4th of July

As I write I'm hearing fireworks exploding outside, hoping that the brahm lullaby and the fan will be sufficient in keeping Zuri and Urijah asleep tonight. 

It's 4th of July! Our little family is not very efficient in observing holidays in general but today was different thanks to grandma and grandpa Schamel. Ok so let's recap. Zuri is starting to feel better. She's not hundreds yet but there's a definite sleep improvement. This morning she and I slept in until 11:30am. Can I get an amen! Because that sleep was equivalent to a prayer...well not really but still very calming. I woke up refreshed and feeling like a whole human being for the first time in days. Dear husband and Urijah were out being social butterflies at the ward pancake breakfast. Upon their return we all got ready to enjoy the 4th of July party. An overall good time with family and friends. The kids enjoyed some pool time while the adults chatted and feasted on the delicious food. Dear husband wasn't able to fully relax with everyone as he had to be at work at around lunchtime. He did stay long enough to eat and honestly, isn't that the most important part of any party? The food? 

Oh boy, some incredibly loud fireworks just hit...and the little ones are still sleeping...wow, just wow!

How funny (as in funny strange, not funny haha) is it that fireworks used to be something I thoroughly looked forward to when I was little. And now I'm cool as long as they're done by 9pm...ok maybe 10pm if we have to stretch it. Back when I was in primary school, our school hosted a yearly fireworks carnival for the community. And each year, without fail, there'd be a fireworks display. Ah man it was awesome! And being super boy crazy at the time (no judgement here;)), I remember wishing to one day have a boyfriend who'd sit and watch fireworks with me. 

Well now guess what, Robdawg aka dear husband just got home and asked me to come hangout:)! So I think I'll make my little wish a reality and go watch the display in the backyard...

And here are some pics from the day 😊 

Sleepless night

Urijah surprised me with flowers today:)

He's such a sweet sensitive kid! I wonder if he knew that mommy needed some tlc today. Our little Zuri is teething and boy what a battle it is. Last night she slept maybe for 2hrs. The rest of the night was crying and moaning, she also had happy moments of just playing and nursing. On the other hand dear husband was dealing with allergies! So whenever Zuri was able to sleep she was woken up by loud sneezing and nose blowing. Then somewhere in the early hours of the morning I caught on to the sneezing too. My nose became so painful that I considered googling allergy free states! Because seriously there must be a place in the US where people live without suffering from seasonal allergies! It was right about that time when I realized our serious miscalculation. The window fan (no idea what people call it) was blowing the outside air inside - bringing in that cool pollinated air into our room. So I got up, turned that darn thing off and finally fell asleep. It would've been a great sleep if it weren't already 5:30am 😢 Urijah wakes up at 6:30am. And so the day started.

I must toot my own horn here...the good wife in me suggested that dear husband be the one to sleep in today. Poor guy works a swing shift and I just can't imagine being at a job where you're constantly alert because your life depends on it. So Urijah and I had some breakfast and once Zuri woke up, we headed out to the library for story time.

Oh...and we documented the rest of the quiet sleepy day in a vlog. Thank you for allowing me to vent:) And in case you care to check out our super amateur vlog, go ahead and click here. Let us know what you think 🤔

Girl's night out

Ok so once upon a time I moved to the USA to marry the man of my dreams. While everything was wonderful with our relationship, I really missed my family and friends!

Everyone around us was incredibly sweet and accommodating yet there was no real friendship click. And then came along Roberta! She and her family moved into our ward and I made it my mission to become friends with her. Our stories were similar, she was from Brazil and fairly new to the USA and I'm from South Africa. Both married guys from here in Colorado who had served their church missions in our respective countries.

And there a friendship was born. I immediately invited her to our wedding (this was before we had even had a conversation - yep I invited a complete stranger to my wedding). As I said, I was on a serious make-a-friend mission. Luckily she was as desperate for familiarity as I was - later we found that Brazil and South Africa had many similarities!

Now nearly 5yrs later, multiple moves, them with 3 kids and us with 2, here we are:) an added bonus is that our husbands are inseparable! 

So when our little family was around their neighborhood yesterday (they live 2hrs away), we decided to drop by. And the little visit ended up as becoming a sleep over. With her husband at work, Robdawg aka dear husband volunteered to babysit all the kids while Roberta and I took some time to hangout.

Then somehow we ended up at a fair. One of us (ahem me) decided it would be a great idea to ride every stomach turning ride! Something not to be repeated any time soon.

There was laughter, uncontrollable screaming, dizziness and some involuntary crying! We must've looked rather suspect but neither one of us could care less. That's the awesome thing about getting older, you learn to embrace life by being completely yourself.

Our night ended with a grocery shopping trip and we were at home by 9:15pm. And to think there was a time when I'd only leave the house at 9pm to go out! Boy how things change...