California Trip!

We finally visited Rick in Sunny California. He had Presidents day off so we decided to make a trip out of it. We had so much fun we didn't want to say goodbye by the end. We ended up going to Lego land, seaside aquarium(next to Lego Land), San Diego Zoo, Camp Pendelton, and the beach. I felt like we were really blessed to get amazing discount tickets for all the attractions. Even the lady in the Costco line told us where to park at Lego Land for free. It was so great! On Sunday we picked a Church(LDS of course) to go to. We ended up visiting the same ward as our friends, the Sommers, who were in our Las Vegas ward four years ago. It was a joyous reunion! I knew they lived in California somewhere. So we then spent the rest of the day together. We had dinner and played games. It was so wonderful of them. That Sunday was even a holiday(Valentines Day)! Below are pictures of our trip.
Camp Pendleton









A Beach by Oceanside





Sea life Aquarium


San Diego Zoo


These are some of the fun animals we saw.


Lego Land

These are some creations that are all made out of legos.
We thought they were so cool!

So much has happened since I last posted. I could say that I haven't had time to post anything, but really I haven't felt like it. Some things that have happened have been sad. There also have been very happy moments. I want to post most of it. So here it goes.

Sad moments...

On January 4th my cousin's wife Melissa was heading from St. George to Las Vegas to drop her exchange student off at the airport. Since she was coming this way we decide to spend the day together. Time passed and I was getting worried since I hadn't heard from her. Then I got the call from Matt ( my cousin) that she had been in a horrible car accident. My heart dropped. She was critically injured and was hanging on for her life. She hung on for two weeks and then passed away. I couldn't help but think this was God's will. It was her time to go. I was so sad for Matt and his beautiful daughter Dayna. I prayed fervently for Matt and Dayna that they would be comforted. The scripture in John 14:18 came to mind which says, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." We do not always know why things happen. What we do know is that there is a loving God who sees the whole picture. He does not abandon us. He loves us and has a plan for each one of us. This life on earth is but a small moment compared to eternity. Our hearts will be healed from sadness one day.

Melissa will be missed! Some of the things I will miss are;

Her laugh which could be heard anywhere in a room

Our heart to heart talks.

Playing Games

Borrowing things from her at camp

Hanging out and taking naps in her trailer.

Her kindness towards my children

Walking at 6:00 a.m. in the mountains

Her sense of humor

Missy, you were loved!

More sad moments...

During this same time we almost lost my step dad. He had a blood clot in his lung and several in his leg. Fortunately, he survived the whole ordeal. He was in the hospital for awhile. He had surgery. He now is at home recovering. He still has to be on oxygen part of the time.We are glad his time is not yet. He is such a great person. We love him and enjoy him very much! He is our Paka Tom!

Happy moments...

Halloween at Hogle Z00

Thanksgiving with the Brodericks


Air Show at Nellis Air Force Base


Christmas


My Cousin Heidi's wedding

My Cousin Heidi got married in December
just before Christmas. She is 32 and found
a wonderful guy! I'm so happy for her!

Preschool


Preschool was so fun! Unfortunately I need to simplify and
decided not to continue. They are such cute kids!

Double Digits!

Happy Birthday Jenna!

I can't believe by daughter is 10! She is growing

so fast!The things I love about Jenna are; she's

smart, beautiful, wants to do the right thing, adores

her dad, loves to laugh and have fun, gives 110%

most of the time, draws amazing pictures, has a

contagious smile, a good friend, a fantastic

sister, loves food as much as her mom, and gives

great hugs. ( Really I could go on and on because

I'm her mom, but I'll stop there). We are so glad

Jenna is a part of our family! I don't know what

I would do with out her.

Caged Animal?

I was outside cleaning the bottom of Brownie's Cage.

When I came back inside, this is what I found.

I had to take a picture!

Life Happens!

Rick got a contracted government job in California for a year.
Yeah! The only draw back is we are apart during the week.
He then joins us,his family, on the weekends. We really try
to enjoy every minute together!

My good friend always tells me Life is about the stories
you can tell. So I have a story that we will be telling for a
long time. So it began with Rick leaving California to come home
to his waiting family. He was traveling along and the gage
to tell you if your car is overheating went up. He had to
pull over. He waited for it to cool down. Then went on his
merry way. He then had to stop again. He called me to tell
me the situation. By then a cop had stopped. He assured
him he was O.K. He then repeated stopping and then going
very slowly. He finally made it to the Las Vegas Valley. By
then he was hearing clunking noises. He got to the "Spaghetti
Bowl". Then he heard "kaboom"! His car had started on fire.
Rick stopped and got out. His quick reflexes got his water jug
and fortunately put the fire out. He then had to wait there on
the freeway for the rescuing party ,namely Jason Watkins ,to
get him. The blessings of this episode are Rick is O.k,
He made it to the valley before the fire, and he had a job
before this happened.

This weekend, to say the least, we are looking for a new vehicle.

The Circus!

The Circus was in town! It was amazing! I'm not much

of a Circus person, but wow we were impressed. It was

the Shriner Circus which I think by far is better than

the Barnum and Bailey Circus. We even got to go down

on the floor after the show and see the animals!

Brownie the Queen!

This is what you get when you mix boredom

and creativity together! My girls along with

a friend made hats for Brownie for all occasions.

It made me crack up! So as you look below

tell us what hat you think is the best!

1) Rapunzel Brownie

2) Paris Brownie

3) 4th of July Brownie

4) Princess Pink Brownie

5) Wednesday Brownie

6) Super Brownie

7) Sunday Brownie

8) Christmas Brownie

9) Saturday Fun Brownie

10) Winter Brownie with ear muffs

11) Halloween Brownie