Michele Visits Miami

The first week of April was a great one. Lots of things were happening, one of them being Michele visiting. The Fort Lauderdale Temple open house had begun and she made the trip to see it. Michele was here for a week. Even though I couldn't take time off, we were able to do tons in the mornings and evenings. It kind of felt like a stay-cation for us and reminded us of all the things we love about Florida. 

We took Michele to like a bazillion restaurants - no joke. I'm pretty sure I gained weight while she was here. Blaine was on an "install"  in Miami that week so he got all his meals paid for whenever he could join us (which was awesome). We took her to Rico Pan (traditional Colombian), 100 Montaditos (Spanish) in Midtown an area that has grown since she's left, Sergio's (Cuban), Vicky Bakery (Cuban pastries), Piola (Brazilian pizza), a nameless Cuban sandwich shop in Little Havana, Azucar (modern Cuban ice cream), Pollo Tropical (Caribbean fast food), Los Verdes (modern Colombian), Misha's Cupcakes (Oprah's favorite cupcakes) and the list goes on. It was a fun week for all of our taste buds! 

One night, we went to Serendipity3 in Lincoln Road. Serendipity is Michele's favorite movie so it seemed fitting. Rue came along and had a treat herself. We love how dog-friendly Miami is. 

Frozen hot chocolate 

poochini

We saw this while walking around - pup was getting a burger for his birthday!

We also went to Hollywood Beach and rode bikes on the broadwalk. It was tons of fun. I've been wanting to go ride bikes there since we've moved. I used to do this all the time growing up with my family.

On Saturday, we went to the beach. This was the first Saturday in over 8 weeks that I did anything not related to the temple cultural celebration. We had practice that morning really early so that it wouldn't interfere with General Conference so we had the rest of the day to go to the beach. We listened to General Conference from a little speaker. After the beach, we took Michele to Wynwood quickly so she could see how it's changed from a ghetto to a cultural city center. It was a great day. 

We need to get to the beach more often!  

Cuban sandwich drowning in papitas

Of course we have a beach tent so that Blaine won't burn and
Rue won't have a heatstroke!

Rue got in the water for the first time ever and swam! She was kinda freaking out, but got used to it and came in several times. We were so happy. 

Exhausted is an understatement

In front of a Wynwood "wall"

On Sunday before General Conference, we woke up bright and early to walk for Autism Speaks with my co-workers. I saw several of my patients and their parents. It was really moving to see so many people come out and support Autism awareness. The rest of the day, we watched General Conference and visited Tia's so that Michele could see the whole family.

On Monday morning, we went to the temple. I had already been inside once with my family the first day it was open. But it was nice to go again when it wasn't as packed with people. This tour guide also told us different information about the temple. The Angel Moroni weighs approximately 3 times more than other Angel Moronis to make sure it withstands hurricane winds! I thought that was pretty cool. It was also really neat to go the Fort Lauderdale temple, our temple, with Michele - someone who I never thought would embrace the gospel. I'll write more about the temple later. It is absolutely gorgeous. 

Mami came too!

It was a picture perfect day!

On the last day that Michele was here, we went to the Everglades. Michele had never been to the Everglades before, and as a fellow Floridian, I had to change that. I loved going to the Everglades when I was younger but hadn't been in over a decade. We went on an airboat tour (they provided earplugs - the speech assistant in me appreciated that) and saw several alligators, turtles, frogs, snakes, birds - you name it. I also loved seeing the mangroves and plant life that's unique to the Everglades. It's such a beautiful place! At the end of our tour, we saw an alligator show that was much more educational than dangerous which we appreciated and enjoyed. 

It was fun having Michele around. We had late-night talks filled with lots of laughter and also meaningful conversations. We caught up with what's going on in our lives and future plans. She filled me in with what's happening in Utah and made me miss it. Michele braided my hair almost everyday. She joined me and Rue in our daily walks. We listened to Power 96 on the radio and talked about how different Miami is compared to the rest of the U.S. Blaine drove Michele through every significant inch of Miami (something that I am so grateful he can do). We went shopping at Aventura and Dolphin Mall.  It didn't matter if we were watching a basketball game and stuffing our face for the night or if we were on an adventure, we had a great time every time and that's what true friends do. Michele and I have had our ups and downs, but I know that she is forever friend and I can attribute that to the gospel that brought us together. It was fun being her personal tour guide and hostess and I hope she can return again soon! 

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.