J5

Copper is laying in Joe's lap :)

2012-01-28T12:32:00.000-08:00

Copper is laying in Joe's lap :)

Eating this in honor of Amy!

2012-01-13T20:16:00.001-08:00

Eating this in honor of Amy!

Jackson fought Darth Vader!

2012-01-10T15:27:00.001-08:00

I wish this was better quality, but I didn't feel safe carrying around our big camera for the day. Jackson is on stage and was a total crowd pleaser! He fought Darth Vader and then he was able to do the force push to the Storm Trooper on the left and then the Storm Trooper on the right and then he did the double force push and got them both at the same time!! The crowd went wild and laughed. I was laughing and crying at the same time. Yes I cried as my son completed the Jedi Training Academy :) An absolute dream come true for him!

It was an amazing day to say the least. Around 5pm at night Jackson wrapped his arms around me and said this place makes me happy, I love you mom. Truly is one of the happiest places on earth :)

Christmas small world singing deck the halls and jingle bells :)

2012-01-09T17:18:00.001-08:00

Christmas small world singing deck the halls and jingle bells :)

Jack is having a blast!

2012-01-09T11:32:00.001-08:00

Jack is having a blast!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T21:54:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful day. I do have to admit the holidays are not as exciting as they once were. I love all my boys and it is hard to look around and see one missing. I love that Jack was older when Jonas passed away because he talks about him all the time. I think of Jonas every day and it makes me so happy that Jack and I can always acknowledge that Jonas is with us even though we can't see him.

It was so neat to see the excitement in Joe's and Jackson's eyes this morning. They are adorable together. Joe is a sweetheart. He is such a cuddle bug and laughs at everything. I treasure every second with these little guys.

Jack's Star Wars Luke Skywalker Pancake

2011-12-18T11:05:00.001-08:00

Josh and his mom are Pro's at making cool characters out of pancakes. This was my first attempt! I am definitely not an artist outside of the computer world :) But Jackson thinks it's awesome so it's totally worth it!

Joe loves riding with his big brother!

2011-12-08T16:12:00.001-08:00

Joe loves riding with his big brother!

All bundled up for our walk!

2011-12-08T15:55:00.001-08:00

All bundled up for our walk!

2011-12-06T09:27:00.001-08:00

Thank you so much sweet Angelique for taking our pictures yesterday!
Can't wait to post more. We love you so much!!!

Jonas is watching

2011-11-18T20:23:00.000-08:00

We are having our first big snow storm right now! Jackson, Joe and I ran an opened the windows. It's a beautiful sight to see. All 3 pairs of our eyes are staring out the window in amazement. Truly a gorgeous sight to see. I said to Jackson, "Isn't Heavenly Father amazing?" Jackson said, "Yeah mom...I wish Jonas was here...well Jonas is here, he can see us we just can't see him, so not fair!" It made me chuckle and then tear up, but in a happy way. It's neat for Jackson to remember his brother is still with us. What a great perspective. I know I get wrapped up in my emotions of Jonas dying, but his spirit is alive and we will SEE him again!

Joe chillin in the excersaucer while I take pictures of crazy Jack and Copper in the snow. By the way this kid drools like a Saint Bernard :)

I know it's 9pm at night and my kids should be in bed, but this snow is too exciting! Can you tell we're from Los Angeles :)

That's my boy... hit 3 ballons in a row!

2011-11-15T13:49:00.001-08:00

That's my boy... hit 3 ballons in a row!

Getting so big!

2011-11-10T18:15:00.001-08:00

Getting so big!

Cute hoodie :)

2011-09-20T16:08:00.001-07:00

Cute hoodie :) Its cold in our home so i put on this hoodie vest :)

His smile is adorable!

2011-08-14T20:17:00.001-07:00

2011-08-08T14:09:00.001-07:00

Happy Boy!

2011-07-29T15:22:00.001-07:00

Such a cutie!

2011-07-20T17:52:00.001-07:00

Getting big! I'm 11.5 pounds now :)

2011-07-17T17:46:00.001-07:00

totally getting a widow's peak :)

2011-06-09T16:55:00.001-07:00

Joe 4 weeks today

Joe

2011-06-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Sorry it's taken me forever to post Joe's birth story! We have been soaking up every single moment with this little guy. I'm not the best writer so if you have any questions please comment and I will respond :)

On May 11th I was getting ready to take a shower around 8:30pm. I noticed some fluid running down my leg. It was not a ton, but I called L&D and told them what happen and that it wasn't a lot of fluid. I did not think it was my amniotic fluid and they told me I could come in, but I told them I'm sure it's not and if there's more I'll come in. In all of my pregnancies I have had fluid that looked similar to this throughout the pregnancy and every time I had it check it was not amniotic fluid. So I got in the shower which looking back was not a wise decision. I think I continued to leak a lot fluid, but I didn't notice because I was in the shower. So I went to bed that night and the doctors think Joe's head shifted over my cervix and slowed down the leak. When I stood up the next morning on the 12th I had another gush of fluid, but still not a ton. At this point I decided to go L&D just to check. I left Jack with some friends and then called Josh at work to tell him I'm going in for a quick check, but I'm sure it's nothing.

When I walked in to L&D I tried my best to keep my cool. It's hard walking in the same doors where I found out Jonas died. They quickly got me in a room and did a pH strip test that came back inconclusive. So the nurse decided to do a more comprehensive test. She said it would take about 15 minutes for the results. In the mean time I asked if my favorite nurse in the whole world was working...Codi. She is the one that was by my side with Jonas and helped deliver him. They said she was working and I was so excited to see her again. Codi came in a few minutes later and I immediately started to cry. She asked if I was in pain and I said no, I'm just happy to see her :) I know I gave birth to an Angel, but people like Codi are also Angels here on earth. I don't know how I would have made it through my delivery of Jonas without Codi. So back to the story. Codi said she was going to hunt down the amniotic fluid results. She left and about 5 minutes later she walked back into my room and said, "You're staying!" I said, "What?!? Your kidding right?" She wasn't... I couldn't believe it! I walked in there with flip flops and chapstick, I was not ready to have Joe today!

