Take two, this is gorgeous ( you were the rockets you were the glow)*

Last weekend? The fourth of July? SO MUCH FUN!

On Friday Thuy and I went to the baby shower of Andrea and Jessica. We haven't seen Andrea since about 1997. Oh we used to get into so much trouble with Nea. We met her at a rave, we used to go dancing at a place called Chupa west of the Icehouse with her, staying up ALL night and then back to Moon Valley where she would fix a pot of tea and quesadillas and then up to a mountain around Sunnyslope to watch the sun rise and then to the Willow House for coffee and then to her Catholic church on Central and then to my house on the other side of town to swim and paint our nails the darkest ever (ever!) shade of red. Her solution to sleepiness for staying up all day and all night and all day? Oh, just go to bed early the next night, she'd say. We would do the craziest things....once on Valentine's Eve, Nea and our other friend Barni spent the night and the next day we went to the funeral of one Emma of Snowflake, Arizona. Emma had died on Valentine's to go be with her husband, one of the many people who talked about her said, leaving behind something like 12 children, their spouses, 80 grandchildren, 114 great-grandchildren, 32 great-great grandchildren and even a few great-great-great grandchildren. Emma was 103 and get this: she loved, loved playing elaborate practical jokes on people that involved costumes and well thought out intrigue. Person after person talked about the stuff she came up with and how she fooled everyone. After hearing a few of these tales, I started to feel a little better. I had been feeling really worried about crashing a funeral. But I think it was right up Emma's alley. Her obituary in the paper had made me think that there could be no better funeral than this one at a ward in Laveen to go to, but here's the thing: me? I looked like I fit in. Andrea and Barni? Um not so much. First off, they were the only Mexican and Somalian girls at the party, er I mean funeral. And Barni? She had blue hair. Seriously. She had dyed her super-short hair blue. But you know what? Nobody really seemed to notice us. We were sitting so far back we literally couldn't even see the front, that's how many people were there.

I went to Europe with Andrea in July and August of 96. Then maybe a year passed. She brought the three girls she was nannying to my college photography class to get pictures taken. It was probably October. We took pictures and later I delivered them to her and I think that was the last time I ever saw her. I know she was aching to get back to Europe and I think she lived in Spain for a year and then in Peru for a year.

So okay, so the baby shower? At Andrea's sister's restaurant called Lola's on Camelback. Her sister had the most AMAZING food for us and the two desserts---a tart and a cake----were SO good. I can't wait to go back to her restaurant. Anyone wanna go with me?

[Okay, so guess what? On the way to the baby shower, I was running late to get Thuy, I had to shop for baby clothes ( a cute little pajama outfit in lime-sea green with hot pink flamengos on it) and get coffee at Wildflower and I was on my way there and I get a text message: I am engaged! from a number I do not recognize and I call it back and Shouraseni is engaged! To Oliver! I don't know Oliver, but SSR, I'm over the moon for you, girl!]

Here's Andrea and Jessica and Baby Fatima on her way.

  

   

So then that Friday night we went to Lan's house and ate all the good food  and icecream we cooked up and swam in her pool and the sky turned the most amazing shades of gold and peach and dark blue and I could barely stand it, it was that gorgeous, a preview of monsoon storms on their way. We played in the pool and I just stared up-up.

Then we went to Tempe Town Lake and the fireworks lasted so long that Becky W. said wouldn't it be crazy if they were doing an experiment to see how long it will take before people will just start to leave....who would be the hold-outs til 4:30 in the morning? (Uh, me.)
                                                                         

The next day I slept in til 9:45!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People this is simply INCREDIBLE. I thought I totally lacked the ability to sleep past about 7 am. It felt so good I am tempted to try it again, but I think the thing is it is probably some magical thing that can only happen on magical THREE DAY WEEKENDS. Ahhhhh, three dayzzzzz, every weekend should be 3 days.

I had planned to take my mom to see Sex & the City, cuz it seemed like a happy movie and we need happy. But then I saw an ad for the American girl movie and well any movie about a girl reporter during the Great Depression trumps any other movie EVERY SINGLE TIME. Except actually we didn't get around to seeing it. Maybe this weekend?

Then that night we went over to the Sung house. And all the kids and their spouses and their kids and Zelda and Snowball the dogs were there and we took pictures and then ate dinner. Yay for real Chinese food!

I love this picture of Ali and her Auntie and Mom. And that baby bump? Baby on his way this fall! :-)

 

So the next day Sunday.......SunSplash with the Truongs. After a leisurely trip to Target get a suit (Becky) and a sundress (me), we met the Truongs at the water park.

So here we have Becky and Uncle Ty on the Lazy River. And then we have Becky waiting at the so-called Flush waiting for Lan, Ron, Celeste, Ty and Thuy to fall from the swishy-swooshy-swirling-twirling scary as all get out thing that you couldn't pay me to go down. And then we have gorgeous Celeste with her gorgeous mom in the background hopping across the lily pads. And then Becky!

 

So oh there is actually so much I didnt tell you. And so much actually that I wanted to do, but didn't get to, like go to Dragonfly with Thuy and her mom. (Next time, Thuy!) Or stop by Jamie's party which I had really wanted to do.

But oh my, I am thankful, for what I did do and the fun, but especially for the people. I've known the Truongs and the Sungs for almost 20 years! i can hardly believe time goes so fast.  and seeing all of their family, i'm just so glad for that. and seeing andrea and her mom and dad and sister and brother...

well...another weekend is just beginning....

*that song in my head again....

 

Comments

[becky]

I looooooove the pictures!

[Madaina]

Thanks for being an amazing 9 month pngenart photographer! Thanks for saying funny thingslike booger' and fart' to make sammy laugh his brains out! They are beautiful!

[Enny]

jenny - It's been way too long since i've been on here! As usual, you are amazing and Ava and Jake are famuos!!! hahaha Beautiful, Julie. xoxo

[Mahaley]

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