Tuesday, July 8, 2008

4th of July, not so independent anymore.

This has been a 4th of July we will never forget. I hate how bad things sometimes happen around special events. Like you may have heard before, "I always hated my birthdays that was the day my ( fill in the blank with something terrible!) ."
We have always been lucky to not have any holidays that also remind us of something sad to make us not want to celebrate. Until...
This 4th of July we spent in the hospital with Brian's parents. On that day, Brian's dad was diagnosed with Leukemia. (Officially called AML).
I hope that we will not look back on this 4th and feel sad. Although he is very sick and there are still a lot of trials ahead for the family. There has been some positive things. Brian's Parents have had an optimistic attitude, and they have great faith. Brian's Mom keeps saying that she knows Heavenly Father knows them, and knows what they need. They are hopeful that the treatments will do their job. The Jones family has come closer together with relatives that have not always been so close. Faith and prayers have been tested and strengthened. We, and others have had the opportunity and to serve.
My father in-law started Chimo-therapy on Friday and he is already feeling, better. His blood work is showing improvement. Then after we left to come back to California they found a, staff infection, and the Chimp is staring to make him pretty sick. I will keep updating on his condition.
It seems to be the trend to take unplanned trips to AZ, celebrate with family, experience someunexpected announcement, enjoy the dry air, warm breeze and thunder storm. This trip still the same, considering everything we still have another great trip to AZ!
A word about our country, I love this country, The Constitution, The founding fathers of the United states were inspired men. Everything may not be right but somethings still are. With my father-in-law in the hospital he is receiving the best treatment available and given great care thanks to the hospitals, doctors, and nurses in our great country. Please remember Brian's Parents in your prayers!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Garden Journal Entry #2

Remember back when we were all Jazzed for gardening? Those cute little plants grew tall and I thought they were almost ready to go out side so I took them in the direct sun light for a few hours, as instructed my the information pamphlet, and the little sprouts got sun burned and died a few days later. Then we put off gardening until school was out and we knew out summer plans better.

A few weeks ago Brian planed our garden. We have a banana tree, basil, yellow peppers and Jalapeno peppers (from last year) cilantro, lettuce, cantaloupe, pumpkin, and 3 tomato plants. I am exited to see how these grow! We could have a nice salsa, and salad. The kids loved the water Mellon last year I bet they will love the pumpkin! I love that Brian loves to garden. I enjoy researching how to grow, harvest, get rid of pest, water, feed and even cook the veggies. Brian got creative with the web tomato cage. Well see how our garden grows this year!

Mis-directed, missionary inspired, friendly, mexican, water balloons!

The day started out uneventfully and even a little annoying. The weather was not hot but I had then mad feeling you feel inside when its too hot, and your mad for no good reason just that its hot. It could of been the kids making me mad with constant whining, complaining, and mess making. I might have been mad because I did not get our regular Friday night date together. Instead we took the kids to the Chicken Pie Shop last night. For whatever reason I was on the verge of mad. I though a day some time at the park would be a nice change, wear the kids out, and give me a beak. I borough a book, and Brian packed the bikes.

When we got there about 3:30 the park was busy with a kids birthday party full of happy Mexican kids, parents and grandparents. Not an unusual sight to see here, (or most any park we go to). Katie walked right up the the group, passed the food table, the gifts, and made friends with a little girl. I waved her to follow us and said a quick hello. Then we sat at a empty picnic table away from the group, I sat on the ground by the table to play with Susan. Shortly after we sat down, some kids from the party ran by and threw a water balloon at each other. The balloon missed the kid it was supposed to hit, and hit the ground next to me getting me wet! I half yelped and laughed. The table close to us, full of fathers, apologized quickly. Soon after, they invited me to come eat, saying they had a lot of food. I said, "Oh thanks, Maybe we'll come over." and stayed where I was getting out my book, after about the third person invited us over we came and got a plate. There was a lot of food, and it was good! They brought us water bottles, juices, a grandma came over with warn tortillas, everybody made us feel welcome. They invited us to break Pinata with the kids, and have some birthday cake. All the time they were very friendly especially the man who first invited us over, Wilfredo.

