jami & drey

Holiday wish...

2011-12-17T12:06:00.002-07:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Underwear

2011-11-15T09:28:00.001-07:00

These last few weeks have been crazy.
Trying to figure out where i fit in the RN world, how to do this job, can i do this job, am i insane?
Trying to figure out why the good die young. I have come to no logical explanation for this other than some just seem to accomplish so much in their short time that in order for us all to learn from them they must leave us early so we can grow more.- but who knows.
Trying to figure out how to be with someone. We all know this is utterly foreign to me. like learning how to be Left handed when i'm a Righty. But i've learned that like all things, i need to enjoy the ride instead of trying to figure it out.
Trying to learn how to be a good mother. This, of course, is ongoing education.

I've been blessed with some of the most amazing people to call my friends and family. So, with recent events i called someone who i knew would give it to me straight, no matter what, and that it would be honest, not just what i needed to hear. Funny thing about that.. i've decided whats honest is usually what people need hear.- funny how that works.
So, this wise, funny, caring, loving, and wanting nothing but the best out of me person told me- "Look at yourself. Are you doing what you are expecting of others." (damn him for being right….)
So after this good talk (and some tunes & pinterest of course), i've come up with some insights on how i can portray the things i expect from others.
Im taking a good look at myself and going to TRY (mind you… i am not perfect, and i'm sure this will take time) and be the person i know i want to be, can be, and expect others to be.

In honor of the month of Thanks i'm going to tell a few people a few things.

Dreytonius- Thank you for making me a better person and reminding me every single day why i love my life.
Roberto- thank you for making me feel beautiful and special every day.
Nana- Thank you for being there for me no matter what… and sewing for me because i don't know how. And teaching me what the meaning of 'taking care of someone you love' means.
Papa John- Thank you for teaching me that a sense of humor is a quality. And teaching me that the measure of a man is where he stands during times of trial, not during comfort and convenience.
Seester- thank you for reminding me that there are truly GOOD people in this world. that people do care and everyone should be given a chance.
Founder of the Nerd Herd- thank you for always being honest with me, and reminding me that i am human and will make mistakes, and i can move past them. and also for reminding me why i will only have 1 child (:
Golden Child- thank you for being solid as a rock. for showing me how hard work pays off, how dedication makes you strong, and how you can do one million things in 24 hours.
My nieces and nephews- thank you for giving your parents grief and making me so proud.. but more so thank you for being such good kids, cousins, friends and family. you guys are each so special and i'm so proud of every one of you.
My in-laws- thank you for helping me understand why it is you chose to marry my siblings… wait, i still don't understand… how about…. Thank you for teaching me how to love people like family.
My co-workers- thank you for teaching me patience with myself. that i cannot do it all when i want. thank you for believing in me and supporting me through school and everything else in my life- i could not ask for better people to surround myself with.Daniel Dean- Thank you for showing so many people what it is like to truly accept people for what they are, and loving them no matter what. For showing your children what it feels like to have your world revolve around them.
Brad- Thank you for helping me realize you can be an inspiration to anyone, and you never know who that is, so try to inspire every person you meet.
My cousins, aunts and uncles- thank you for giving me some of the best memories i have in this life.
My grandparents- thank you for teaching me what unconditional love is- quilting, yankees, and never missing a grandchild's 'special occassion' whatever it may be.
And for everyone mentioned, and not mentioned- thank you for being like underwear….
Some crawl up your butt..
Some snap under pressure…
Some don't have the strength to hold you up…
Some get a little twisted…
Some are your favorite…
Some are cheap…
And some actually do cover your butt when you need them.

love you all. i'll leave you with this:

jami

the run-down

2011-08-25T11:01:00.007-06:00

summer was pretty eventful for me this year. it was my last semester of school so i was crazy busy trying to get stuff done.. but we had a lot go down.

Besides me graduating and being done Jodi and the boys managed to cram as much as they could into the summer...

They did a Camp or Lesson in every

thing i think: Swimming Lessons in Fillmore for a week, Tennis, Golf Camp in Fillmore, Soccer Camp and Football.

They played on their little Baseball team, the Blaze, or as we recommended, the 'flamers.'

Drey made it to Shalom a lot, i honestly can't remember how many times he went up, but i even made it up once this year and it was fun. This is Drey and Keller in their matching camo hats Jodi got them, and the little red 4-wheeler we got running for the trip.

Drey and Porter went to a little 3rd grade prep school our friends daughters put together. they went twice a week and LOVED it. the helped them remember what they learned in 2nd grade, and teach them some things they'll learn in 3rd. This is them on their first day of 3rd grade.

Drey turned 8, holy freaking $%#* my child is 8!?! crazy how i can be turning 25, and he's turned 8!! He got a new swimming party with friends, cake and ice cream and marshmallow roasting and jodi's, and iPod for his birthday, i know i'm so stupid, but his broke and i was sick of him playing with my phone. he's actually been super responsible and taking good care of it, so heres hoping hes turned over a new leaf. he also got a super cool riding helmet from Nana that he wears when he rides the little red 4-wheeler. And probably his most favorite present came from a new friend of ours, Robbie.. his very own brand new camping tent. We even had to put it up in the living room for him to sleep in that night. This is drey and some of the boys on the Blaze at his swim party at the pool.

Drey roasting gigantic marshmallows at Jodi's.

Drey in his new tent.

the tent in the living room... sigh...

and last, but not least, i have come to the place i'd never thought i would. there is now another male in my life... Robbie. I don't do details, cause thats just no fun... but i'll say i'm hoping he plans on staying around awhile.

so there's a run-down.. my blog is now officially caught up... right??

And thats a wrap....

2011-08-25T10:14:00.005-06:00

yes... this is my AWESOME graduation photo...

I'm finally done. ALL the way done. I finished nursing school. Seems like it took forever while i was going, but now that its over.. i keep wondering where the last 2 years went. I got done with school on a tuesday. worked the weekend, then went to vegas on the next monday. our school secretary took our transcripts up to DOPL and when they process those we get an 'Authorization To Test' a.k.a.- take my NCLEX. so i check my email every five minutes from monday on.... and as i'm driving home from vegas on thursday a super sweet and awesome highway patrolman pulls me over and gives me a speeding ticket. he was nice enough to take his sweet time too... 45 minutes. so while i'm waiting for my ticket i finally get my authorization to test email and can schedule my NCLEX. well, i had to wait until the 29th of August to take it in Utah, OR i could take it the next morning... in las vegas. So i turned around and headed back to vegas. studied up a bit, drove to the strip the next morning and took my test and headed home. i even made it with no speeding tickets this time. Sunday my results finally posted and i passed... that was a relief. So i'm officially an RN- yay me. and just a shade over a decade too... not too shabby.. the next monday was my cohorts pinning ceremony. i guess its a tradition thats been around forever- back when nurses wore white dresses and hats they would pin their hats when they were nurses, so it was cool to have one with all my classmates and teachers. my momma was my hot date to my pinning ceremony and it was fun to finally introduce her to all the people i've spent almost every day with for the last two years. i'm super proud of all of them, and even myself a little bit too. but now i'm done, i'm waiting for a job, and i was bored out of my mind.... until i decided i'm taking a break. so i don't get ready, wear a bra, or put make-up on right now. i just lounge around and watch American Pickers with Bella... oh, and apparently i'm trying to sew... but we'll see how that goes...

adventures of nursing school

2011-07-09T10:43:00.002-06:00

Nursing school has taken me on so many adventures.... some i can share, others i can't, some i should never speak of again; or even think of.

With it being my last semester i'm pretty sure all nursing school does is try to take up every ounce of spare time you may possibly have. In one of my classes we are doing some presentations on World Health Organization Issues. My group signed up to present Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Now i always try to be creative with my hand outs and what not so i've got a pretty good one in my head, just waiting for all the pieces to come together. So i was working on the actual school work side yesterday and came across an awesome website. Its from the state of New York and i'm afraid its actually supposed to be educational, but i just found it damn funny. But maybe in all my nursing school adventures, i gained some warped sense of humor and its not supposed to be funny? (so if its not, this is my way of education all my hundreds of blog followers about STD prevention) bahahaha

So, here is the crowned jewel of STD prevention information that i found (i've highlighted some of my favorites for you):

Prevent the Spread of STDs

What are STDs?

STDs are diseases that are usually passed through sexual contact with an infected partner. STDs include many diseases, such as AIDS, chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, genital warts, and syphilis. STDs are widespread; more than 12 million people in the US are infected each year.

Why should I learn about STDs?

STDs are a danger to everyone who has sex, even ONCE. Unborn children are at a risk, too!

• sterility (being unable to have a child)
• brain damage
• heart disease
• birth defects
• low birth rate
• premature Birth
• increased risk for some types of cancer
• death

How are STDs spread?

• infected body fluids, such as blood, vaginal secretions, or semen
• infected skin or mucous membranes - for example, sores in the mouth

• vaginal, anal, or oral sex WITHOUT proper use of a latex condom or other barrier methods. Anal sex is especially risky because it often causes bleeding.
• sharing needles or syringes for drug use, ear piercing, tattooing, etc.
• Having an STD may increase your risk of getting HIV. STDs can break down the body's most important defense - the skin and mucous membranes, causing sores and thus provide a way for HIV to enter the body.

Most activities don't spread STDs!

You cannot get an STD from everyday, nonsexual activities, such as:

• giving blood
• sitting next to an infected person
• sitting on toilet seats
• sharing eating utensils
• touching doorknobs
• using swimming pools

How can you avoid STDs?

There are safe alternatives to vaginal, anal, or oral sex. For example:
• Don't have sex. Abstinence is the only sure way to avoid getting an STD.
• Masturbation. Masturbation with your partner (on unbroken skin), or alone,can provide sexual pleasure safely.
• Massage. Caressing and stroking can express affection and give pleasure.
• Kissing. This can be a safe way to be physically close, as long as both partners are free of cuts and sores in the mouth.
• Fantasy. The brain is one of the most powerful sex organs. Use your imagination for satisfying sexual pleasure.

If you have sex, have sex only with one partner who:
• has no STD (monogamy)
• has sex with you only (monogamy)

If you are not in a monogamous relationship, be sure to:
• Use barrier methods like latex condoms. Latex condoms are your best protection from STDs during intercourse. But remember, even condoms are not 100% effective.
• Limit the number of partners you have. The more partners you have, the greater the risk of being exposed to an STD. Remember, you can't tell if someone has an STD just by looking at them.
• Have regular physical exams. Ask you physician to test for STDs if you think you've been exposed. Regular tests help find STDs early, when treatment can be most effective.