Everything from this point forward is kind of a blur. I was super nervous because I kept thinking I'm only 36 weeks, Joe should not be coming yet. The nurses and doctors said he will probably be fine, but his lungs may not be developed enough so they will have the respiratory team there when I deliver. Since it was my water that broke the night before at 8:30pm there was no time to get me the steroid injection to help Joe's lungs. Once your water breaks you have 24 hours to get the baby out before an infection sets in. This brought on great guilt and I thought I should have came in last night! But the doctor said you actually need to be on the steroid for 48 hours and they wouldn't have been able to give it to me. Usually the steroid is given much earlier in pregnancy and at 36 weeks there is still a GREAT chance he will be perfect and not need help with his lungs. I hoped and prayed that everything would be ok with Joe, but I could feel in my gut he was going to the NICU. My husband, family and friends that were there while I was being induced kept telling me to not worry about that till we know he does have a problem. But I kept saying I just know something is wrong.

The induction process was started at about 1pm and it seemed like it went super fast. Many family and friends tried to keep me super positive and I appreciate that so much. I have made many friends now that have had stillbirths and the ones that have had a rainbow baby said it's so hard to believe that you can have another child that will live. I found myself in that mode. I could not bring myself to believe Joe would be born alive. I knew I would believe it once I heard him cry, but until that moment I kept thinking he could die any time like Jonas did.

Around 9pm it was time to push. I found myself in a different zone. I remember being in the same place just less than a year ago with such different circumstances. The room was solemn last year. It was just me, Josh, Codi and the doctor and we all knew I was delivery my son who was dead. I had to keep my mind from going there but it was so hard. I remember Codi saying take a deep breath and PUSH. I snapped back into reality and 3 pushes later Joe came out. I remember propping my head up and looking at him and he let out the most beautiful scream in the world! I started crying so hard because truly there is no better sound. I just wanted to grab Joe and hold him, but I knew the respiratory team had to check him. He sounded fantastic then about 30 seconds later his scream turned into a whimper. I could see his whole chest and stomach cave in super deep every time he tried to breathe. I knew this was a bad sign.

The respiratory team worked on him for probably 10-15 minutes. It seemed like forever.

We watched and tried so hard to stay calm.

My sweet nurse Codi came over and told me they are going to life flight Joe to a different hospital that has an excellent NICU. At this point I really started to freak out inside. I just keep thinking he is going to die too. The nurses and doctors all kept telling me he will be fine, his lungs just need to get stronger. They told me I could hold Joe for a couple of minutes before they took him away. I was so scared to hold him because I thought why should I hold him when he can't breathe!! They told me he would be ok for a few minutes. I don't really understand why...so there was total excitement and complete fear the first time I held Joe.

I have not held another baby in my arms since Jonas died. I cannot even begin to explain how much it meant to me to hold Joe.

The one moment I was waiting for was to have Jackson hold Joe, but he was not allowed to, no one was except for me. That was really hard. The number one reason Josh and I decided to try to have another baby after Jonas died was because Jackson asked us if we could try again to get him a brother or sister that would stay here on earth. I told Jack I promise we'll try, but there is no guarantee we will bring the baby home. This whole last year has been so hard trying to explain everything to Jackson. My heart aches the most for him because he was so excited for Jonas and it has been so sad to watch Jackson grieve. The little guy has learned a lot at such a young age. My sweet neighbor Melanie was watching Jackson while I was delivering Joe. Josh called her when it was time to bring Jack. She told Jackson it was time to go to the hospital to see Joe! He got in the car and asked Melanie, is Joe alive? Melanie told him yes and he had a huge smile on his face. I wanted those precious hospital photos of Jackson holding his new baby brother. I was so terribly sad he wasn't allowed to hold him. Then the next day I found out Jack wasn't even allowed to go to the NICU and I really wish I would have let Jackson hold him for a least a few seconds.

So the next thing I knew they took Joe away and Josh ran off with them while they prepped Joe to get in the helicopter. I was left in the room with some dear friends.

This picture of me and Leith is after they took Joe away. I couldn't believe I was emptied handed again. Thank you Leith for staying with me. I love you.

This is Joe being prepped for life flight. By the way my friend Jen took these amazing photos. She was my photographer from NILMDTS when Jonas died. There is no doubt in my mind that we were to meet. Jen will be my best friend forever.

The life flight crew was amazing and so kind. It was so hard to see them fly away with my little boy. I told them before they left..."Please don't crash." My mind constantly goes to the worse case scenario now. I guess it's hard to not do that when one of the worst things in the world has happened to me.

They would not let me transfer to the hospital where they were taking Joe. So I slept that night in a mother/baby room. Well I didn't actually sleep, I cried all night because I could hear all the babies crying and I knew mine was not there with me. Josh really helped me so much to stay calm. I was such a mess. When I was discharged out of the hospital the next day I left the hospital empty handed. We drove home and we pulled into our driveway empty handed again! Oh I was hysterical and extremely sleep deprived, but Josh just kept his arms around me and said, "Joe is going to be fine, I know it Jen...he will be coming home." It took several days for me to believe this.

Seeing Joe in the NICU the first 3 days was so hard. He was super swollen and not doing so well because he still never pooed. On the forth day they were able to give him some of my breast milk through a tube and they let me do skin to skin with him finally. This is when he started to turn around. The NICU said he would be in there most likely till his due date which was June 11th (the day Jonas died) and that was 4 weeks away. The thought of having him away that long was so hard, but I knew the NICU was doing everything to help him. By day 8 in the NICU Joe was off of all medication and only had an iv for nourishment. He got strong so fast! The NICU told me all he has to do is learn how to consistently eat without the iv and he can come home! Joe picked up breastfeeding like a champ and day 11 he was able to come home!!!!

Josh and I drove Joe home and then I left to go pick up Jack from a friends home. I told Jackson we have a surprise for you at home. He was so excited, but had no idea what it was :) It was incredible to see the look in Jackson's eyes when we walked in the house and he saw Joe. Jackson has been kissing and hugging Joe every day. Seeing those 2 interact has helped my heart heal the most.

I'm doing great and sad at the same time. One of the best things I learned from the therapist I have been seeing is you don't have to be happy or sad, you can be both and I truly feel that way. I miss Jonas so bad. When he died it felt like I was cut right open and with Joe being here it feels like I have a big bandaid wrapped around me. I think of my fellow BLMs (Baby Loss Moms) everyday. I pray for their rainbow babies to come ( a rainbow baby is the successful birth after the loss of a child whether that be miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, etc). I still have nightmares of Jonas dying and new ones of Joe dying. I wake up in a deep sweat several times a night thinking Joe has stopped breathing. I assume this will stop in time.

