Relationships Sparkle More than Diamonds

Yesterday Blaine and I took the girls on an evening trip to Huntington Beach to drop off something for his work. We reminisced about how I would have a lap pup on drives like those. He would cuddle on my lap in a certain way and look up sweetly at Blaine. At night time his eyes would glisten in the light. It is a beautiful memory we have. 

Back to our crazy evening trip - long story short this evening trip turned into a memorable adventure. For the sake of keeping this memory forever I will just say a few things. Key pick up, Carlsbad Outlet, chips ahoy, client house, fleas on Blaine, meet the neighbors, Blaine's impromptu shower, Ariel needing to potty multiple times in same (very nice) neighbor's house, neighbor's cute senior pup, fruit packet puree, string cheese, applesauce, milk, sand bucket toy, my legs covered in mosquito bites, Diamond at the Jamboree, H Mart, crowded, no seating, Vietnamese food, more potty trips. If that doesn't indicate "adventure" I am not sure what would. Thank goodness for snacks and nice people in this world. It was a difficult night but in hindsight I had a great time. 

We got home just past midnight where we quickly got everyone showered. As I was putting Ariel to bed she said, I miss Ralph. I wonder if it was because she saw the dog today. I believe I heard her call the dog Ralph. Bless her heart. She then said Paw Paw went to legoland with us and now she's not here. And Gung Gung is not here either. I think this year she notices and is bothered by people missing. For her 3 years of life this time her mom's pup left and has not come back.

When I had to wake up this morning for work at 6 AM I was dead to the world but all I could remember was that I had a dream about salad and blue cheese dressing before Annabelle woke me up at 5 AM (before I had to wake for work). I nurse her back to sleep and then got myself ready. Why did my interrupted vivid dream of salad leave an impression on me? It showed me that I still have the ability to experience things in dreams. I'm still waiting for Ralph to visit me in one. I'll be waiting for the rest of my life. Thanks Ralph for teaching me to smell the roses and appreciate things along the way. I wish I had figured it out before you left but I'm so grateful to have had the journey that has left such an impression on my soul.

I'm super happy that I took at least thousands of pictures of Ralph so I will continue to include a few as long as I am at a computer.

On this day from 2008. A snuggle with my pup.

On this day from 2015. Ralph wearing Ariel's old onsie. I believe he was itchy due to the August heat.