IOWA!!!

Over the 4th of July, Ryan, Summer and I traveled halfway across the country to Sioux City, Iowa, the beautiful city that I spent 8 years of my childhood. It was awesome! I have always been thankful for the time that I spent there, for the snow filled winters, firefly filled summers and good ‘ole Midwest values. Even though I had not been back for over 7 years, Iowa is and has always been a huge part of who I am. I like to say I am a unique combination of Sioux City & San Diego.

Anyways, Ryan and I stayed with my cousin Kristin and her family (I wish I had taken a picture of her beautiful guest room) and Summer stayed with our Aunt Marly. We had such a wonderful time! We were able to get to know our adorable second cousins: Trey, Bryce, Shelbee & Aubree, which was a ton of fun. We BBQ'd at Brian and Mel's and celebrated the 4th at Marly & David's. We also spent several visits with our 92-year-old grandpa who still lives on his own-can you believe it?! It was so special to spend time with our Iowa family. They were wonderful hosts & made us feel very welcome.

We were also thrilled to spend the day (her birthday!) with one of my best friends, Lindsay Domke, her beautiful daughter (and my niece!) Olivia, and her sister Laura. Olivia was the flower girl in my wedding. It was such a treat to see them so soon after their trip to California. Lindsay and I were in the same preschool in Sioux City and then became best friends in the 4th grade and have somehow managed to stay in touch through the years. She and Olivia live in Minnesota now. I am so blessed to have incredible relationships like this one!

Ryan was lucky enough to get the Joiner Family/Sioux City tour, complete with every house we lived in, every park we loved, every great friend's house we had, (and yes, Dana, even where Summer, Lindsay D. and I were chased by a bear AND cow), etc. He has been to San Diego numerous times and gotten to know my life there well, so having him experience the other part of what makes me "me" was special for us. He really enjoyed the trip, Sioux City, and meeting my family and friends. While the South and the Mid-West are very different, they also have plenty of wholesome similarities.

To check out more pictures from the trip (have I mentioned that my talented hubby is also an excellent photographer?!) click here: Dappygolucky.com

One last thing-we caught fireflys and did our own fireworks- two things I love to do!!

Galaxy Game VIP Style

My most favorite sister Summer came up to LA yesterday (YAY!!). She, Ryan and I went to our first Galaxy game at the Home Depot Center. The Galaxy is the LA soccer team, for those of you who don't know. The main reason you would have heard of them is because David Beckham recently joined the team.

Anyways, we were gifted box seats which were pretty cool, although, sadly, no free food came with the seats, which is the way to this girl's heart. We are happy to report that the Galaxy won (unquestionably due to our attendance) and we can now say we've all been to a professional soccer game in the US.

It was to be expected, but the game did not even come close to my professional soccer experience in Buenos Aires, Argentina. That was probably one of the most dangerous things I did in BA (and boy did we do some sketch things) just because soccer is SUCH a big deal down there and the fans are so hardcore. I've never heard so many Spanish curse words yelled in chants before or since...

My Girls

I just came across this AWESOME picture and decided to share it with the world. These are three of my best friends.

Alysha (3rd from the left) and I were randomly assigned to the same suite freshman year of college at Pepperdine (a suite consisted of 4 rooms with 2 people per room & 1 joint living area). After one semester we became rommates and have never looked back. She is my country, chill, loyal, responsible, married for 5 years already, up for anything best friend. I am VERY upset to say that she lives in Colorado and therefore miles away from where she should be-with me.

Valoria (1st on the left) and I were in the same freshman seminar class at Pepperdine-the social action and justice colloquial. Not too far into the class a bunch of people were talking about partying and I discovered that she also didn't drink. She seemed nice and chill. I, of course, walked right up to her and told her that we should be friends. And so we were. :) She is my deep conversation, honest, she'll ask anything at any time, hardworking, passionate best friend. She got married 2 months after I did, so we now have to share each other with our husbands....so far it's working out but we'll see.

