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My name is Jeannie. I am a Mommy/Wife by day and a Registered Nurse by night.

7.07.2009

Holiday Road

Well, my friends, I hope that y'all had a fine Independence Day this year. When I think about the 4th of July, I think back to four years ago, picking up Jason at the airport in Honolulu. He came to visit me there and he was received with open arms and fireworks in the background. Little did I know that I would be getting proposed to a few short days later. I am always amazed with life and the twists and turns it has in store. I think about small decisions I have made, and the extreme influences they have had on my life. Some of those decisions I am grateful for, and other decisions I have chosen to learn from and never make again. I think about the influence of others and the impact they have had on my life. It makes me realize that details matter, and by picking up on them, it can change everything. There are so many different routes to choose from and I often find myself spending the majority of my time contemplating all of them. The one thing that brings me peace is the belief in a much higher power than my own. I have to believe that it has been by some sort of design; that there is someone watching out for all of us. Today is truly preparing us for tomorrow.

America, I love you! You've given me a wonderful life.

With that said...

This 4th of July was unexpected and fun, fun, fun. Jason and I weren't planning on going anywhere this year, but at the last minute, we decided to meet my family in So. Cal. for the weekend. There was never a dull moment, and it was great to get away. I feel like I have been working nonstop; probably because when I'm not there, it is always on my mind. I mean, I dream about being at work. It sucks. Does anybody else have that problem?

Jason and I had a grand ol' time driving to the beach. We sang at the top of our lungs and pretended that we were Tim and Faith with no shame at all. The funny/annoying thing about my man is that he changes his voice completely depending on who is singing the song. For instance, when he's singing Tim McGraw, he has a southern twang and tries to sound as much like Tim as possible. When we are in church, he enunciates everything like he is in The Phoenix Boys Choir. When Blink 182 comes on, he sings nasally and thinks that he is a punk. I don't even know. Other people just sing like themselves. Moral of the story, anything with music, Jason, and singing involved is a trip in and of itself. Don't ever do it unless you are fully prepared.

Once we got to the beach, my lover was in a sulky kind of mood, but I managed to perk him right up. Does this not remind you of a little kid? Sometimes I don't know if I adopted a husband or married one...

As the great Johnny Tsunami said, "Go big or go home." Most meaningful quote of all time and you better recognize that we stand by it...especially on vacation.
Oh, and just because we are on holiday doesn't mean that we don't know how to DO WORK! What's a trip to the beach without burying someone? I mean REAlly.
Behold, the finished product. Don't you love how we made him a right arm amputee with mitten hands? He also has one leg shorter than the other.
Also, is smoosh-ball an Olympic sport? 'Cause it should be. Oh, you don't know what smoosh-ball is? I'm sorry, people in my high society play it constantly... it consists of one small blue ball, two wooden paddles, and two highly trained athletes. My sister Olivia and I got up to 17 hits without dropping the ball. I played so long that my bones solidified into the shape of a claw...as evidenced by my left hand in this photo. Maybe that's not even my left hand, it looks like some sort of sea urchin from Davey Jones' Locker. I don't know, you be the judge.
No trip to the beach is complete without surfing. Kind of embarrassing because they gave me the notorious foam board from Costco...whatever. Wish I had a picture of it, but I only have one of Jason. Allow me to recreate the moment for you. Jason picked up this cute little surf board, and puts on a wetsuit, cuz the water is FREEZING. I am left with a big a$$ foam surf board that my arms can't even fully extend around to pick up correctly. So, I had to squeeze it against my body with my palms spread...add a gust of wind to the mix, a shackle around my ankle and a partially intact bikini only. Congratulations, now you have the full picture. Enough said.
Did I mention that I wore SPF 50 all day? Oh, and did I mention that I got the worst sunburn of my entire life? Jason did too. We are such brats, we kept arguing about who had the higher degree burn. However, it didn't matter how bad mine was because Jason got all of the sympathy from my grandma and then some; you better know that he milked it. Looking at the following picture is bitter-sweet...we were so innocent. We had no idea what was to come... little did I know that I would spend the night bathing in aloe-vera and slip into a coma. Nobody even checked to see if I was responsive! I missed the fireworks! REALLY PEOPLE?!?
The burns were worth it! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We had so much fun.
All the girls, minus Olivia...she was M.I.A. Probably seagull hunting again... Can't keep that one put I tell ya. I look like a raspberry in this picture. I was in so much pain and the color got more vibrant as the day progressed.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad you had a fun weekend! Sometimes, short trips like that are the BEST!! Honestly, you can't tell that you got sunburned. I would have never known. Remember our trip to California with all of the girls??! That was soo much fun. I was looking through old pictures the other day, and came across pictures of that trip. We were so young. ha I have the cutest picture of me and you laying out on the beach :) Brings back so memories of that trip and the fun that we all had! xo <3

Anonymous said...

question- who is the kid you are burrying at sea? A random holiday beach goer perhaps? Inquiring minds want to know. You are smart jeans,is that how inquiring is spelled? Great,now I feel foolish. Reina

Lindsay Nichole said...

