Can you believe we fit all this in, in one summer??

Well let's jump right in shall we, I just got kicked off the bed for "clickity clicking away" on this keyboard when Justin was trying to go to sleep haha.

Summer was typical and special all at once. We ran ragged like always but got to have some amazing adventures. My brother Tom just moved to the Tri-cities this summer him and his family have lived across the country (literally, like Arkansas, then North Carolina) for the last 8 years or so. They bought a house and then had a party so we could see it and them... We all camped in their back yard and bedrooms and basically is was the best time ever. We ate all day, went to the FREEZING cold river, sat in the sun, stayed up late and got to know each other again. When I say "we" I mean all of us. almost all 9 sibblings, spouses, mom and dad, cousins, and a long time girl friend and boy friend. There were cars and people everywhere...I was in heaven.

My dearest darling friend Kristen Haws (college roommate) and her family made their way our direction from Idaho Falls area this summer. Sarah Bowles and I went over there 2 years ago so it was really fun to have them for a few days. We went to the Crab Pot and ate ourselves into a shell fish stupor. Walked the Seattle waterfront, goofed off and made our cheeks hurt from laughing. We kayaked on the puget sound by my parents house, had a picnic at the beach, swam, hit golf balls into the water then went and fished them out again... so pretty much the best weekend ever!! Can't wait to do that again.

We made a trip to idaho to visit Justin's family I got a new wedding ring since my original one got ran over. (short story) I played volleyball with some women from my church this summer. When I play I take off my rings and put them on my watch, close the latch and hook the whole ensemble to my key Caribeaner (sp) and put it somewhere safe. Well after volleyball picked it up and went to the car. I got in, started it and began to back out when I got "dinged" at. The back hatch wasn't closed, I got out to close it and the watch (which was in my lap) fell out onto the ground. I didn't notice until I was 25 minutes into my drive home and then I thought if had just fallen off my lap between the seats. So I get home and do a brief look (late, kids to put to bed, company over) didn't find it. For some reason though I wasn't real stressed I just had a feeling it would turn up between my car and the church... SOOOooo 5 days later I finally drive all the way back to the stake center (a church) and there it is, STILL sitting in the parking lot attached to my watch. RUN OVER, but all intact. So when we went to Idaho Justin bought me a "happy birthday" replacement. He also bought me new wheels and tires for my car. It needed tires but the wheels were a surprise. He got a crazy good deal on them so I can't complain. Plus they look pretty gangster on my ride. haha (I've been told this more than once, pretty much those exact words.)

I flew to LA this spring for my Yoli business, it was a blast, first time really in California. I had a unique experience I'm sure. I spent most of my time with the leaders of Yoli, one of which is Korean. He's full korean but born in Hawaii so he's a hawaiian korean... We ate hawaiian chicken from his restaurant which is his full time thing. AMAZING food. Then I had some authentic Korean BBQ, again amazing. The culture the company, the food- all a really good time. I flew down with 2 of the leaders from Seattle and met other Seattle leaders there. It was a great event over 100 people... Made great friends and hilarious memories, Yoli has a great culture.

I just got back from Utah. Sarah and I flew to Park City for Yoli's leadership convention. Pretty much a huge Seattle, LA, Facebook reunion. I got to meet LOTS of my friends from facebook that I've built relationships with over the last 2 years. Again with the late nights, good food, and great friends to laugh with. Oh yeah there was some learning and stuff too. haha I had my first taxi ride, got to see Yoli headquarters, meet the behind the scenes staff and hang out with a customer service rep named Tracy (who I talk to all the time at customer service actually) turns out he's hilarious!! We did a company wide bowling extavaganze and I ended up winnig a bowling pin with all the founders signatures on it for having the "most spunk" and the real surprise?? I got 100$ in my yoli account for tools, products, swag or whatever... cool right? plus the whole trip to utah and la are total business write offs on my taxes which I need to help lower my taxable income all to get a much larger tax return... I swear this keeps getting more fun by the minute!!