Brian and I have talked before about how we love, and admire in the Mexican Culture that they are so family oriented. All generations and extended family are co close. At this party there was a few great grandparents. I have learned that in the Mexican Culture they are also very friendly. Brian and I were Ward Missionaries in Provo while, we were there the Stake President asked the ward missionaries to go around the entire ward and knock on doors asking who was LDS, and who went to the Spanish branch, or who was Spanish speaking, but was not LDS. We had fun and I noticed quickly the Spanish speaking people LDS or not were very friendly. They almost always invited us in. Some offered us food and wanted to chat for a while. This party was so different they were so pleasant to be around!

Brian got to talking with Wilfredo. He was impressed with Brian's Spanish and that led to the Mission and being Mormon. Will said he used to go to the Mormon church and wants to go back but had not yet. We had a nice talk with him and hopefully he will feel more welcome and a greater desire to go back. He said he and his wife want to be married in the Temple, I hope they do! We felt so welcome and had a great afternoon! Thanks to feeling the need to get out, and getting hit with a miss directed water balloon.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Korea House & Flying Airplanes at Liberty Station

For Brian's Birthday (back on June 14th) he wanted to go to Sho Gun. The Japanese restraint with a big grill at the table and the chief comes and does a coking performance throwing food in the air, with big flames coming up, and big knives tossing the food then they chop everything right in front of you. After dinner we were planning on going to go to the Adult Session of Stake Conference, so we could go to dinner for too long. When we got to Sho Gun we realised every time we came before was a weekday and the weekend was too busy to come in a sit right down. So we left and drove down Convoy Dr. where there is a lot of Asian restaurants looking for some good place to eat. I noticed the Korean House and thought the outside looked like a fun place to try out, and it was!


We were able to come in and sit right down. At the table we were surprised to find our own grill in the middle of the table. That was an ironic and pleasant surprise. With you order for dinner comes about 12 small sides. Everything was new to us, pickled jicama, bean sprout salad, fish noodles, spicy cabbage salad (Kimchi), seaweed soup, broccoli and a spicy sauce, and more stuff that we didn't even know. Brian had a great time he got to do the grilling! They put our main dishes on the grill and gave us the tongs then came by every once in a while to help us. It was a fun experience to try so many new foods and cook ourselves. For desert they brought fresh oranges.
The picture is not from us but our dinner looked just like this!

Our Next Date:
I have been trading babysitting with a friend Jen. I watch her kids Mondays and she watched mine Friday afternoons. This Friday (June 20th) we took extra time because I will be watching her kids 2 times next week. Brian and I used the time to go on another date. We This time we went to Liberty Station. It is a neat place. It used to be the Navy recruiting and training Station opened in 1920's that closed in 1997 but had now been reopened and remodeled into a shopping, business center. It is still being remodeled but a few stores are open. Less stores then I thought but it was still neat to walk around. The place is beautiful! We had lunch and Panera Bread Bakery and Deli then waled to Ace Hardware. Because Brian's birthday was Monday it is still his Birthday week I told him that was why it was ok to go to Ace for a date. Really thought Ace Hardware was fun! My favorite part of Ace was in the women's bathroom. What the heck? Why did they do this? Its just so funny to me! Brian called it a Head to Head Toilet face off. I just had to take a picture of this! What other funny captions on this photo?

Next adventure was with the Balsa Wood Airplane. I have never played with one before and was thrilled when it too off! They are light enough that a rubber band twisted to cause tension that powers the propeller is enough to make it fly. It was fun playing right in the middle of the beautiful court yard. The place it still so new half the buildings were vacant and the others open to the street so there was almost nobody there. It was a perfect place to fly! It was fun to be spontanious and enjoy each other on another date.


Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Clever! Cute. and "Hey blog this!"

I must say I can be pretty darn clever...

Getting my kids and Nephews to clean the carpet and kitchen floor for the reward of an ice cream cone. It worked well enough on the carpet that I noticed a change the next morning. Just rags, warm water and a little soap, lots of scrubbing and rinsing!

