I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. The best part of the holidays is seeing all your friends and family. That is certainly what I did this long weekend. I had just about every meal planned and it was awesome.

On Thursday, we had our Thanksgiving Feast in Buena Park. Johnny and Joy joined us but my parents couldn’t come because my mom was sick in bed with a really bad case of the flu. Poor Mommy. The turkey was super moist and everyone, including Jes’ dad, played Wii.

On Friday morning, I slept in and then had lunch with the Suminos. We had sushi, which was something I had been craving since moving to SF. Brother and Joy also met up with us. In the afternoon, Jes took a super-long nap while I went to visit Patty and Johnny. I got to finally meet their little girl, Zoe, who is just a happy little doll. For dinner, I went out for Korean food with Patty, Holly, and Patti. That really hit the spot since it was another something that I was craving for a while. Afterwards, Jes and I met up with Huy and Jimmy for drinks. Jimmy and I also planned our Saturday morning, which will involve playing a round of 9-hole golf. Woot!

On Saturday morning, Jimmy picked me up and we played 9 holes at IronWood. It was Jimmy’s very first golf game and I hadn’t picked up a golf club in about 2-3 years. We had a great time and lucked out with no one paired up with us and no one waiting behind us. Jimmy did great and I think I got him hooked on the game. He was a little worried since we didn’t have time to warm-up at the range first but he jumped right in a made a beautiful shot from the tee, over the lake, and onto the green at the 9th hole. Nice! For lunch, I met up with my old co-workers/friends and was happy to hear that Anahita is now 5 months pregnant! Wow!!

Saturday’s dinner was the best part of my weekend. My mom was feeling much better and prepared her famous Thai BBQ chicken, Korean Kalbi, and peanut sauce. She taught me how to make sticky rice and I got the secret mango/sticky rice recipe from her. Yes!! It was great to be back in the Magical House with my family. The old peanut jokes came back out and seriously, it never gets old. After dinner, we went to the Cerritos Mall to walk off dinner. I ended up getting a pair of shoes and tried my first Starbucks Peppermint Mocha. Yum! Cerritos Mall still has the same vibe with a few upgrades in their decor and stores. This truly was a homecoming weekend for me.

On Sunday morning, I woke at 4 am and we left the house by 5 am. The drive was smooth with absolutely no traffic. Koa did a great job just chillin’ in the backseat and we were home by 10:30 am.

What a great weekend. Here are just a few of the photos I took.