I think of this picture everyday, I can't get it out of my head. I see my amazing husband carrying my son to his burial spot and my sweet little Jackson walking so close by...you've heard it many times...parents are not suppose to bury their children.

It will be a year this Saturday since Jonas died. The pain has not lessen one bit, but I have gotten used to it. I know the pain will always be there. I still can't believe Joe was due to come out the day Jonas died. It was an incredible miracle. I do not know why Joe came a month early. I was racking my brain the whole pregnancy with Joe wondering how am I going to survive those last 4 weeks. I didn't know what I was going to do to stay calm and not worry that he could die any second like his brother. Joe definitely took my anticipation away and threw it out the window :) I wonder if he came early to calm my nerves and gave me a different kind of a freak out with him being in the NICU. Looking back now the NICU was not a bad route, it is way better than dead.

I feel peace and so much love around me, despite the fear. I feel Jonas so close by and it was incredibly comforting knowing he was with Joe while he was in the NICU. I think it's awesome I have 3 boys. I want you all to know I love to talk about Jonas too. Please don't be afraid to ask me about him. It's actually comforting because you acknowledge that he existed and he is apart of our family. I think Joe looks a lot like Jonas and I truly believe Joe got to spend a lot of time with his brother. It will be a great day when we are all reunited again. Till then we are so blessed to have Jonas watching over us.

I'll be sure to keep you all updated on Joe. Lots of pictures to come!

2011-04-03T15:39:00.001-07:00

Only in Utah! 68 degrees yesterday, snowing today :)

We are on the 5th row!!!!

2011-01-08T12:50:00.001-08:00

My neighbor Mel took Jackson and her two kids Kiara and Kyson to the Monster truck show today. They were on the 5th row!!!!

2010-12-21T19:57:00.001-08:00

Jack loves his Christmas socks! Thanks Mel & Family!

2010-10-27T07:16:00.001-07:00

Copper would rather stay in his comfy bed :)

2010-10-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas from my backyard :) Copper looked at me like....You want me to go potty in that?

Names of your little one

2010-10-13T21:15:00.001-07:00

October 15th is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. One of the nicest and most tender things you can do for a family that has lost a child is to write that child's name somewhere. It really means so much to us. I have posted some of the pictures we have received and you can see me writing Jonas' name along with Addy's name in the sand on the beach of the Great Salt Lake. I wish I had time to write so many more names.

Proud to be an American

2010-09-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

Today was 3 months since Jonas died. I try to not think about the date anniversaries, but it was hard to not pay attention to this one. I love when a baby turns 3 months old! This is when they get so interactive and start smiling all the time. I wish I could see Jonas smiling now.

Jackson and I went to a 9/11 Memorial service. It was so comforting being around others who were sad. I know that sounds weird, but it really helped me heal a little. So many people lost their lives on 9/11 and so many people including children die everyday. I know these sweet people including my son are looking out for all of us. They are close to us...I try so hard to not forgot that. We are not separated from our loved ones forever, in fact when we die we can LIVE with them FOREVER. I cannot wait for the day I get to hug my sweet boy. In the meantime Jackson, Josh and I will squeeze each other a little tighter till we can hug you Jonas.

Faces of Loss Faces of Hope

2010-08-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

Please check out this amazing website. I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am for all of these women.

Jonas Brett - Died June 11, 2010

2010-06-24T12:07:00.001-07:00

Josh, Jack & Jonas' hands

Adorable feet.

Josh, Jonas and My hand

There is no easy way to say this, but I wanted to let you all know that our little boy died on June 11th, the day before my due date. I did not feel him move for a few hours. I went to the hospital to get checked and he had no heartbeat. I delivered him June 11th at 6:37pm. He was 8 lbs 13oz and we named him Jonas Brett. He was adorable, looked exactly like Jackson with pitch black hair. What hurts the most is Jackson wanted his little brother so bad.

We feel the love of our Savior and Heavenly Father and we know the only way we will be able to get through this pain is by having faith in the atonement. We know we will see Jonas again and that he is watching over us now. I will be honest though I would do anything to have him in my arms right now. I miss him more than you can imagine. I pray multiple times a day that I can feel him around me.

I love you Jonas.

2010-06-24T11:00:00.001-07:00

Zach and Jackson doing the spider swing :)

Hanging out with my little guy!

2010-05-23T17:28:00.001-07:00

I love where we live! It's beautiful.

He was so excited I wrote his name in the sand

It was a bit chilly, but it was fun feeding the ducks.

Jackson was eating mnms. We do brush his teeth :)

I love every bit of him. So fun.

Jack in his Sunday Best

2010-04-24T19:38:00.001-07:00

This is why I love having little boys. They look so cute in their Sunday clothes!

FWD:

2010-04-17T19:01:00.001-07:00

fun with Aunt Christina at Ikea

Kitchen Upgrade

2010-04-07T17:01:00.001-07:00

We finally finished our Kitchen!! Lovely Leith helped us pick out all the colors for the counterop, paint, handles/knobs and tile. My sweet Josh did all the hard work. I did help sand the cabinet doors, but he did 90% of the painting because I am pregnant and he didn't want me exposed to the fumes. So after 3 weeks this is what we ended up with:

This is what the kitchen looked like when we first saw the house

This is when Josh removed the countertop

We tore off the Formica backsplash and tiled it.

This is after Josh's hard work!

The color of the paint is called Cookie Crumb. I loved the name :)

You always hear that the easiest upgrade in a kitchen is adding the hardware and that is so TRUE!!

The easiest part of the whole process was removing the countertops and adding the tile backsplash. The countertops took one day. The tiling took 2 days. It took over 2 and half weeks for sanding, painting and drilling the holes for the hardware! Of course it probably would have went faster if I helped Josh more :) He is amazing and so talented!! After knowing Josh for almost 7 years, he never ceases to amaze me. If he doesn't know how to do something he will study the subject and then accomplish the task!

2010-04-03T17:54:00.001-07:00

having fun!

2010-03-31T09:02:00.001-07:00

This is funny! It was 67 degrees yesterday :)

Adorable. It was so fun to ride TRAX

2010-03-12T21:16:00.001-08:00

Awesome Race Car!