ohhh then school begins and I send my baby boy to kindergarten, even though I know I want him to repeat it next year. He's a very young 5 year old, but frankly both of us needed him to start school. He is actually doing really good. His behavior is what I was most concerned about and he is a rock star. Keeps his "star" nearly everyday. out of the whole school year he's lost his star 3-4 times. I'm good with that. He comes home happy and energetic and is retaining most of what he's learning. His grades show how young he is but I'm happy with his attitude and progress. He still pushes my buttons better than both the girls. He's the cutest little guy you ever saw though, especially in his church clothes. If you weren't sick of reading I'd tell you about our primary program this last sunday. He was hilarious. remind me for another time.

Jacey is smart as a whip. she's a 1st grader this year and can read like a 3rd or 4th grader. I'm constantly in awe of how well she puts words in context and the crazy words she says without much effort. She still love growling at everyone, chasing boys, and is in love with a boy named Gilbert. He is her best friend I see love notes all over the house about him. (keeping an eye on that one for sure) She has a laugh like sunshine and is the most helpful girl I know. I got blessed to have her first. plus she is as pretty as ever.

Taylor and I have been palling around together since both kids are in school all day. She is really good at making a trail throughout the house with all her toys but ya know what a lot of days I don't even care cause she is so happily entertaining herself. She's got the best hair I've ever seen on a toddler. She's funny and bossy and a little subborn. Mostly she's really nice and love to change her clothes and wears dresses whenever possible... She and Jacey are opposites when it comes to fashion. I can't make Jacey take off her sweats and carhartt t-shirts and Taylor is wearing tutus in winter.

Justin works and is working out again. He lost 10 pounds in 7 days on Yoli's better body system without working out. Now he is maintaining that while building muscle, I'm happy he's who he is. I don't know how he does it. The first weeks results were without working out, now he wakes up at 3 am to work out in the morning before work then works out again after work... He won't do this forever, he's just got a few more days left on his "transformation" so he wants to really kick start his effort and start seeing more results quickly. I can already see a big difference. He's wearing some clothes I haven't seen him wear in a while... But I didn't realize it was due to his weight.. Interesting. He's constantly pulling up his drawers now. haha.. He's still cute as ever and works hard around here. I don't know anyone else like him. He's flying to Idaho Friday for his little sister's baptism which is pretty exciting. Neither of us saw this coming in a hundred years...

So that is the story of us this summer. Of course there's more but you get the idea. Throw a couple of little colds in there, a scraped up knee here and there, some birthdays, BBQs, family dinners at the parents house, new carpet due to flooding... and you got the rest of it.

In May Taylor left the water on in their little bathroom then we left for a day of errands at costco and it overpowered the overflow drain which resulted in flooding the house. So we ended up with a small insurance claim (sizable enough to make the claim) and a new project.
We tore out the old pad and carpet, moved furniture, removed old staples, bought new pad,carpet, new ducting under the house and most likely a new floor in the bathroom in the future. Justin came home first from golfing. He came down the hall to change and stepped into a shloshhh shlooooshhh...siiigghhh...

OOHHH I almost forgot. We totally landscaped the back yard, that was a project with lots of good pictures. lets see if I can find some.








DRUUMMMM ROOOLLLLL PPPLLLEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! TADA!!!Sorry it's been all darn summer. But we're still here and doing great!! Thanks for hanging in there.

"A Life Written In Pencil"....

Chapter one... The leaky bucket.
I went to my book club this past friday and we read the book "The Glass Castle" which is a biography written as a collection of memories and stories, easy to read, plenty of thought provoking questions are raised and it made for a great discussion.

