BLACKJACK

It finally came and then it went. I have been so busy that I haven't time to write about turning the big 2-1. It was a good day filled with food, sun, and finding cute things for my classroom. My wonderful mother took work off and spent the day with my niece, nephew, and I. We went to lunch at Rumbi with was delicious and took it to the park to let my niece and nephew eat and play. The weather was beautiful and not too hot. After we went shopping at Dollar Tree and I found some little treasures my mom took me to pick up my car that my dad had driven to work that day. When I got in my car I realized my dad had my car completely washed, cleaned, and detailed. It smells good and looked pristine. My wonderful car is the same age as I am and deserves a little pampering too. I had hoped my car would stay in its like new condition for a little longer than 3 days, but hopefully I'll remember to just maintain it as time goes on. That night I went to dinner at the Corner Bakery and yes, I had gluten, and it was delicious. I met my three greatest friends there and we talked about life, growing up, and how delicious my noodles were. (alright maybe that last one was just me) After an amazing meal with equally amazing people I went to my sister's house where we ate ice cream and watched too many episodes of Baby Daddy on Netflix. If you haven't seen this show I would say stop! Don't do it! It is way too funny and addicting. Unless you have nothing better to do, prepare to get sucked in to the comedy.

The day went by way too quickly and I don't feel older, but here I am.

A ten and a jack

The lucky hand

Blackjack

21

Sizzle......Flash........KaBOOM!!

What better way to celebrate becoming a separate entity than by blowing stuff up! The night of the 4th we went to the West Jordan Park and watched them shoot fireworks off. It was decent but packed with people! The night of the 5th is when the real celebration began. It started off preparing supplies. Lighter-check
Fireworks-check
Snacks-check
Children at a safe distance-check

My niece and nephew were hiding in the back of their dad's truck just in case things got a little too crazy. They said this way they could crouch down if anything exploded. This safety distance didn't last long once things got started. I was a little closer to the action.

Yes, I am sitting in the trunk of my car. 1) that where the treats were 2) close to the action 3) I could pull down the trunk lid if anything got too crazy

We bought these amazing things that I am loving. They are called hula hoops and they spin on the ground and if you take off the little plastic weight off the end, they flight off into the night. It is crazy fun, but make sure you watch where they are shooting off to. You might need to duck, repeatedly.

Once the darkness finally descended, we were ready for the big ones. Trying to take pictures with an old Iphone is not the best quality but it was still cool all the same.

These little kiddos love sparklers so much. This was actually the night of the wedding but he is just so adorable I couldn't resist.

My niece was not to be left out of the action. As you can see, they got out of the back of the truck.

 

After sparklers were done, the big fireworks were pulled out and I was soon joined by my nephew in my trunk. He was very adamant that I NOT CLOSE THE LID! I promised I would not. Too soon tiny rain drops began to fall. Lucky for me, I had a built in umbrella, the trunk lid. My mom ran for an umbrella and my dad called a cease fire to stop all fireworks. Psh after waiting all day, that was not about to happen.  We were yelling for just one more to be lit off. The fuse was lit, the anticipation was building..... until..... KaBOOM! It shot off into the sky and a shower of color and sparks burst against the clouded night sky. My nephew yelled for me to push the trunk lid back so he could see. As we were being rained on, this tiny box shot off ten different colored explosions. Then, it was done but the KaBoom continued. We were in the middle of a thunderstorm. Lightning lit the sky around us and my father is not a fan of lightning. Again he yelled get in the house! and we answered with ONE MORE! Get in the house now! Light one more! And we won;) So, the fuse was lit once more and my brother in Hawaii was on the phone. My nephew yelled for him to listen to the firework as we were mesmerized by the chemical combination that exploded above our heads. Once it was done my nephew says Uncle Nic, did you see.... hear that?? Lightning once again lit the night sky around us and my father was done playing games. He said get out of that car right now before you get struck! After a little more grumbling we hopped out of the trunk and into the house. As I closed my trunk, I was extremely grateful I have a spare key to my car, as my actual keys were just locked in the trunk. As we watched the rain begin to cascade from the night sky, the taste of magic was in the air. Or was it firework residue?

Holding Out For a Hero

Sitting in the crowd, watching my brother marry his true love last night was the most amazing thing. They have known each other 22 years and have been in love with each other all this time. Her "best woman" was talking about when my brother let his now wife and her friends stay at his house in San Diego before he and Amber had seen each other after at least 12 years. Amber was telling her best friend how amazing this man was and how she had liked him ever since middle school. How amazing is that, 22 years, a marriage each, 2 children for my brother, 1 for his wife, and now, they are combined in love. My brother is special forces and this equates to a perception of toughness about him and so when he got slightly choked up reading his vows, it was the sweetest thing. I would hope to find someone whose feelings are that strong about me. So me, I'm holding out for a hero. (and yes, I listen to this song all throughout the day because I absolutely love it)