2010-03-12T11:07:00.001-08:00

When we pulled into the Costco parking lot I immediately noticed this awesome Corvette. There was a spot to park right next to it. So we parked and when I opened Jackson door his eyes lit up like Christmas morning! It was the coolest Corvette we've ever seen!

Murray Fire Department

2010-03-06T15:50:00.001-08:00

Love those eyes!

2010-02-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

This is a picture Josh took a few days ago. We love this little guy so much. Jackson is super excited for his brother to come. Jackson asked me last night if the baby can hear him and I said, "He sure can!" Jackson said, "Cool!" Then he started talking to my stomach and poking it :)

Josh made Jack an elephant pancake :)

2010-02-05T10:51:00.001-08:00

Cute Jack

2010-02-01T20:33:00.001-08:00

Jackson has been making homemade pizza every week for the past month with his Daddy. We usually have one pineapple pizza and another bbq and chicken pizza! Josh & Jack make the crust with whole wheat too! Thank you Food Nanny!!

Jackson has started a Basketball Class. It is just drill training, no actual games. He loves it, but clearly loves soccer way more than basketball. Luckily in a few weeks they will start the soccer class.

This class is for 3-5 year olds. Jackson is the youngest and also the shortest. He is the one on the far left. It was so fun to watch him.

2010-01-18T10:13:00.001-08:00

We love Cabela's

Jack's first time going bowling!

2010-01-07T10:11:00.001-08:00

Here's Jack with his cute Aunt Megan!

He loved every moment and had a hard time waiting for his turn to come again! Jack came in 2nd place!!

Little Band Hero

2010-01-04T17:47:00.001-08:00

Jackson loves that he can be Taylor Swift on the drums! This kid loves country! I'm so grateful for band hero because it has clean songs, characters are dressed modest and they made it so the little ones can play without a struggle of trying to stay alive. Way to go Activision!

Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling"

2010-01-04T17:25:00.000-08:00

Jackson LOVES this song. He watches it almost everyday. I hope this is what it is like in Heaven. I think it is so cool that so many different people came together to participate in this event. It is a great reminder that we really are all brothers and sisters.

We have a Sunbeam!

2010-01-03T13:29:00.001-08:00

Time sure flies. I almost cried when I dropped off Jack today. He LOVED class and his teachers. I thought he would miss the toys from nursery, but he didn't. Singing time and his teachers are way cool.

Jack's Creation

2009-12-18T18:11:00.001-08:00

I built the support beams, Jack did the rest! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this age. Jack is so excited about everything!

Jack's sweet heart

2009-12-15T19:59:00.001-08:00

I watched Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas tonight with Jack. During the Mickey/Pluto story I looked over and saw Jackson crying :( He was so sad Mickey and Pluto got into a fight and then got separated. Jackson really thought they were not going to find each other again. I reassured Jackson they would find each other again and when they did Jackson was so happy. Jack still has the sniffles from crying so hard, what a sweet boy.

A total natural

2009-12-14T16:24:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-11T09:28:00.001-08:00

Clark Planetrium

2009-12-04T10:26:00.001-08:00

We then went to Mars :)

Jackson was fascinated with this Ball contraption. He watched it for 20 minutes!

Christmas Tree

2009-12-04T08:50:00.001-08:00

We picked up our Christmas tree and it smells wonderful! Jackson had a blast being chased through all the trees.

Jack cruises on his bike now!

2009-12-01T23:27:00.001-08:00

Thank you IN-N-OUT for coming to Utah!

2009-12-01T23:24:00.001-08:00

We are SO happy IN-N-OUT is here! We have eaten there 5 times since they open :)

Everett & Jack. These two are adorable together

2009-12-01T23:16:00.001-08:00

We are so blessed to have great friends near by. I can't believe how great the weather is the first day of December!

Thankful for the little things.

2009-11-30T11:07:00.001-08:00

I just gave Jackson a smarties because he went poopy in the the toilet. As I walked away I could here him blessing his candy... I peaked back around the corner and he was on his knees telling Heavenly Father he was thankful for his candy and to bless it. It was the cutest & sweetest thing ever!

Happy Halloween with the little Monkey

2009-11-03T22:37:00.000-08:00

I know it has been FOREVER since we have written. I have been consumed by work, moving and facebook! My friend Katie Weber said it perfectly, "Facebook killed the family blog." I will try and be better. One thing that drives me CRAZY about blogger is the upload function for pictures!!! 80% of the time it won't upload my pictures and it drives me crazy you can only upload a few at a time. I love how facebook will allow several pictures to be uploaded at once. I do like how blogger keeps high quality images and I'm allowed to store everything on my server...

Anyways enough complaining. Here is cute Jack attack. He LOVED Halloween!!! Last year he did not understand it at all, but this year he was running door to door and saying "trick or tweet" It didn't sound like treat :) Then after about the 8th house Jackson got tired and let his little cousins and the people at the door do all the work for him. Jackson stayed in the stroller while Parker or Aimee went and got the candy for him and brought it back and put it in his bucket :) Towards the end of the night Jackson regained his strength and walked to a couple of more houses. When we got home some kids knocked on the door and Jackson took candy from them!!!! It was hilarious. I've never seen anyone take candy from a trick-or-treaters bucket :) That's my son and we love him to pieces!

Happy Birthday Jack & Aimee!

2009-10-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

It's fun that Jackson and Aimee's birthdays are so close together. We had a lot of fun this year. Jackson loves cars and musical instruments. I think Jack was inspired to be a rockstar by Phineas & Ferb :) As you can see Josh and Jackson get into all sorts of mischeif when I am not looking! I found them on top of the banister in the family room!

Fun Times in June!

2009-07-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

We were so blessed to be able to hang out with Grandma & Megan in June!!! We HAD so much fun. Jackson loves Megan so much and you can tell they have a blast together!

I love this picture! Josh use to play with the same type of Tonka truck when he was Jackson's age.

HillTop Records is great for our American Songwriters

2009-07-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

It has been a great month celebrating the birth of our country. I have had the pleasure of working with HillTop Records for sometime and I have been so impressed with the talented American Songwriters we have out there! HillTop Records is so cool because it give Americans the opportunity to write their own music!

