California Love...

Are you "Tupac-ing" it to "California Love"? Nick and I were invited to a wedding in California two weekends ago back at our old stomping grounds in Orange County! It was the perfect opportunity for a little getaway for us, and to visit our old home. Southern California will always have a special place in our family's heart. It's where both of us spent the majority of our Marine Corps careers, it's where Nick and I met, it's where we bought our first home, and it's where our first child was born! We have wonderful memories there, and it's always a treat to get to go back!

And airport selfie, because we can....

So funny story...

We originally purchased roundtrip tickets to fly out from Texas on Friday and fly home the following Monday.

We made a last minute decision to fly to California a day early so that we could enjoy an extra day to hang out and see friends. 

Since changing our ticket was going to be costly, Nick decided to purchase two one way tickets on Thursday, and just fly back on Monday with our original round trip tickets.

He purchased our tickets online through Expedia....through SPIRIT AIRLINES!

If you know anything about Spirit airlines, you know that they are an ultra low budget airline that nickels and dimes you for EVERYTHING (just google the horrific reviews).

They also have THE WORST reputation in the airline industry for flight cancellations.

You can literally buy a round trip ticket for less than a hundred bucks through spirit, but in the end, you end up paying to print your boarding pass, pay for all your bags (checked or not checked), etc. 

They also have the worst legroom, non reclining seats, no complimentary beverages.

It's basically "bare bones" flying. 

I was SO irritated that Nick did not take this into consideration.

Look, I'm no diva (maybe a little), but I prefer to fly in comfort.

I forced him to pay the extra 50ish bucks for the emergency exit row, because if I'm gonna sit on an airplane for 3.5 hours with non reclining seats, I NEED some legroom.

With that said...

Our flight was not cancelled.

The flight attendants were SUPER friendly.

The money spent on the emergency exit row seat was worth it.

The aircraft was tidy.

Would I fly Spirit again?

Probably not.

The seats were really small, so I felt a little squished on the sides.

Also, I can not gamble with my travel with the possibility of having a cancelled flight.

But, it wasn't a terrible experience.

Our first stop when we arrived in Orange County was San Juan Capistrano!

SJC has a very special place in my heart, because it's where our first home was!

This is a cute little historic area just down the road from where we used to live.

Then we hit up my favorite little bistro/café in SJC, The Sundried Tomato!

Dannika and I used to come here every Saturday morning for brunch when Nick was deployed!

Sundried Tomato soup!

My all time favorite, Dr. Rick's salad.

Spring mix salad with prosciutto wrapped goat cheese and a balsamic glaze over the salad!

absolutely delicious! 

One of my favorite things to do when we lived in Cali was go on runs by the beach!

The views and the ocean breeze made running so enjoyable and fun! 

Of course Nick and I hit up the beach run up and down San Clemente beach.

One of my favorite beaches!

 We stayed at the Laguna Cliffs Resort with the rest of the wedding party.

We love this resort, and it was such a nice treat to come back for old time's sake.

Nick and I spent several anniversaries here for a weekend getaway.

 We hit up our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Adobe...

I had the most delicious lobster tacos.

Because every Aggie always takes photos of their Aggie ring on vacation...

Nick hit up his favorite barber shop for a haircut!

Military bases always have the best barber shops around it!

They give the best razor fades!

 Because food...

We hit up our favorite sushi place in San Clemente, Tak-a-o.

The hummingbird special.

No idea why it's called that.

It's stuffled and fried jalapeño with their special sauce.

Calamari!

THE BEST!

Our good friend Paul met up with us there!

Lounging poolside...

In jeans....

Rehearsal dinner!

 After the rehearsal dinner, Nick and I decided to hit up an old bar that we used to frequent.

We convinced this mom and son who were there for the wedding to join us!

It was so fun!

 More food...

We hit up Wahoos fish tacos!

 And finally, the wedding day! 

The wedding was at the Ritz Carlton at Laguna Niguel.

It was an absolutely breathtaking venue.

The ceremony was on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

A good friend of ours owns a photobooth company, Stay Golden Photobooth.

Nick and I decided to get the bride and groom a photobooth setup as a wedding gift.

It was a big hit!

 Aggie ring pic...

Nick was the lead sword arch for the wedding.

 Because I like taking photos of pretty salads...

The wedding was a blast, and we were so honored to be able to share it with our friends.

Until next time, California....

