Family

A bunch of people came into town for Val’s graduation (congratulations, Val!) and here are a few photographic gems from the weekend. If you want to see the entire album, email or IM me and I’ll send you an invitation to view it on Picasa.

On Thursday, after drinking at Shakespeare’s, we went to La Posta to soak up the alcohol with burritos.

Unfortunately, nothing will soak up gay:

The following night was the graduation party!

We told Johann not to eat so much sushi:

BUZY SUZY! One of our favorite camping companions:

Justin looks so grateful for Jason’s helping hand:

It’s amazing how much fun adults can have with stickers:

This picture is simultaneously endearing and infuriating:

Dr. Val:

RRRRRAAAAUUUUGHHHHHH:

Dale can’t decide whose ass to grab:

During the celebration of Val getting her Ph.d, Justin, Johann, Val, and even Justin’s mom, Marie took the time to explain:

So my friend Val (whom we know because she also happens to be Johann’s cousin) is now Dr. Val. She successfully defended her dissertation on Friday afternoon, and now she has a Ph.d. We celebrated all weekend, and here is a video commemorating this momentous occasion.

The weather this weekend was hot and dry. I loved it. First, Mamta arrived Friday night and we took her to Tajima for some ramen noodles, cucumbers with bean dip, and rice balls wrapped in seaweed. On Saturday, we took her to Beach Grass Cafe in Solana Beach for breakfast before dropping her off at La Costa Spa and Resort for a wedding.

Here is my vegetable ratatouille omelet:

Jason took me to Ocean Beach to walk around and explore Dog Beach and the shops. We tried to eat at Hodad’s, but the line was massive, unmoving, and in the blazing sun. Instead, we ate at a bar called South Beach. The food wasn’t cheap, but it was very good. Cold light beers on a hot day will work wonders as well.

We started off with fried baby octopus:

Then we followed it with fresh ceviche:

Jason ordered a fried fish taco:

I may have forgotten to take a picture of the lobster taco I ordered:

On Easter Sunday, I was craving dim sum, so Jason took me to Pearl Restaurant where we gorged. I love Chinese.

Everyone in SoCal or who has loved ones in SoCal knows this is going on. It appears that all of southern California is on fire. Over in Cerritos, it just looks like the sky is really smoggy. Everyone knows someone who’s affected by the fires. Jason helped his parents evacuate from Escondido, and soon after, his neighborhood in Rancho Bernardo got evacuated as well. Luckily, his family has another house in Solana Beach, so they’ve got a place of their own to stay. It’s tough for everyone - I think we feel kind of useless, just counting on others to put the fires out and save everyone and everything.

Update: We found out one of our friends’ homes got burned down. Still watching the news and trying to get text updates from people in SD.

Update, 8:55 PM: Solana Beach has also been evacuated.

Congratulations to those who graduated recently, like my brother in law Howard, Laura, and Johann.

Here she is on her birthday:

I’ll post up more pictures of her later. I went to see her again yesterday, and she looks nothing like Katie now. It’s still too early to tell, but I think Lauryn may look like Patti when she gets older.

GREATEST POST TITLE EVER! But to be serious, yes, Kaitlyn has a new baby sister, Lauryn Rachel Wang. She weighs 7 lbs, 13 oz, which is almost 2 lbs heavier than Kaitlyn was. I will post up pictures after I get enough rest to upload them. I was exhausted, so I shudder to think what Patti must have gone through. She looks almost exactly like Kaitlyn, just a little bigger and plumper. And not as loud and angry.