With a tear in my eye, but a lingering smile on my face, I'm sorry to announce that Best Weekend Ever 2K7 has come and gone. And it lived up to its name.

Mike and Gwen arrived on Wednesday evening, and the weekend was one big party until the following Tuesday. We went to the zoo. Downtown was painted red. We went to the beach one day, and eschewed the beach for a beachfront mansion the next day for our fantasy football draft. Guitar Hero battles and jam sessions were had, as well as old-school Mario Kart and wrasslin', as well as even older school SNES NHL '94. BBQs were fired up, and games were played on dining room tables. I'm really not sure I could have asked for a better weekend.

By far, though, the best part was just having Mike around, and the whirlwind of jokes and laughter and goofiness that follow him. I don't really know how else to put it, other than it's just fun to watch "Mick be Mick". Anyone who reads his blog should get some insight into what that means. It's especially reassuring to know that he can be so far away for so long, and return to old friendships without even a hiccup.

It was also really great that Gwen could visit as well, and that we could all get to get to know her better. I don't particularly envy a new girlfriend being introduced to such a close-knit group of friends, but I think she survived successfully. I expecially enjoyed asking her about neurology stuff (migraines, seizures, etc), and watching her completely "activate" as she spoke about the area of her expertise. It's neat to see someone's passion for a subject shine through as they talk about it. I think Gwen is someone I'd like to be friends with, regardless of her relationship with Mike.

If I were to be totally selfish, I'd hope that they finish their military service and move to San Diego. It might be a lot to ask, but a boy can dream.

The other best part about Best Weekend Ever, as a side-effect of Mike's visit, was that Eryn and Iwan and Gabe and Little Buhr and Norm (and associated girlfriends and families) were all out in full effect for part or all of the weekend. It's always a ton of fun when we can all get together, and this happened multiple times over the course of a weekend. I don't have particuarly many friends, and I really adore the few that I have, so having them all in the same room is always a great thing.

And so there it is. The football draft went well, and I'm completely giddy for the NFL to start. Diana and I have a busy week ahead of us, with our second childbirth class tonight, as well as a hospital tour tomorrow, then a rehearsal dinner, then wedding, then family brunch for her cousin's wedding this weekend. We took our first childbirth class last week, and I'm sorry to say I was pretty disappointed with it. It was one of those situations where half-an-hours worth of information was stretched out over 2.5 hours (including a full 1.5 hours of "ice-breaker" games and introductions. Jeez!) We also went to a breastfeeding class, which was actually pretty good, and I think we learned some good information, but it's unfortunately a little hard to practice before "go time".

Diana and I were talking about the upcoming Charger pre-season game, and getting it set up to record on our DVR, and Diana said that we should look up a baby "LT" jersey. It caught be a little off guard, the emotion and realness of it all, and I pretty much burst into tears. I'm excited to become a father, but just to warn you all, there may be waterworks involved.

That's all I've got. Smell ya later for now.