Loving the weather & Jackson thinks he is ready to drive

2009-05-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

Jackson seriously will play in the car all day if we will let him. He is so cute, he will sit in the drivers seat and make car noises. We pretend we are driving to many different places like to the moon, to see Alexis, Mel & Steve, to see Megan, Grandma & Grandpa, to find Nemo, etc. :)

My friend from church recommended I get a life jacket for Jackson to use in the pool instead of one of those inner tube things. So we did and Jackson LOVED it!!! We played in the pool for hours on Friday and he was swimming all over the place by himself. When we arrived home Jackson said, "Mommy I'm tired I want to go to bed." I said, "Ok sit here on the couch and I will got get your PJ's." By the time I came back downstairs with Jackson's PJ's he was already asleep! It was 6:45pm and he woke up the next morning at 10:30am. We really wore him out! Jackson is such a cool kid. He really is fearless and loves trying new things.

There was a carnival by our house last week and Jackson said he wanted to go on a ride. I love amusement parks so I was down for going on any ride. I thought for sure Jackson would want to go ride the little boats or the little kid airplanes, but he said he wanted to go on the big ride. When I realized which one he was talking about, I asked him 10 times are you sure you want to go on THAT one. He told me yes every time and I said ok... I went and bought some tickets. The ride is like those ones on the ground that spin so fast that if you are on the outside you get smashed...except this one goes in the air!! I can't believe they would even allow a 2 year old to go on the ride, but they said it was safe. So we sat down and I looked at Jackson and said, "Are you sure about this Jack?" Jackson said, "Yep Mom, no worries." So the ride started and we went up into the air and Jackson looked at me and said, "WOO HOO MOMMY!!!!" He laughed the whole time and loved every minute of it. He kept saying, "We're Flying!!!" Jackson may not look a lot like me, but he definitley loves rides like his mommy :)

Happy Birthday Josh!

2009-05-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

WE LOVE YOU!!

Hiking Family!

2009-05-13T23:09:00.000-07:00

It has been so fun to live so close to the mountains. Our little guy Jackson is not only a climber, but he can hike up to 3.1 miles so far! We have been going up to the mountains the last few weeks, it has been so much fun!

Local Businesses From: Our Home To: Yours and Amber Lyn Chocolates

2009-04-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

I love local businesses, especially in this economic environment. I cannot tell you how many times I have lost bids on jobs because of someone overseas. I believe people outside of this country are extremely talented and perform great work. It is nice though to see work done in our home country because it helps the economy!

That being said I have found 2 AMAZING companies:

From: Our Home To: Yours is a super cute website for home decor. It has all the cool LDS products as well, like Families Are Forever Sign, Follow The Prophet, I am Child of God, etc. Plus you can do those cool personalized signs with your last name and established date and they will have vinyl designs soon where you can easily place cool sayings on your walls without having to ruin the paint or leave nail marks. From: Our Home To: Yours was started in Springville, UT. One of my favorite cities! I love the people in Springville.

Next is Amber Lyn Chocolates. They are located in St. George, UT. Let me just say.....THIS IS THE BEST HEALTHIEST CHOCOLATE I have ever tasted. I was floored when I took a bite into this sugar free chocolate! It was amazing, and the best part is, it's natural. It does not have all that aspartame/splendid junk that is so horrible for your body. It uses maltitol which is derived from wheat. I love chocolate, but I know it can pack on the calories so I wanted to try a healthier chocolate and I was expecting it to taste disgusting, but honestly it was the best chocolate I have ever tasted. Plus I have so many friends that are diabetic and cannot have gluten, so this was a pleasant surprise to know they can enjoy this chocolate! I'm telling you now this awesome product and I'm sure this would be a pleasant gift for mother's day!

April Bliss

2009-04-19T17:15:00.001-07:00

April has been a beautiful and fun month. One day the weather is perfect and the next day it will snow. Either way we have been playing outside. Jackson has been falling asleep on our walks.

Jackson loves his new wheels! We love craigslist for finding second hand toys!

Here's El Guapo. I say this is Jackson's version of the "Edward Cullen" stare.

We had a BLAST coloring eggs. I kept telling Jackson be soft when you put the egg in the bowl and he would drop it like an atom bomb! I couldn't help but laugh. All of the eggs cracked, but they were still delicious! Jackson LOVES eggs and so do I. However we are not huge fans of the tute smell you get from hard boiled eggs :)

This is Bentley!!! This is Jon & Laura's adorable little boy. He is only 2 days on in this picture. He is such a cute little guy and a great baby!

2009-04-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

Josh Shooting his Rifle

Here is Josh shooting his rifle last year. He decided to have a little fun with the picture

J3 Photo Shoot by Baci Photography

2009-03-15T15:51:00.001-07:00

Isn't Angelique amazing!!! You may be wondering who is Angelique?!? She is one of the most talented photographers on the planet and she took our family photos last week! Angelique owns her own business Baci Photography. We love Angelique so much and consider her family. Thank you for the most memorable photo shoot we have ever had. Many of you who know Josh will know he HATES taking pictures! Now when we say taking pictures we mean going to one of the studios like you see in the mall or even a business location. The way Angelique shot our photos was awesome! Josh loved every moment because it was relaxed and natural. We can't wait to do it again! Thank you again Angelique for these priceless photos that we will cherish forever!

Sorry long time no post...The REASONS why pasted below

2009-03-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Josh and I officially became an LLC early this year, Jen and Josh Media Design LLC. We have been blessed to be very busy with work and in our free time when we would normally keep up on the blog we have been majorly distracted by all these cool shows! I wish they would spread some of these shows out into the summer, but the networks would never let that happen.

Fun Times in the Winter of 2009!

2009-03-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

This is a super cute picture of Alexis from my mother-in-law's camera. I wish we could have been there with her when she took this picture. We can't believe how fast Alexis is growing up and she looks beautiful!

We went to the Draper Temple open house when Lori came to town. It was so fun. It was so neat for Jackson to see the temple. He loved every moment especially the bus ride :) Jackson now has a picture of the Draper temple in his room. He says, "Look Mommy, that's the temple, that's where Santa Claus lives." I have no idea where that came from, but it is very cute.

Rod, Wendy, Indy, R2 and baby Rocket came up to UT for the LDS film festival. I was very lucky to watch Indy and R2 one of the nights. We had a blast! It was heartbreaking for them to leave, but we know we will see them again. We love you guys!

President Barack Obama

2009-01-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

Yeah!!! You can't help, but get emotional when you think we have our first African American President. We support Barack Obama and are excited to have him as our President!

Uncle Carter comes to visit!