..and lets face I can create some cute stuff! I decorated the back of a cheesy duckling puzzle for one of my favorite Primary girls as a get well gift.
I wanted to get her a "feel-better-duck" but couldnt find any toys other then the puzzle of some ducklings (actually I think they might have been chicks) in a super cheesy basket


In the Fuller Family we have a tradition of giving each other "fee-better-duckies" (usually a stuffed toy) my Dad gave Jenny one first after some bad sickness and named it the feel-better-duckie. The cute name and idea stuck . I wanted to share this tradition with Elisabeth and giver her a little get well gift. The puzzle wasn't cute enough for my standard so I decorated and personalised the back. I was happy with how it turned out.


As I finished creating a crayon masterpiece my supportive husband removed a hot dog from the package. He then placed it on a plate then proceeded to to microwave hit the 30 seconds button then enjoyed a late night snack as he mumbled, "Hey Blog this!"

For Fathers day I had another cute idea. I took a regular silk, tie and let the kids decorate the front with fabric paint. I think it turned out very cute. Then I painted the back, that was aslo cute but made it hard to tie.



As I was getting out the camera Katie kept complaining about the invisible ouwie on her foot. When she saw the camera she asked me to take a picture. She brobably would have said "Blog this!" If she knew thats what I do with the pictures.






Tuesday, June 17, 2008

What the kids have been up to, Graduation, Sports day, Beach with Browns

Preschool Graduation was actually before our camping trip (June 2nd just for posterity.) We have truly enjoyed 0ur preschool ,and graduation was just as great. Brian and Katie got to preform. Brian went first, he sang, "This is the Season" Right before he went on he said to me, "Mom, I love taking into a microphone." I hope he never grows out of that! He did a great job, he forgot how the last two verses begin and leaned over to me to say, "mom, whats next?" it was sweet. He did very well and looked very handsome in his Sunday best.

This year Katie also got to preform. Last year she was too scared the only thing she said into the microphone was "NO!" This year she was so good! She sang "If You Chance To Meet A Frown" I had to tell her every line even though she has it memorised. Then she would sing very clearly into the microphone. She was very well liked. She also likes to be on stage and perform. The video camera stopped working during Brian's performance and the camera didn't pick up Katie's singing very well.

The Graduation ceremony was sweet. Teacher Marina has never had such a big graduating class so it was a little crazy with 19, 5 and 6 year olds on the stage then adding 10 or more to that with the younger kids. Still thought it was sweet and the children's performances were fun to watch.

We we were able to get a couple pictures of the kids friends. One of Brian's pictures is with Tally a girl who he told the whole class he loves on Valentines Day, In front of everybody she said, "I don't love you." I guess he didn't believe her because they still play together. One of Katie Bella's pictures is with her friend Bella. I made her shirt for a service trade with Bella's mom for Acupuncture!

The Saturday after camping was the primary Sports Day. Brian thought it was a holiday and wanted to decorate for it. He was so exited! He practiced running and really wanted to win a trophy. The activity was a success! Brian and Katie had lots of fun, they did not to a race like Brian wanted, but he had fun with all the other games. He was in the group with one of his favorite teachers, Sister Richie. We love the Richies. Brian (Sr.) and I agreed soon after we moved here that Brother Richie remind us more of Daddy then anybody I know. Sister Richie and Brother Richie taught Nursery when we first moved here and now she teaches Music in Primary. The kids love her! She is so comfortable with them and they genuinely feel like she loves them.

At the activity Susan got to socialise with lots of her friends. She especially enjoyed Pam. Another teacher in primary who loves the babies in the ward. Susan was drawn to Pam from the first time we sat next to her. Pam is so friendly and animated she and also genuinely loves Susan. Pam, and Susan's other good friend Cindy, used to watch Susan every Sunday while Brian and I taught primary. Susan and all my kids love Pam. Pam teaches Elementary School and she is such a good teacher, she treats kids like they are her friends in the way she talks and disciplines them, it is very effective she is awesome.

