good & bad

the good...christmas at grandma's & grandpa's was a hit! we just love visiting them and all the aunts, uncles, and cousins-we have so much fun laughing, playing, and eating:) my in-laws are always such gracious & generous hosts-they spoil us rotten-and we are grateful:) santa was quite giving this year, to all of us. thank you to mom & dad for hosting us all and we're so sorry you got sick after we left-what a bummer.

now, the bad... we're still not in our house. we have an escrow extension so who knows how long it'll be before we have a house. i'm just hoping it'll be early january; it sure would make for a very nice birthday present:) anyway, we're hopeful. hope you all had a jolly christmas and we wish you an even better new year with lots of good times!

almost there...

yes, dec. 20th has come and gone-and we're still not in our new house:( BUT, because it's taking longer than expected to close everything(due to the other bank, thanks.) interest rates have gone down and that's a good thing for us:) a very good thing. so, we'll keep you posted-meanwhile, we're getting ready to leave for st. george tomorrow morning and the kids are so excited to see everyone. we wish all of you a fun filled merry christmas and a grand time with family and friends. we love you!

must be christmas

i was in a hurry as i was getting ready for my meeting yesterday. i was soooo hungry and only had a few minutes to get a bite to eat. i spotted the last yogurt in the fridge and inhaled it before nani could even ask me for a bite. still hungry and only a few seconds to spare, i fortunately remembered we had some of the most delicious flan i've ever eaten, right in my fridge. so i helped myself and it was a most delightful appetizer:) and for breakfast this morning i had some yummy fudge(courtesy of johanna), "death by chocolate" martha green cookie(oh so good), and a sinful chocolate chunk cookie from nancy. of course, i followed that up with a bowl of cheerios for nutrition. yeah...it must be christmas.

mese could be a kenny

looks like a balance of powers isn't going to happen soon in our home...the dr. "thinks" it's a girl. was it really all that bad having only sisters, kenny?

esp or christmas elf?

last week, carrie and i were talking about how we wanted sooo much to have some see's chocolates. we debated whether or not we should make the trip to our local bank who was selling the delectables for christmas. we never made it there but the craving was still haunting me. then sunday night i told mason, i WANT some see's chocolates and he said he'd "make it happen".(i love that response:) so, either someone knew what i was thinking or there's been a christmas elf lurking around our place, because last night i (ok, we) got a most welcome surprise at our door-SEE'S CHOCOLATES! oh thank you to whomever it was that granted my christmas wish(or pregnancy craving, doesn't mattter;) thanks for making my palate happy and my tummy smile:)

yes or no?

the 20th is just around the corner-literally, and we're wondering if escrow will close on time. i've already started throwing things out in the trash left and right-hoping that yes, we will be moving into our new home in 8 days or less.(not holding my breath on the less...or the 8 either). if anything, it's good to get rid of stuff that we haven't used in the last year or so. mason has brought home boxes for packing and honestly, i don't know if i want to pack anything til i know for sure that we're moving-should i hold my breath?

pearly whites

apparently this was the week for teeth happenings in our home. mason's wretched toothache turned into a root canal, of which i'm happy to report he's doing much better(thanks for all your positive thoughts). and mese lost his first tooth this week. he must have been good because the tooth fairy left 4 quarters under his pillow-he was stoked. he purchased 2 sets of erasers and a christmas pencil from the school library with his stash. and sila had a dentist appt. this week for 2 fillings...no problem right? i could never have been so wrong. we opted not to go with the "magic air" because last time she used it, it made her hyper(nitrous oxide or laughing gas is supposed to help you relax-go figure) so when the dental assistant asked me if she'd be using it today i said no. i didn't think sila needed it-she's a strong girl, she can handle it. (and a side note, the use of "magic air" is quite costly, $90 a sitting.) well they started doing their stuff and as soon as the drill started up, sila was in tears, crying that it hurt-but of course, it was too late, no going back now. so i held her hand, told her repeatedly that she'd be allright and to stop screaming, kicking, and moving her hands. it was not fun. the whole ordeal lasted about 5-7 minutes, but that's 5-7 minutes too long for me, thank you very much. so, what's the lesson learned? well, there's lots here. 1) cut back on sweets. 2)brush regularly, even when i don't feel like helping her. 3) rinse and floss. and 4) when in doubt, go for the "magic air" and go without groceries for a few weeks.