2009-01-16T11:21:00.000-08:00

We love Carter, we consider him our Brother! We miss him and hope he comes back soon! We were also pleasantly surprised with Gabby's coming into town too! It was so fun to hang out all together.

Christmas Events!

2009-01-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

As you can tell we have been busy, sorry for the lack of posts. Jackson was presently surprised on Christmas morning to see presents under the tree.

We had so much fun hanging out with Bob & Elaine's family! We went sledding right by their house. It was Jackson's first time. Jackson didn't like going down the hills by himself, but he loved going with Jaron! Jackson and Jaron are best buds, it's super cool.

This was cute little Jax's first Christmas.

Josh and I made our very first Apple pie from scratch! We of course got the recipe from the Food Nanny! It is now a tradition!

Jackson licked every cookie to make sure it passed the taste quality test!

We picked up the cutest Christmas Tree this year. We were lucky to have a Christmas Tree Lot close by our house. So we walked to the lot, ran around looking at the trees and then found the perfect one. Josh then carried the tree all the way back to our house. It was a little over a half mile!

What my little boy is thankful for...

2009-01-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

Tonight Jackson said the cutest prayer. He thanked Heavenly Father for:
mommy & daddy
cheese
socks
blankey
ah-ah (monkey)
trucks
bear
push the lights

The other day he thanked Heavenly Father for:
shoes
having fun with Mommy (which you can only imagine made my heart melt)
juice
beautiful day
Ses-us (Jesus)
mickey mouse
jump the bed

One of the amazing things is Jackson always hears us pray and when we do we give thanks for what we have and ask for several other things. Whenever Jackson prays, it is always a prayer of pure gratitude. It is so neat to see what Jackson is grateful for and that his whole prayer is giving thanks to Heavenly Father.

FOOD NANNY COOKBOOK!!!!

2008-12-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

Ok we have been seriously blessed. We moved into our new ward a few weeks ago. On the very first night we moved into our town home, one of the nice guys from our new ward came to help us move. When he showed up to our house he said, "Here are some cookies that my wife made for you." Not only is that SUPER nice, but the cookies were awesome!

When we met Chris' wife Lizi, I told her, "You have to give us the recipe to those cookies!" She then introduced us to something that changed our lives--with regards to food. :) Her Mom Liz Edmunds just came out with this new cookbook called The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner. It's really SO much more than a cookbook. Josh and I wanted to wait a few weeks before we commented on the book, to make sure that it really works. The book is awesome. It has helped us save money, plan out our meals (which has ALWAYS been a super big struggle for us) and most importantly make rockin, fabulous tasting food to the point where we like our food more than eating out!!!

Here is a link to a sample of the cookbook. I promise Mel, I will send a copy of this cookbook to you!

Josh and I made our very first All American Apple Pie on Christmas Eve, it is also in the sample cookbook. We have made the 3 bean chile that is delcious beyond belief, and guess what Josh and I HATE chile!!! Well we can't say that anymore. We have made so many amazing things from scratch like buttermilk cornbread, whole wheat pancakes, risotto, crunchy parmasean chicken and they have all turned out perfectly.

So please check out this book!

P.S. I have lost 2.5 pounds since I started using this cookbook!

Country Elves & Disco Elves

2008-12-01T21:37:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving and Our New Place

2008-11-30T14:53:00.001-08:00

We have been very blessed to spend 2 Thanksgivings now with Bob, Elaine & their family and have super yummy dessert with John, Valene and their new little Peanut (Ammon). We started a new tradition this year when it comes to pie time. We will have some random dish to go with the pies. This year was the corn dog. It was quite delightful to eat something sweet and then take a bite of corn dog :)

The pictures at the bottom our new place.

Oh yeah, our son Jackson is a superstar at air hockey!! Holy Cow I was so shocked, he really puts up some great competition. This kid has reflexes like no other 2 year old I have ever seen. Jackson and I played a game together four about 15 minutes straight. He then of course wanted to do his victory dance on the table.

Jackson and his super cool buddy Jaron

The break dancing, victory dance!

Jaron, Brooke, Taylor, Josh, Elaine, Bob & John

Yeah the Peanut!!

Yum Corn Dogs & Pie

New Place...

Thanks Carter for the sweet chair from Ikea!

The People We Love in Los Angeles...

2008-11-30T14:33:00.000-08:00

We recently had to move, so I wanted to give a shout out to the ones we love and left in LA. We unfortunately do not have pictures of everyone, but here a few to enjoy!

R2, Wendy, Indy, Rod

R2

Shannon

Grammie and Mom

Kip, Jack, Kyra & Katie

Baby Fallon

Beth

Hailey

Ashley, Drew & Chloe

Tim & Super Cool Young Men

Melanie

Melanie & Jackson

Beautiful Amy!

Quest, Stephanie, Shannon & Fallon Rock!

2008-11-30T14:01:00.000-08:00

We made the coolest friends in Los Angeles. Quest and Stephanie are definitely some of the coolest people we met! We had so much fun with them and Kip, Katie and their cute kids. Almost every Sunday since we moved to LA we played games at Kip and Katie's house. Josh and I actually knew Quest from a long time ago. Josh and Quest were in the MTC at the same time and Quest and I were in the film program together at BYU.

Quest and Stephanie gave us 2 super cool hookups! Josh and I got to go to the Jay Leno show and sit in the front row!!! I do have video footage of us shaking Jay Leno's hand, I just need to get it off the tivo. Josh and I LOVE Jay Leno, we watch his show every weekday, so when Quest said he could get us tickets we almost passed out. It was awesome and I am still in shock that we were in the very center, front row! Oh yeah and we got to say hi to Larry the Cable Guy too because he was on the show the day we went! It was awesome!!

We also got to go to Disneyland because of Quest and Stephanie! We had so much fun. Jackson and Shannon are falling in love as you can see from the pictures. All day long, everyday, Jackson says I want to see baby (Fallon) and Shannon. It's seriously the cutest thing in the world!

Filipinos Rock!

2008-11-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

We have loved living in Los Angeles, mainly due to the fact that there are so many cool people. In our neighborhood there were a ton of Armenians and Filipinos. A third of our ward spoke Tagalog which was awesome for Josh! Josh was able to help teach a super cool guy named Reygie. Reygie spoke Tagalog so the missionaries asked Josh to come help translate for them. Well Josh and Reygie became great friends and as you can see from the pictures Reygie asked Josh to baptize him on November 16th. It was such a great experience. The only problem we had was Jackson trying to get into the baptismal font, because he thought if Daddy could go "swimming," why can't I?

