#AquinoGirlsinSF2019

Saturday April 20

1:30 am – Arrived in Sacramento, CA and waited for pick up by the Brother-in-Law in a van described, by my sister, as “pearly-beige”….He pulled up in a beige van. Laughed and joked about my bougie sister. To my surprise, in the morning, it was indeed pearly-beige.
2:30 am – Arrive at my sister’s house. Tired and full, but never full to stuff my face with Tinola. All the kids are sleeping. Debate whether or not to brush my teeth…. Brush teeth and go to bed.
8:00 am – Wake up
11:00 am – Brunch in Napa
8:45 am – Woke up and got ready for the day!
10:00 am – Cooked pancakes for the kids!
12:00 pm – Napa to sight-see with the family
11:00 am – No time for Napa, made new plans.
11:45 am – Went to Ulta. Quick photo sesh, courtesy of baby-brother-in-law, Erik.

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12:00 pm – Ulta. 1:00 pm– Discovered Peet’s coffee….They are better than Starbucks!
1:30 pm – Still full from breakfast but went to Rubio’s for shrimp tacos. Because, why not?
3:00 pm – Went to Nordstrom’s Rack for deals. No deals were had, spent $800.00.
4:00 pm – Leave house to make it to San Francisco by 5pm
4:40 pm – Shit, we’re gonna be late! Rushed out of Nordstrom’s Rack to get ready!
5:15 pm – Fell asleep in the car but still managed to have tons of fun on Snap Chat!

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6:40 pm – Parked and made our way to Orpheum Opera House. Found this cool wall and took a picture.

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6:50 pm– Made it to Orpheum, took another picture, and immediately went straight for the refreshment line. Bashed about the ridiculously overpriced souvenir cup. Planned on chugging. ….Bought 4 cups. Found our seats.
7:00 pm – HAMILTON

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10:00 pm – Drove back to Vacaville, home by 11:30pm.
12:00 am – Slumber party with Naomi. Told stories until we fell asleep.

Sunday April 21

9:00 am – Church
11:30 am – Poke Pho (because, F you, Nestlyne) Family lunch. Sat at the kids’ table and had an interesting conversation about what a HUG is. Haha
1:00 pm – Barnes and Noble to spoil my nieces and nephews rotten to overcompensate for all the time we spend apart.
3:00 pm – Science!! My sister did a couple of science experiments with the kids because, when does she not do science with the kids?
4:00 pm – Game of HORSE PIG (not enough time for Horse). We’re we even TRYING to make a basket?? Someone watching from the window may or may not have thought we were blind.
4:20 pm – Left for the Airport, back in Anchorage by midnight.

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Quick turn-around trips are so exhausting, but time with my family is always worth it. I absolutely LOVE my sisters and I am grateful and lucky that we were raised so closely – Big shout out to my parents who forced us to do EVERYTHING together, including sharing a bedroom until we were well-into our teenage years. We didn’t grow up with the concept of privacy and we abide by the practice of “what’s mine is yours, what’s yours is mine”…. Well, up until I became the bigger (and rounder) little sister and could no longer share clothes and shoes with them. Damn it.

Regrettably, I sacrificed a lot of good opportunities to spend time with my sisters. I had a plethora of excuses for not going, and in retrospect, they weren’t very good ones. My middle sister was stationed in Europe for a really long period of time and I didn’t even visit her. Not ONCE….Not even when she got sick. In 2010, my entire family went on a Hawaii trip, the same year we all found out were pregnant together – I didn’t go to that either. The big sister though?..She was ALWAYS around. A part of me (a very small part) gets jealous because her bond with my nieces and nephews are different. She shares a special bond with ALL the kids. She is, of course, Mama-Auntie. Sister-Time is too important to pass up and now, I’m saying HELL YES to all the trips and you should, too!!

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TAKE ALL THE TRIPS!!! #AquinoGirlsin??2020, stay tuned!!

Love, Nori