Claire (furthest to the right) and I fell in love in Argentina (it's so exotically romantic!) our sophomore year while studying abroad through Pepperdine's international program (Alysha & Valoria both stayed in Malibu that year). She is my responsible, artistic, keeps me in line, likes to have a good time as long as there are rules, no nonsense best friend. She and I are currently living out each other's location dreams-I in LA and her in SD. We were roommates for almost 4 years before we left each other for our hubbies.

(all three were bridesmaids at my wedding)

I love these girls. They each represent a part of who I am. They each have incredible and unique attributes and talents that they offer their husbands, families, friends and the world at large. I am so blessed to have them in my life, to learn from and to grow with. I know they will all impact this world in a wonderfully gigantic way and I am excited to be a witness.

Why does my husband keep breaking?!

Ryan smashed his big toe. Not stubbed, not bruised, not slightly cut. Smashed. He and one of his co-workers were carrying a heavy piece of furniture at work and his co-worker lost control and dropped the furniture on Ryan's foot. Lots of blood ensued. Thankfully, it is not broken, but (stop reading now if you are squirmish) the doc had to burn a hole in his nail to relieve pressure and drain blood. Ryan is supposed to wear an open-toe boot and use crutches so it can heal. Plus keep it elevated as often as possible (see above photo).

The poor guy is hobbling around in lots of pain. The average person definitely does not think about how functional her big toe is on a daily basis but Ryan is now. The Dapremont Family Reunion is this weekend in New Orleans so he is super excited about traveling with crutches and hobbling around the French Quarter in pain...that was sarcasm. Hopefully it will be much better by Friday night!

Taylor & Gwen Williams: Pretty in Pink

My single friends are dropping like flies. SERIOUSLY. But that's a whole other blog post.

This past weekend Ryan was in his previous roommate Taylor's wedding as a groomsman...and I manned the guestbook with my trusty partner Claire. She and Aaron came up and stayed with us on Saturday, which was fun (especially since they made us pancakes Sunday morning!). Taylor & Gwen started dating the same summer that Ryan and I started dating. Boy, did Taylor pursue that girl! After that summer, she went to Europe to study abroad for 8 months. He sent love letters, flowers, care packages, etc. Determination pays off!

They had a beautiful, bright wedding in Stauffer Chapel at Pepperdine, which is where I would have been married if we had tied the knot in LA. In front of the chapel is my favorite place on campus (it looks out across the ocean). Taylor and Gwen are in Hawaii on their honeymoon and then off to Dallas to start their new life together. We hope they find nothing but happiness in the Lone Star State.

Cory & Kirstin Peters

Last weekend Ryan and I went to my friend Cory’s wedding. Well, Cory is more a part of the Joiner family than a friend. We lived just down the street from each other for 7 years and even after we moved, he would come to my parent’s house in Hemet for some holidays. And let me tell you, he’s as annoying of a brother as they come!!

Anyways, by the grace of God, Cory met Kirstin and convinced her to marry him. She is awesome and Summer and I are so happy to welcome her to the family, too. Their wedding was beautiful (same colors as ours!) and lots of fun. The best part was seeing how happy the bride and groom were. Cory and I give each other a hard time (my mom would say we fight like a cat and dog) but it makes my heart SO happy to see him this happy (not to mention my relief that he has Kirstin to guide him through life). I pray for years and years of happiness and laughter for them.

Worker's Comp

Even though I'm sure you all love Ryan at least partially as much as I do, I promise that I won't mention him in EVERY blog post...but probably a lot. :)

Anyways, my poor husband sprained his arm a couple days ago on the job. His job is very physically demanding, which is great because he gets a good workout in on most days but sometimes comes home very tired (especially after his 5am workout at the gym in the morning). The poor guys spent hours waiting to be seen by his doctor who finally told him that it is a sprain-no bones chipped or broken, thank goodness! He is wearing a sling, is supposed to rest it for a few days and should be as good as new by Monday (I hope!). We have a busy weekend of wedding activities for Ryan's previous roommate Taylor, but the doctor said it is ok for Ryan to not wear the sling during the ceremony (as he is a groomsmen). I'll try to post a picture if I can!