Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day...we honor and thank all of those who have served or are currently serving in the US Military for their great sacrifice.

Memorial Day Weekend + My Birthday!

Memorial Day Weekend has passed, but it was a super fun time for us and the weather could not have been more cooperative! My birthday was also the day after, so my husband had a total of 4 days off. Although we spent a lot of our time relaxing by the pool, one of the highlight events was the Santee Street Fair, located in our own town! It seemed to be the only major event going on that weekend, so we felt especially blessed to have it so close to home. So close in fact, that we were able to ride our bikes and avoid trying to find a parking space.

We had never been to the Santee Street Fair and had little expectation. It turned out to be a grand event, with the crowd to prove it! All the usual vendors, food, carnival rides and games were there, along with live music and lots of freebies! We stayed most of the afternoon and left with a large bag of kettle corn and caramel apples in tow. It was basically reminiscent of our loot from Oktoberfest!

On Sunday my husband surprised me with dinner and live jazz downtown San Diego. It was quite lively, since most people had Monday off for the holiday. The jazz band was Archie & The Archtones, and they were excellent and highly entertaining! The crowd was definitely enthusiastic, which added to the overall enjoyment. An energetic crowd can really make a difference, to both the listeners and players.

Monday was a bit more low key, but we made sure to take some time to remember the many soldiers who have fought and died for our freedom. After all, this is the whole point of the holiday, and not just another excuse for a day off of work. I felt it was important to reflect once again on how blessed we are as a nation and how much we owe to our military. Still, we did some of the usual activities, such as have a BBQ and go swimming. We ended the night by driving over to Sea World for the fireworks display, which was the perfect climax to a wonderful holiday weekend in San Diego!

The fun was far from over though. The following day was my birthday so my husband and I took a drive up to Oceanside to have lunch at our favorite fish and chips place by the harbor. He also surprised me with kites, so we flew them on the beach and just enjoyed the sea breeze and beauty before us. We had originally planned to go somewhere overnight, but after all the previous events this was truly the best way to spend the day. And how did it end? With a delicious dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, topped with a fat slice of White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake and opening some amazing gifts!

A Veteran’s Day Prayer

A Veteran’s Day Prayer

Dear Lord,
Today we honor our veterans,
worthy men and women
who gave their best
when they were called upon
to serve and protect their country.
We pray that you will bless them, Lord,
for their unselfish service
in the continual struggle
to preserve our freedoms, our safety,
and our country’s heritage, for all of us.
Bless them abundantly
for the hardships they faced,
for the sacrifices they made
for their many different contributions
to America’s victories
over tyranny and oppression.
We respect them, we thank them,
we honor them, we are proud of them,
and we pray that you will watch over
these special people
and bless them with peace and happiness.
In Jesus’ name we pray; Amen.

By Joanna Fuchs

A Last Hurrah!

If it didn't officially end on Labor Day, Summer certainly has come to a close this week. Today marks the official beginning of Fall, and though most people have put an end to their Summer time activities, there are still those who will bask in sun-filled bliss as long as humanly possible, even into October if the temperatures permit. But for all practical purposes, we considered this past weekend to be our last hurrah of Summer before pulling out our orange, red and gold decorations.

The Harbor Days festival in Oceanside is where we chose to implement our final celebration. It was your typical festival with various food vendors, arts and crafts and live music, but focused the theme on pirates and military displays. The atmosphere was very family friendly, with many children and adults getting into the act by donning pirate costumes of their own. We even watched a live hypnosis performance, which was a first for me and very entertaining. Still, I couldn't help but feel for the guy who was made to believe a Chuckie doll was his beautiful baby boy!

The most educating experience of the day was exploring the many military displays they had on site. Among them were many vehicles and an Army medical tent. After exploring the medical facilities, I must say, it's not the kind of place I would prefer to be treated. It certainly gives a person new found appreciation for our modern hospitals with their many conveniences. Once again I am humbled by the many sacrifices our men in uniform make to keep us safe! The Coast Guard had an exceptionally nice booth as well, along with a free tour of one of their ships. Personally, I found their little robotic talking ship, Coastie, to be much cuter than the real thing though.












We even got a chance to stop into our favorite fish and chips place up there, which is always a real treat. Just before leaving we had the pleasure of watching a harbor seal interacting with a family on a boat. They were feeding the seal fresh fish, which was received with great anticipation. At times he would even jump out of the water and give the onlookers a chance to survey its massive size. It's quite amazing how something in the wild would be so comfortable around humans.




Other than our time in Oceanside, we managed to fit in an afternoon at the beach. The water is definitely starting to cool down, despite the bit of a heat wave we've been experiencing. It won't be long now before we'll be forced to seek out new ways to spend our afternoons on the weekend, but that's the beauty of the seasonal cycle...you never have a chance to get stuck in a rut. It's a good reminder that no matter how monotonous life may get, change is on the way!

What did you do for your last hurrah of Summer?