Condoms help protect both partners from STDs and unwanted pregnancy.

To use a condom properly, you'll need:

• A latex condom ("rubber"). The HIV virus and other STDs may pass through "natural" or "skin" condoms.
• A water-based lubricant. This helps keep the condom from breaking. Never use products that contain oil or fat, like petroleum jelly or cooking oil. These products weaken latex and may cause the condom to break.
• A new condom. Use one every time you have sex, even oral or anal. Discard any "new" condom that's damaged, sticky, or brittle.

• Put the condom on BEFORE any sexual contact.
• Leave a 1/2 inch space at the tip to collect semen. Cover the penis completely.
• Smooth out any air bubbles to reduce stress on the condom, and to increase feeling. Apply spermicide to the outside of the condom.
• Check the condom during sex to make sure it's unbroken and still on properly.
• Withdraw slowly right after climax. Hold the condom by it's base so it doesn't slip off. Dispose of properly.

To help further reduce the risk of contracting an STD:

• Don't inject drugs. Sharing needles or syringes can expose you to infected blood. Not injecting drugs is an essential part of protecting yourself from STDs.
• Avoid alcohol and other drugs. They can make you more likely to take chances when having sex.
• Don't douche. You may force germs farther into the vagina or alter the natural balance of vaginal fluids.

The symptoms of STDs may include:

• sores or blisters on or around the sex organs or mouth
• pain or burning during urination
• discharge from the penis or vagina that smells or looks unusual
• itching, swelling, or pain in or around the sex organs

Get tested right away if you think you have any symptoms, or think you've been exposed to an STD (even if have no symptoms, talk about your STD testing needs with your doctor during your health care visits). Remember, many STDs don't have any symptoms, especially in women.

Remember: If you have an STD, seek proper medical care immediately! Home remedies can make an accurate diagnosis difficult!

If you have an STD, be sure to:

• Talk to all sex partner(s) who may have been exposed. Encourage them to get tested. Both partners need to be treated to avoid reinfection.
• Avoid sexual intercourse until your physician says it's okay to resume so you don't get reinfected, or spread the disease to others.
• Follow your treatment plan and finish all medications, even if you feel well. Follow up exams can make sure treatment was effective.
• Get counseling if you're worried or upset about having an STD. Your physician or STD clinic can recommend a counselor.

What other types of birth control help protect against STDs?

Only latex condoms are considered effective protection against STDs. Birth control pills, diaphragms, sponges, and other contraceptives do not prevent STDs.

A lot of men carry condoms in their wallets. Is this a good idea?

No. Exposure to body heat, sunlight, and extreme cold can all damage condoms and make them more likely to break.

Once I've had an STD, can I get it again?

Yes. Sex without a condom can result in getting an STD, no matter what STD you've already had.

don't believe me?: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/std/std4.shtml

thank you- and come again soon for some more super educational information!! (:

bleh

2011-07-01T18:15:00.004-06:00

Im almost done with school: 34 days, or 813 hours, or 48734 minutes... but who's counting? I can't wait to be done, but the crazy thing is... i'm going to miss it. Im going to miss my friends from school that i spend more time with than anyone. Watch out peeps- before you know it your life my be in my nurse hands soon (bwahahahahaha).. but really, im gonna miss school, just not all the school work.

I hate Father's day now. Sorry. I do. There are very, very few reasons i have to celebrate it. I miss my Papa John.

The 4th of July. It was always a Whicker thing. Lost Creek, Fillmore, Maple Grove, all places where we celebrated my grandpa Deans birthday. And every year (literally every year), he would reassure us all the fireworks were to celebrate his birth... i miss him too.

I sent my kiddo off camping with the sis, then he's off to Funmore for swimming lessons... ill see him in a week... i already miss the lil bug.

i miss being able to blog- i used to do it, but that was when i had more to life than nursing school...

and i miss more than anything...... ENERGY... my reserve tank is puttering on fumes here... but in good time... i sure hope it returns...

a long lost picture from maple grove i found.... awwww

perspective

2011-05-25T08:40:00.005-06:00

i suck at blogging... but i totally blame nursing school...

and i also have no pictures.... but i totally blame nursing school...

So... to catch up on my 'super exciting, jealous of me totally' life...

Dreyton is getting ready to graduate from 2nd grade, tomorrow. that kind of freaks me out a little bit... no way i have a 3rd grader... no way... i'm only 24... crazy....

i'm in my last semester of nursing school... i'll be done the beginning of August, about 10 weeks, or 71 days, or 1709 hours... but who's counting.

this semester is by far the craziest as far as scheduling goes. i'm literally gone doing something school related or work related all but 4 days a month. i'm terrified i'm going to be depressed when i'm done with school... i won't know what to do with myself. everyone keeps mentioning i can start taking pictures again..... we'll have to see on that one.

a lot of things, experiences that have been occurring with me lately have me thinking though... about just how lucky i am. i have some pretty amazing family & friends that do some really incredible things. they always help remind me how supported i am, how lucky i am, and how ungrateful i can be. and with this semester... i've learned just how lucky i am to have my health. (however poor it may be- physically and mentally)..

we all know i hate exercise... and we all know i am semi-crazy... but i've seen just how bad a persons health and mind can get. i've seen how bad drugs can destroy someones entire life- including their kids' and families... it is so heartbreaking to watch. i've been 'fortunate' enough to go to some AA(alcoholics anonymous) and NA(narcotics anonymous) meetings FOR SCHOOL (my little facebook post landed me several messages of encouragement and support... and i can't thank you all enough to know if i really was in that situation i'd have all you backing me up). the last one i participated in sent me home in tears... it was insane. i've been close to people who have experienced this but being there hearing the stories of these people and their families just gets the perspective in your head, makes it real. i mean you hear about this all the time, but you never experience it... well at least I haven't. and i hope and pray i never do... i don't think i'm a strong enough person to endure that sort of thing... not even maybe.

so my rant... i guess its just may way to help me remember? maybe pass this info on to all my blogging friends? not sure...

i really don't like when people say, "someone else always has it worse." i don't think you should down play your situation at all... what i've learned over these few weeks is its not what your problems are, its how you react to them that is the difference. but thats just my opinion... and i'm pretty sure i'm going to work a little bit more on my reactions than my actual problems... thats the difference between me as a nursing student this semester... and the patients i care for... and its a damn fine line....

some lyrics from a new favorite song:

'When you're happy like a fool... let it take you over.

When everything is out... you gotta take it in'

i need this....

2011-02-10T12:29:00.002-07:00

ok i really just want it.... but how cute is it seriously!? i'm not usually big into the purse/bag stuff... i just use whatever... but i really really want this to carry my camera in... i like it lots... i just can't decide what color i think i need the most...

Day of Love

2011-01-31T08:53:00.002-07:00

for any that know me... you know i hate valentines... but this year i will be buying some Valentines.. just don't know who for.... yet.

My amazing friend Amanda that i go to nursing school with has a beautiful little girl named Ava. Ava was diagnosed with a childhood cancer of her kidneys and is undergoing chemotherapy to try and shrink the tumors enough to have surgery. This little girl is nothing short of a hero. She is the truest example of a hero. still smiling and enjoying her life through this difficult time. Her moms friend is donating 100% of her procedes to miss Ava from Feb 7th - 14th.

the link is here.

you need to have your order in by the 9th so she can get them all delicious and pretty for you though! the ordering information is on her blog.

you all know you're going to buy flowers and chocolates anyways... so you may as well spend your money on delicious cupcakes and know your money is going to an amazing cause!

thanks so much friends!

Livin the Dream!

2011-01-18T10:10:00.003-07:00

mondays: class, work every other

tuesdays: homework, study, labs

wednesdays: testing, class, drey's baseball practice

thursdays: homework, study

fridays: clinicals

saturdays: work every other

sundays: work every other

and in the midst of this

try and squeeze time to help drey with his homework/reading, or play a game... which is rare.

get some sleep (lately i've had to use resources like Nyquil and Tylenol PM)

clean: we all know how this helps my sanity

study for my LPN exam

work on pictures (which i believe i am FINALLY caught up on... for now)

lately...

we celebrated Jana's Birthday... mourned the day we lost my Papa John two years ago & his birthday. got Jana a new dryer, tried to organize all of her food storage. put Christmas away. Tried to spend time with the bug. spent WAY too much time coupon shopping.

BUT....

all of this going on doesn't even phase me anymore... it is my life.. and most importantly, it makes me realize i am ALIVE, and so lucky to be doing all of it.

recently a good friend of mine got some devastating news about her 3 year old daughter... it is such a frustrating thing to see someone experience this and know there is absolutely nothing you can do to change it for them... all you can do is try to help. and still.. it doesn't even come close to enough.

i love this girl.. i know she is an awesome mother and person.. so i'm trying my hardest to make this situation a little bit easier for her.

but the good thing is.... my coupon shopping; its finally going to good use: her little family.

so now when i feel overwhelmed, or like i'm going to scream with frustration, i'm really gonna try to step back and realize whats important. what matters.

and honestly... thats some damn good motivation.

2010-12-24T17:54:00.001-07:00

i misunderstood this at first... thinking he wanted a reward for being good at wrestling... but after being reinformed i realized my babe was being honest with good ol' saint nick about giving a kid a bloody nose during one of his wrestling matches, and he wasn't sure if it would count as being bad or not, so he wondered if he'd still get anything for christmas....

how cute is that??

love this kid.

merry christmas friends.

Merry Christmas Friends

2010-12-22T12:22:00.003-07:00

Because i'm late, lazy and cheap, i didn't mail out as many cards as i wanted to. so i'm posting them for you all to see.

But really, i hope you all have wonderful & happy holidays this year. i'm sure any of you who read this are more important to me than you realize. i am terrible at showing, but i'm working on it, just how much i appreciate all that i have.

i have an awesome kid that i love tons and work my tail off for. drey keeps me going. that boy is my life, don't know what i'd be doing with out that handsome little bugger.

