August

August came and went, and September is already here. I can't believe how fast this year is going by! August was a great month, being that Blaine started his territory work. This means that he gets to be home 2 weeks out of the month instead of traveling every week. It's still hard having him gone half of the month but having him home for more than 3 days at a time has been SO nice. The week Blaine's home, he works at home at least 1 day out of the week. This is awesome since I don't work until the afternoon and we can hang out while he's working. He took a break from work the other day and we went to the dog park with Rue. It was pretty nice! He also enjoys working in his pjs a lot :)

So here's what happened in August! 

Blaine went to his company retreat in California, then to Naples and to Exeter New Hampshire during his travels. During his retreat, he went to the Pageant of the Masters. He said it was really cool. I've always wanted to go! If you don't know what it is, check it out. I force Blaine to take "selfies" and send them to me. He's a good guy...

Must be nice to work in shorts & flip-flops! 

They had a lot of activities on the beach during the retreat.

And they had a softball tournament with personalized shirts and fitted caps.

Our friends Daylin (the only other Daylin I know) and Donald were married. At their wedding, we had the chance to hang out with Michele who was a bridesmaid, the Hoffmanns who were in town for the wedding and Kristin and Kathy. It was so good to see all of them and of course, the wedding was tons of fun. She's Venezuelan and he's from Boston although he's originally from Ghana. It was a culturally diverse wedding which we loved very very much.

Blaine flew into Boston when he went to his install in Exeter. So he made some time to visit the Dawson fam in Massachusetts. He was able to meet up with Brian for lunch and hung out with Kim, the twins, and Tucker the rest of the day. He was also lucky enough to be there for the twins birthday dinner and to watch a Redskins preseason game with them. They turned 4! Uncle Blaine had as much fun visiting them as the kids did having him there. 

My favorite twins - Aston & Chase

After Blaine's work week in NH, he flew me up to New York for a weekend trip! We met Bruce and Damaris up there and were able to hang out with Andrea before she moves to Los Angeles. We had so much fun. Bruce and Damaris were going to NYC anyway and Blaine was only a couple of hours away so he surprised me with this quick trip. He's not a huge fan of New York so this was really nice of him :) I'll write more of our trip in another post! 

Bruce graduated from nursing school! We are so proud of him! Nursing school has been tough to say the least. With his EMT job, studying and clinicals, Bruce hasn't been around very often or getting much sleep! So this is a big accomplishment! We are so glad that he's done (for now)! He was even chosen to speak at his pinning ceremony :) Congrats Brucey! 

Much to my dismay, we didn't get that cozy, cute house in Miami Springs. We prayed about it a lot and as badly as I wanted it, we decided it wasn't the right house or the right time. So right now we're continuously looking for a small home/rental - whichever feels right. I'm really anxious to have our own place already so my patience is definitely being tested. I hope we can be in our own place sooner than later! 

We've discovered a new burger place that we love. It's called BurgerFi. We loved it so much that we went twice in one week and had the same exact thing - their breakfast burger. They have salt and vinegar fries similar to Thrashers so that won us over big time. We'll definitely be returning soon! And we've gone out to eat a lot on the weeks Blaine is in town to make up for the weeks that he's not here! 

Brio - so good!

My favorite dessert @ Flannigans 

We bring Mami along on our double dates :)

Rock Burger

BurgerFi

My job is still awesome. I've been out of the office for 2 months now. I see kids usually in the afternoon. I see kids with small articulation disorders to severely autistic nonverbal school-age children. It's definitely challenging, but it is so rewarding. Even though it's only part-time, I feel that its a very emotionally draining job. I see very disabled children and sometimes its very sad. There are hard days where they kick, scream, scratch, poop, pee, bite, spit - you name it. I've even had a cute girl say "I hate speech! I'm going to pass out! This sucks!" at the top of her lungs. Some days its funny, others days its not. Sometimes its discouraging when you work on the same thing for 2 months and the child isn't even speaking, as is the case with several nonverbals that I work with. But then you have a breakthrough moment and its all worth it. 

Twins sisters I do therapy with. They're a handful. You never know what to expect!  

Also, I still love my co-workers. They're all so sweet, hardworking, and intelligent therapists! I love learning from them and feel privileged to work in such a great company. For our team building activity, we did a Vixen workout - a current trendy workout that requires a lot of popping! I wouldn't go again but it did make me sweat and laugh a ton. Few people can say that they can dance like Beyonce in front of their bosses and have fun doing so! 

Doing our "Vixen" pose! Only a few of us are here.