gobble, gobble, ouch

thanksgiving was tops! first off, we had glenna over for the week and that was fantastic! she's a great aunt and the kids just love having her around. and her sisters-in-law also love having her around for her mad babysitting skills;) we love you glenna. we had thanksgiving dinner at pat's and hershel's-it was super! they bought a ride-on train to keep the kids entertained and boy, was that a life saver! they loved it-and so did we. we hit the stores on black friday morning with our children-yes, we are a little crazy. but it was fun and not as bad as it could have been i suppose. and yesterday afternoon, mason and i took the kids to the park where we had a lovely picnic lunch before we headed home for some much needed naps. mason got the christmas lights up(with some help from sila) and it's beginning to look a lot like christmas at the patterson residence. to top off the weekend, we had a delicious dinner at the summers home last night and we had some good laughs as usual. unfortunately, mason came home with a monstrous toothache whose middle name was relentless. my poor husband was up all night in pain-i felt so sorry for him. he's taken everything under the sun to try and relieve the pain but alas, he has gone to urgent care where hopefully, they'll give him some antibiotics so he can sleep tonight. and there you have it, our week of fun,food,family,friends,and a toothache. we sure are blessed.

parlez vous francais?

after leaving my dad's house tonight, we decided to drive around and look at the christmas lights already up...and we drove by our house-you know, just to check on it;) meanwhile, sila and mese were in the back talking about how they can speak spanish. this is what we heard.

mason: hey sila, you can speak spanish?
sila: yes dad.
mason: ok, say something in spanish sila.
sila: bonjour, papa!
mason: uh, sila that's french.
sila: (giggling to herself) I CAN SPEAK FRENCH!

she was so tickled. and so were we.

correction

so sorry to tell you all that my charming husband knows a lot of things...but posting pics. on our blog in the right place is not one of them;) so if you'd like to see pics. of the house, you'll have to scroll down all the way to the bottom of the page-sorry for the inconvenience.

Below pictures of what could be our house

Below are some pictures of what may be our new house by Dec 20th. We are pretty excited.

41-79-83-19

we got a little anxious last night as we were waiting for mason to get home from school...so what else could we do but play scrabble! i know, you're thinking-scrabble with a 2, 4, & 6 year old??? but my children are so into playing board games these days, it was so much fun(after we got through the directions and rules of the game, which of course they really didn't get anyway). as you can tell by the scores in the title, the game didn't last very long and i did help them a lot with making words. but i tried not to help them too much, i still wanted to win you know.;) the last round started and wouldn't you know it, mese scored 30 pts. for his word! yikes! i thought i had been defeated-but lo, i ended up winning by just 4 pts., that was a close one. nani dropped out at about the 3rd round and was content just lining her tiles on the board anywhere she could and sila just wanted to make sure she always had 7 tiles. so, what are you doing tonight?

oops;)

so i realized that i've mentioned something concerning our family and a house...i should explain. as most of you know, we've been looking for a house these past few months and we've even put in a couple of offers, which were turned down. about 2 and a half weeks ago, we came across a very cute home and we put in an offer which the bank accepted! so here we are in the process of buying a house-and yes, i've heard the process is lengthy and strenuous(hence, mason's tummy problems:) and if everything goes well, we'll be moving in dec. 20th at the latest. i know, just in time for christmas-and what a fabulous christmas present that would be! we're very excited and grateful for your thoughts and prayers on our behalf. and, if we do get the house, according to mason,"you better believe we're putting up christmas lights!" i wouldn't have it any other way.