My amazing family, i love them all so much. they do more for me than they can imagine and i'm so grateful for everyone of them. (Especially my two naughty 2 year olds that give their mom and dad grief... he he he). my friends are the best. my co-workers are pretty much my life savers. my school friends have become like my second family to me with all the time we spend together. i could go on for days about each person that pops into my head, but we all know how pressed for time i am ;)

anyways.. i don't want to get to sappy on you all, because that would give everyone the impression i myself, am sappy. love you all.

merry christmas!!

jami & drey

whats important

2010-12-10T09:53:00.003-07:00

i just love to hate this time of year.

nothing like happiness, joy, and bliss surrounding you to remind you how ungrateful you are.

i have been tested as a parent recently... this is nothing new, but its taken on a whole new level for me since Thanksgiving.

i can't even imagine how many times i fought with my parents thinking, ok KNOWING, that i was always right... but i can remember, and VERY specifically the few times i heard these words come from John or Jana;

"i'm so disappointed in you."

and it hurts. it hurt bad to know you've caused that.

Enter my 7 year old.

Drey is a great kid. i love him more than i can even describe. but recently, he has acquired traits that i am not fond of. he's done things that he shouldn't, and hurt some other people.

the way that makes you feel as a mother and person is indescribable.

knowing someone you have taught better and raised, has hurt someone else hurts me more than i can express.

its a hard lesson, very hard, for a 7 year old to wrap his head around, but hopefully we can learn it together.

its the time of year John got really bad, and left us missing him. its hard to remember how amazing my dad was before he was sick, but he was. seriously... he was THE BEST.

so i'm going to try hard to remember how lucky i am to have such an awesome boy, greatest family and friends and co-workers, my health, and the opportunity to go to school to learn how to help others.

so luckily... its a break for me until January. I will not even look at a nursing book, or online quiz until Jan 10th and focus on whats important.

my babe.

you gotta be kiddin me...

2010-11-28T10:38:00.003-07:00

this wasn't the only play i said that either... but.... a wins a win. i'll take it. and i think it was the best birthday present for my brother. go utes!

(oh.. and i better not steal: the pic is from the SL Trib)

Top 10 on why to be a nurse?

2010-11-13T23:20:00.005-07:00

Found this and thought it was funny....

10) Pay is better than McDonald's: though the hours are not.

9) Comfy shoes & Uniforms.

8) Its better to give than to receive... needles.

7) Being able to reassure people that all bleeding stops.... eventually.

6) Opportunity to be exposed to rare, exotic, and exciting diseases.

5) Interesting Aroma's.

4) Admittedly... its alot easier than med school.

3) Celebrating holidays with all your friends... at work.

2) To see just how big you can stretch your bladder and how long you can hold it.

1) Comfort in knowing people usually survive... no matter what you do to them.

i love my child....

2010-09-27T12:34:00.003-06:00

this conversation took place between Drey and myself last night... after i decided to try and remove a mole off of my face (didn't work so well by the way.)

Drey: "whats on your face?'

me: "a new tattoo."

Drey: "of BATMAN!?!?!"

me: "ya..."

drey looked a little closer at my face

Drey: "No its not! its a bandaid!!"

me: "well aren't you master of the obvious."

Drey: "i don't even know what that means!"

me: "it means you're master of the obvious."

Drey: "I KNOW!"

me: "then why did you say you don't know what it means?"

Drey: "Cause i was seeing if you knew!"

so he turned to walk away... and walked right into the door.

it was classic.

love this kid.

english sucks. i like nursing school though.

2010-09-15T10:31:00.003-06:00

the start of this semester has been interesting to say the least. i'm in english 2010, and anyone that knows me, knows how bad i loathe typing papers. i can talk for days on end if i needed to, but to put my thoughts into sentences that make sense is difficult and frustrating for me.
so here i sit, starting my personal essay about a word of our choice that is due next week.
as of a few hours ago, i still hadn't decided what my 'word' was going to be.
i've been thinking for weeks what would be easy for me to talk about. and what i could use that i could later just add research to so i could use it for my research paper.

alzheimer's.

it always comes to mind. papa john can always help me in so many aspects of my life.

so as i got to typing this damn paper it started coming easier and easier, but the more i typed the more one word kept popping up on the screen.

Birthdays

for those of you who knew john well, you might have got a dozen roses on your birthday once too. my family always did. but it was my birthday (25th remember) a few weeks ago, and i missed my roses. I did find a box will all the little cards that said, 'Love John' on them that always came with the roses though. it was bittersweet.
john was also diagnosed with Alzheimer's right around Drey's birthday. all the repressed memories from the whole slew of events in my life gradually come back, but i do remember every single thing papa john said to me the day he met drey.
papa john also died the day after my moms birthday. i know he knew. he wasn't 'there' but i know he knew to wait. jarret reminded him of the day, just to be sure.

if i were to type a paper on papa john, it would never stop. there are always so many things that i remember, so many things he did, so many ways he helped so many people.
it sucks.
i'm sorry.
but i think its unfair.
i hate that my dad was so amazing, and his time here was so short.
maybe... if it turns out decent. i'll share some of my birthday paper with you.

2nd grade

2010-08-26T13:45:00.005-06:00

My bug is in 2nd grade... I couldn't be more excited for him. He's pretty stoked too. I'm not sure if its solely because he finally got to wear his new kicks he got for his birthday or his new pair of "super dark" levis. FYI: Drey LOVES levis, especially dark ones. The kid hates shorts for the most part. He tells me this is because he has hair on his legs and the girls will think its gross..... (enter eye roll here)

But i think he secretly likes school... or at least I hope so. I really want him to love school and have motivation to learn and succeed, but I want it to be fun for him too. Which im sure this year will be for a few reasons....

#1: He has an awesome teacher that is way into sports. She's newer and still has that excitement/patience about her that the kids just love.

#2: For the first time since pre-school Drey and Porter are going to be in the same class... The seester and I aren't exactly sure how this is gonna play out, particularly because of......

#3: The day we went to meet their teacher we noticed Drey's desk is right next to a certain little lady that he has a crush on, and it just so happens that this certain little lady has a crush on Porter.... lets just say this love triangle got a little carried away when Drey got a touch of jealousy last year... yeah, he totally stole Porter's love notes from this little lady. The funny part is Porter could care less... he's more concerned with his friends and who's playing where after school.

I love these two. They are such good kids, and two polar opposites. Don't know when they decided to grow up so fast on me, but I love it. I love that they're totally my buddies and can tell me the funny things that pop into their mind. I do not, however, love them trying to tell me how to play lego batman.... So now that school is back in session I can play while they're gone all day....

karma....

2010-08-11T18:43:00.007-06:00

Over the past years, all 24.5 of them, of my life.. my siblings have given me my fair share of.. how do you say it... 'grief'.. for my insane amount of shortcomings and screw-ups... and im not denying the amount of those at all..
But Jarret, although he is extremely handsome, smart, resourceful, honest, funny, and reliable; can be some what of a meanie... For years i was nicknamed 'stretch' (well not was, because to this day he still calls me that), after the toy stretch armstrong. Jarret loved to make fun of my awkward long legs. he also used to ask me if my legs whistled in the wind. he also loves to bring up the fact that its taking me just a shade over a decade to graduate from college... the fact that i am in fact the worst when it comes to driving and taking care of my vehicles... the list could go on and on and on...

And my sister... She has been nothing but good to me for as long as i can remember... i really have nothing against her besides the fact she did her share of hell-raisin' and never got in trouble for it. its arguable that she was grandpa deans favorite.. and she also got an angel of a first born, Porter... a baby that was good as gold, probably the only reason i made i through two kids all those years.. so lets just say she needs a little Karma just 'cause...

So... when my first niece, Miss Abigail (who from the age of 2 was known as my Frenemy) came along, i had one goal in mind.. 'how can i get jarret back?'
well, much to my dismay, my frenemy is much too smart. she knows when im trying to get her to do something naughty and is quite apt to do exactly the opposite... don't get me wrong, im not disappointed, i love this little girl.. but she has her own agendas when it comes to her father, so she has no interest in mine... and he cant do much about it because, she is in fact, a girl... she knows what she can get away with.. and i cant forget to mention that i truly hope my frenemy has the exact same voice she does now, clear until she is 18 years old... but worry not.. my trusty sister in law provided me with another opportunity...
which brings us along to Miss Alli (formerly known as Pineapple Hair, she's outgrown that crazy hair do and has a little mullet/lopsided piggies depending on the day hair do, which is much harder to nickname). im starting to think this one may be come to known as Jami Jr. (:
miss Alli, is stubborn, moody, never listens, always gets what she wants, blond haired blue eyed, mischievous, and busy! like her sister, she likes to pick and choose what day she is my friend, but lucky for me she can be bribed... candy can get miss alli to do about whatever i want her to. (enter evil tee hee hee) she is young this one... but she shows much promise to fulfill all my devious plans to drive my brother insane....

and last but not least, Red. I don't even have to TRY with this one... he already confirms whenever asked who his favorite is, ME! yeah.. thats right.. Jami... this one doesn't even have to try... hes the most polite, and sweet lil' one around.. but don't let his please and thank-you's fool you.. he is NAUGHTY... he karate kicks your legs, drop kicks balls in the house, yells when he wants something, cries when hes not gettin his way, pee's only outside if its convenient for him, fights like hes one of the big boys and give his mom hell... and i LOVE him... he of course is nothing but an Angel for me... but when his mom is around... he makes me so proud....
now, don't get me wrong there is an agenda for ALL of my siblings with ALL of my nieces and nephews... and im sure karma will come right back at me... but lucky for me Drey already does that on his own, he doesn't need much help...

ok, i guess i can't forget to say how much i really do appreciate all my siblings... they all literally helped raise me to be my awesome self so i guess i'd better give credit where its due....

i love them and appreciate them more than they know... they have helped me through everything to get where i want to be.

a few years in the making....

2010-08-09T20:34:00.004-06:00

it took me a few years... but i finally got it. i finally got my lightning picture.. and now that ive actually been able to do it.. i know how to make them better... now all i need is another opportunity....

Drey's New Do...

2010-06-13T15:29:00.003-06:00

With all the soccer action and me talking about how cute David Beckham is... Drey decided he could cut his hair as long as it was cool like David Beckham... sweet!!!! And just in time for swimming lessons... How's it look?

thoughts....

2010-05-27T14:22:00.003-06:00

its been forever since ive posted anything really... but i have alot on my mind... alot has been going on and i just need to vent...

