Now that we've finally gotten into July, I'll have a different routine until the first of August. The office closes down each July because the number of students and tutors drastically decreases. They stop tutoring because of vacations and other things that come up during the summer. It costs quite a bit for electricity in the extreme weather of Bakersfield so we just decided to work from home in July. Since my job description is to coordinate programs and organize sites with students/tutors and there aren't any students and tutors around, I've been given another job.
We organize two bulk mailings each year, each with about 3,000 letters or invitations, and I'm responsible for getting each of the mailings together. The mailings require a lot of space, multiple boxes and a lot of time. My poor apartment! 
I can't stand my apartment with boxes and envelopes thrown all over it but right now we don't have any other option. I have to have everything spread out so I can get it all organized. I guess the mailing mess thrown all over the house is great motivation for me to get these bulk mailings done and processed. 
We got there, bought our tickets and when we walked in to find our seats we were taken back a little. The stadium was pretty small, I guess the $9 tickets should have been a pretty good indication, and there weren't that many people. I'm not really sure what we were expecting but it was a definite eye opener for the first little bit. Don't you just love the party patio? 
Regardless of the stadium size and lack of people, we were determined to have a good time. The game was actually pretty entertaining. It was fun to watch the different fans from Bakersfield and from Visalia, the opposing team, yell back and forth across the stadium cheering for their favorite players. 
In between innings, the stadium tried to keep the crowd involved and interested with fun games and pictures with the mascot. I even got a special picture with Heater, the Blaze's mascot. It was a pretty warm evening so whoever was inside that outfit was definitely earning their money! 
Shortly after our picture, Heater started throwing out t-shirts. I may or may not asked my furry friend to toss a shirt in my direction...either way, I caught a t-shirt! Of course I had to model it the exact instant that I caught it! I was pretty excited, as if you can't tell by my face!
The Bakersfield Blaze ended up beating the Visalia Rawhide 4-3. The game was a great Bakersfield experience. It was different than any other baseball game than we've been to but we enjoyed ourselves! I'm so glad that we got to enjoy our first Blaze game with some great friends. 
It was so fun to walk around the marketplace and people watch. Once the music started, the kids started dancing all around. I don't know what it is about music but once it started the smiles on everyone's face got bigger, people got up to dance and everyone seemed to be enjoying their summer night a little bit more. As we walked around, hand in hand, I couldn't help but look around at the older couples that were laughing and enjoying their spouse. They had such love in their eyes when they looked at their significant other and I instantly became in awe. I want to have that feeling forever! Holding hands. Sharing icecream cones. Dancing. Laughing with the man I love. Yep, I definitely want to be like that when we are 40, 60 and even 80 years old. Some of these couples were 70+ years old and they were googling over each other like they were 18. I had to take a picture of the sweetest couple that got up to dance...so sweet. They are in the center and towards the back of the pictures. 
The Beagles sang songs that ranged from Love Me Do and I Want To Hold Your Hand and they did a pretty good job of it! We had such a fun evening out...singing and dancing around aren't usually on our schedules for a Thursday afternoon. We laughed, danced and talked like we hadn't seen each other in weeks! It was so good to act 'normal' again! Itwas a perfect night out on the town! 
I loved seeing his excitement when he woke up and saw his breakfast waiting for him. What you don't know is that I actually bought them the night before and when we were gone at the fashion show, he found them and decided he just couldn't wait. Unfortunately, we had to made two visits to Spudnuts this past weekend so he could have them for breakfast. For some odd reason, I don't think Jason minded that we made two visits to his all time favorite doughnut shop. 
I love being so close to Jason's old 'stomping grounds'--I love hearing stories that he remembers from his childhood. Bike riding, surfing, hot wings and doughnuts are just a few things that have made my hubby who is today! Memories can be so much fun...especially when they are filled with chocolate doughnuts!
Jason and myself are so fortunate to wonderful fathers and father-in-laws. We try to spend Father's Day with either my dad or Jason's dad, depending on where we are living and this year we were able to spend Father's Day with Chip. I made sure to call my dad and let him know that I was thinking of him on his special day--Missouri is too far of a drive away so a phone call had to suffice this year. Being in California has allowed us to hang out and spend important holidays with Jason's family and we are enjoying all of these experiences. I'm not sure how many years it has been since Jason was around to help Chip celebrate Father's Day(20+ years), but we are excited that we live close enough this year and were able to make the drive down this weekend.
We are so thankful for the great men in our lives! They have had so much influence and given us direction when we needed it most. I hate that we have family spread throughout the country and we can't spend these important holidays with everyone. I guess that's just part of life and getting older. Kind of stinks...
The Fashion Show was a fundraiser that was put on by a local cancer center along with a bariatric doctor/surgeon. The models were patients from either one or both of these offices. They were obesity and cancer survivors and they were definitely confident and strutting their stuff. They had all lost over 100 pounds and a some had fought off breast cancer and been in remission for years. Their stories were so encouraging and uplifting. It was fun to cheer them on as they proudly walked out on the runway. 
Life is too short to not strut your stuff....so ladies, get to strutting!
I've enjoyed working with the kids but just in this short week have learned that kids will say and do just about anything. They have definitely kept me on my toes the past few days....
Muzzy's teeth weren't as dirty as she had predicted. He needed them cleaned but they didn't take as long to clean as she anticipated. Because Muzzy has a few health issues (seizures, liver disease) they left him on his IV right up until I got there to pick them up. Once they heard me talk, they started their whining. They were ready to go home...they were tired of being locked up in a cage with needles in their little legs. 
He still had his little bandage on his leg and I had to snap a few pictures...he looked so pitiful! 
I'm so glad today went smoothly and with no complications. I missed my sweet boys! I even let them give me a few kisses, especially since their breath was minty fresh! 
We will definitely be trying to get into a routine where we brush their teeth on a weekly basis...I don't want to go through all this again!
The boys planned a fun filled day at the golf course. They usually just go to the driving range but they found a cheap golf course in a nearby town that they all wanted to try out. The golf course was in Arvin, which was pretty much in the middle of the desert. The website said the town was the flower capital of Kern county but the only thing we saw was brown dirt...hmmmm.
