Hanging Out with The Chungs

My old college roommate, Jen, and her family were in town from Chicago for the week. The last time we saw each other was four years ago when I was seven-months pregnant with Kate, so I was really excited to see her.

Ethan (age 7), Aidan (age 5), and Miss Kate ("3 and 3-quarters"). As Kate and I waited for them to arrive, we saw two boys hop out of a car and tear across the grass screaming after the pigeons like maniacs. "That's Ethan and Aidan, Kate!" They had just come back from visiting their newborn cousin all morning and were happy to be free. Kate and the boys were eager to hit the rides on the Santa Monica pier, and rode almost everything. Ethan and Aidan are in the airplane above Kate and Chris.

Kate was dying to try out the "Scrambler." That's Kate's head poking out beside Aidan.

We quickly realized why it was called the "Scrambler."

Just when the ride whipped to a crazy speed...it went even faster. Uh-oh. Jen, Albert, and I saw Aidan and Kate crouch down and shut their eyes. Thankfully, everyone survived intact, if a little scrambled. Aidan said, "Let's do that again!" Kate laughed and said, "No way! I'm not doing that again!"

Jen and Albert told Ethan not to get his shoes wet. Of course, he got his shoes, socks, and jeans soaked.

Kate and Aidan had a good time running from the waves. Until Kate did a face plant and got the front of her dress wet.

We rinsed everyone off, then headed to dinner where Ethan and Aidan talked non-stop about all things"Star Wars." "Do you know the difference between a light saber and a sword?" "Who's your favorite sith?" "Who's your favorite Jedi?" Uh...Yoda?

Kate had no idea what they were talking about and was relieved when Jen indulged her in conversation about her favorite movies. Not surprisingly, Ethan and Aidan had never heard of "The Little Mermaid" or "Mulan." Kate was shocked. "Mulan was a warrior who pretended to be a man and saved the Chinese people and all of China from the Huns!"

Luckily, Kate and the boys found common ground in Knock Knock jokes and spent the rest of the evening cracking each other up. The visit was short, but sweet. Hopefully, it won't be another four years until we see the wonderful Chung family.