Once upon a time................................

........there was a handsome guy named Jake. He had been home from Panama for a few months and decided to move out and live with an old mission companion named Chuck. The phone rang one afternoon and he stepped towards the phone. Little did he know his destiny would be on the other side of the phone when he answered. Their voices met for the first time as Dana called for her friend Chuck. Jake was friendly and witty and Dana was curious about the new voice who answered the phone that day. They eventually met face to face and became friends who would do everything together such as: drive-in movies, rollerblading, playing the dizzy game at the park, and going to the Clark Planetarium for laser light shows. Their friendship was unique and fun but yet, in the back of their minds they were wondering if they were more than friends. Dana would sit for hours and talk about it with her roommates ,for they never tired of the topic. Jake did not sit around and talk about it, for he is a man. One late night, they were hanging out, as they always did. Dana thought to herself, "I like this guy, and it is 3 in the morning. If we are still hanging out this late he must like me more than I think." Dana decided to plant one on his lips. They kissed for a little while and Jake told Dana that he had liked her since day #1.
The friendship turned to romance.
Dana invited him to drive with her to California to meet the folks.
After a little drama, caused by Dana, and some make-up makeouts, Jake proposed on February 13th. This caught Dana off guard as she was thinking he would have chosen the following day to propose. Jake and Dana were so happy and excited to be married in the Los Angeles LDS Temple on June 13th. They called their families and went to eat at Tony Romas "Famous for Ribs" to celebrate. They did marry, have kids, Jake finished school, and they bought their first home. They now live very happily with their cute little family. Dana is so glad Jake proposed to her ten years ago.

THE END

The happy couple!

Last one done.

Last night was our monthly craft activity for our ward. I have not been to one yet but saw this idea and signed right up. There is a girl in our ward named Sabrina who is very craft-minded! She is in charge of the craft nights. I haven't been to her house yet, but hear about how cute it is.
Anyway, last night I made a magnetic board for my boys room. I can't wait to hang it! Take a look see below. The theme for mine was "soccer", obviously! It was neat to see all of the different ones that were being made by the other gals.
Yes, I was the last one done...........but it was worth it!

Ode to Geo

Oh my dear Geo Prism. We met so many years ago. It was 1992, I was 17 and you were 2. You only had 16,000 miles then, now you have 191,000. You brought me so much joy when I drove you with the windows down and my stereo up. You kept me safe on those California highways, you brought me home very quickly when way past my curfew. You survived many trips from Utah to Cali, and now you help my husband get to and from work. You have never failed me and yet you keep going and going..... Your metallic blue paint is fading and rusting, your material roof is caving and ripping. You are not quiet now as you were when I met you. I forgive you for leaking oil on our driveway. I will stay with you until the end which I fear may be near. This is my ode to you my Geo friend.

Hahahahaha!!!

Oh.......I hope my brother and his wife don't kill me for doing this. I just wanted to post a silly video of them singing at their friends house a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was kind of cute even though they probably won't make it to Hollywood. Hahaha. They need a Mormon Idol show!! Wow, just the title alone is great........and goes right with our belief. (said sarcastically)
This is my younger brother Andy, and his wife, Shawna.

Click HERE for video.

**Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice **

My little girl is growing up too fast. I already have two boys and yes, girls are different. She is a little more dramatic than the boys when she gets hurt (which is hard to imagine with my dramatic boys) and I love her little voice. It sounds like she has inhaled a little helium. Haha. She is my little parrot who copies many things I say, sometimes not good, for example: when I was talking about a celebrity that I was disappointed in (Lindsay Lohan) and called her a name. Breck said it too. Haha. It wasn't a super bad word atleast.
Breck has a little mullet because her hair is growing in but I decided to try pig-tails. They were so cute but only lasted about an hour until she discovered them and pulled them out.
Anyway, I love her and I'm excited to learn how to do girls hair better than mine.
Here are some pics of her pig-tails.





Here is a video of her saying a couple of words:

Trip to California

***Warning*** A lot of pictures below!
Well, we were able to drive down to California for 11 whole days! The weather was chilly but nice and we had a blast with my Mom and siblings. I am the only person from my family living out of California. Yep, it's hard sometimes.

Anyway,we went to Knott's Berry Farm which I haven't been since I was 17 years old. Super fun! I love thrill rides though.
Me and Shawna, my sister-in-law. She's great!
Jake and the kids having fun on a ride.
Jonah and cousin Julie.
Gavin and cousin Ryan.
Jake and Breck who is too attached to the binky.

We went to see Christmas lights after Christmas.



Jake and I went, kid free, to a New Year's Eve party at the home of Jon and Su Billings. Happy New Year!!

