits

This past weekend, my brother came to visit.  Well, more like I dragged him down in my parents absence.  It was so nice to have him and I was super excited for the fun stuff/surprise I had planned for him (even though he drove me nuts for 5 hours until I told him).  I had a blast with him and I hope he did too.

Motorcycle procession that blocked all lanes for a good 10 minutes.  I'm not sure where they were going to or coming from, but there were a LOT of them.

We went to Panera Bread for brunch.  We got there too late for their breakfast.  What is it with restaurants not serving breakfast all the time...sheesh. 

 Don't know what he was doing.     

 My cute summer shoes :)

 My other Vela scarf.  I couldn't get him to stop coming into my pictures.  So annoying.

We went to dinner at a relatives house (my mother-in-laws cousin).  They are one of the coolest people I know.  Always fun to go over.  They have an adorable little garden too, with tons of fruit trees.

Apple Pie and tea anyone? :)

What a Surprise!

So Friday comes around and again, I was in lab till about 8pm.  I head home, completely tired, hungry and frustrated, dreading Saturday, when I will have to come back in, to work on some more experiments.  I get home at around 8:30pm and my husband texts me and says he's at his parents.  Being too tired to really care that i'm home alone on a Friday night, I decide maybe to just eat dinner (since he's going to be awhile, i'm sure) but then decide i'll wait a bit longer.  At 9pm, I get really hungry from waiting and text my husband to see what he's doing, wondering why all this time, my mother in law hadn't called me all week to tell me to come over for dinner (Friday nights we usually go over for dinner).  I assumed they were busy or invited somewhere else or maybe they expected me to just show up (but I was too tired to do anything).  So my husband responds back and says he's with his brother and they are out and about (thinking to myself huh...what are they doing, but fine...his brother needs him, I'll just watch tv).  Then 10 minutes later my husband calls me and says "is it ok if we come over"...so of course, I said yes and got up and thought about tidying up the place, but really didn't care if my brother-in-law saw my house a little messy (I never do this...but I was really dead).  So I call him back and say, i'm hungry, if you guys are coming over, bring me food.  So my husband says ok, we'll go out for dinner, be ready and we'll swing by and get you.  So I lounge around on the couch, waiting for them, when the door bell rings.  I'm again, too lazy/tired/dead to get up, so my husband walks in and behind him walks in MY BROTHER! AHHHH...I start to scream, soooo excited that he's here, not believing my eyes.  So all those lame excuses from my husband were because he went to pick him up at the airport, haha. My brother flew down to surprise me for the weekend!  The punk hasn't come to visit me in almost a year...what a surprise.

We go out for dinner at San Giovanni's pizza.  A cute little family owned halal pizzeria.  

They get some interesting tasting Mexican drinks (I can't remember what they're called) and I usually get water with food, but they forced me to drink lemonade (I succumbed).

 We ordered an all meat pizza (I thought it wouldn't be too bad, but I realize now, I HATE meat on pizza)

So of course, all of a sudden I have all this energy, but little does he know, i'm dragging him to lab on Saturday (ALL DAY) while I finish up my experiments (mwahahaha).  Sorry love, I had no choice! It was a great weekend though, and as all great things come to an end, he flew back Sunday afternoon :(

Come visit me again...SOON!!!!