This weekend is memorial day... this holiday never really had alot of meaning to me, just a time to get outside and see the fam. Last year for memorial day was the first time i got to see john's head stone... these are the pics from last year.

its been weird with him being buried in Fillmore... i try to stop every time i go down or am passing by... but its never easy. I used to love to go to Fillmore to see my grandparents and cousins, and we never had a trip when John didnt try to get me to win 'first to see Fillmore'... but now its just got a different feel... every time i go i just think of my papa john and how badly i want a hug from him... it makes me feel very lucky to have known him and have him as my dad, cause trust me.. some of you arent near as lucky as i was, your dads are great but mine was the best... which makes me realize the kind of mother i want to be. what kind of impression i want to leave on my son... and people.

Nursing school is kicking my ass... this is not surprising, but its made me think a lot of papa john. to learn how the littlest things lead him down the road he ended up on. to learn how strokes are caused, the effects of Alzheimer's on a person and their families and all the other signs they say to watch for that i saw in my dad for years. i hope that someday this makes me a better nurse by having watched papa john endure all he did, but it also makes me so bitter... john was the best. he always will be. i have two amazing brothers, an incredible sister and a mother that no one could even compare too... and i fully blame john for each of them being so great. my family is my rock. without them i know i wouldnt be able to make it through this life... drey is my direction. i love that boy more than anything. he's who i live for and what im getting my ass kicked in school for.

i love you all.

jami

love this boy....

2010-05-24T21:00:00.008-06:00

plus i think he's pretty dang cute.... dont know what i'd do without him...

mona coach pitch

2010-05-17T21:30:00.004-06:00

i havent been been a very good blogger lately... so i figured the boys playin coach pitch was something to blog about... we didnt really wanna do T-ball again andJarret is the prez and coaches in the mona coach pitch league so we decided to sign Drey & Porter & their buddy Grant up to go play with Coleman... And as evidenced by the pictures i took... i actually go to Mona once a week (: thanks brother for all you do.

porter beckdreyton j

nerd alert

notice our right handed coach pitching left handed... he suffers from a severe case of pussitis.... (:

A shirt?! REALLY!?!?

2010-02-28T12:39:00.004-07:00

I spent this friday on one of my clinicals. We were assigned to go to The Courtyard at Jamestown. Its an assisted living facility. So not sick patients, just ones that require a little help. So when we arrive they need four of us to go the Enhanced Care wing..... Of course i get nominated. At first i stressed, but then they told us it was the Alzheimer's residents. So i was like, Ok, i know this, no big..... or so i thought.

I spent the morning getting my residents up and dressed and showered. . . Some of them had their little apartments decorated with pictures and shadow boxes at their doors, letters and pictures from grandkids and just little knick knacks here and there to help ya figure out what they were like years ago. So the day was going well so far... all the residents meet out in the little common area and have breakfast and do activities and they were just too fun. It was awesome to just spend time talking to them and looking at a book they've already shown you twice, introducing myself a few times, but have almost everyone of them tell me they loved me... So i was doin good. i was proud of myself for handling it that well... Then one of the residents came out, he had apparently stayed up late so they didn't wake him until like 11.. He was wearing a pair of white sneakers, some slick pants, and a striped polo shirt; just like the one that john always used to wear...

REALLY!?!?!?! are you kidding me?...

i mean, it shouldn't have been a big deal, but it was. a thousand emotions ran through my brain the rest of the day... Guilt for the days i was impatient. Gratitude for the fact we were able to keep john home. Sad for the residents who didn't have family to come see them... it was just crazy... luckily my shift ended early... so i got in my car and just cried... hadn't done that for awhile... but it was so strange. I thought about papa john most of the day... how funny he was clear up until the end. . . how lucky my siblings and i were to have him as our dad... he was amazing.

so i don't know why i needed to post this, probably didn't, but i just wanted to make sure everyone knows to cherish what they have... you truly never know.

jana might kill me for the picture, but thats the dang shirt.....

Introducing.....

2009-12-25T18:01:00.002-07:00

Bella...

MeRrY cHrIsTmAs

2009-12-23T13:11:00.001-07:00

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday...

When is Christmas?

2009-12-14T17:27:00.004-07:00

I saw these little notes tucked into one of Jana's presents.... cute.

So i snuck a peek at them...

this is the one that cracked me up... Just in case you forgot when Christmas was Santa... Its on the 25... just in case you happen to come to our house before 25 and read notes too you'll learn when it is.. :)

and yes, Drey's only request this year is a Drumset & Skateboard... of course... I keep telling him Santa doesn't make musical instruments... only violins ... we'll see if it works cause i know santa isn't bringing something to bang and make noise on this year...

temple square

2009-12-08T09:59:00.004-07:00

So Drey and I went to a Jazz game awhile ago and I promised him i'd take him back to Temple Square when the Christmas lights were up and ride tracks... So Nana, Jodi, Porter, Keller, Drey and I all made the trek... it turned out fun even though it was freezing and everyone else dogged us :)

News...

2009-11-04T13:03:00.003-07:00

i've never seen this show, but i want to now.. how RAD is this really?

ANYWAYS.... i figured good news is worth blogging about...

After being PROMISED that i would hear no later than Friday the 30th wether i'd been accepted into the nursing program there was still no news.... grrr... so finally yesterday getting ready for bed i checked my email..

and i got ACCEPTED!!!

im beyond excited! i cannot even tell you... i've worked hard for this..

besides i know the next while will be kick in the face i'm so excited at the same time!

so searching for nurse pictures brought up some winners too... thought i'd share this one seeing how it is the most realistic expression of an RN....

HAHAHA!

been awhile....

2009-10-16T10:04:00.005-06:00

So i have been CRAZY busy.... its unreal. I started school in August, got a new job at Park City Medical Center part time, been coaching volleyball and everything else... so needless to say my blog has been neglected... Well, this tuesday when i acquired the Swine Flu i got a few days off because neither of my hospitals want me working while i have it... So i got Jodi and the boys and we went out for some fall pictures... I haven't had any of me and drey since Kenz & Ki took our family pictures last november, so i wanted some of the two of us. Drey of course didn't want to wear what i wanted him to, and no offense to my sister, she is still on her way to learning how to take amazing pictures.... but the boys were in their costumes and i love how these turned out... too fun... its been nice to be home and spend some time with the bug and get caught up on cleaning, pictures and homework.... hope everyone is having a happy fall!

this is Drey being his stubborn self... jodi just caught a picture of it...

see how stubborn he is...

porter beck and his dang cute blue eyes

the 3 jedi, check out Keller, he's good at using the Force

such a freakin poser

oh he is just NAUGHTY!
lets not forget my Gap model... i seriously know i'm biased but i think he is so HANDSOME!

i like this minus my face, just cause it looks like Drey actually likes me ;)

birthday

2009-08-12T16:46:00.004-06:00

me and my birthday boy

jodi takin a picture of her and Kell... i thought this was so funny :)

me and the 3 SIX year olds...

Drey and Hoot the Owl

drey's birthday last friday! can't believe his SIX!!! wow how time flies.... we got news on his birthday that he'd be able to go to Barnett Elementary which we'd been waiting on for awhile.... he's gonna be sad to not see his friends, but havin him and porter in the same school will make Jodi and I's lives so much easier.... We went to the owlz game again which i just love... He gets pretty excited to see his name up on the score board in the 7th inning.... it was also my work party so there were lots of friends there. thanks everyone who came!

6 years ago....

2009-08-07T12:25:00.008-06:00

i friggin LOVE this kid

this ones for Nana

(i know its a bad picture but its when john first held dreyton)

had i not witnessed his birth i probably wouldn't have believed he was mine...

but what an amazing thing. i am so lucky to have been able to watch this kid from a dark haired skinny baby, to a chubby busy toddler to a scronny big boy! dreyton is truly the greatest thing in my life. i don't know where i'd be or what i'd do without him! being his mother is one of the hardest and most rewarding things ever....

i've been looking back through my millions of pictures of him to post and its made me realize how much has happend and changed in 6 years....

so be warned this is gonna be a lot of pictures........

i came home from vals wedding, he pulled my skirt on and i tied it with a hair thing, this is how he turned for the picture... its so funny!

he is seriously the cutest little devil.... all year

this is the day i buzzed off all his hair... little did i know it would grow back with a stripe of the same color... everyone says it adds character :)

one of my most favorite shots of him out in west mountain

7 months old.... and most of these are from the old school film 35 mm canon

gettin lei'd in fillmore.....

2009-07-20T14:25:00.008-06:00

My Grandpa Jack is 80!! and you wouldn't even know it! he is the most active 80 year old there is.... there as been one day in my life that i remember him not working and not doing his hair! He still runs his farm and runs his theatre down in Funmore... I can't even believe how much he's seen in his 80 years... he's been in wars, been to so many foreign countries, and still works as hard as i've always remembered... and i swear he notices everything, that must be where my mother gets it from... when i took my cousin's engagement pictures at his farm he noticed that i had moved his pitchfork!! haha.. but what an amazing guy, and an amazing life....
And because i'm the favorite granddaughter i actually let someone take my picture with him.... :) i told him that its only because i'm the favorite... i'm always behind my camera... ok.. i'm pretty sure he tells all of us we're the favorite, but grandpa jack and i both share a love for photography. his old school 35mm was the one i learned how to shoot on and started back into it with. so with a lot of his help i take the pictures i do today... thanks so much grandpa jack! we hope you had fun at your Luau! we love you!

you can see all the birthday pictures on my flickr link here

the birthday boy and me
my mom, grandma edna, and jacks sister joanni thought this picture of kyle was cute

i love this, its called 'seveties' its pretty cool i think...drey and aiden in grandpas pond....all of jacks great grandkids... minus jackson(sleeping baby), kaden in powell, and tubby tate...he was eatingthe McBrides (this was after i said, "ok lets be fun.. do something CRAZY!" hahahahahahaha) todd, terri, jack, edna, jana, jacci and scott

(and the title was for you mom)

life or death....

2009-07-15T20:59:00.003-06:00

i think we may need to amputate drey's arm..... he has been terrified of ALL the MILLIONS of bee's we have at our house.. tonight he got stung... twice! once on the arm once on the peck... so i took pictures and druged him........ be warned.... nudity ;)

its june.......!?

