Happy Birthday Hike, Pung You

Yesterday was pung you's birthday. For those of you who are not fluent in Chinese (don't worry, neither am I) pung you, pronounced pung-yo, means friend in Chinese, a.k.a. Audrey Chin. Audrey and I have been friends since middle school and she is one of my favorite people ever. Unfortunately for me, most of the time, she isn't actually in Las Vegas. She went to school in Philadelphia which was awesome because when I went to visit, she took me on my inaugural trip to NYC (where I was giddy as a schoolgirl visiting the MTV studios at age 19.) She introduced me to gelato and then moved to China for a year and a half. Then, just when we thought we had her back for good, she ran for The Hills...well, LA at least which is where she currently resides.

She is visiting us now though and yesterday, PY turned 26. We celebrated by meeting LoBo for lunch at Rachel's Kitchen and then headed to Red Rock for a nice Happy Birthday Hike. I, of course, brought along Sir Gordon and she brought her dog, Mousse. Audrey and Mousse are truly kindred spirits. I have never met a dog and owner who have more of a connection than those two. Mousse originally belonged to her brother Tola in China, but while she lived out there, they developed such a strong bond that she actually moved him from China back to the States in order to be with him full time. And it's so cute when she says his name like "Mooouuuuuusssseeeee."

So the four of us hiked around Ice Box Canyon which was perfect and just slightly cooler than the 82 degree desert trail. We took the pups down by the river and after some hesitation, I let Gordon run free off his leash. Let me tell you, he had a friggin' ball. Running in and out of the water and up and down the rocks with his new B.F.F. Mousse. Let me tell you something about my little guy's hair, it is like VELCRO. Everything sticks in it so it took me 37 minutes to bathe him when we got home last night and I'm still pulling leaves and thorns out from his fur. This morning, 12 hours after we got back, he still was not interested in standing up for any longer than two minutes. But totally worth it since I'm pretty sure it was the best day of his life so far.

I hope PY (and her Mousse) enjoyed the day as much as Gordon and I did and I hope that her 26th year is the best yet. Trust me, she deserves it.

我爱你! Wo ai ni :)