so over it already

it's been anything but fun here at the pattersons. mese's been home for 2 days now...stomach flu. i had it since sunday. sila had over the weekend and nani can't seem to kick this diarrhea bug. and mason...well, he's had stomach problems ever since we got the house! poor guy;) good news is, i'm much better-thanks to lots of sleep,prayer,and good sisters who are always there to help, and of course, my big, strong, handsome man-he really does so much, especially when i'm sick-thanks to nia and carrie, and thanks honey-i love you. mese will be heading back to school tomorrow. sila is well and nani just needs to stop sending me to wal-mart for more diapers and wipes. i keep trying to convince her that she can go potty in the toilet like sila, but she says,"i'm not a big girl mom." i'll wait til january, and then...it's on!

nia...nia...bo bia...

yesterday was nia's big 25-and we just want to wish you a very happy quarter of a century!!! like i said before, 25 was a lucky number for me, and who knows, it may be for you too. we love you much and hope all your dreams come true...that you'll find your heart's duet...your other half...your one true love...oh wait-i'm starting to sound like sila:) happy birthday girl!

weekend fun

wow! what a fun-filled weekend we had-
friday evening we stayed at randy's and ashley's where we hung out and ate homemade pizza(yum yum) and watched movies and had popcorn. early saturday morning mason and randy went fishing-no luck. fish weren't even biting. so, we went to honey's and had a most delicious breakfast(i had whole grain waffles with fresh berries-oh so good) then we headed out to do some shopping. mason found some great deals at penny's and later that evening while mason & i went to a friends wedding reception, ashley & randy were so kind and took the kids to legoland.
mason's former co-worker, crispin got married last week in colorado and had a reception here in san diego last night. can you say-WOW! it was at a really fancy shmancy hotel(tower 23) overlooking the beach-yes, i said the beach! it was awesome. it was so nice and mason and i helped ourselves to the open bar(we drank diet coke to our hearts content) and the sushi bar-yes, i said sushi bar! needless to say, we had a very enjoyable time and we'd like to go back someday(when we can save up enough money)anyone want to join us? so, here's to randy & ashley for taking care of our kiddies while we lived it up in style(for a night anyway) and to crispin and wayne-may you have many more happy times together and we wish you everything good in life!!!

America is the Best

Many you know of my deep resentment for Kobe Bryant and what he did to my Lakers. But my fewd ended, when he stuck it to a reporter who thought it was old fashioned and uncool to be down for the red white and blue during the summer games. Well I say God Bless America and we do know better than the rest of the world. I am thankful for W and all he has done for this country. Maybe it is time that we suffer a little so we can remember the value of an honest days work for an honest days pay, and that anyone who is willing to sacrifice can earn what they want. Government can not do what you can do for yourself. I am proud to pay my own bills, and take care of my family because that is my responsibility and my blessing. My family is happy because from our point of view we have all we need. That my friends is conservatism.

new nickname

this morning i put on "lilo & stitch" for the kids while i finished washing the dishes. apparently orin got into the computer armoir and pulled out the game "balderdash" and took every last card out and spread it all over the floor-this is what i heard.

sila: OH.....MY......GOSH!!! ORIN!!!! you're...you're like STITCH!!!

i had to laugh.

32 reasons...

how do i love thee? let me count the ways...
1.you're the most honest man i know
2.you're funny.
3.you're an awesome dad.
4.you're THE BEST husband.
5.you take good care of our family.
6.you're selfless.
7.you're compassionate.
8. you try hard to do what's right, all the time.
9.you're a worthy priesthood holder.
10.you look to see how you can help those around you.
11.you like to eat good food-you're palate is supreme:)
12.you're a good cook.
13.you're a good sewer.
14.you're very creative.
15.you're not afraid to do something and make a mistake.
16.you're a great teacher.
17.you enjoy a good joke.
18.it's fun watching you laugh.
19.you give good hugs.
20.you have a heart the size of texas.
21.you look for ways to serve others and your family.
22.you're the best friend everyone wants.
23.you're tenacious, persistent, and relentless.(all in good ways of course:)
24.you love the lord.
25.you love your family.
26.you love your friends.
27.you're a dancing machine!
28.you give your all.
29.you make time for me.
30.you have beautiful eyes.
31.you're responsible.
32.and last but not least, i love that you love me. you're the greatest blessing in my life and the kids and i love you to pieces. happy 32 honey!:)