2009-06-14T18:13:00.005-06:00

i know everyone will be mad, but i freaking LOVE this weather! minus i have to re-schedule a lot of pictures, but i love the rain and thunder.... so great... also means i have more chances to get my lightning picture i've been trying to catch forever! i think this is the year.... anyways... since i've been out of the blogworld for awhile, and since i'm sure i'll be out of it here real soon, i thought i'd throw in a post... tomorrow is our first day of swimming lessons. Drey loves to swim and is SO excited, as am i, it might help kill some of his excess energy... tomorrow is also one of my first volleyball camps, i don't have to do much, just show up like usual :) and tomorrow night is my first shift back on nights... 7pm to 7am... i couldn't be more happy about this! not that i don't love my day nurses because i do, i just miss my nights and HATE waking up early... its NO BEUNO!

so this summer is already in full swing... and to start it off, Drey got a new do.... his Nana and aunt Jodi LOVE it ....... i think i'm gonna let him rock it for a little while :)

this was the almost done part of the do... he was mad for a few...

this was him calling to tell Jodi about his hair cutand the final result.... its the cutest dang mohawk i've ever seen!

catching up...

2009-06-04T11:19:00.006-06:00

i've been out of the blogging world forever.... pictures, work and the 5 year old are keepin me busy! anyways... Drey graduated from Kindergarten..... what a relief!!! he'll be gone ALL day next year! YES!!! :)

memorial day was spent in Fillmore. got to see Papa John's headstone set finally... looked so good... BBQ with cousin's i haven't seen in forever! and then off to Terri's for the swimming party... their blow up thing was HUGE!

got to take my cute cousin and his soon to be wifey's SUPER fun pictures down at grandpas farm! you can see most of them here.

these are my pictures from grandpa's farm.... i was trying to get one of the cows really close, but they instead just ganged up on me and stayed 5 feet away... oh well, maybe next time...i love this one.. its my new favorite picture.... :) don't know why.. i just do...

Hadley

2009-05-26T22:11:00.000-06:00

Diana had baby Hadley tonight!! she finally got started this morning! and she did awesome! Mom and Babe (and Austin) are doing great!

Hadley

7:01 p.m.

8lbs

20.5 inches

she's so friggin cute :)

easter

2009-04-16T12:54:00.009-06:00

i would like to point out its been awhile since my siblings all got together... so of course it was fun filled.... typical whicker stuff... arguements, tv, jokes, someone getting made fun of.... oooh so fun... but really.. mom made a great dinner.. put together cute baskets for all the whicker grandkids ... each kid got an egg with 5 dollars... and all the families got Bedtime Stories. the fun part was trying to hide like 300 plastic eggs in moms yard... so we got creative.
abigail wore my bunny ears for a few....

nerd alert.... look real close at his eyes... they're two different colors... i'll have to get a better picture of them sometime..

brenda got ahold of my camera.. she took some sweet pictures ;)

alli... those are her g's.. haha..

colby... he's 4 and better than half of my family at basketball and guitar hero

awwwwww... she does love me!

jeremy made his cooking debut... i must admit i was VERY proud! he made a great salad!red... he is so dang cute

good times were had by all :)

Laguna Beach

2009-03-23T15:19:00.008-06:00

my trip was way too fun and way too short! i need to go back ASAP... but im glad my boss let me go... this was the funnest trip! even the work part was fun! we got to go see the remodel of our labor rooms kind of pan out. so when we finally go to our KILLER hotel rooms cheryl and i ran out to the beach to walk... it of course was super foggy and misty but we walked along anyways. we ended up getting drenched on our way to this little cove! then we went to walk to the little shops and everything closed at 6!! i was a little bent but it was an interesting walk. then we were off to the most AMAZING dinner. not only was the food great but we were with some really neat people with lots of fun stories! i almost cried when i had to leave the next day...... but it was so fun! im so glad my boss let me go! thanks Helen!

charelle & i at the John Wayne airport

me, charelle and helen~ in the shaggin wagon ;)

fire pits in the "lobby"

view of the beach from my balcony

my freakin SWEEEEEEEET room

me & charelle outside in the "lobby"

the "lobby" it was outside and SO neat...

The Mona Whickers...

2009-03-05T17:47:00.006-07:00

Jarret, my loving brother, has some hillarious kids, and since he doesn't want to blog about them, even though coleman gives him permission, i thought i would... here goes: So, this may come as a surprise, and theres nothing wrong with it... but my nephew is THE Biggest Nerd! Coleman always has his shirts tucked in, belt on, watch and hat... all he's missing is a pocket protector... Anyways a little while ago Nana bought the three 5 year olds matching shirts, Drey was so excited for the boys to wear them. So when Coleman, aka: Nerd Alert, came over drey gave him his new blue shirt. He was so excited! So i sat him down and said, "You know what Coleman, this shirt would look SO good tucked in!" and nerd then replies, "Yeah! I know! AND i just found my brown belt!!!" "Will you wear it for me to Keller's party tomorrow?" "sure" he says and starts to chuckle because i had smothered my head with a pillow in order to keep from laughing out loud. Apparently his brown belt had been missing, but with some luck he found it just in time to wear it to Kellers birthday party the next day! and by dang only the nerd would actually say that.... Unfortunately i had to go to work and i missed the debut, but don't worry, the nerd wore it for me the other day so i had to take some pictures....

and who could forget my Frenemy?... Miss Abby Lou... She's either my Best Friend, usually when she wants one of my Barbies, or my Enemy, which is 85% of the time. but holy crap she's beautiful... i love abby lou... and here's why....

one: her voice! i've told my brother a million times i hope her voice is the same when she's 17 years old! this little petite thing has the highest, shrill and LOUD voice i've ever heard come from someone her size... i especially love it when she says "Thats not a GOOD word JAMI!" which she says to 80% of my vocabulary, so fyi do not say the word SHUT around abigail...

two: she's NAUGHTY!!!

jarret has made fun of me for years for being stubborn, bratty, spoiled and a know-it-all... lets just say i'm encouraging my frenemy to be just like me.... and my brother loves it...

doesn't she just look naughty!!

and last but not least Alli... aka: Pineapple Hair! with her spikes on top of her, her hair has always looked like a pineapple to me... shes walks around like she's all big and i swear she's like the tiniest person ever... she's the quiet, sweet, just behaves herself baby that my brother thinks he can take all the credit for.... but my heck, that girl can stare down a statue... like she can see your soul ya know!? The other night as we all heard her thump to the bottom of the stairs my brother says, "knowledge bumps".... good job brother.... keep up the good work... even though your wife can take all the credit....

pictures, pictures, pictures

2009-03-01T09:26:00.001-07:00

so on my trip to fillmore i was taking pictures for my cousins... and i never pass up an opportunity to take some of my bug... i think i'm going to try and make some money off this kid...

Story Telling

2009-02-25T15:44:00.005-07:00

Drey had to tell a story in Kindergarten today.... and me being the awesome supportive pretty much PTA prez mom went to support him (and take pictures). He told the story "Watch Out! Big Bro is Coming!" He did a great job, he doesn't have an ounce of fear in him i don't think. His good buddy Dalton though got a little stage fright, which to me is so funny. Him and drey are so much alike its scary, so to see him be bashful and get a picture was great. So his ma helped him... talk about PTA prez... she's the best Room Mother Ever!

exploring...

2009-02-24T11:34:00.006-07:00

i was wanting to take pictures all day yesterday... the weather was perfect, so finally at like 5 i decided to hurry and get him ready and make him. i've driven by this little old place a few times and wanted to see it closer... but it was pretty dark by the time we got there and drey, of course was drey, and wanted to explore rather than let me take pictures... he even sat up on this old barn that had collapsed and didn't like it when i made it shake...

you may want to sit down....

2009-02-11T19:39:00.004-07:00

yes, its true... i went to the temple. and it was awesome. i got to spend the morning with my two great friends Patricia and Charelle, aka: Pat & Cheryl. they were nice and invited me to go with them to the Draper Temple open house. It was awesome! the temples are truly amazing just to look at... me and cheryl were worried about earthquakes and lightning strikes, but the worst thrown at us was the mini blizzard up in draper. then we had to find a macaroni grill for cheryls carb craving. it was a great day. thanks girls for inviting me!

New Lens, New Location, Same 'Ol Drey

2009-01-27T08:32:00.007-07:00

So i'm so proud that i've saved up enough money to buy this new lens. its for low light situations that i hate with a passion, and probably wont hate them as much now cause of it. This is Keller & Alli... the two (almost) one year olds. (pictures will be taken hopefully soon!)

so i decided to take Drey to a place i've driven by before and thought would be SO fun for pictures. and it was, minus Drey was not about to cooperate. he's had his pictures taken his whole life, but he decides when he wants them. which is usually when he's sportin the spider man costume "nut hugger". i got him all dolled up and was excited, cause my million pictures of him are still lost in hard drive hell, and the little bugger wouldn't even LOOK at me! the whole time he either pulled a face or looked away on purpose. oh well.
this is when he found out he'd been trollin....and this is the face i got after....

John's Day

2009-01-14T13:08:00.012-07:00

Today is John's birthday. And although i'm sad that he's not here I feel like i've been celebrating. At his viewing, i was sad and i missed him, but it didn't feel like a viewing. It felt like a celebration. We all laughed and told stories, re-lived his nicknames for everyone and i even heard some of his jokes. it was awesome!. its just what he would have wanted. i am so grateful to you all who came and wiated 2 hours to see him and support us. i never pictured it being that insane. people were everywhere! My grandpa jack even got a kind note from none other that lewis feild, saying "sorry i backed into your car, please call me" ( i had held on to this to take a picture but i seemed to have misplaced it. plus it had lewis' number and that wouldn't be very nice of me to share) another lil old friend kinda got a little woozy on us wiating so long. my trusty eldest brother busts his blackberry out of his pocket and dials 911... he never called, but i thought to myself; only my Papa John could have managed to get an ambulance to a mortuary.... (picture that call.... "i need an ambulance at walkers mortuary!...") the funeral was great! everyone that spoke did such an awesome job. although i think it would really take a up to a week to cover all the stories and amazing things my dad did, we managed to touch base on a lot of the best parts. it was so great to see so many people turn out in tribute to the amazing person he truly was. the burial was wonderful. my brother did such a perfect job. my mom was so worried about where to take my dad, but i think once we got there and saw it, it was perfect. its just the place he always wanted to go.

so in all, this has been the week full of many emotions. and only my dad could bring out so many emotions in people all at once. and i want to be able to personaly thank everyone that took the time to come, to call, to send a card, but i know i won't be able to... there are just too many. so i want to take the time to say thank you! you have been wonderful, amazing, supportive and giving. the best family and friends~ i'll leave you with a john's infamous quote~

"You Be Good....."

loss for words....

