Summer family vacation (Florida)

Sunset at Indian Rocks Beach.

Fun in the sun

Our annual trip to Surfside Beach.

Weekend pictures

For my mom's birthday, we took her to eat sushi since she's never tried it. And being served water by a robot was another first.

Labor Day weekend

Surfside Beach.

Family vacation (Gulf Shores, AL)

Last week, we took a family beach vacation to Gulf Shores, AL. And when I say family, I mean the entire family... from Lynn's side (my in-laws). For 6 nights, we had 29 people under one roof... And we were still missing a few people!

On paper, it sounds daunting but my aunts and mother-in-law had it under control. There was a lot of planning prior, from who's bring what to setting a daily menu... from breakfast to dinner. Even though one family would be responsible for one day of cooking, it seemed like they were always in the kitchen... helping, prepping, cleaning, etc. Hopefully they were able to enjoy themselves, to relax and make it an actual vacation.

By the second day, I was content. There's only so much you can do on the beach. And I was a bit defeated when I lost two canopies. Our big canopy was broken on the first day when a sudden storm with strong winds blew through. Then a few days later, my aunt's big canopy flew into my personal canopy, destroying both. This beach kicked my ass. 😑

Father's Day weekend

Father's Day started early for me with an Astros game on Wednesday night. But why this particular game? To get the Springer bobblehead! The game itself saw Verlander get a career high in strikeouts (15 K's) but unfortunately the 'Stros lost the game in extra innings.

I love that the kids are into watching sports. It gives us a reason to all come together. To root for the same team, for the most part. When it comes to the Premier League, each kid has their own favorite team. The best games are when they go against each other, e.g. Liverpool vs Manchester City. They get so into it. Tears have been shed. But I digress, I like how sports bring us closer together.

Rainy July 4th week

Hey look at us, we're the US flag! No, we didn't purposely coordinate our outfits although it turned out awesome. What wasn't awesome was the fact that the Forth of July landed in the middle of the week this year. It also sucked that the skies opened up and Houston suffered more flooding. But it was fine, we still managed.

Family beach trip II (Destin, FL)

After a relatively successful beach trip last summer to Alabama, it was time to "step it up". On this trip, we went somewhere nicer and further (Destin) and stayed longer (5 nights). And this time around, my in-laws came along for the ride. Those days went by way too fast and before you knew it, it was already time to go home. I'm going to miss the white sugary sand and the clear emerald water. I'm going to miss lounging around the beach house. I'm going to miss doing absolutely nothing.

Family beach trip (Gulf Shores, AL)

What do you know about Gulf Shores, Alabama? If you answered nothing, that was my response too. This semi-spontaneous trip started in June, when my boss (once again) required that I take a day off in July. From there, I was like let's take a family trip. But where? We always wanted to try Destin but being that it was so late to book a house, we had to think of an alternative. A nurse at one place that I work at mentioned that she went to Gulf Shores and actually preferred it over Destin. Wow. She said it was just a nice but less crowded, closer and cheaper. That makes sense... who ever thinks of going to Alabama when going to the beach? I was sold. And that's where we were last weekend.

Father's Day weekend

Initially I was going to write a funny quip about Father's Day (how unplanned my fatherhood came to be) but as I was pondering what to write, my mind drifted and I was thinking about what being a father really meant. My dad was pretty much nonexistent in my life. I only have but a couple memories of him when I was young. When he would get home, we would wrestle and I would imitate moves I saw from watching WWF. And he would let me stay up at night to watch The Benny Hill Show with him. (Quite inappropriate for a 5 year old to watch.) But besides that, there's not much else. He never helped me with school work or gave me life advice. In fact, I don't remember seeing him that much at all. But I can't fault him for that since he was working long hours to provide for the family. It's just that I don't want to be like him. I love him and know I'm an asshole for saying this but I want to be the complete opposite of my dad.

Wedding, water and weigh-out

This past Memorial Day weekend was non-stop action. It was fun but very exhausting. I think I have finally recovered and it's Wednesday... and I just woke up from a nap... and I'm drinking coffee. So I'm good, for now.