Jocelyn's Splish Splash 2nd Birthday Bash!

I can NOT believe it's been a year! Well, I guess I can since a lot has happened, but this is Jocelyn when she turned one. Look at how much they change in just one single year! I saw this and couldn't believe it. :>

 Bodie, Jocelyn & Bella at her party last year

... and now she's 2! Not a baby anymore! Very much a little girl, toddling around!
Expressing her personality every minute of the day.

A few of Jocelyn's aged friends came to slip & slide around to celebrate her birthday! We went to my Grandparent's back yard to soak up the sun. Here are some of the highlights! Fun lil kiddos with great spunk! The Dad's got to play a lil soccer game too! 

Bye Bye everyone! Thanks for a fun birthday! LOVES&HUGS

We had a special Father's Day

Thanks, Derek, for loving Jocelyn with all that you are! 

You're an excellent Daddy & I couldn't ask for you to love her more! 

She get's SO excited when Daddy comes home! 

It's nice for all of us, they always have Daddy/ Daughter time once he's home. 

He is always making her laugh & giggle! 

He teaches her little tricks, silly dance moves & most recently to pray (with help of course)! 

We are so blessed to have him light up our home! 

I love you, Derek! JoJo does too!

My parents arrived just in time for us to be spoiled! 

My mom got to be with her dad & I got to spend Father's Day with my daddy too! 

It's been a while since that has happened! So what a treat! 

Jocelyn made that paper tie for Derek in NURSERY! :> SO FUN!

like father~like daughter!
He's the best! I love you, dad!

Hey pretty Mamas, need a pick-me-up?

the great outdoors

it's been a few, many years since i've been camping! ;> so it was lovely to get the chance! we met my parents at beaver lake with my grandparent's camper! aside from the recent discussions i'd had with my cousins about bears in utah attacking children and not being able to sleep without jumping at every lil noise, it was great! :> really though, it was a great time! i did wake up to pochacco, our family dog, growling and making "bear" noises in her sleep! hahaha what, she was right next to me!

my parents drove up from fresno for jocelyn's 2nd birthday & to help us prep for moving. time flies when you have things to do! it went by so quickly but was a pleasure to have them visit. more pictures coming soon!

A tribute from Derek on Home Teaching

"I love technology!" ... and I miss it so much

Dearest Erika (my new neighbor),


Thank you for allowing me to use your internet for the moment! I just want to let you all know that we moved! It's been smooth! I've got a couple boxes left for my book shelf, but other than that we are IN! Loving it! We went to our new ward today and everyone has been very nice. They have been quick to welcome us! Pictures from our new place, Jocelyn's 2nd birthday and so on! Sorry, hopefully we will get HOOKED UP this week! :>

I'm just singing Kip's song, "I love technology! It is so good to me!" It keeps me in the know! I miss knowing about my peps!

Just to announce to the world I did get to see ECLiPSE and to all the haters, GO SEE IT! Just see it! It's better than the other two. So if you can get into the Vampire/Wolf thing it's great. I ENJOYED myself!

Ok, my day is complete. Loves to all! Hope to blog more SOON!

loves&hugs,
HiLL

To those who wait

Thanks Angie, for showing this to me. It's so perfect. And I know that we all go through our ups and down. And this last month things have been getting so good I'm almost expecting something bad. So I'll just enjoy these wonderful things right now. I FEEL as though it's been a long time coming. That these good tidings took a little while. But I know we have been blessed faster than so many, especially in this economy!

Derek received a promotion after being with Marriott just 5 months! He got lucky in some ways, this position just happened to open, and it wasn't expected at all! The interview process took a whole month before he found out he got the position. He is now a Sales Manager for Residence Inn & Courtyard Marriott. This did come with a pay increase & that has taken a huge load off our shoulders!

We are moving! Not too far from where we are now, still the same town, but we are moving to a duplex that's about the same size (a little smaller) but it has a yard, A/C, a MUCH lower utility bill, and $155 less a month! So we had to do it! It won't be the MOST fun packing and unpacking... again! But in the long run it's well worth it! Now you get to see more pictures of our new place. hahahaha LUCKY YOU

Derek got a car of his own! (he prob won't like me showing you this, but I'm proud of him!) Evidence that patience while looking gets you a STEAL OF A DEAL. We have been sharing and it has left me at home a lot. Since it was winter weather and cold it was ok but it's so nice to have my own wheels to go to visit friends, family and Jocelyn & I can go to some fun activities. We went to the Aquarium with Liz recently and it was SO MUCH FUN! JoJo loved it! She was in shock for the first half! So we will be going back there soon!

SO MUCH FUN! We love animals!

I'm not too sure how to phrase this, but I had a unique challenge presented to me... a very kind relative offered me a nice amount of money for a new wardrobe if I could get within 20lbs of my wedding weight by June 1st. Seeing as how after Jocelyn was born I kept all the pregnancy weight on, I was 65lbs over my wedding weight! And after feeling defeated at times, I SOMEHOW MANAGED TO DO IT! I have lost 45lbs! I still have 20 to get where I ought to be, but I have, after almost 2 years, got all my "baby weight" off. It's a big deal. If you haven't had a lot of weight to lose you just don't understand the constant struggle and emotional roller coaster we ride. So to any of you that have some lbs you want to lose, don't give up! If I can do it, you can do it! I've learned a lot through this, about myself and I'm grateful to the many people who helped me get moving! And taught me how to monitor what I am eating. THANK YOU! And THANK YOU to that special relative that was so kind to challenge me. Most of all I'm grateful to have some confidence back. Confidence in my appearance but more importantly knowing that I can do something that seemed impossible.

< this is my inspiration >

More good news, in 2 days my parents will be here! They are coming to celebrate Jocelyn's 2nd birthday! She is so excited to have them here! But I think they are more excited... it's nice to be a little closer than Hawaii! Not such an expensive trip! We are having a SPLiSH SPLASH FiSH party at my Grandparent's house. It's been fun to plan and shop for party decor, THANKS SOPHiE! I can't believe how Jocelyn is getting to be a little girl. She's not a baby anymore. So I guess I'll have to satisfy that itch asap! :D

Good things come to those who wait. I may not have waited as long as some of you for some successes in life, but Elder Holland is right, "Don't you quit! You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come til heaven.... but they come. It will be all right in the end!"

...believe in good things to come...