Jon and Su.
Me and my honey.
Me and my pals, Kelsi and Su.

We visited Jake's old roommate, Chuck and family. We hadn't seen them in about 3 years. I didn't get a picture of the whole family and I'm bummed. Sorry Cara!

Jake and Chuck. (with Breck)
Jonah, Gavin, and one of the girls, Brooklyn.
Jonah and Brooklyn became buddies that day.

It was so fun to see everybody. We are planning our next trip down............maybe in May?

Yep, it's cold here!

Well, it snowed a few weeks ago and it is just hanging around. I could really use some warm sunshine and green grass. I know, I know, winter just started..........well, I love summer time more! Jonah wanted to build a snowman and he used apple slices for the eyes and mouth, and a baby carrot for the nose. I took a picture of the end result of Jonah's friend holding hands with him. Snow is pretty, and life is super quiet with snow on the ground.......I just wish it was warm snow instead of frigid cold. I did finally get a family pass to the Children's Museum at the Gateway and that is a great place to take the kids when it's cold outside. I'm excited for Christmas to come, however, I'm more excited for two days after Christmas to come, for we get to leave the cold for the best weather ever............California sunshine!
Happy Holidays to all of you!!

High Fives For Everyone---

I'm sure everyone at one time or many other times has enjoyed a great "high five" with a friend, spouse, sibling, teammate, etc..... I know I have. I also enjoy the "hang loose" sign a lot but that is a different subject for another time. Well, if you haven't seen this video you might enjoy it. I sure did. It's super random and the song is great and then you start laughing. There are a few cameo's by celebrities too. This video reminds me of something my brother Andy and his friends would make and then we would sit around and laugh at it.

Click below to learn the many ways to do a high five and remember to high five someone today!! Which is your favorite? Mine is the popcorn one, you'll see.
Click here

Tag, I'm It! I guess.

Ok. This is for Robyn and Su who tagged me a week or so ago.
7 things about me:

1.) I hardly ever play them but when I do, I'm awesome at video games.

2.) I used to be a big nail bitter and my Dad used to slap (lightly) my hands away if they were in my mouth. Well, since my Dad died, I haven't bitten them. It wasn't a pact I had made with myself after my Dad went, it was a random subconscious thing that I noticed a couple months later when I had to get the clippers to trim my nails all of a sudden.

3.) I'm a chapstick addict. I'm a little ritualistic about it too. When I go to bed every night, I must have my chapstick(now Arbonne brand) and a glass of fresh water next to my alarm clock or else!

4.) I was never very patient when learning Math in my youth. I hated it. I don't think I ever got an A in math either, but I'm dang good with numbers. Go figure. I do the finances, remember people's phone numbers from years ago, and I balance my checkbook to the penny almost everyday. NOBODY should use their debit card and not write it in their register. NOBODY!!

5.) I have a little road rage problem. It has definitely mellowed out since I've had children and I have to drive safely and keep my mouth shut or they will repeat. I just cannot handle incompitent drivers or those in a major hurry at the wrong times. If someone is being lame or or wants to get ahead I might try to make it harder for them to get ahead. WHAT?!! People need to settle down, it's rush hour and they need to get in line just like the rest of us!

6.) I'm an impersonator I think. Whenever I have to quote someone I have to do it in their voice and not in my regular voice. People get a real kick out of my Relief Society lessons when I quote all of the prophets. Just kidding! I don't do it in church.

7.) I get super homesick sometimes. I miss my Mom and my house that I grew up in. Almost everytime I would fly down for a visit I ended up crying on the plane as we took off for Utah. It isn't as bad now that I have my own family to get back to.


There you go! I would like to now tag: Nicole, LouAnn(when you start a blog, haha), Lori( when you decide to update), Jeffrey (because I know you love it), Shanti, Tricia, and Kelly.

Did anyone go through this phase too?

I got this huge pad of square paper from a friend for my birthday and I instantly thought of doing this. I used to be really good at it. This was only my second time trying it today so here goes:

Happy Halloween!

It was a good Halloween. The kids of course have too much candy, in my opinion, and will be eating it in moderation if I have anything to do with it. I watched some news show a while back and it talked about the average amount of calorie intake for a child on Halloween is 3,000. I can't get that out of my head I guess.
Anyway, they had a blast trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood.
Costumes went as followed:
1. Jonah was a member of our US Army.
2. Gavin was Sonic the Hedgehog.
3. Breck was a ladybug or "Boo Bug" as the boys called her.
The main reason I like Halloween is because it means we are getting closer to Christmas!
We also completed the tradition of watching the TV special "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". Poor Charlie Brown, he kept getting only rocks in his bag as he trick-or-treated. I never understood that one or many of the negative things that constantly happened to him and never to the others.
Well, Happy Halloween!

