The Varelas

I had such a great time with the family here!
Thursday - After the family's flight got in late, I thought they would be too exhausted to do anything. But apparently, absence from good Mexican food--and the need to have it if it is within a 100-mile radius--will overcome most anything. So we went out to Javier's in Laguna Beach for dinner (YUM!). Greg nearly fell out of his chair with the first tortilla chip.
Friday - I worked on Friday, so Mama, Greg, and Lucy met with friends during the day. Then we went out to dinner again! This time, Jon took us to his favorite sushi place in Costa Mesa (I Love Sushi). It was REALLY good.
Saturday - After Jon got home from playing basketball, we all went out again, this time to Ruby's. After breakfast/lunch, Mama and I made the other 3 sit outside (in the gorgeous weather) while we shopped a little dress shop. I got a cute skirt (denim with red/pink on the bottom). Back at home, we put taco soup together in the crock pot for dinner (had we had a meal at home yet? I don't think so!) before heading out to Fashion Island. It was nice just to walk around, see the shops, and spend time with Mama and Lucy.
Sunday - We all met up after church on Sunday at the mall food court for lunch. We went into Williams Sonoma for Mama (salt and pepper shakers) and Old Navy and a dress shop for Lucy and me (I don't think I'd ever done so much shopping in my life!). I got a shirt that matches my new skirt from Saturday. That night, Mama, Lucy and I went to Jon's basketball game (they won), and Scott and Kim came over afterwards with all of us for dinner. We had burgers on the patio and then roasted marshmallows in our little fire pit.
Monday - I took the day off from work, and we went to A's Burgers for lunch (fried zucchini!), then to the beach to walk around. We got some cold coffee drinks (it was in the upper 80s!) and also went by the grocery store to get some things for dinner. Before heading home, we dropped by the pound by our house and saw some of the cutest dogs. I resisted temptation and remembered that Jon and I work way too much to be able to treat a dog the right way (what dog wants to spend 50 hours a week alone in the yard?). So we headed home. We had stirfry (turkey, veggies, rice) and fruit salad for dinner, then we had coffee and roasted some more marshmallows.

From my description, it seems that our long weekend revolved around shopping and food! But really it was about spending time with Mama, Greg, and Lucy and having fun. I'm really glad they could come out and stay.