home away from home

August 5, 2014 Stephanie Eche

I miss my family. It's hard to be so far away, but I'm thankful for the time we all get to spend together. This summer my whole family met up in Belmont Shore, Long Beach for a week. My sister spent a long weekend San Diego and I worked out of the LA office, but eventually we were all able to take a break from the day-to-day and relax at a beach house with the people that matter most.

We have a ton of extended family in Los Angeles, so every night was an excuse to drink some wine and hang out. During the day we spend time by the bay and on the beach, the highlights being bonfire night at Bolsa Chica and the Gondola ride! We also celebrated my sister's birthday by hiking up to the Hollywood sign and somehow found time for a Pat Benatar + Berlin concert in Orange County.

Growing up in Arizona, we always looked forward to summer trips to Long Beach and San Pedro. Sometimes we would stay with our cousins for weeks. We loved hanging out in SoCal and I think we all secretly wished we had grown up alongside all our cousins. Every time we were in town everyone would get together and we'd all hangout, I always thought it was just always like that, but I've realized the very fact that we weren't always there was reason to celebrate when we were. To this day, when the 'Arizona cousins' are in town everyone will take time out of their lives and join the party. Now that I live away from my immediate family, I appreciate this even more. So thank you family for always making the time! And if you haven't spent time with your family lately, you should. It's one of Pope Francis' 10 secrets to happiness!