It's The Little Things - Boat Karaoke, Killer Views and Lunch Break Visits

My parents come to visit as often as they can, and every time I am blessed by their presence.

We usually do not take off work when they are here, and use my vacation time for other trips, so they usually bounce around to visit me and my sisters for lunch and we are all together in the evenings (and obviously the weekend). When I get my lunch turn with them, it is always my favorite time of their trips. Just me and them talking through so much. It is so different to talk on the phone than to be next to them, and I treasure those conversations. So much. Sharing fries, sampling each others sandwiches, discussing our love for certain TV shows, debating on books we read, it's all just so silly, but being together doing it is what life is about.

Their most recent visit was at the end of March and on one of their last nights we rented a duffy boat in Newport Harbor for a few hours and cruised around singing random songs at the top of our lungs and eating barbacoa salads from Café Rio while sipping beer and wine and laughing til our stomachs hurt. I will hold that memory for a long time, it was so much fun and I remember the smile on everyone’s faces. My mom and dad looked so happy, and that is so important to me.

Bill and I had a wonderful happy hour with them one night alone as well and we sipped cocktails, ate briny oysters and caught up on life with the most incredible view (sorry the picture doesn’t do it justice… check out the restaurant here). It’s so hard to really accurately describe quality time, it’s just such an important part of life and family and not really put into words. Connecting, being together and sharing life... Makes my heart feel home.

Thanks for making visits a priority mom and dad.

I love you so much.

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