family, friends, and food

dad says the key to any visit is to stay long enough to make an impression but to go home before they get sick of you. well, i dunno about the folks at home but i always feel like my visits are a tad short. it's tough to take more than 2 weeks off work. i always have a great time thanks to the 3 Fs. here's a few snaps of my time home:

hangin' with the BIL:


Lunch with my 2nd grade teachers:


making dinner with dad (he had a bit of trouble cutting the fish evenly):


My new favorite obsession: CRUMBS!




My other favorite obsession: BLD. meats, cheeses, bread, nuts, fruit, and wine


and nutella crepes


alien hunter kyle talks shop with cor:


a tale of two sisters and a bottle:


another exceptional specimen:


roatisserie chicken lunch:


Peruvian food at Nory's with rosie:


a massive calzone in long beach:


my parents with my white parents:


post-cheesecake workshop with rashmi, amrey (preggers with baby rey), and willy mac:


dad strikes a pose with his weird michael jackson driving glove:

rocks

we stopped in quartzsite for lunch/gas break and stretched our legs at T-Rocks:


this place is a giant outdoor rock and fossil market.



here are the barrels of unsorted rocks. the "backroom" if you will:


and the "showroom":


a few favs:







mom seemed to enjoy it:


pebbles of encouragement, yours for just five bucks a pop!

phoenix turns japanese for a weekend

joined the folks for the annual japanese festival in phoenix. it's a barrage of oddballs wearing ill-fitting kimonos, bad teriyaki sauce, and anime obsessed tweens.


there was good food to be had. i enjoyed my carnitas at macayos:


dad makes his own shade:


riyoko says hunting for fatties in america is like shooting fish in a barrel but i think the goal is to find the exceptional specimens, like this winner:


dad enjoys his in-need-of-viagra breadstick:


this dude actually SAID he was a ninja. but that we were only able to see him because he ALLOWED us to. oooooooohhhhhkaaaaay . . . . . .


steak and oysters at Durant's:

happy birthday crashy!

after a tough start to the year, i went back to cali for my annual february trip. i made it just in time for Crash's birthday! riyoko and cory made a verrrry yummy dinner for the pups as well as the peeps.

resident dog expert clara helps riyoko in the kitchen:

enjoying wenyee's scrumptious cheesecake:



time for food coma!


lola, burn and joe chill out with auntie clara: