Riddle me this......

what does 2+1+1+1=????????.........

if you think you can solve it, then leave me a comment. there just might be a prize for whomever can solve it first!.....hmmmmm :)

I must interupt......

my muchly (is that even a word hmmmmm) dare i say "highly anticipated" update on my life for a brief little headline I recently found this blog from another friends blog and it just humbled me so much in a way that I have to post about it. this is by far one of the funniest, most truthful blogs I have ever read and it is hilarious. but there is a particular post that she did that just seriously made me sit and really smell the roses of life. read below (kind of long, but well worth the read):


Dear Me,

You are about to get married to a tall, skinny boy from the other side of town. He loves you all right, but he has no idea yet just how much he needs you, and you him.You may think you want babies right away, but don't rush yourself. Enjoy this time when it's just the two of you. THE BABIES WILL COME. And once they do, they will never leave. And they will smell sometimes. And pee on you (and yet you will still love them). Stop wishing this time away, because in a blink, it will be gone, and you will find yourself a mother of three, with a road map of stretch marks to prove it.In spite of what everyone will tell you, it is okay to go to bed mad at each other. Sometimes it's better, as hurtful words are not said, and cooler heads always prevail in the morning.You are not really that great of a cook. I'm sorry to break that to you. You can bake like nobody's business, but cooking meat is not really your thing. And when you're making gravy one night in your first apartment? Don't add the paprika. Trust me on this one. The gravy will turn pink, and will be thoroughly disgusting. Your sweet husband will eat it anyway, but you will have just given him something to tease you about. Forever.Do not be critical of your spouse, and expect the same in return from him. Never badmouth him to your friends. Instead, brag about all his good qualities. It will help you to constantly see the good in him, of which there is a lot.Learn to pick your battles. I can promise you that after almost 15 years, he will still sling his suit over the back of a chair at the end of a long day. YOU WILL NOT FIX THIS. Stop trying. Just get over it, and be glad he is willing to work so hard for you and your family. Focus instead on ways you can make it easier for him to do his demanding job.You must also accept that you will be ignored on Saturday afternoons from late August through November, as he will ALWAYS want to watch his favorite team play football. It is nothing personal. It is just a strange part of this man that you will never understand. Instead, get a hobby or a good book and enjoy your alone time.Lastly, remember this: Men are like puppies; a little praise and a treat goes a long way in training them to do what you want.

With love,
You, age 34.


seriously that is so true. I have truly been struggling lately with a lots of things (which I will let everyone in on, in my highly anticipated update on my life post) and today was no exception, but man'o'man this really hit home for me, I truly am always focused on Nate's flaws or misdeeds or on the little pet peeves that bug me, to realize that I married such a thoughtful, caring, loving, hardworking, smart, handsome, spiritual, great man. who is supporting a family of four while going through med-school, working not 1 but now 2 jobs (one at the hospital and he now has an electrical job)and while maintaining a 3.9 GPA while making time to spend time with his kids and wife, give me breaks to go to dinners with my friends, go to recipe clubs, shopping and everything else in my (me, me, me) life, while taking extra classes at work and everything he has complicated with his extended family. I cant believe I forget all those wonderful qualities/thing about him. our husband (most of us anyway) do so much for their families it just amazes, dont get me wrong us woman out there do alot too, but we (well me anyway) all demand praise for it, but our husbands (mine anyway) never even thinks about it that way when it comes to all the hard work nate does, he never expects praise for it. he just does those things. and I have so much to be proud of . he is such a GOOD MAN! and I love him. so go now ME,ME,ME woman out there (mostly me anyway) and kiss your husband and tell him how proud you are of him and how much love and appreciate him and look forward to the next fifteen years (or the next five in my case, since weve only been married for almost five) and while your at it, hug your babies and tell them too how much you love them, because they wont be babies forever. and with that a bid everyone a GOOD NIGHT!


stay tuned....for my muchly (still not sure it that is even a word hhhmmmmm) HIGHLY ANTICIPATED update on my life and summer with tons of pics and videos, for now heres a little teaser/sneak peak:

Look at that face! aint he a cutie!!!!

and how bout this little boy, how HANDSOME is he!!!!!

awww how sweet are my babies....I LOVE THEM SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!

COMING TO A COMPUTER SCREEN NEAR YOU!!

"STAY TUNED" for probably the "LONGEST" blog update you have ever read with TONS and TONS of pictures and videos of our very fun, short, stressful, drama filled summer.

Thinking of Mothers.......

As I sat back this week and tried to think about what I could possibly do for the special woman in my life for mothers day, especially since I'm so far away from my family and on a relatively small budget. I thought what better way to say I love you and I appreciate you than to share it with everyone and anyone who reads my blog: so without further delay here we go........

this is my mom and uncle with when she was a kid.I seriously look so much like her when I was a kid.

Coby and my mom

chase and my mom

This Special Lady would be my mother. My Mom is a very smart, beautiful, sensitive, hard working and nurturing woman. She is a great Mother to her children and a fantastic grandmother to her grand children. My mom has persevered through so many hardships she has had to face in her life from being a single parent (my parents divorced when I was two)and raising three hethan children :), to living with a life threatening brain tumor and many surgeries, financial harships and other medical and personal crises. she hasalways mangaed to keep her head above water and a smile on her face, even though deep down she may want to sometimes throw the towel in, throw up her arms and say "to heck with it all!" she doesnt she just always keep chuggin along. I know if I had even gone through half the things that my mom has had to go through in her life I certainly wouldnt be here today. she leads completly by example and thats what makes her not only a GREAT MOM, but a GREAT WOMAN!

My mom and I have a very special bond. growing up I was not the easiest to live, I was loud, obnoxious, obscene, I was just a stubborn little brat at times. no matter what though my mom never judged me. she would be furious with me one minute when I was doing something stupid or saying something mean. I would at times apologize and that was it. it was water under the bridge.she is extremly forgiving. When I was a kid and all the way up til I was out of high school I did gymnastics and cheerleading and my mom was SUPER SUPPORTIVE she wanted me to live my dreams no matter what it took, I still dont know how in the world she paid all the thousands of dollars that she paid for me to do it all considering she had two other kids in sports and extra-curricular activities and two other kids to feed and cloth (teens at that!). I'll never forget when I was 14 (I think) I went to a modeling audition and the talent scout said "great we want you, but you have to pay for your own portrait portfolio and picture cards (or zed cards as there calledin the model world) in order to get booked you need those things. well those things arent cheap a porfolio can run in the hundreds if not thousands of dollars, but none the less my mom wanted me to pursue my drems, she told me she would take a second job and do anything to get me to the top if this was what I had wanted, but I told her not "no". I didnt want my mom to take a second job she works hard enough, besides i was a cheerleader at the time and she already paid for that and that was enough for me. she always put her kids first before herself, I can remember her having holes in her shoes and me being the selfish, bratty teen that I was, wanted a new pair of shoes (even though I had like a dozen) and instead of buying some for herself, she spent the money on me. once again she always put her kids first no matter what. the special we share still continues today, but back in high school and a little there after while all my friends were going out and dating. I alot of the times chose to stay home and hang with my mom and watch a movie or play games or just joke back and forth (my mom has one of the best senses of humor ever), sure I went out too sometimes, but alot of the time I just loved and still just love to hang with my mom. my mom and I gave laugh just by looking at each other, which gets us into trouble at times. I remember when her and I (ok this is bad so brace yourselves) were at someones baptism and there was this goofy lookin little man there with this thick glasses on and he was speaking about baptisms and what not and then he started to read something from the scriptures and then he paused half way through and said "sorry I gotta put my glasses on" and boom! he put on these coke bottle glasses, I'm talkin thick! and I knew my mom was thinkin the same thing I was and I knew that even if I turned to look at her we would bust up laughing (and she knew it too), but i just couldnt help myself and I turned and looked at her and she was holding her mouth trying so hard not to laugh and the seconds out eyes met that was it we had to leave we were bustin up laughing and we were so red in the face that we had to excuse ourselves from the room.

Mom, Thankyou for being not only a great mom, but a great friend, a kind heart and a great woman. you totally lead by example, like you were lead. I love you so very much and I would be completly lost without. Thank you for always listening to ranting and raving about a bad day or about anything. Thank you for being such a wonderful, loving grandmother to my kids. Thank you for your continuing selflessness. Thank you for being you. Thank you for being my mom. and Thank you Heavenly father for blessing me with such a special mother. Thank You.

This Gorgeous Woman would be my Grandmother. She is extremly intelligant, beautiful, classy, charming, strong and witty. She is defninitly in a class all on her own. She is the epitamy of a Great Wonder Woman. She has lived one of the most fascinating lives I have ever seen. She is the best mother to her four children. The best Grandmother to her 11 grandchildren and The best great-grandmother to her 9 great-grand children. My grandmother just fascinates me she has been through WWII, the great depression, poverty, the kennedy administration, the reagean administration (YIKES!) :) the list goes on and on. to say that my granny (as I like to call her, much to her dismay of course hehe) hasnt, seen it all, done it all and been through it all, is the biggest understatement of the century!


My grandmother sacrificed so much for her children. and for her grnadchildren. she came to live with us when I was seven, but she pretty much helped to take care of us since birth, because after my parents divorced she would come over in the morning before my mom went to work and she would help to get us ready and get us off to school. she stayed home with me and my sister (my brother was already in school) and took care of us while my mom was at work, so she didnt have to worry about us. she helped clean our house and even cooked a meal for us so my mom didnt have to when she got home. and each day she would then go home and cook my grandfather and herself a meal as well. she made many sacrifices for all us so that we could have a better life. she is so kind to everyone and her smile just radiates from her face. I miss her so dearly since moving away. I miss my many talks with her after I would come home from dates and she would ask "is he a keeper" to which I replied "NOPE!" it wasnt until i met nate however when that answered changed, but anywho she was just always there for me, to listen and to guide me. she was my second mother she helped make me the woman I'am today. I could write an entire series on my grandmother and her humor stories, her history and war stories, her love stories, her mother stories. My granny just never ceases to amaze me . she is 83 years old and she still works. she is seriously so strong. I have such a special bond with my granny and so badly miss her smile and her laugh. she has the most unique laugh and the very best sense of HUMOR! we could laugh about things for hours. just her sassy, feisty attitude can make you laugh. she is a big time, big time democrat and I just love to here her talk about politics, she just cracks me up.

Granny, Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for your laugh. Thank you for all the sacrifices you have made for me and mom and my brother and sister. Thank you for being the epitamy of a perfect wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend and confidant. Thank you everything you have ever done or will do for me. I love you so very,very much Granny and I will always have a very special place for you in my heart. Thank you.

This Special Lady would be my beautiful step mommy Terina. Terina is very hard working, kind, thoughtful, loving and talented. Terina moved to the U.S. from Seoul, South Korea when she was I believe 16. Her and her sisters were in a rock/pop band and she was the lead singer and she played guitar. they played at tons of hotels and they are very talented, their music is awesome. Terina and my Dad married when I was 3 and from the get go Terina treated me like I was her own, she has so much love for me and my little family. she is amazing. she could work a 12 hour shift (standing on her feet all day),come home, clean the house, and cook a meal. and she never complains, she sets such a great example for myself and my sister.

Some of my fondest memories of her was when I was little. I would go see her shows sometimes although I cant really remember them I can remember her beautiful voice and how she can dance. she has got the RYTHM! :). I can rember playing in parks with her and dressing up in her high heels and putting on dress up clothes and singing "Paula abdul" on the fire place mount with a microphone pretending I was her on stage. I remember watching "touched by an angel" with her and how that was her favorite show on t.v. I have so many memories with her. She is such a wonderful wife to my father, Mother to my sister and I and grandmother to my kids.

Terina, Thank you for loving me from the get go like a mother to her newborn baby. Thank you for the example you set for Sophia and I. Thank you for being so loving and so good to my dad. Thank you for being such a great grandmother to my kids. Thank you for being you. I love you so very much and I miss you and I think of you everyday. Thank you.

This Special Lady would be my Mother-in-Law. She is very intelligent, beautiful, tender-hearted (thats where nate gets it), loving, witty, spiritual and kind. She is such a good mother and she is the best Grandmother. she is the strongest woman I know. she has remained so positive and strong throught out all the trials in her life. she finished her masters degree in teaching while raising FIVE KIDS! who were no more than a year apart (some of them) while still working. I seriously dont know how she did it. she is just amazing.

Some special memories I remember about her are of when Nate first took me to meet his folks I was so nervous, especially to meet his mom, I really liked nate and I just wanted her to like me so badly. she just made me feel so comfortable and so welcomed I knew then that I wanted to be apart of her family (i dont think I ever told her that). I remember how excited she was for night and I when we got engaged. I miss the heart to heart talks we had about Nathan and love and motherhood and the gospel. She was just so there for me before and after Coby was born. I was so scared about child birth and about pregancy and she was just there for me. after Coby was born she came and stayed at my house, cleaned it, filled my fridge with groceries, cooked me a couple of meals, she made me breakfast in bed and got up with Coby. she was awesome and it was so special to the see the bond that she formed right away with Coby. she loves me like one of her own and she always makes me feel so special. my fondest memory her and I shared is one that has changed my life forever. she was my escort in the temple when I took out my own endowments and was sealed to her son for time and all eternity. it was the most important and sepcial day in my life and it was the most special that I got to spend those special moments with her in the dressing room and I could feel the spirit so strong.

