Beach Babies (or Toddlers)

We had the opportunity to go to California right after our visit with the Bryans. Lish's dad owns a house in Huntington Beach, and we were invited out for a week. It was awesome! I told Lish on our last night there that vacations with kids aren't very relaxing (for those of you with kids, I know you're shocked to find this out!), but we both felt relaxed and rejuvenated and refreshed and all those other re words. It was just what we needed, and just what Yale needed.

Yale had so much fun playing at the beach in the sand and in the waves. He became an excellent swimmer (aka, not afraid of the water and even went under a couple times). He saw a bazillion airplanes and plenty of helicopters. He was outside a lot. He had his cousin, Lici, there by his side almost the entire trip. He had no furniture to climb on and fall off of, nor did he have any trinkets to break. It was a perfect vacation for him, which means it was a perfect vacation for me and Lish.

We are so grateful to Mitch and Bev for hosting us and for having patience during Yale's screaming and yelling periods. We are so grateful for the chance we had to go out there and spend time with them.  And we're so glad we got to spend a couple extra days there with just Mitch. It was a great way to end a great trip!

Tally-Ho

Lish, Yale and I had the opportunity to head back to Tallahassee this last week. It was wonderful! The week was full of good friends, delicious eats, a sandy beach, and tasty treats. We had sooo much fun! But we were sooo busy and sooo tired when we got home.

The purpose of the trip was for Lish to defend his dissertation. And he passed. Yay! He has a few more things to edit and he will be done. Finished. Finito. (I do not think that is a word, but I like it.) I'm so proud of him for making this huge accomplishment! He's amazing!

Here are some visuals of the vacay:

I wish we had taken more pictures with friends, but we were just having way too much fun. Thanks for a great trip everyone! We'll sure miss you, Tallahassee. You were good to us and we shall always remember you fondly.

Sick Station and Destin Fun

Pretty much, my husband is amazing. He really takes good care of me, which I love. I love getting attention from him. This past week he helped prove to me again that I am extremely blessed. I was sick with a head cold. Not fun. Stuffy. Achy. Coughing. Tired. You know. I only missed 45 minutes of work at the end of the work day on Wednesday, and 40 minutes on Friday morning. Thursday was the worst day and I was stuck from 8 until after 5. When I got home on Thursday, I came home to see that Lish had laid out a "sick station" for me. He's so thoughtful. I stayed put all night.

(There's a box of tissues and some comfort food there too, aka, vanilla wafers and oreos.)

(This is pretty much what I did all night. It was the finale of SYTYCD, what else do you expect?)

(This is pretty much what she did all night too. Loved the company.)In other news, our friends Nate and Melanie from Provo came out to Destin, FL a couple weekends ago. We had the opportunity to drive out and visit them for a little bit. We got in earlier on Saturday and spent the day at the beach. Then we met up with them that night. We went back to our stellar hotel (it wasn't so stellar) and met up with them again on Sunday morning. We spent the whole day with them and Mel's family. It was so great to see them and catch up. I love spending time with amazing friends! Especially ones like Nate and Mel!

(They're a little sunburned. Alright, Lish is a little sunburned.)

America's Birthday

Next, our July 4th weekend. Lish and I had both gotten home from our trips that Sunday before the holiday. I didn't know I'd have July 3rd off, so we hadn't really planned on doing much. When I found out I did get Friday off, we were invited by Jen and Trevor to go down to Jen's mom's house in Jupiter, FL. Now if this location sounds familiar, that's because it is. It's also where Lish's grandparents live for half of the year, so we go down there for Thanksgiving.

Anyway, we packed up our stuff and the pooches on Thursday after work and made the drive down. We didn't get in until late, but we played at the beach on Friday and Saturday. Watched some fireworks down at Palm Beach. Ate some delicious fish. Swam at the pool. And slept. It was a fabulous weekend! We had such a blast!

(Excuse the jumbled mess that is our pictures.)