Tamara, Tom, and Kids: Day 1 of Fall Break (also why I love Oct. 22nd!)

First off, today is October 22nd and 21 years ago today, I declared it, "I'm in love with Tom day!"

We were dating back at BYU and I remember walking through the BYU Bookstore and an overwhelming feeling of love came over me for this incredible guy I was dating and I truly realized that I loved him. Yes, we had only been dating for about 2 months but I truly loved him. I bought him a white teddy bear which we named Holby (Tom's middle name is Holbrook) and I wrote him a special card. It was cheesy now that I look back on it, but for a girl who was giddy and in love, it was probably par-for the course! ha ha

Well, let's get back to Fall Break - Day One

Since Kohler's nasal surgery was postponed one week, I now had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday free to do something with the kids. Kohler needed to stay home and work (plus he had a fun weekend in Mexico with our neighbors at their condo in Rocky Point). So, Tom helped me find a really great deal at the Marriott in Newport Beach, and off we went for a quick 3 day trip.

As I was driving, I was a little nervous of my tires because Tom said they were getting close to needing to be replaced. Right as we drove past the Marine Base at Pendleton (near Carlsbad, CA) we all heard this loud POP!!! I immediately thought it was my tire. Great!?! So, I pulled off to the side of the road, the left side since I was in the left lane and cars were WHIZZING by at a nice pace of 80 miles an hour or so. They drive so fast in CA! Anyway, I didn't see a flat tire, but I couldn't really get to the right side of my car that easily because of the oncoming traffic. So, I hopped back in the car and we immediately said a prayer. I was super worried about how I would gain enough speed to jump back into the flow of traffic quick enough to get me to the off ramp. The kids and I know it was because of our prayer that a gap in the traffic appeared and I was able to get us safely to the other side of the freeway. As I drove, I heard this noise and felt something dragging below my car. I was sure it was my tire. Well, as I got out of the car and checked again, I couldn't see anything but we had all heard something and knew we couldn't drive the way it was. I pulled out my AAA card and figured we were in for about an hour's wait for help to arrive. Just as I began the call, a guy on a motorcycle pulled over and started to walk towards us. Being alone with kids makes me nervous and I quickly told everyone to get back into the car. Then I saw that it was a soldier - a marine from the base nearby. He asked me if I needed help and I felt like I could trust him. We were in a fairly public place so I thought it was ok. He got down and looked under my car and guess what he found??

He found that my oil pan cover had busted halfway off and was dragging on the ground. So, he pulled out his handy multi-tool and cut it off for me so we could be on our way. I pulled out a $20 bill and handed it to him to thank him. He told me he couldn't take it - that it was his "good deed for the day." (how sweet is that?) But I insisted that he took his wife out to dinner (I saw his wedding ring :) and he said, "Really, are you sure?" I was so happy to do that for him and SO proud of this young man being an answer to our prayers. He was one who focused on not only defending our country, but also helped his own people when someone was in distress. GO MARINES!!

By the time we got back on the freeway, checked in to our hotel, the sun was going down. But the kids still wanted to rush over to get even one hour at the beach!!

We brought one of Kelsey's good friends, Hailee, with us. It was crazy having two girls with the same name on this trip!!

Kelsey and Hailee are really into photography. They must have taken over 300 photos on their phones at the beach. This is Kelsey - pretty cool silhouette!