HAHA I love it! I kinda wish your hand was permaclawed. Does Jason do any Scott Stapp??

Jami said...

Well, maybe you should quit work, and just blog all day? Maybe not...
Looks like tons of fun! You look amazing as always.
AND, we should have a bachelorette party! But seriously...read reality steve!

Chris, Mom,and Grandma said...

Looks like you guys had a great time, Oscar loves the beach infact we asked him if he would want to go back to the mountains or go to Rocky Point and he said Rocky Point cause a least you can swim there! I say Mountains in the dead heat of the summer and Rocky Point when its not so hot! we had a great time though we all the boys being there. Greer is so pretty, glad you guys were able to go at the last mintute...

Liz said...

How fun! I'm so jealous! We did not do a single thing for the 4th! It was kinda lame! I love the claw hand!

*Becky* said...

How fun!!! I'm glad you guys had a great time. And I laughed out loud at your description of the sand boys arms and legs. Also, I can see why Jason got so burnt. His back was the same color as his shorts. I could only tell he was wearing anything by the brown stripe. haha. Lets hang out

*Becky* said...

OH and I laughed at your "claw"

Ericka Johnson said...

How FUN! Texas beaches just aren't the same as California beaches-sigh. Yes, we are pretty close to Houston--about 3.5 hours which is close in TX terms. We would love to meet up. Let us know.

Whitney said...

OKay your blog is seriously one of my favorites. I just laugh the whole time. What a fun trip! Even if you turned into a lobster and no one gave YOU any sympathy. I swear thats what we get when we get married. NO one cares about us anymore only them. atleast your own family it changes when its there family.

The Blakes said...

Monica, would love to see the picture...except it kind of brings me anxiety...I was so homely in highschool, you would think it was the early 90's when grunge was the fashion. Reina, the kid on the beach is a family friend named Trevor. Lindsay, you bet he does. Jami, I am so game for a bachelorette party, except that I usually have to watch it like a day later on DVR, so if you ever have to miss it on the actually day, let me know. Oh, and I read reality steve...OMG *tears*. Ericka, that's awesome, I will let you know. Becky, hells yeah we need to hang out, I'm game; I'm on for the next 6 nights, but call me after. Welcome Whitney! ALSO, yes, we did have an intervention for Jason. A real one about him taking all of the sympathy. I even read him a letter I wrote and everything! It went something like this, "Jason, your addiction to sympathy has negatively affected my life in the following ways..." Haha, he was so bugged.

Chris and Heather said...

Dreaming about work? Actually, I still frequently have nightmares about work and then I wake and the relief washes over me as I realize those days are behind me and I have the job of my dreams. If you hate your job, get one like mine. Yes it is 24/7 but it is SO worth it! Oh but does it have benefits? Heck yes, check out those blog pics again, baby! :)

P.S. You should get that urchin hand of yours looked at... its seriously freaky.

The Blakes said...

Still love my job, just wish I was better at leaving my work issues at work. If I can learn to master it, then I will be able to fully re-charge myself on my days off. You know what I mean...maybe I should see a doctor about my claw! It be freaky

Brea said...

What a fun vacation! I am so jealous... all we did was go up to the cabin and sit! I would of loved to lay out and get some sun!

Hannah + 4 said...

I love last minute trips.... o wait I never take them. Lucky! The beach looks so good right now. Were you making fun of the show intervention? Because I seriously watch it, I'm hooked, that and obsessed, makes me feel better about myself, and makes me also realize how bad I myself have ocd.

The Blakes said...

Haha, yeah, I was totally making fun of the show. However, I LOOOOVE that show, and obsessed. I'm totally with you on that, it makes me realize my issues and makes me feel better about myself at the same time!

Krystal Arnett said...

Jeans, we should have met up we were in Oceanside over the fourth. We totally play smoosh-ball too, but we had 23 hits with 5 people including Matix so beat that. Oh, and your hand totally looks like a freaky sea urchin; it kind of grosses me out! I can totally picture you guys singing in the car, that is why I love you two. I miss you, we need to play.

Josh and Elisha said...

I had so much fun seeing you last week! I also have the problem of dreaming of work, I have two weeks left of summer but I keep dreaming of work...I never want summer to end. I love you and am glad you had such a fun time. I loved reading your post and thinking back to our summer days in Hawaii. Hopefully one day I will get to go back.

Candi said...

You are so hilarious! I start reading and cant stop! I am sorry about your burn and the surfboard, besides that it looks like you had a great time. You and Jason, seem to mesh so well its adorable. Life is interesting, I am learning I cant really plan anything, because truly the plan is already made, and I'm hear for the ride. Keep on enjoying life.


By the way, I dream about work too, especially when I am stress, it is really awful!