Tuesday, September 04, 2007

back from the west

this weekend we spent a fabulous weekend with third base and her family in idaho, plus saw my ma and her husbot for a couple hours as well. it was a whirlwind trip that was far too short in terms of vacations, but still we got some QT in with my fam.

my lil sis is pretty amazing -- she and her husband study gracie jiu-jitsu. my BIL is already a blue belt, and this weekend, third base tested successfully to earn hers. apparently she's one of only a couple females who practice jiu-jitsu in their gym in salt lake city, and it was pretty impressive to see her kick some serious ass in class. she and her husbot were kind enough to teach us a few jiu-jitsu moves during class on saturday, and the good news is that neither mickey nor i broke our necks in the process.

probably the highlight of the weekend was spending an entire day playing games with those two, plus my nephew, who is such a delight and is a wonderful, smart and silly boy. we see them so rarely, and admittedly i don't always prioritize my family above other trips that we take, but this trip reminds me that time passes too quickly, and that people -- especially my nephew -- can change so much in just a year. note to self: see them more often, and be a better aunt.

as an aside, i was also struck by how gorgeous salt lake city is (we flew in and out of there). every time i head back to the mountain west, i feel slightly homesick for the bright blue skies and scrubby mountains. i love oregon, but can't help but ask myself where in the mountain west can i find an affordable, liberal, young urban city to park for the next decade. this is my dream....

1 comment:

Jiu Jitsu Lady said...

tell us where you land for the next decade and we will meet you there!!! loved having you for the short, but fantastic time. miss you already.