We organized a list of books for the year and then volunteered our homes as host sites for the book of the month. This months hostess posed this question to our group, "what would you title a book written about your life?" and then we wrote them down and passed them to her anonymously. She read each one aloud and we guessed who's title it was. It was fun how well we knew each other. Some were obvious (we didn't think on them TOO long- just from the top of your head) But I was pretty proud of mine, I wrote two as I am indecisive as you can see from my title. "A life written in Pencil".
We went around the room and when our title was guessed we got to tell a small snippet of how we came to choose it. A couple of us put 2 titles down cause there are several chapters in a life and it seems we could go several ways with which part of our life we wanted to highlight.

I chose my title based off the fact that I am indecisive if I go to a new restaurant it takes me forever to pick something cause I want to read each item on the menu in detail... and then after all that I ask the server what their favorite is, just for fun- now it's sort of a tradition.

Writing in pen is so final isn't it? As an artist I would never start a masterpiece in something as permanent as pen... Maybe this is why I admire tatoo artists so much, what they are doing is so final. But if you look back over your life isn't there times we had to erase go back and try that path again. I don't mean regrets, I mean apologies, repentance, oooppsss, darn, I might have done that differently had I known.... That's what it means to me, "A life written in pencil" It's fun for me to think on all the ways that can be read into... Maybe it means this life is just a rough draft, we don't need pen cause we aren't in our final copy. Maybe it means our life is being written in God's notebook, he's the author and he will erase our mistakes with the atonement and when the copy is perfected he'll print the final piece on soft silky pages with gold or silver edges and then we can look back and see the masterpiece he's created... Like the clay on a potters wheel.


I know there will be that person who reads this and thinks, "I don't want my life choices changed, I have no regrets, I don't want to read perfectly I want my life to be read the way it was lived. I do write in pen!" I say, AwEsOMe!! I just thought it was clever for off the cuff ya know?
I like the thought of improving on what's here, it doesn't mean the life written in pencil is edited to perfection, it just means there is the opportunity to clean up the edges, erase the smudges, as I'm typing this I'm making errors that have to be deleted and rewritten, it doesn't mean that the whole post is perfect... get what I'm trying to say?
SO what is "A Leaky Bucket".
I think the leaky bucket is another one of life's metaphors. "The Leaky Bucket- A true story of my Life" can you see yourself picking up that book wondering what it contents might hold? That book may contain all the stories of my mothering, (I do have some unique stories) it may be the story of my childhood which very literally did have some leaky rain water being caught in a bucket stories...

The leaky bucket might symbolize all the effort that is put into marriage, work, kids, homes, friends, families, church, community, school etc... the time and love put into any given thing that doesn't hold "water"....It sounds like a sad story. A marriage that isn't what you thought it would be (not mine of course- wedded bliss even after 7 short years- xo hugs to that man) a child that's unappreciative (all kids under the age of 5 ;) a friend who discounts the loyalty you've given them, a home that sucks your paychecks endlessly...anything that saps your energy and spirit.

This one fit for me that night, it's hard to describe the place I am in. I am dedicated to growing as a person, I am becoming very conscience of the things I bring into my life, the effect my choices and thoughts bring to my success, my happiness. I am learning to live life very deliberately- but with that comes a new awareness of all my insecurities and weaknesses that I am trying to grow out of. It's an interesting thing introspection? to really examine your flaws to determine how you need to grow. I would warn you to proceed with that undertaking cautiously.


Life sometimes can be like a leaky bucket. You try desperately to fill your bucket with positivity, love, humor, prayer, hobbies, wisdom, memorable experiences and other things you do and satan is there with a hammer and nails constantly pounding away at our exterior trying to put a hole in our positivity, driving hate and anger into our relationships... We have to be constantly aware of the nail holes ebbing the water from our bucket.

Our home teacher has been diligent in coming to our home, and he has been one of those good ones you actually DO call when you need an elbow relocated (Jacey) and you trust to give a blessing if you are in need. He gave his lesson this month on perspective, Optimism vs. Pessimism. Changing our attitude looking for the light in a situation. I am grateful for him adding that lesson to all that I have been taking in lately. It added perfectly to my study and growth and I'm happy to have his association. Do we focus on the hardship? or do we look for the growth we will gain from it? Do we sit down WITH Satan and CRY about the HOLES? or do we find a way to patch them up and feverishly keep adding water to the bucket?