Halloween

2008-10-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun Halloween. We had a super cool ward party and a blast going around outside on a perfect October night. Jackson didn't really feel like keeping his costume on and he was so excited to get candy that after the 4th house he was done for the night and wanted to eat his candy. After Jackson had some candy he and his friend Mackenna had so much fun playing in the house. They would have stayed up all night if we let them. It was so fun to spend Halloween with Megan especially since it was the last time we will see her till she gets back from her mission in Chile. WE LOVE YOU MEGAN!!

Jackson turns 2!!! Plus lots of other fun things!

2008-10-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our little guy has turned 2. Jackson is the the neatest kid on the planet! He is making us smile more and more everyday. Jackson talks non-stop now. We started going to mommy and me classes about a month and a half ago and Jackson has learned a ton of new songs and new words from reading. Between going to preschool, some major DVD projects and hanging out with family I haven't had time to post. Mel, Steve, Alexis & Megan have been in town and we have had so much fun together. It has been so nice to see the whole family a lot this summer/fall. Here are a lot of fun pictures from the Griffith Park Observatory, Alexis and Jack's combined birthday party and random fun times!

The Stars

2008-10-03T21:29:00.000-07:00

So when you live in the heart of LA you think you might see some stars? Well for us that is correct!

Remember this kid from Sandlot?!? Jackson and I said hi to him at the mall.

Josh met Neal Boyd while working in the Universal Hilton. He hadn't won the contest yet, but Josh thanked him for doing such a great job.

Jackson and I met Holly Hunter at the outdoor Americana mall. She had a huge hat on her head and sunglasses on. Jackson ran in front of this trolley and from Holly Hunter's angle it looked like it could be a serious accident, but he was actually about 15 feet from the trolley. Holly quickly ran out to save Jackson and her hat and sunglasses came off. I met her in the middle as we were coming from different sides to stop Jackson from being hit. It was really nice of her to drop all her shopping bags to try and save Jackson. I think she might have thought I was a bad mom to let Jackson bolt out in front of trolley, but I did thank her greatly for her help. I also pointed out to Jackson that Elastigirl just saved his life :)

Well I think Jackson and I saw Sayid driving down our street. If it wasn't him, than it was a MAJOR look alike. He did smile at me. I asked a few neighbors if they have seen him before and they say he likes to eat at the restaurants in our neighborhood. So I'm saying it was him :)

The best for last....

Ok so Jackson was invited to his little friend Charlotte's birthday party at Griffith Park. When we got to the party Jackson noticed another birthday party off in the distance with a bouncer. Jackson tried with all his might to get in that bouncer! Of course Josh and I kept distracting him. Josh and I turned our heads to say hi to another birthday guest and then all of sudden when we turn around we saw Jackson inside of the bouncer!!!! So I quickly ran over there and attempted to get Jackson out. I hear a voice behind me say, "It's ok let him stay in there." I turn around to say thank you and guess who it was?!? Jack Black. I have seen many stars in my lifetime, but I have never been star struck. I could barely talk the first few seconds because I was so shocked. Then I came to my senses. Jack Black said he watched Jackson sneak his way into the bouncer. He said, "It was totally stealth, your son knew the perfect moment to run as fast as he could when he knew you had looked away." I laughed and told him again I could really take Jackson out and Jack Black said, "It's really ok, your son has the cute pass, seriously that is the cutest boy I have ever seen!" I took that as a huge compliment since he was holding his little boy. I got to touch his 3 month old son with neon green leg warmers on :) We talked for a little longer and found out the birthday party was for his wife. I then asked if he wanted me to take off Jackson's shoes and Jack Black said, "Nah, it's a rental." So after Jackson played in the bouncer we headed back over to the party we were suppose to be at. I bit my tongue to not tell anyone, because I didn't want people bugging Jack Black. I know he was grateful for that because he smiled at me and he knew I hadn't said a word. He was SUPER cool.

UPDATE- We saw Amy Ryan from the Office at Disneyland! This was a good catch by Josh, he spotted her quickly walking by next to Tom Sawyer's Island.

Jackson stayed in sacrament meeting the whole time without a fuss!

2008-09-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

My friend Annie has opened a new store. I ordered a bag, magnet board, little cars and got some Magentix toys. Jackson had a blast in sacrament today! He absolutely loved the little cars. You can see from the pictures below how much he loves those little cars!

Jackson also walks around with his bag. We put his little scriptures in there too and he thought he was so cool. Jackson kept the bag with him everywhere he went. We call it his "little man bag."

Thanks Annie!!!

My 2 favorite worlds combined :)

2008-09-28T15:25:00.001-07:00

Los Angeles Temple With Megan!

2008-09-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

It was so fun to go to the temple as a family. The best feeling in the world is to know that families can be eternal. I love Megan so much! I can't believe she is going to Chile. I am so excited for her and I can't wait for her to come back and teach me proper Spanish!

Keeping Busy

2008-08-26T08:48:00.001-07:00

We went to a really cool restaurant called North Woods Inn. It was so fun to be with family and we had a babysitter for the little ones so we could eat in peace :) We love our little ones for sure, they just don't do the best in restaurants at this age.

We went to the LA Zoo. Jackson had a blast! His favorite animals were the giraffe and elephant.

Josh went to Yosemite with the Young Men. Josh hiked all the way up half dome, it was really cool. Jackson and I missed him a ton since it was the first time we were away from Josh for so long. Jackson survived the first couple of days, but the last 3 days he was asking for Daddy non stop. These pictures can't even really capture how beautiful the trip was for Josh. We hope to go back there soon as a family.

Carter & Don came down and we went to a Dodger game. It was awesome because we saw 2 home runs and a fight in the stands. It doesn't get any better than that!

Josh went surfing for the first time in his life! He was AWESOME!!! I couldn't believe how fast he caught on. We were told by a lifetime surfer that Josh is a natural. It was so fun to watch him. I couldn't hold Jackson back from the water for too long, he was constantly trying to get out there with Josh on the surf board. So Josh finally grabbed Jackson and let him do a little surfing. Jackson is fearless when it comes to water. He jumps off the diving board at his grandparents house and has no problem running into the wide open ocean.

log cabin building kits

2008-08-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

Nutrioso Log Works is an Arizona Log Home Company that offers handcrafted log cabins in Scandinavian full scribe construction style from. We work with Dead Standing Spruce and Pine, log profiles are hand peeled full round real log homes. We work with logs from 12"-28" diameter and over the years have established a "niche" market" being known for our large diameter log structure.