Finally................

My 15 month old has decided to start taking steps.
She is now determined to walk.
She has entered a whole new phase of climbing up onto chairs, tables, trying to "walk" down the stairs like the rest of us, and oh yeah, banging her head on things when throwing a tantrum.
It's a good thing she is so cute!

Everyone Needs It!

...........demotivation, that is. Jake somehow knows how to find the most random websites. This is one he showed me today. He has an email chain at work and sends a "Daily Dose of Demotivation" for laughs.
Here are some I thought funny: (You might have to click on the photo to be able to read it)




Whenever Jake and I go eat at a Chinese place where fortune cookies are given, we always talk about how they are not fortunes at all. They are more like statements with lucky numbers at the bottom of the strip of paper.
We thought it would be funny to start "Misfortune cookies" instead and write something like "You will get a flat tire today" or "You will get a cavity" or "You will never win a million dollars", "Your dessert will go straight to your thighs", etc... Hahaha, it's funny to us!
This website www.despair.com reminded me of that idea.
There is a funny t-shirt about blogs on the site too. Hahahaha, very funny Brain. (said with English accent)(name the show)

Baptism Day

Well, it happened. Jonah got baptized on Sept. 29th. It was a great day!
Family and friends came up and afterwards we came to our place for some munching and hanging out. Thanks to all who came. It was great to have my Mom come up from California too. She played a pretty arrangement of "I love to see the temple" on the piano. There were five children who got baptized that day so it was a busy Saturday for the Stake. Jake's family came up and some friends came too. It was great to see everyone. Grammy Willis gave him a baptism book to put photos and info into it.
Jonah received his own set of scriptures and has been reading them often.
He had his first "Fast Sunday" too. He did very well. I'm so proud of him.
Here are some pictures of the day.

****Arbonne Holiday****

Ok. I'm just posting today to let you all know that if you are interested in trying out Arbonne or you are thinking about what gift to get a family member or a friend or child's teacher for Christmas/Birthdays/ETC..... I am offering my 35% discount to you. If you are interested, just email me or call me and I will help you. (I don't want to put personal info on this site.)
They really have great products that I am continuing to use everyday. I love the holiday line too.

Anyway, go to the website www.arbonne.com and click shop online to see what they have.
You will not find a greater product than Arbonne's.
Eveybody likes skin care, lotions, aromatherapy, make-up, weight-loss, and good health.
Go check it out at least and let me know!
Some of my favorites include, the BeforeSun chapstick(I'm addicted), the BeforeSun bronzer, NutriminC RE9 body serum, and lotion, Intelligence Not-So-Basic Daily Shampoo and Conditioner, and of course the NutriminC RE9 line for the face.
There are also incentives for shopping. The great thing about Arbonne is that it is all online and it is shipped to your front door within 3 days and sometimes 2.
I love it!
When looking online, remember that you can have 35% off of the retail price that you see.
Happy Shopping!

Life is so great, because I turned EIGHT.

Hooray Hooray for Jonah is 8.
Today is your birthday now isn't that great!
You came to our life on the 18th of September,
I pushed for 3 hours 'Hey, don't you remember?'
I do.
Now 8 years later you've grown up too fast,
you're in 2nd grade now and soccer's a blast.
With a dash of brown freckles and awesome green eyes,
your laugh is contagious, you're silly and wise.
You learn things so quickly and look like a pro,
we hope that you know that we all love you so.
A super big brother who chooses the right,
Mom made you a cake so let's go have a bite!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY JONAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-TWO IN SCHOOL-

Well, school has started and I can't believe how fast summer has come and gone.
Jonah started 2nd Grade and Gavin is my big Kindergarten kiddo.
It seems like 3 kids is a lot until all of a sudden it is just me and Breck at home for a chunk of the day. It is so nice to run errands with just Breck. It is too quiet. Haha.

I have time to read my amazing book, 'new moon', nap, workout at the clubhouse across the street, etc..... I mean, clean house, bake, read scriptures, babysit for others, ponder, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha........

I deserve this, ok?!!!!

Big Helper

Breck is our third child. She honestly has been the best baby ever. She has had her moments but really is so easy. I always tell people this. Then I realized why it seems so easy. Jonah! He has been such a help. He is almost 8 years old and he can go get her out of her crib when she wakes up from her naps. He can hold her when she is upset and I need to cook dinner. He can keep her busy when she wants to get into mischief. He loves to help. I love it! This is why life hasn't been so tough with 3 kiddos. Hahahaha! I can't wait until he is old enough to babysit. Jake and I can finally date again! Only two or three more years!

Hooray for Jonah! He is such a good older brother. We love him.