#peace

Goodbye 2nd Grade

I'm way behind, and am playing catch up on my blog! Nick and I just got back last weekend from a fun little getaway to California for a wedding, and I had to dive into summer school as soon as we got home. I've had no time to do anything! I took my very last math class of my college career this month, and finished an 8 week course in a week! I finally feel like I can breathe a little...and blog! I'd figure I'd start with Dannika, and her last day of 2nd grade. This school year flew by, and it's crazy for me to think that I completed two semesters at A&M during this time. It's insane to me that I'll be graduating in 2 months! SERIOUSLY! WOW! 2nd grade was full of new surprises for us as parents, and definitely a lot more academic than Kindergarten and 1st! This is the first year she's had consistent homework every week. This is the first year we dealt with some "girl drama" (good lord!). She's grown practically 3 inches this year, and grew out of an entire wardrobe within the first three months of starting school. 2nd grade was a great year, and with all the amazing teachers that Dannika had, it's hard to imagine the outcome of this year being any different!

 So here she is on her first day of 2nd grade.

She wanted to be a teacher!

And here she is on her last day!

Can you tell how tall she's gotten?!

Also, she told me she wants to be a fashion designer.

I have no idea where that came from, since she has never mentioned it before!

I guess we shall see in the future what she becomes!

2nd grade was pretty awesome, but we are ready to enjoy the summer!!!

Playing Catch Up...Again

Why is blogging becoming such a chore for me these days?! I mean, I want to blog. I love writing down memories that my kids will be able to go back and read one day. It's obviously important to me. Looking back on my blog, I usually blog a lot when I'm lonely, not gainfully employed, or frustrated about something. If you look at the years between 2012 and 2014 when I had just gotten out of the Marines and moved to Massachusetts, I blogged A LOT. I blogged non stop. I was frustrated, lonely, depressed, and cold (literally and figuratively). Since we've been in Texas, I have truly never been happier with my life. Being in my element with "my people" (my people meaning fellow Texans), I really don't have too much to complain about. On top of attending my dream school (Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2017!), I am surrounded by amazing people. I live in a great neighborhood with awesome neighbors. What more could a girl ask for? Plus, I share more of my life on Instagram nowadays than my blog, and most of my readers follow my Instagram. But still, I really need to get on this blog train, and keep y'all updated on my life (for those that care at least, right?)

So I guess we can start with Mother's Day. I hope all you wonderful mommies out there had a wonderful one! I sure did! Nick always makes the day special, and makes it a point to not let me lift a finger. lol. We went to church, lunch, and I spent the rest of the day on the couch binging on Netflix with a glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc. If you care, I binged on 13 Reasons Why and finished the entire season. That is a WHOLE another blog post!

Nick's mom passed away several years ago, but we still make a point to keep her memory alive in our house.

Her favorite flowers were yellow roses, so we got a bouquet in honor of her!

Nick cooked an amazing meal for me!

I usually do most of the cooking in our house, and he mans the grill.

I'm always super impressed when he does whip up something for me in the kitchen though!

Dannika became a "Forest Ridge Falcon Flyer" by running a total of 124 laps during PE this year!

Nick and I were invited to an amazing Mexican feast (courtesy of the teachers at D's school) for the VIPS luncheon!

Dannika and her BFF were partners for their first ever science palooza! 

They did an experiment with acids and bases!

Our nanny, Rachel came to say goodbye for the summer as she heads off to her internship in Dallas this summer!

Finally got both of our kids' birth announcements framed!

Dannika's birth announcement was a tri-fold, so I had to cut it up and get creative!

This kid rides a bike with no training wheels!

Like, he's never had training wheels EVER (check out my instagram to see @domesticatedcombatboots)

Riding on two wheels can get exhausting. 

Good thing he hydrates!

Nick received an award from our community!

A non profit group here called "Keep Brazos Beautiful" awarded him with the "Good Neighbor Award".

This is what I wrote on Instagram about it:

"Nick was presented with Keep Brazos Beautiful's "good neighbor award" today at a banquet. He was recognized for his efforts taking charge of our neighborhood spring cleanup, coordinating our fishing tournament, as well as lowering and raising our neighborhood's flags. For those who know Nick, this is just "all in a day's work" for him. Not only does he tirelessly and selflessly serve our country and the Marines he is surrounded by, but he also finds ways to serve within our community. That's the true embodiment of what it means to be a Marine. We don't just fight and win wars, but we give back to our local communities. Why wouldn't we want to make our home a better place to live? Nick has spent 16 years of life defending it. Marines are "No better friend, no worse enemy". I promise you, you will have no better friend than Nicholas Mark Romer. Proud of you Nick! It makes me feel good knowing that I am not the only one that recognizes everything that you do!"

 And just because this photo is hilarious....

We are having some slight issues with Mattis sleeping in his bed....

He likes to jump in our bed with us right after his bath hoping we'll let him stay.....

I promise to TRY to do a better job of keeping up on this thing!

Hope everyone is hanging in there until the kids are out of school! 

OH, AND THIS GAL JUST FINISHED THIS SEMESTER WITH A 3.8 GPA!!!