San Diego Anniversary

It seems as if our wedding day was yesterday. The emotions still reign fresh and everything feels the same, yet the world has been turning for an entire year. Marriage is tough. I never believed people about the first year of marriage, but it is work. Nick's mom always says anything worth fighting for is work. It's wonderful as well. We spent our first anniversary in San Diego. A year ago we thought we would go over to Hawaii and enjoy time there, but we are now living only a few hours from sunny California. We were both very excited at the thought of going to the zoo!!!

We got there Friday and headed to La Jolla Beach. For us the water and the air was a bit too cold. The sand was hot beneath our feet, but the waters were way too cold. We sat on the beach and just watched all of the fearless surfers and crazy people in the waters. That night we walked to Little Italy to this little place Nick's family told us about. The portions were huge! It was truly authentic Italian.

This bottle is not ours, but it was above our table.

Saturday we headed for a day of fun at the Zoo. Wow, it was huge! The animals were so cool and we were just in awe the entire time. I think my favorite was the panda. Everything was cute, but I have to go with the exotic thing. I'll tell the story with pictures.

Santa's reindeer in their offseason!

Selfie!

Panda is cool. This was the mama!

These are related to giraffes.

All the koalas we saw were asleep!

Babies

This Tasmanian Devil was named Nick.

After the Zoo we were pretty beat. We went to George's to eat that night to view the sea. It was beautiful!!! After George's we headed down to the beach to see the seals. They were right there!!! I cannot believe it!

Sunday we went to visit Chris, Tara and Natalie. We all walked up to a little eatery. It's so funny because everything in Cali seems to be "crunchy granola.' Not much meat, all organic.. the way I love it! A kid skateboarded into the shop to eat! You don't see that in Texas much! We also walked a lot during our time there which I loved!!!

We did not have a our wedding cake so we settled on a Dairy Queen Cake blizzard!!! Ahhh a year of marital bliss... not always, but usually!!! It's been a wonderful time with my best friend!!!

Fireworks n' Family

I've lived out of suitcases for almost two months. It's actually not so bad. I'll save the post about moving to Las Vegas for later. I must focus on the fun of the past week! I fly back to Las Vegas in the morning so it seems I'm "home" here and then I'll be "home" there! Last week I jetted off to San Antonio where I first go to spend time with Tiffany and her family. We got to visit and just hang out. Tiff, JC and the girls took me to dinner where we enjoyed live music then we went home to just chat. The next day Tiffany had to work so her mom came and got me and the girls and we went to the movies and to lunch... then to a goat farm! It was so cool!!! Linda took me shopping around that night for something to wear for family photos... then the next day (July 4) Dad and Brenda came to get me and we all said our goodbyes. It was a wonderful time!!!

Hailey & Aubrey

 

Alyssa and her family drove in from North Dakota, Steven and his family came in from Oklahoma and we all gathered downtown on the RiverWalk. Brenda's brothers and their families were able to join us as well! It was like a mini reunion. We walked around and showed Henry the Alamo... he is from Nigeria so this is all very new to him. We took family photos all dressed in our red, white and blue. My room had an amazing view of the fireworks so we all piled in there for the show. It was so much fun to have everyone together just laughing and talking. Saturday we crazily decided to go to Sea World. Dad stayed back and enjoyed time with other family members. Steven, Ashley, Rylie, Saige, Rex and I watched a bit of the beach show and noticed a little basketball thing next to it. Steven went first and won a mini basketball. I had to win one for the sisters, too! So I shot the 3 pointers with the men's basketballs and boo-ya, I won!!!! Then we stood in line forever to see Shamu. Shamu isn't as cool as when I was little. It's all too political and they don't get to ride them anymore blah blah. It was great, but different. By this time we were all so tired of waiting in lines and the crazy crowds. We decided it was time to get back. We gathered at the hotel where Brenda's brothers, Jay and Jimmy brought their entire families to meet us. This was a very special time to get everyone together. We all went on the RiverWalk to eat and just hung out for a bit longer at the rooftop pool.

There was a point when I looked at the crowd and just thanked God. I always say Dad and I got a second chance. God provided us with this lovely family. I'm so blessed to be a part of it.

When we got back we took Dad in for his angiogram. His stress tests showed some blockage on his heart. I wasn't too thrilled, but I wasn't worried. They did not find any blockage so he was free to go after two hours of sitting still. It was a scare for him for sure. I hate health issues and know we must fight them as we get older, but it's just a scary thing. I try to workout and eat healthy, but we just never really know what is lurking within us ready to harm us. Again, what a blessing that he was just fine and went through all of it for basically nothing... well, except peace of mind and a regimen to be a bit healthier which just might be worth all of it.

Ahhh so the suitcase travels back West. Then it will hit San Diego this weekend. Hey, I'm not complaining. This is an adventurous time. I miss Nick and the cat though. I will have to pack them in my suitcase next time.