As of late we have developed some very nice models and floor plans, we equally do a lot of custom designing of log homes. We have cabins near several beautiful locations throughout the USA. We have mountain cabins and what you might call cabin resorts. These can be private cabins secluded from the world.

These are the best log cabins of America! Please feel free to contact us with any questions, ideas or just for some "Log Talk." We pride ourselves in doing business on a very personal basis. If you are ready to embrace the reality of log home ownership contact Nutrioso Log Works.

We Miss You Grandpa

2008-08-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

You can see pictures of Grandpa's Funeral here.

Grandpa Alexander Clawson McMaster

2008-08-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

Earlier this morning Jen and I received word that my maternal Grandfather was in the hospital--probably for the last time. Well this evening at 17:30, his nearly 92 years of life passed on leaving a legacy for his posterity. He is my hero and has been like a second father to me.

The brightest part of his passing, at least for him, is being reunited with his eternal companion, Grandma. I am sure they are having a joyous reunion; one that I hope I will be worthy to attend when time comes.

On the other hand, we morn his passing. We also pray for Grammie (Grandpa's second wife). She is an amazing grandma. I consider my self greatly blessed to have three wonderful Grandmas, since most only have two.

I have included the DVD slide show Jen and I made for Grandpa's 91st birthday.
God Bless!

Things that make Josh and I laugh :)

2008-08-10T23:18:00.001-07:00

It Finally Happened:

Finally.... someone has been able to photograph the pot at the end of the rainbow.

Tagged

2008-08-10T15:31:00.001-07:00

I have been tagged by the sexiest South African I know, Leith Christensen.

I am suppose to write 6 random things about myself, so here it goes:

1. I could eat Japanese food every day for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy.

2. I knew the moment I met Josh I was going to marry him, but didn't tell him that for almost 2 years.

3. Jackson is the first blood relative I have ever known.

4. I didn't start wearing makeup till I was 23.

5. I have always believed I was adopted so I could be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from a young age.

6. I have super curly, frizzy hair that I cannot stand to look at, so I always straighten it. The odd thing is I had straight hair from birth, till one day I hit puberty around 13 years old and my hair went curly, very annoying :)

Okay so now I'm supposed to tag a few other people.

Mel, Darcie, Bayley, Lexi, Brittney, Ashley here are the rules - Tag you're it!

1. Link to the person who tagged you (i.e. me)
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 6 random things about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger (me) know when your entry is posted

Nashville Star Finalists!

2008-08-04T23:47:00.000-07:00

Josh, Jackson and I totally got hooked on Nashville Star. We are so happy that Melissa Lawson and Gabe Garcia made it to the final 2! Josh and I were leaning a little bit towards Gabe winning, but we are so happy for Melissa! I totally started crying when Melissa's husband and 5 little boys came on stage to celebrate with her. I am so happy America put Gabe and Melissa in the top 2! I cannot wait to hear their music on the radio!!

Holy Cow....EARTHQUAKE!!!

2008-07-29T23:13:00.000-07:00

Ok so Josh, Jackson and I were DOWNTOWN LA yesterday morning around 11:42am. Jackson and I were waiting in the car while Josh ran into the LAPD personnel building to drop off some papers. About 45 seconds after Josh left the car and enter the building I felt the ground start to shake. I looked in the rear view mirror (because I was still sitting in the passenger seat of the car) and I saw the huge USBANK Building swaying back and forth. HOLY COW I thought we were going to die! I looked back at Jackson and he didn't have a clue what was happening. Then I looked above us and saw all these power lines shaking. I seriously almost had a heart attack. Luckily the shaking stopped and no harm was done. Everybody starting running out of the LAPD building and I was looking for Josh everywhere. I thought he might be stuck in the elevator, but he finally came out and I gave him a huge hug :) I forgot how fun it is to live here in Los Angeles!

Happy Anniversary

2008-07-23T00:04:00.000-07:00

Today is Josh and my 3 year anniversary! It has been the best 3 years of my life. I have no idea what I would do without Josh. It really is hard to imagine life without him, he really is the most perfect match for me. We are so silly together and also so strong together. I am so happy we are married for all eternity.

Josh and I are big fans of Hell's Kitchen. So if you watch the show you know that Gordon Ramsay opened a new restaurant in West Hollywood. Josh and I went there for lunch. We were hoping the winner of this season's show, Christina would be working, but she starts in a couple of weeks. It was gorgeous inside and the food was delicious. It truly was a treat.

This is what happens when I turn my head for a few seconds

2008-07-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

Yep. I went to put the laundry in the washer. I come back in the house and here is Jack :)
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Family Reunion July 2008

2008-07-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness we just had the best week! We went to Oakley, Utah for a family reunion. It was really hard to leave. It was also hard to not leave the reunion and run all around saying hi to all our dear friends we miss so much since moving out of Utah. It was torture knowing I was a couple hours away from so many of you.

All that being said I grew closer to my family which was awesome! Let me just say I have the coolest sisters in the whole world. Don, Lori, Mel, Alexis, Megan, Jackson, Josh and I all stayed in one condo for the week. It was so fun to all be together. It was so great to be able to talk till the wee hours of the morning and get up the next morning exhausted, but to still have fun running around. There are many cute pictures I am going to attach to this post, but it doesn't do the trip justice, so I will also direct you here to see many more adorable pictures! We have one really cool family!

Mel, Alexis & Grandpa

2008-06-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun visit with Mel, Alexis & Grandpa. It is so fun to watch Alexis and Jackson together. It is so funny that everyone in our family has really dark hair and the grand kids have blonde hair :)

Mother's Day, Bowling and Flan!

2008-06-08T23:10:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking on posting. So first of all I bowled another perfect wii game! I know, I am such a dork.

2nd of all Josh made delicious homemade flan in adorable heart shapes. Josh seriously is the most amazing cook. One of his secret weapons his homemade marinade. He makes killer salsa, steak, bread, etc. In the picture below he bought some fresh Tilapia (a fish he loved to eat in the Philippines) and stuffed it with his salsa and barbecued it! Yummie!!