I don't know, I thought it was fun to think of all the ways we might title a book of our life. I have a good one that I do know. And it is a goal of mine to continue to focus on shedding my negativity and adopting an optimistic attitude. I love my Rose colored glasses.... hhmmm maybe that will be the title of "Chapter 2". :)

Daddy Daughter Dance

So I have to make this brief as I am taking Luky and Tay to get a bite to eat and a movie for movie night while Jacey and Daddy are on a special date.
The school has a daddy daughter dance tonight and Jacey got to wear her special dress that we bought during Christmas but since it is a 7 we have waited to wear it. Tonight, however seemed like the perfect occasion for a new dress, we did hair, fancy jewelry and I even put a little makeup on her!! she was loving it. A little makeup sure makes her look like she's headed to prom and I got a glimpse into our future (as did her father waiting on 2 girls getting hair and makeup on instead of just one!) But I think she is feeling fancy and I hope they have a great time.
Kirk and Erika are headed over to dinner at Dairy Queen with them, then off the the high school for some boogieing... I can't wait to hear about how much fun they had!! They alllook so darn cute!!

Reflection and Growth...

I am sitting here listening to Lucas cry in time-out (didn't come when I asked him-just flat out ignored me)

and a conversation between Jacey and Daddy,

"come here"
you're going to tickle me...
"no, Daddies way too tired to tickle"
I know it, I know you're going to tickle me
"no I'm not"
aaahhhhhhhhhhh ahhhhhhhhhhhaaa the tickling continues...
Jacey says, "I knew it!! I knew you were going to tickle me!!"

ahhha hahahha haha ( I think deep down she wanted him to tickle her, but she was right, she knew what was coming.

Things are good around here, we are so blessed and really have nothing to complain about these days. I am learning through books and positive associations in my life how to CHOOSE positive, CHOOSE happiness, CHOOSE action...

I've learned so much this last year, I am loving my book club that was organized through church. It has introduced me to a variety of different books. I have enjoyed everything I've read for different reasons. I think the best page turner I've read has been the Hunger Games trilogy. I'm reading books for business as well as pleasure and the business book I'm reading right now is "the Power of Positive Thinking", it's totally helped me focus on the positive side of life and actively look for the good in people, situations, and really helped bring out a belief in myself that I never knew how to tap into.

Too many people (I am included in that group) worry about things that are out of their control, stress over things without taking steps to change them, or focus on all the wrong in their lives... Imagine for a moment if we adopted an attitude of gratitude, focused on our blessings, looked for way to serve others, prayed for the Lord's will to be done in our lives, practiced being more faithful in our trials, Prayed for strength, ask the Lord how we can be an instrument in his hands.

That is what being a part of Yoli has meant to me this last year.... It's funny how we are taught our whole lives in the Church and by our families (my family at least- Like Nephi I was born of goodly parents) how to read the scriptures, pray, keep good friends and all those things we've heard for years. But sometime we don't understand the reasoning behind those teachings until we are older, or hear it in the poetic words of a good book, gather experiences from successful people who back up everything we already know will make us happy? I get to surround myself with people that are focused on serving others, giving a hand up, lending their experience to your success, praise you for your effort, They speak good of others, rejoice in great friendships, and laugh and go and do... I think the thing I am most happy about these days is the growth I've enjoyed by learning from reading, listening, associations, friendships and finding a new belief in myself.

I heard the same things from the scripture stories, prophets, teachers, and parents for 30 years but I am just now figuring out why, and how these things apply- and that my dear friends is life changing. There isn't anyone who can change the belief I have in myself except for me. I see big happiness in my future... BIG.