Summer Lately (and Picture Overload)

A few weeks ago, I made the comment to someone that this summer has been pretty mild (for Texas). I guess mother nature overheard, and decided to "show me up". It has been hot as HAYLL lately! Thank goodness for A/C, popsicles, and pool time. We've been making the best of it and enjoying the heat! After all, I did say that I would never complain about the heat ever again after living in New England for two brutal winters. As Nick and I wrap up college (eek!), our kids have been troopers. They've become experts at entertaining themselves while mama studies, and have been very patient (most of the time) with my school schedule. We do find fun things to do in between classes and studying! We created a "summer bucket" list for our kids, and have been diligently knocking each one off, one by one!

S'mores in our backyard was one of our bucket list items!

So Zima made a comeback!

It's actually a pretty disgusting malt liquor that I enjoyed back in my underage drinking days...

It was more nostalgic than anything.

My goofy husband drinking one with his pinky up!

 Family game night ✅ (another bucket list item)

ice cream for lunch!

Cheer clinic!

Summer reading shopping trip ✅

Who remembers "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry"?! 

It's a classic, and I was so excited for Dannika to read it!

Fun 4th of July photos!

Bluebell ice cream on National Ice Cream day!

Who knew that was even a thing?!

Bake cookies ✅

I can hardly believe that it is the end of July and graduation is so close!

That Time a Stranger Spilled a Coke on Me in White Pants

I like my rather long and catchy title. I'll get into that story in a little bit. This blog post is actually about the 2nd wedding that Nick and I attended this summer. So much summer love! A Marine that I was on recruiting duty with recently got married, and Nick and I were honored to be invited to their wedding! Nick was asked to lead his sword arch (like he has done faithfully for all of our Marine friends' weddings). The wedding was in Pomona, California, an hour and a half east of LA. It was a short, quick getaway for Nick and I, and we were so excited to watch our dear friend marry the love of his life. The wedding was held at the Kellogg House. The Kellogg house is a mansion on Cal State Pomona's campus. It was originally owned by the Kellogg's cereal guy (hence the name of the venue)!  Here are some photos from our fun little trip, and, yes, the story about my white pants and a stranger spilling coke all over them is coming up...

Airport selfie at the bar!

One of our favorite things to do when we travel is to grab a drink before we board our flight.

For whatever reason, drinks taste better at the airport.

So here's the story:

Nick sat in the aisle, I sat in the middle, and this young man sat next to window on the plane.

We all ordered drinks, and the man next to me ordered a coke.

I watched him doze off with his coke in his hand, and for a moment, I thought...

"Huh...that would suck if he spills it on himself while he's asleep."

I glanced back over, and noticed that he had put his coke down on his tray table, had his arms crossed, and had fallen back asleep.

 I started reading my trashy tabloid magazine (like I always do on airplanes), when all of a sudden, the guy had a random reflex while asleep, and he knocked his coke off the tray table....ALL OVER ME AND MY WHITE PANTS!

I was furious. Livid. 

"Seriously, dude?! I'm wearing freaking white pants?!"

Then I glared at him.

He apologized profusely (which still didn't help the situation).

Luckily, I had my carry on in the overhead compartment, and went to the lavatory to change clothes.

The flight attendants gave me a can of seltzer water to soak my pants in.

So that's not the end of the story...

Once I got up to change, Nick looked at the guy and told him (in a completely non confrontational way), "dude, you need to be careful."

The guy took one look at Nick, and begged him not to hit him.

He actually said, "please don't hit me."

Seriously! 😂😂😂😂

I can't make this up!  

He offered to pay for my pants, to which Nick said no.

But either way, the rest of the flight was extremely uncomfortable....for that guy.

He avoided eye contact with us the entire flight.

Airplane selfie before taking off...because we're basic like that.

This was pre "coke all over my white pants" incident.

We stopped at this random fancy restaurant in Pico Rivera, CA on our way to Pomona to have a quick dinner.

My gracious parents watched our kids again for us.

I can always count on my super Korean mom to be hooking up my kids with great skincare.

Photos from the wedding and reception.

I love the expression of the pastor during the first kiss as husband and wife!

wedding cake!

This wedding was the last time Nick would wear his Enlisted dress blues!

Next time he wears blues, he'll be wearing the Officer blues.

I spent the majority of the evening dancing and partying it up with these two handsome men.

Preston (on the left) is the groom's brother, and Whitney (on the right) is his fiance. 

I met so many fun, friendly, and amazing people at this wedding!

The wedding was an absolute blast.

Congrats to our friend Thomas, and our new friend (and his new wife) Roxanne!

Thanks for letting us share your special day with y'all!

They Say 8 is GREAT

My first born...my angel...my baby girl just turned EIGHT this week! I think I've said this a million times, and I've worn the saying out, but "they really do grow up so fast"...in the blink of an eye. Every year, I end up reminiscing about my baby girl on my blog. I go on and on about how it feels just like yesterday when we brought her home from the hospital, and how I still remember her first birthday party. I'm sure everyone is tired of me saying the same things every year. I'm not gonna do that this time.

Nick posted on his Facebook that I always get sad when our kids turn a year older, because they'll no longer be "babies" (they'll ALWAYS be MY babies...but they won't be little). However, Nick wrote that he is happy that she is a little older because it means there are more things they can do together. 

I love his outlook. He truly enjoys every precious moment he has with our kids, and I am so grateful that our kids have such a strong dad (both physically and emotionally) to look up to. 

As for Dannika, year 7 was full of love. You still have the same positive outlook on life. You see the good in EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. I feel like I am too hard on you sometimes, and ask too much of you. I hope you know that I only do that, because I know that you are capable of so much more than you realize. You still have a sensitive soul, and you wear your heart on your sleeve. Your daddy and I laugh at you when we joke around with you, because you take what we say so literally (when we're just joking). You love people unconditionally. You're an amazing big sister to Mattis, and even though he can really be a pesky little brother, thanks for always stepping up when it counts as his big sister. Thanks for still letting me pick out your clothes, and put ridiculously large bows in your hair (although we have toned it down a bit). You're loyal....fiercely loyal to your close group of friends, and I love that you know the importance of that at such a young age. Thanks for teaching me and reminding me every single day to be a little kinder, be humbler, and see all that is good in everything and everyone....even when it's bad. Never lose your positive energy, and never let anyone steal that from you. I don't care if you're the smartest or the fastest or the best at anything, but I do care that you stay true to yourself. You keep doing you, baby girl! God has AMAZING plans for you, and I can't wait to see that plan unfold.

Last night as a 7 year old!

Morning of her birthday! Shipley's donuts of course!

I had class on her birthday, but my sweet mama friends got cupcakes and gifts for my sweet girl.

As soon as I got done with class, I rushed over to my friend's house where the girls had been swimming all morning, and we had a mini birthday celebration for her!

I am so blessed by "my village".

Dannika's sweet friend Ava came back from Indiana for a short visit.

It was perfect timing with her birthday, and the perfect birthday surprise!

#squadgoals

Thanks to everyone who gave Dannika well wishes and "happy birthdays"! 

She is one lucky gal to have all y'all in her life!