Mom, Thank you so much for being such a great mom and a fantastic grandma. If I could just be half the mother that you were to your kids I know I will be successful. Thank you for giving me your son and for making him the man he is today. Thank you for being there for me before and after Coby was born I dont think I ever told you how much I appreciated it. you were WONDERFUL! Thank you for leading by example. Thank you for the special and spiritual moments we shared together in the temple. I love you so much and I think you are the best. Thank you to my heavenly father for blessing me with such a great mother-in-law, mother to my husband and grandmother to my children. Thank YOU!

Thank you to all mothers out there for all you do. motherhood is something so special and it takes a special lady to be a great mom. The prophets have all stated how important motherhood is to our heavenly father and it truly is. For all the mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers and mothers-2-be out there.....................

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Unfortunatly......

WE ARE GOING PRIVATE!! SOON!!......Ive been hearing some pretty scary stories from people about anonymous, crazy, disgusting and perverted comments from people they dont even know. and I have my babies on here and that just kind of freaks me out. I dont want to be another lifetime story or anything, I could just see the headlines now "crazy man and/or woman stalks family on thje internet finds them and takes their babies or something" (I know im paranoid and and maybe a tid bit crazy myself), but seriously you just never know whos out there and it seems like everyone is going private lately so there must be a reason for it right?! so yes unfortunatly after much talk and careful consideration with my hubby, dear fam. and friends we are going private with our blog. If you are at all interested in still reading and/or looking at my blog simply leave me your email address ( which I will make unviewable by others) and I will invite you to read it. we will be going private within the next week or so. Thanks!

I Love Sundays.....

seriously is Sunday not the best day of the week? for me it is. Sunday is the one day of the week where you can get spiritual, emotional, mental and physical rejuvenation all in one day. Its the one day where my whole family can be together without having school or work or house cleaning or yada, yada, yada. ITS AWESOME!!!! today was no exception to that, it was a real wonderful day, we watched a couple of movies (license to wed), caught up on the Office, took naps, played kick ball, played a few games, and had a great dinner and just vegged out, all my favorite things to do. today we were a little late to church since we took some time to actually take a few pictures of us as a family finally dressed up. here is our couple of attempts at getting a family photo:

attempt 1

attempt 2

"yeah Chase has had enough, but hey we tried right?"

On another note... who out there thinks that the cartoons lately are lame, repetitive, annoying and boring??? MEEEEE!!!!!! holy cow coby just loves "Thomas the Train"," Wow,wow, wubzy","Backyardigans", and so on.......can we say boring! what ever happened to shows like "gummi bears, ducks tales, tale spin, animaniacs,rugrats, doug, pepper ann, looney toons, mickey mouse. CLASSIC!!! well anywho I came downstairs from changing chase to find coby on the couch like this:

his face is like DUUUHHHHH!!!! and what may you ask is he watching?..............

that would be...."WOW,WOW,Wubzy!" BOOORRIINGGG!!!!

heres a cute little picture collage of Nate and Chase. gosh is he getting big or what? his little personality develops more and more everyday. we just love him! How dang cute is he?!

a day at the park.....

is just what we have been needing! this winter has been the longest winter of my life. Six months to be exact! Now that its over I'am just ecstatic! and so is Coby. My Friend Robyn and her kiddos came over yesterday and we walked the kids down my block to the park. Coby was so excited he could hardly contain himself. Coby is such an outdoorsy kind of boy, he loves dirt and he just loves to run and jump and play hard. he was totally in his element yesterday and the weather couldnt have been more perfect a wonderful 72 degrees (for my far away fams. information). although it was a blast it was hell (pardon my french) when it was time to go. I mean you try telling a crazily hyper-active 3 year old boy who has been couped up in a house for six months that its time to go in five minutes and then five minutes are up and its time to go....ummm yeah right, he pitched the biggest fit, but I think if I was in his shoes I would have been the same way. well heres a few pics of our fun day:

I just love picture collages! **the pic.on the bottom right. is right after I strapped him into the stroller during his temper tantrum. he so funny this boy, because the second I pulled the camera out to take a picture, he was all smiles. he loves to take pictures :)

of course this is how Chase contributed in on the fun :)

WOW! 3 posts in one day I'm on a roll! yeah dont expect it to last though. ha!

Have a great week everyone and enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasts, because you know what they say "April showers, brings May flowers!" :)