2009-01-07T02:34:00.003-07:00

I don't know how to throw this stuff running through my mind into words. don't even know if i can try. so if this is a little broken and scattered just deal...
but the family is going through a rough time. things are not looking good for my dad. so were trying to keep him happy and comfortable. i have such an amazing family, i think a lot of this is a direct result of having him as our father. My mother is seriously amazing. I can't imagine what she's feeling right now. but still she moves forward, she doesn't complain. Today is my moms birthday. I am so grateful for this day. That i have the mom i do. Next week is John's birthday. This is the week their 'officially' the same age ;) January has been a weird month for a long time. I'm so happy i have all the memories i do with my dad. and im proud of the man he always was. there's no one like him. Even though his time in this world may be cut short i'm sure the things he did and taught us all will be around much longer. most of my best memories involve my dad. john was always there for me, and my family, always. so we're trying to do the same, just be there for him. this is unbelievably hard, but as a family i think we get through anything. i'm lucky to have the family i do. i can never thank them enough for being who they are.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-18T23:50:00.003-07:00

Happy Holidays to all of our friends and family! You are all so good to me and drey! I am reminded every year at this time how good people really are. So i just wanted to post and tell each of you how much i appreciate all you've done for me.

I am so lucky to have the co-workers I do that are some of my best friends. They are my therapists, my counselors, my reality checkers and the people i turn to for honest opinions. I could never have gotten as far as i have with out so many of them. They never cease to amaze me with their abilities and how giving they are. They have helped me out more than they realize and i can only hope to be as good as people and nurses as they are. They are truly inspiring people and i'm lucky to know em...

My life long friends... My crazy crew... We are all so different but i love them all so much... They have been such accepting and good friends for the last 15 years. We've been through so much together. Even though our lives are crazy and i hardly get to see them, i can't imagine not being able to call and gripe about something and them telling me how it is. They have been there for me through some of my roughest times and i wouldn't be who i am without any of them.

And last, but definitely not least.... my family. Crazy as they are... they are mine, and i don't know where i'd be without them. My family is truly the fam that puts the 'fun' in dysfunctional... they have been the best sisters, brothers and parents i could have ever asked for. Although i am a daddy's girl at heart, my mom is my hero. She may think i'm trying to score some cool xmas present here, but its true. What would i do without my mom?! My walking stressball, never stopping, hard working, extremely talented mother. Shes such a good example to me and the best person i know...I love you mom! And my dad.. although i can't even begin to comprehend what he deals with every day, he still is my rock. i've always been John's girl and always will be. Although its hard, i am so lucky to be here with him every day that i am, and i hate when i forget that. He was, and still is, the best man i know. He would've done anything for me, i hope that he knows how good of a dad he was and what a great guy he was too. People will still tell me stories to this day that remind me of how giving he was.

So, now i'm done being all sappy... Here's my christmas card to those who don't get one, cause i'm too late and too cheap to send them...

(thanks so much again to kenz & kiley who took are kickin family pics for me!)

wrestlings over...

2008-12-18T02:48:00.004-07:00

i must admit i'm sad. i loved watching this. it was my favorite, maybe cause the season was so short.... but here are some pictures of the boys at their wrestling tournament. grandpa john even came to watch! i can't wait til next year. they did so good! its been great for both of them!

Loopholes

2008-12-08T16:46:00.003-07:00

You noticed how many loopholes there are to things now days? i have... and i learned this the hard way today...
So when my lap top began to crash i backed all my stuff up onto a hard drive... this was great. i could plug it in to whatever computer and have all my pictures and stuff right there. well last night while i was uploading pictures the hard drive decided to quit working...
So i ejected it, plugged it back in and of course... it wouldn't work. this hard drive is only two months old so its under warranty no big deal...... or so i thought.
i call the company this morning and
"you have a no workeen har dribe?" he asks.... "yes" (this was just the beginning of a wonderful conversation....) but cutting to the point, they would replace my hard drive because its still under warranty.
" so you'll put all my stuff on the new one?" i ask.
"oh no.. you need dayta backup it cost monee" "well how much?" "eet star at seben hunred dollars and deepeneen on how much work eet can be up to sirty nine hunred dollars"................
......................................................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................................

"i'm sorry, i just had to pick my stomach out of my butt, but did you say it would cost ME '$700.00' and it could be up to $3900.00 to replace your crappy hard drive that i bought for $130.00!?!"

"yes mam"
... click....

so off i go to visit the geek squad....
he tests it out and of course it has to be sent out to recover all my data from it but its kind of expensive. "how much?" about two hundred and fifty. ok. i can handle that. this is my life line here i need it. so he gives me adivce on the whole 'shoulda coulda woulda' predicament i'm in.

back up your computer... well thats what this is...
then you back up your back up.... well that seems redundant but i sure will from now on. thanks.
are there any hard drives that guarantee their products and if not they back them up for you?
oh no. none of them do. its one of those loopholes they use to make money. thats why they want 700$ and we only charge 250$....
loophole... if i hear this word ever again i will cringe...

so the point. to all my photog friends and friends that use external hard drives.... back them up cause you will pay out the .... if they break.....due to, a loophole.

oh and happy holidays everyone :)

the girls reunion....

2008-11-26T14:50:00.004-07:00

so Val is in town for Thanksgiving from Vegas so we decided to get all the girls together since its been since Val was like 5 months pregnant since we'd all been together... everyone laughed when i said to meet at fat jacks, but its been a couple years since Val had some so we did. it was so fun too see everyone and Drey even took some pictures of us!

wrestling......

2008-11-19T15:30:00.004-07:00

ya buddy! i love to watch this... its classic... here are some pictures, i'm sure i'll keep you updated...

the little things that make you go...... gaaaah!

2008-11-10T11:11:00.004-07:00

...... Like for instance.... i had one of my huge twist top rock stars while driving around taking pictures yesterday. Needless to say while i was wondering around i had to go to the bathroom. So i'm bookin it to the nearest gas station, i grab two dollars so i can buy something when i'm done. (I always feel guilty just using their bathroom.) So i get to the bathroom, its locked. theres a sign on it, 'Key for Bathroom is with Cashier'. So i go wait in line so i can ask. The guy cashier appeared to be a new one, so the girl mopping came and opened her register to help me. So when i asked for the key to the bathroom she rolls her eyes and reaches to get it, and looks around. "Someone must be in there already you'll have to wait."
'THANK YOU!' i smiled as big as i could. So i go wait by the bathroom, i'm waiting...... waiting...... waiting....... thinking at this point i should have just gone outside.... then the door clicks open... with a breeze and a foul sting in my nostrils a lady came hobbling out and says "Oh i'm sorry dear were you waiting?" 'No, i was just looking at these salads' i pretended to bend down and look at lettuce and onions and whatever else disgusting items people throw on em.. so, i wasn't even gonna be nice and buy anything after rude mopper and i for sure was not going to use that bathroom!

So i drive along to the next nearest gas station, a maverick. I look for the restroom sign and book it cause the tickle in my stomach is about to make me puke i have to pee so bad. i open the door, find a stall, and without even thinking.... i sit on a nice, WARM toilet seat.... gaaaaah! i hurry and squat like i normally do in public restrooms but by this time the damage was already done. Nothing more lovely then wondering how this toilet seat came to be so warm, so my need to puke turned from the tickle in my stomach to the gag reflex i couldn't control.....

i will leave you with this quote:

"its the little moments that make life big."

little late... so what

2008-11-07T12:21:00.004-07:00

some pictures from our halloween day... Drey, also known as Darth Vader, had a kindergarten program and did so good on his part! then he had a parade at school. then we went to porters parade, and finally off to trunk or treat... i'm glad halloweening is over... i'm not the biggest halloweener around....

who lives here?........

2008-11-03T00:06:00.003-07:00

i walked outside today.... and this is what i saw....

no, we are not white trash.... and no.... a mail'woman' does not live at this residence.......

and yes... this is infact.... a mail box....

mind you i bought this 'mailwoman' a new one like two mothers day's ago, but the bro hasn't put it up... maybe its time he did....

drey's new suit....

2008-11-02T12:00:00.004-07:00

so i finally got him out of the super hero suit.... last sunday was Drey's primary program, and yes, i even woke up at 9a.m. on my only day off to go. but saturday night after work i had to go buy him some new church clothes cause his are to small, or too big, and the one good pair of dress pants he had have up and disappeared. my mom had said how drey wanted a suit like grandpa johns, so i decided to grab one. they were pretty dang cute. so after church we went to show Nae at the hospital how cute he looked. of course my camera was with me and i was glad, cause when we pulled up there was the CUTEST old car in the parking lot! SCORE! i need to find out who's it is and use it again! but we took some more in the common's area and i think he looks all growed up big! especially with his new hair cut... ;)

spider man....

2008-10-27T22:36:00.004-06:00

so my son hit one of those stages where he ran around in the same clothes for 8 days straight... yeah, its great.. drey's choice of wear everywhere i can outfit? yes it was spider man and the halloween costume from LAST YEAR! so its a little "snug" to say it nicely... anyways, one day he's showing me how he REALLY is spiderman!

"watch me mom".....this is what i saw in the hallway...

i swear....

ooooohhhhhh yeah!

2008-10-22T13:00:00.003-06:00

so it has probably been since around the time this photo was taken since this happened to me...

i've been used to the kick in the crotch that usually happens when buying gas, but oh no, not today. You see Crest, the wonderful gas station where i'm employed, has this little marketing thing goin on. If you pay cash for your gas, you get 7 cents off gallon. Now this may not seem like such a big deal to some, but when gas is $3.05/gallon, do the math.... Thats right, i paid $2.98/gallon. i'm sorry, but i was pretty dang excited. I can't remember the last time i paid under $3/gallon! too bad the only one to celebrate with me was lil Red... but since i saved SO much, i decided to feed my addiction and splurge on a refil!

