True love

Yesterday I learned a little life lesson.

I wasn't expecting it.

I thought I was supporting a friend who had just lost her father.

Instead I learned a valuable lesson from her grieving mother.

She spoke so bravely at his memorial service about how she received a blessing last year when her husband of nearly 30 years was diagnosed with a liver disease and only had years to live.

How could something so terrible be a blessing?

Well she went on to explain that it made them tell each other everything they had every wanted to say and love each other like they had never loved before.

As it turns out, his liver disease wasn't what killed him, it was a tragic fall from a ladder that was out of the blue.

She said with out his diagnosis, she wouldn't have been able to be at peace with him dying, because there would have been so many "should haves." She knew that their marriage was as strong as ever and there were no doubts left for either of them. Of course she will miss him and would have loved to have more time with him, but the time she did spend with him filled her with so much love that she will always have.

Her words made me stop and think... do I take the time to always say what is on my mind to loved ones?

Do I say "I love you" enough?

Do I squeeze super hard when giving hugs?

Do I take the time to cherish moments or do I rush through things because I am too busy?

Tonight our family time playing outside seemed extra special, I actually took the time to enjoy every minute of it...

and I am so glad that I did!

I am so sorry for your loss Julie, and I will keep you and your mother in my thoughts and prayers.

Del Mar Fair

Today we took a little trip to the Del Mar Fair.

I guess I am incorrect by not calling it the SD County Fair, but I am keeping it old school, it has always been the Del Mar Fair to me.

It was a beautiful day for the fair!

Turns out Emma likes ketchup on a fork, yummy!

Turns out she really likes it and ate a ton.

Then it was ride time!!!

Notice how JuJu is holding on super tight.

Well that would be because of the carnie telling him, "if you drop that baby in the water, I'll bite your ear off." Well Mr. Carnie, it worked, Emma was safe and dry after the boat ride.

The kiddos rode some rides with Abuelita.

Emma rode the Goliath slide with Mama, and she loved it.

She was laughing at the end and even sat herself back down because she didn't want off.

I love how Ebit was holding Jacob's shirt super tight on the huge ferris wheel.

She even got super nervous when he would try and stand up. This little guy has come a long way from hating the rides a few years ago.

Emma ate some cotton candy...

and enjoyed every sticky, messy bite of it.

All of this fair fun made for a sleepy kid.

Papa fed some goats while Juju just watched.

We had a wonderful time with, Papa, Abuelita, JuJu & Tìa Lizzy.

Poor Dada was traveling today for work, so he couldn't join us.

That's okay... we will make a special trip back just for you Dada!

Jacob's Preschool Graduation!

Today was a big day!

Our favorite little guy graduated from Preschool!!!

Here he is walking on the stage.

Way to go Jacob!

Man, this little guy is growing up fast.

As they received their awards, Miss Kathy asked each kiddo what their favorite thing about preschool was, and here is Jacob's answer...

I am so sad that I cut the video short. He jumped off the stage when he was done, and it was priceless!

We are so proud of you.

I can't wait to see you go to kindergarten in the fall.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all you amazing dads out there!

Of course Father's Day means a lot to me, because I have an amazing Dad and now Emma has an amazing Dad also. Gotta love those Dads!

Poor kiddo passed out on the way home tonight, and has been out ever since.

I guess that is what happens when kiddos decide to skip their naps entirely.

This morning Douggie and I headed home and met up with everyone after church.

We opened some presents.

Then we headed to my Uncle Ruben and Aunt Kelleen's house for a family BBQ.

Emma loved swimming with dada and the big kids.

Jacob didn't leave the pool all day, I think he even grew fins. ;)

We were especially lucky this year to have my mom's brother Jesse, his wife Julie, their kids Lisa, Larry, Sara, Lisa's husband Mark and Sara's son Charles, all in town from Texas.

What a wonderful day full of family and lots of special dads!

Early Anniversary Weekend

This weekend we celebrated our 4th Wedding Anniversary a few weeks early.

Our real anniversary is so close to the 4th of July, so it makes it a bit more challenging to travel.

We spent our weekend in Downtown San Diego and stayed at the Sofia Hotel.

It is a historic hotel that originally opened in 1927 as the Pickwick Hotel.

The rooms are still as tiny as they were back then, but they have all been updated and were super comfy.

Friday night we ate dinner at the Gaslamp Strip Club, and no not that kind of strip club, "strip" as in steak. It is a yummy steakhouse where you grill your own steaks at grills around the restaurant.

Then we headed next door to have a drink at this place ↓

We ate at Dick's Last Resort on Doug's very first visit to SD nearly 7 years ago. It was lots of fun to go back and remember our first real date.

After drinks we headed to an amazing spot for more drinks.

It is a real live speakeasy!!!

See that wall of kegs behind Doug?

Well that is actually the door to get in.

You walk inside a regular downtown restaurant and back near the restrooms is a wall of kegs. You push hard on the kegs and the door swings open.

* I guess I cut off the picture, the sign really said "Noble Experiment."

This was the only picture we took inside. They frown upon flash photos, so we didn't want to be those obnoxious people.

We each had two drinks and they were by far the best drinks that we have EVER had.

They specialize in prohibition era cocktails. We each chose the "dealer's choice" to start. All we did was tell them what kind of alcohol and they did the rest. They asked a few questions and came up with the perfect drinks for each of us. Insanely good!!!

You have to have reservations to get in and you text your reservation request to a random cell #. It was such a fun experience. We can't wait to go back!

Saturday we did some shopping and SD stuff, then walked around Seaport Village.

The we headed to the Top of the Hyatt for... you guessed it, more drinks!

This was also another spot that we went to on Doug's 1st trip to SD.

The view from 40 floors up is so beautiful.

Then we headed to dinner at Rei do Gado.

It is a Brazilian steakhouse, and they bring around 16 different kinds of meat on sword thingys and serve you at your table.

I treated myself to a tasty Caipirinha.

And Douggie put himself into a food coma. :)

We had a wonderful weekend away, and a special thanks to Papa and Abuelita for taking care of the kiddo.

Farewell Fraziers

Last night Marie and I went to a farewell party for our dear friends Mark, Courtney, and Audrey. They will be moving to Austin, Texas where they will be much closer to Courtney's family. We will miss you all dearly but now we have an excuse to visit Austin.

We are so curious if Mark is going to start saying "Y'all" or get a Texan accent.

While Marie and I enjoyed the night out with grown ups, Emma enjoyed a wonderful night with Uncle Andy and his girlfriend Tami who were nice enough to drive from Anaheim just to babysit.

Emma didn't take took well to Uncle Andy's new facial hair (and I can't blame her) but luckily Tami was there to calm her down.

Emma finally opened up to her uncle and really enjoyed herself.

Thank you both so much for babysitting and keeping our little girl company while we were gone. You are more than welcome to babysit anytime.

Pa yee update

Pa yee = Potty according to Emma

So we had a bit of beginner's luck, but we have still been encouraging the potty. Not forcing, just encouraging.

Someone has used the big girl potty 3 times so far!!!

I know that this will be a big obstacle ahead, but we couldn't be more proud of our big girl!

Our weekend.

We had a wonderful weekend full of friends and family... the best way to spend a weekend!

Saturday we went to Jacob's soccer game.

He said he didn't want to play before the game, but the kid ended up scoring a goal and won MVP of the game!!!

Sunday afternoon we headed over to the Fraizer home to have dinner with the Fraizers, Jess and Darren.

I didn't get any pictures of the adults, sorry.

But can you blame me?! These two ↑ ↓ are pretty stinkin' cute!

(this was the goof ball smile I got when I asked her to smile big and say cheese).