Brian did not get a trophy at the activity but he did get a gold medal and they everybody had a great time.

On Friday we had another Beach day. This time it was with the Browns. Jenny, my sister and brother in law Shawn Brown and this was with his extended family family. They are very welcoming always lots of fun and great food! They invited us to Huntington Beach for a bonfire and cook-out. The beach we went to was a state park which means, it was clean, there was lots of fire pits, not too many people, great parking all worth the fee to get in.

Brian and Katie fit in so well with them! I think there was 10 kids all under 10 (or just barley? under?) That sounds crazy but they all played together well and kept each other busy enough that the parents could relax. Soon after we got there Alex one of the little Brown cousins ran up to me and said "Katie is my new friend." Brian played well with the boys there were 4 of them and they all like to play the same way he does. Digging, running, throwing stuff into the fire. After the kids played in the Ocean they all wrap ed themselves up in towels and 6 of them snuggled next to each other, it was very cute!

Aunt Jenny is always fun. She took the kids to fly a kite. She told them to yell up! up! up! When the kite would start to go down. In this video the kids are yelling and jumping up to get the kite up. The camera picked up more wind noise then anything but its still cute. They had a lot of fun with Jenny, Shawn, Lacy and the Browns! Thanks for inviting us!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Brian's 29th

Brian turns 29 today. I kinda loose track of my age (I am 26) because I don't really think about it very much. Most of my friends now are older then me, some are younger, it doesn't really matter to me. With one year till 30 it has me thinking and I hope I do not offend anybody when I say I am scared to turn 30. I think 40 will be great, 50, 60 and so on will be great, but 30 just scares me. I know 30 is the new 20, but not really. For me I am not afraid that I will feel like I haven't accomplished enough to be 30, but I am afraid of looking old, feeling old, getting fat, having bad hair,...(not that women in their 30's are that way! just I am afraid I will be)

Brian just turned 29 he has one short year left to be young, live it up, be in college, be spontaneous then he will have to grow up. Get serious about a career, a stable place to raise the kids, pay off the debt of Law School. We have always been very responsible with raising a family, attending the temple, paying tithing, paying bills., all the serious stuff. But we still act young we stayed up till 2:00am for no good reason last night! We go on dates every other weekend! We are totally spontaneous. We move every year or every 2 years. We have been very blessed with great health, healthy kids, cute kids, 2 cars, and so much more. Sure we have had trials but in the end we have been very blessed. Now I just hope things will keep flowing nicely the way always they have. I hope we can take on the next responsibilities and bear the weight well. Enough of that! back to the Birthday Boy.

Let me tell you why I love Brian. He makes me laugh. We have so much fun together! He laughs at my jokes, (except when I am sarcastic, he taught me to be sarcastic but can't seem to read my sarcasm!) and I love his laugh, Its so genuine and doesnt hold back when something makes him laugh. He is very sweet to the kids very gentile and loving when they were new born babies, he was a natural from the start.. He wants to take Brian Jr on trips, and teach him about cars, tools and everything he does, he is so exited for Father and Son's camping trips. Brian is so thoughtful when someone is having a problem he is always very concerned for them and wants to make it all better. Brian loves for everyone to be together and feels bad when someone is left out. Everyone loves Brian he is a loyal friend. I love that Brian always wants to Choose the Right. He is very sensitive to the spirit of discernment and makes righteous choices. Brian is so smart! He is the know-it-all! He knows so much about so many things! He loves to tell stories, I often have to ask him to get back to the first story because he gets side traced with other stories but he is a great story teller! Brian never says another girl is pretty, hot or cute, even if he thinks it, and that makes me feel so confident. He loves his family so much, and mine too! He is so supportive of family gatherings with my family and from the first time he met my family he fir right in. Brian loves me so much and wants to be a better person. He is a faithful priesthood holder. He is everything I thought I wanted in a husband and so much more I didn't know I need! I think I married a great man and am lucky to be with him for many more Birthdays! Happy Birthday Babe!