...and for all you pay at the pumpers with debit cards, if you get a sinclair card you save 10 cents a gallon... just thought i'd share the love... so go visit crest, you may be as excited as me!

big red barn....

2008-10-15T22:42:00.004-06:00

drey and i's trip to the big red barn. we went for ice cream and i explored for pictures of course. and of course drey was being a dork as usual. his new pose consists of closing his eyes and sticking his lips out.... i'm having to trick him into cute pictures. but he learned all about sap, and daddy long leg spiders. at one point he screamed just like a girl. i was so proud..... the rest are posted on the imaj blog..

FALL = the best time of the year

2008-09-30T11:50:00.006-06:00

didn't you want a ticket to the gun show?

oh yes, i love the fall! love the colors, LOVE the weather and its volleyball season of course! drey wanted to go for a ride up the canyon to see the leaves changing colors. so we made the trip up and it was a blast. we walked throught the creek and drey learned all about 'moss' and "private property" and how to crawl under barbed wire... you know, lifes little lessons.... and i can never pass up a chance to take his pictures, he was so outta control running around though that every picture he was pullin a face, but i think i caught his personality a little better than usual. his favorite part was finding the little acorns and snail shell.. boys will be boys... and had to save them so he could run home and show nana... and he of course didn't like the outfit i picked out, so he ended up in his white under shirt... i swear... but you should all head up the canyon, its beautiful right now!

dangit.... i kinda like this kid...

2008-09-22T23:13:00.002-06:00

is it just me? or is he pretty dang cute. i didn't plan on liking this "third born" of mine. cause i'm not big into the newborn stuff... why do i work where i do? but "Red," as i like to call him, is just getting to that fun age. so when the boys got their long, VERY LONG, anticipated Darth Vader & Storm Trooper costumes, jodi had me take some pictures of them, so i took some of red in his costume too... he's so funny...

six fantastic things about me

2008-09-22T13:26:00.002-06:00

i decided to change the title, because there is nothing unspectacular about me... or my life.... yes its true. i have the best life. my kids is the best kid ever. i have the best job ever. i just love doing the things i love for fun! .....

ok, i'm done making fun.

fantastic quirk #1:
i'm 26 and still bite my nails

quirk #2:
i taught my kid in order to save time and water just to pee in the shower.

quirk #3:
i am one of the pickiest eaters ever, to this day my mom will still ask me if i want lettuce on my hamburgers.

quirk #4:
my cell phone holder is my cleavage.

quirk #5:
i am completely in love and addicted to guitar hero on my wii. (my sister also left out the quirk that she plays the star wars lego game on the wii more than the boys)

quirk #6:
apparently, due to popular belief, i argue. A LOT. i quite possibly can find an arguement in just about anything.

now i tag...

kal, mac, nae, tiff, whit, sheila

soccer

2008-09-15T13:26:00.015-06:00

for those that know me, know i'm not a huge soccer fan. i have no desire to run that long or watch someone run that long. imagine working your butt off to get the ball within feet of a goal only to have someone boot it clear back to where you just came from.... nope, this sport was never meant for me...

that being said, my sister decided to sign the boys up for soccer... unfortunately i had rarely been able to go cause of work and such. so last week i finally got to go to a game. here's the rundown:

it was crappy weather to begin with, so i hoped it would get rained out.... Nope... they play rain or shine....

my kid was already flushed and sweating by the time i got there because some blonde 'Mia Hamm' was working the rest of the 5 year olds over.

so drey's team, yellow on this particular day, had a "throw in". (remember i don't know this sport or what these actions are called.) so the yellow boy throws it in, only to hit a yellow girl right in the face.... yes this was sad, not funny in the slightest!

but the crisis on the yellow team was eventually resolved. my sister was not kidding when she said she used the "swarm method." imagine the old cartoons where the swarm of bee's followed whomever they were after... thats the lil yellow team with the ball... and i swear they were actually buzzing... except for the few that chose to sit down on the field for a rest, or kind of just look at the cloudy sky with their fingers in their mouths, they didn't buzz. so, i call drey over at half time and ask, "is that little blonde girl better than you!?" to which he reply's "NO!" "then don't let her take the ball from you again!" i said, as any good mother would... so off he ran like my lil david beckham. so then the blue team gets the opportunity of a "goalie kick?" (reminder, i don't know soccer terms.) so he begins to back up towards the goal, which mind you is only 4 feet tall and maybe 3 feet wide... how they ever score a goal is beyond me, unless your david beckham or mia hamm of course ;)... so he's backing up for some speed and takes off at the ball. that dang huge net grabbed his cleat and face planted him right into the grass! ( i swear i did not laugh!) i only wished my camera was aimed at the right place, but unfortunatey was not. so the goalie brushed off the grass and tried again, succes for sure.

off runs lil mia hamm and david beckham. it was a battle for sure...

mia was pushing down kids on her own blue team in pursuit of a goal! so blue coach put her at goalie.

then up runs lil david beckham holding his side saying, "mom!.... my side hurts..... i can't.... breathe... good..." so i said, "good, that means your workin hard!"
so three whistles are blown, and the game is over... team yellow give team blue a cheer and they proceed to the best part of the game... the hand shake! it was about a 10 minute process for each child to find every child on the other team and give them a personal hand shake. what sportsmanship! so as the rain begins to drizzle Coach yellow takes team over for their treats, giant otter pops. who brings giant otter pops for treats on a day with rainy weather!?.... yes it was me....

tagged!?

2008-09-03T19:35:00.003-06:00

I GOT TAGGED
ABC........
A- Attached or Single? attached to a 5 year old, but single
B- Best friend? Drey
C-Cake or Pie? CHEESE cake
D-Day of Choice? um.... christmas?
E-Essential item? a bra
F-Favorite color? black
G-gummy bears or gummy worms? i got worms!
H-hometown? p town
I-Indulgences? rees' fast break!
J- January or July? January, love winter
K-Kids? one too many ;) i love my drey bug
L-Life is incomplete without? friends
M-Marriage date? hopefully never - thats for you mom ;)
N-Number of siblings? i think i'm an only child..... ok two big brothers, one big sis, one brother in law, and two sister in laws....
O-Oranges or apples? APPLES
P-Phobias or fears? um losing my kid..... :(
Q-Quotes? "its better to keep your mouth closed and look stupid than to open it and prove it"
R- Reason to smile? dreyton can always make me smile
S- Season? fall for sure!
T-tag 8 people- jodi, tiff, nae, natalie, sara, heather, candi, catie
U-Unknown Fact? i am my mothers favorite child! ;)
V-Very Favorite store? it would be a toss up between wally-world and super tarje'
W- Worst habit? my massive amount of caffine intake
X- X-Ray or Ultrasound? x-rays are fun
Y- Your favorite food? probably chicken enchiladas
Z- Zodiac? virgo

the new ones

2008-09-03T12:22:00.003-06:00

Keller & Alli are around 6 months old now... they're getting to that fun age... so i thought i'd show off our two new whicker kids... i kinda like 'em... especially on my fun rugs.... betcha can't guess which one's jodi's and which one's jarrets! haha!

first day of kindergarten

2008-08-31T19:15:00.003-06:00

apparently i'm a little behind everyone had their first day of school pictures up forever ago... but drey and porter didn't start kindergarten until last week anyways... so i made them sit outside for a quick first day photo shoot... these two are too funny.....

the 5th year begins.....

2008-08-25T13:35:00.004-06:00

it was a quick trip for pictures. he was gone to jodi's when i got home, and then i decided at 8 it might be the only chance i have to get pictures around his 5th birthday... so we drove out to west mountain and pulled over... it got dark fast, but i think i got some i like.

it was SO hot! i wanted to cool off.....

2008-08-14T08:51:00.003-06:00

ok, not completely true. but since this is a pretty funny story i decided it was to good to keep to a small circle of friends.

so there i was, hotter that i've ever been, walking around the Salt Lake Temple taking pictures of Dr. Funnyboy's son. when we decided for a shot on the reflecting pond on the other side. Dr. Funnyboy stayed on the far side to get the picture while i followed the bride and groom to set them up all cute ya know. so here i am on the ledge trying to fix and do my thing, when i decided i could probably balance myself on the dry ledge and the wet ledge of the reflecting pool.....

that wasn't a very good idea.

my flip flop immediately betrayed me and slipped right off the wet ledge. my right leg leading the way for me to sit, yes sit, right in the reflecting pool. now i hope you haven't forgotten that the good Dr. was on the other side of the pool with his camera, so indeed there are pictures of the aftermath of the incident, or as Dr. Funnyboy likes to call it, "jamisplash.com" (he thinks he's so funny.... ok, it is pretty funny.)

anyways.... with a few pictures yet to get, i trudged around the rest of the temple wet from my waist down. luckily i was in black so you could barely tell, besides the squidge noise that came from my flip-flops every time i took a step and the trail of water that was somehow following me. i just figured it was kinda like that footsteps poem ;)

anyways, like i said, it was pretty hot, and i just did what everyone else was thinking about doing....... sure ;)

this is me being all dry.....

this is me being all wet.... pretty sure that was the first step out...

still really happy i didn't get my camera in there... i'm pretty sure Mrs. Funnyboy was cracking up at this point. I'm surprised Dr. Funnyboy could take a break from laughing to continue shooting, i'm impressed with his abilities......

this is when i figured out he had a camera over there... he shows promise that one....

don't forget to notice the pretty ripples i put in the pond for everyone to enjoy....

My baby is 5!

2008-08-13T14:22:00.002-06:00

ok, so he's not a baby, but i can't believe i have a 5 year old thats ready to start kindergarten! time flies. so to start the birthday off we had the last day of swimming lessons and Nana had a surprise for drey. i'll admit i was a little worried about her needing a bale of hay, but i knew it wouldn't be too bad cause it wouldn't be able to stay at her house. so she busted out the hit of the day, the steer head. complete with ropes and gloves for the boys to practice.

then it was home for presents and birthday cake, nothing to exciting, but Drey kept saying he wasn't 5 until he blew out his candles, so i guess we had to make it official. and apparently drey knows how to light matches! (that was news to me) so he lit his candles and blew 'em out. then it was off to the Owlz game. i got free tickets from my work, sweet, and my big bro even came down from the big city! the boys are always so excited to see eachother. so with not too much time left to play i thought the owlz were gonna lose on drey's birthday. but they threw his name up on the screen, i got my dang picture, and i told my brother, you watch a homerun right here ties up the game. sure enough, he hit a homerun and we had extra innings. the owlz ended up winning, and we watched a couple of old timers in the home run derby. it was a pretty fun day, even though my baby turned 5....

drey stopping for a pose on the way in, nana will love this one!

the biggest otter pops i've ever seen!

last day of swimming lessons...

2008-08-10T18:14:00.003-06:00

its official.. my child is now a better swimmer than me. this is no surprise though, i don't swim, i sink like a rock...

The "Uh"lympics......

2008-08-09T11:16:00.010-06:00

I used to think Golf was the most 'non' athletic sporting event you could find.

boy was i wrong....

So i got home from work last night ready to watch the olympics, i love the olympics. Especially the summer ones. They are truly a testament to an atheletes physical superiority. So i turned on the tv.... fencing was on. Well thats neat. I guess its been around for along time, its probably pretty cool to do, i'll wait for the next event to get better....

Badminton.... wow.

The intensity of hitting a shuttle cock in a court the size of my bathroom! I was unable to take my eyes off the screen!! It was between the American, Eva Lee, and her Canadian nemisis, whom she's never defeated, Ann Rice.

(yes this is our 'American' badminton team member....)

So after watching Eva fall to Rice in a nailbiting 3rd game i was ready for the next event.

Air Rifle Target Shooting! Hmmmm....

You know they actually wear super stiff leather to prevent their bodies from shaking. I mean the physical demand it must take to train for that is unreal....

Next.....

EQUESTRIAN!!!!

Talk about physical superiority of an athlete, they jump, twist, run, trot and do it with such grace and beauty.... the horse of course.... why in the crap is this an olympic sport, give the horse the freakin medal, you didn't do anything but ride and steer!!!!

So, after watching these i realized why they would want to remove softball and baseball as an olympic sport....... i mean one of the most difficult things to do is hit a moving object with another moving object, why would we want THAT as an olympic sport?!?

I did get to watch Volleyball today, so that renewed my hope in the olympics. plus i know the 'athletes' are still yet to come. Gymnastics, swimming, running... you know...

Breaking Dawn is the book... not when you should be up to buy it

2008-07-31T15:13:00.003-06:00

don't get me wrong, i really loved the Twilight saga and i'm really excited for the final book. not so excited that at midnight tonight i'm gonna go wait in line to get a wristband, and then wait in line again to go buy it. i'm not throwing a vampire party, my life will not be complete when i find out if its edward or jacob. (personally, i bet she dies or something and ends up with neither..)

everyone is always on the computer watching the movie trailer, or reading every website dedicated to twilight. i'm a fan, not a fanatic. plus the trailer looks stupid as heck. i'm excited for the movie, but i hope it starts looking better than what i saw.

anyways; i worked last night and jodi took drey so i could sleep. my sister is so great she even took him to kindergarten registration for me! i love her! (she was also nice enough to sign me up for the PTA, or another name i like to call the P(I)TA, pain in the .... )so while i'm trying to sleep i probably have twenty some odd text messages on my phone that say, come to my breaking dawn party, come sit at wal-mart with me. oh yes, please let me, i would love to... hmmm... nah. i think i'll just hang at home and get mine from the ups guy at noon when he brings it right to my door....

and just for the record........ i'm routing for Edward.

Rainbows

2008-07-27T17:36:00.005-06:00

My life is full of rainbows!!

ok, so this blog is dedicated to some friends of mine. since she decided that sometimes peoples blogs turn into a popularity contest, i decided i would put up here the Rainbows of my life ;)
(ok i don't have a picture of a rainbow, but at least its colorful)

1. i drink WAY to much soda! a good day is when i only have 3 or 4.

2. i work 4 different jobs, and have almost no spare time. i love the hospital, just hardly any babies coming -the gas station, my social life! - coaching at SFHS this year, love volleyball season - pictures, i tend to stick with friends and family but it keeps me very occupied.

3. everyday is a fight with my soon to be 5 year old about what clothes he's going to wear. he refuses to wear shorts, and will always pick the smallest shirt he owns to wear. he almost never has shoes on, and his pants wont stay up cause he looks like a starved orphan from ethiopia.

4. my father has a constant struggle every day of his life. its hard to watch the man who used to do everything for me and my family no rely on us so much.

5. my mother is the best person i know, and to say we get along like cats and dogs would be an understatement. 'nuff said....

6. (don't tell any cops!) my car is unregistered, has been for 5 months, which brings me closer to my 2006 record of 13 months i'll chalk that up to the fact the gas is a kick in the face everytime you need it. (did you know if you pay with cash you get ten cents off/gallon of gas at any CREST! little advertisement for my job.)

7. my hair has not seen Kalli since February and she's going to kill me when i go next month. my roots are so bad my child asked me why have two colors of hair, not one like everyone else.

8. for me to finish nursing school has become, well, a very long term goal. its going to cost me as much to finish my pre-requisites as the entire program, when did college become so expensive!

9. whenever the wii comes out, some nunchucks are thrown, some tears are shed, and someone's heart is broken because "he can't win!" porter likes the hunting games, drey likes the olympics, we can never compromise.

10. i have some great friends that i never see or talk to cause i don't have time, what kind of friend does that make me? 2 of them live less than 2 miles from me! i suck.

but with all said, i figure there has to be rain to get a rainbow anyways.

Happy 24th!

2008-07-25T11:40:00.007-06:00

dreyton & porter

dreys circles

drey and porter watchinng jakes fireworks
What does Jakes say?more circles from drey
Keller fell asleep like this and Nana thought it was the cutest thing
What does jodi's say? porter

The holiday didn'y play out exactly how i planned, but of course we made it fun! BBQ at my sisters while the boys played with sparklers. Jodi snapped a couple of pictures of me and Drey since we never get our pictures taken. I even tried something fun with the camera and sparklers! see if you can guess what Jake's says!

Grandpa Jack is 79!

2008-07-23T17:03:00.006-06:00

We had a party for Grandpa Jack's 79th birthday! of course it rained, but we still had fun! i even brought the wii down and we played guitar hero and mario kart, it was fun to get everyone together. ...

grandpa jack blowing out his candles
my beautiful mother... and her mother, grandma edna...
"the boys" porter april 2003, coleman march 2003, colby february 2003 and dreyton august 2003, yes the 4 of them are only 5 months in age difference.
playing mario kart on the wii
auny cheryl and mallory and bizzy
drey with mal's dog

drey and paige eatin some cake and ice cream

aunt terri and kyle coleman, abby, and alli, the three kids that managed to look just like my brother but still be cute!

sunset

2008-07-23T15:21:00.003-06:00

i've been chasing lightning now for two summers, i'm still trying to catch some, but i got a great sunset the other day while i was waiting. this is all the same sunset too, just as time passed. it's always fun to be out with my camera by myself.

4th of July

2008-07-13T21:22:00.011-06:00

this holiday is by far my favorite. it beat last years when i had to sleep on a hard wood floor by far! but the Beck's let us go to Shalom and cruise around on 4-wheelers, Eat junk the whole time, and canoe on the lake. somewhere in there the boys always squeeze in a paint ball game. Drey always has a blast, but i had to work this year so it was a short camping trip. but i worked on pictures and took some for my self for the first time in a while. so it was worth it. Jana hobbled around in my purple croc due to the removal of her big toenail, thanks to her favorite daughter, yes thats me. and we even managed to get John up there somehow. and good ol uncle Kendall got a spark back in him! i thought kendall was going to pee his pants when we were getting ready to leave and john decided to shake my can of Dr. Pepper while i wasn't looking, thats a classic john. but some highlights were the dirty, dusty kids chasing what porter called the "pop tarts" and the girls rode to the tree with a butt for pictures. good times. thanks to everyone for the good times! love you all!

Drey's Summer Shots

2008-07-03T16:49:00.007-06:00

i love the faces my child can pull. most of the time those are my favorites. it shows his true personality. he's so used to having me take his pictures its almost like work for him now... but i'll never get tired of it!

late swimming lesson pics

2008-07-01T13:58:00.003-06:00

i've had them, just never put them up. but the boys miss swimming lessons. our next session will be at the new Payson pool... ooooh how exciting!!!!!

Tigger & Eeyore

2008-06-30T12:29:00.013-06:00

Oh i love these two! I was talking with my friend the other day describing how different they were and the best description i came up with was Tigger & Eeyore, can you guess which is which?

Tee Ball aka... Rookie Ball

2008-06-28T19:02:00.003-06:00

I know my sisiter had a blast running Rookie Ball this year! Parents are so helpful when it comes to their children participating in things.... But the boys probably had more fun than her! They loved going! I'm just glad it was done before this heat came.

tHe ZoO!!!

2008-06-16T13:12:00.004-06:00

We went to the zoo!.... and thats about what it was.... crazy people everywhere and the kids couldn't see everything fast enough! It was fun though! The kids all saw their favorite animals, got to see a Tiger up close and get trained, we got squirted by an elephant, which by the way turned 48 the day after we were there, the oldest elephant in captivity... It was a fun day! One of the highlights was the little penguin standing by the door... we called him Happy Feet, it was a funny picture i couldn't pass up..

spring has sprung

2008-05-28T14:56:00.003-06:00

the boys had a photo shoot outside today cause the weather is finally warm! these are some of the funny candid ones i love! they learned how to throw the peace sign from their older cousins. they look pretty hard on the trikes.

pre-school graduation

2008-05-28T11:41:00.005-06:00

Drey & Porter graduated from Miss Julie's pre-school! The program was "Children From Around The World" so... Drey went as a chinese boy, maybe his clothes were a little too small... and Porter went as.... well... we're still not quite sure, i like to call him the Japanese Michelin Boy... They did great though! They both knew their parts and sang so good!

over in the garden....

2008-05-26T15:32:00.003-06:00

Aunt Jodi plants a garden at her house every year. Drey LOVES to help. He gets pretty excited cause he knows he'll have pumpkins for Halloween and Corn, he loves corn. I got to stay in the house and babysit while everyone else worked.

trying this out

2008-05-23T12:01:00.000-06:00

well i tried it out for the pictures so i'll try it out for me and drey so the fam can keep up with whats going on. i'll get some recent pictures up soon and hopefully i can keep up on this.... maybe i'll be better at this than e-mailing or calling...