and last, but not least...quirk no.6

#6- i am quite protective of my hair, i didn't want it touched or messed with after i fixed it-scratch that, i used to be protective of my hair...let me explain. i hated going to the beach because my hair would expand like no other, into a frizzy, gross mop. i hated the rain-for obvious reasons. i always used to straighten it because i didn't like the curls/waves. and i used to spend forever and a day on doing my hair(not to mention too much money on hair products). my hair was quite a stressful thing for me. well, all that has changed and i'm now a wife with 3 children, no time, no money, and my hair is the last thing i think of when i get up in the morning-i'm lucky if i remember to brush it. so there you have it. i guess you could say this is a past quirk-oh well, it works for me:)

quirk no.5 (almost there)

#5- i like to lock my doors whenever i'm home(that's 3 locks-2 on the screen door and one on the door) mason thinks it's ridiculous because i even lock the doors when he's home. but there you go. i don't think that's so quirky(but i'm trying to get this done!)

quirks 3 & 4 (they're related,kinda)

#3- i have STS(safe toilet syndrome). i (at all costs) try to avoid using the bathroom at any place other than my home. of course, that doesn't always work for me, so i just have to forego my comfort zone and (as mason likes to put it) take care of business. although i have to say i've gotten better. i know-weird.
#4- the bathroom door always has to be shut closed, especially while i'm eating. i don't like to smell anything coming from the bathroom. even when i'm not eating, i still don't want to smell anything coming from the bathroom. again-weird, i know.

quirk no. 2

i thought of this one yesterday-
2. there are certain, specific utensils that i like to eat with(i hope i'm explaining this right!). in our utensil drawer, there are many forks, spoons, knives. but like most families there are more than one set of such utensils...and i like to use the ones we bought when we were first married. sentimental? no- more like mental. (mason says i get it from my dad...hhmmmm.:)

that's sooooo QUIRKY!

all right, ashley tagged me and here is my first of 6 quirks. (i have to think about it...and ask my sisters-already asked mason and he suggested the following):
1. i HATE anything foamy: root beer floats, toothpaste(yes, i do brush my teeth really fast, but i supplement with mouthwash and floss regularly:).

the other 5 will follow...at some time.

thanks

there are MANY things i'm grateful for, but today i'm especially grateful for my little family. i have a husband who adores me and shows it daily. he is a wonderful father to our 3 beautiful children. and my children...they're our happiest blessings. i really am grateful for a loving heavenly father who made families...especially mine.

nani yuvonne patterson

yes, our little nani girl is the big 2 today! she had blueberry yogurt for breakfast while we waited for orin then we were on our way to the park for some play time. i made some muffins to take to the park with us so the kids could sing happy birthday to her and she loved it, even though it was too windy i couldn't light the candles-oh well. muffins were enjoyed and she had fun playing with her friends and cousins and sila too. we celebrated in our usual way with a family dinner on sunday. mason made a delicious meal and a very scrumptious foofa cake(hopefully we have pics. to post soon) and thanks to all our family who came to help celebrate. here are a few things we just love about nani.



*she learned to talk rather early so it was easy to know what she wanted(or didn't want)

*she has a pretty smile(it's hard to be mad at her sometimes)

*she's hands down our most polite child(she almost always says,please,thank you, you're welcome and excuse me-when she burps or farts)

*she learned to ride a scooter at a young age(she got a scooter for her birthday, now she doesn't have to ask to use mese's or sila's)

*she loves to do whatever she sees mese and sila doing(coloring, homework, sitting in timeout, etc.)

we're just so thankful and happy to have nani in our family and we just love her to pieces! HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANI GIRL!!!

aloooooohaaaaaa!

yes, our annual ward luau was last night and it was super- good food, good music, good friends and good entertainment. i have to admit, i was antsy sitting there watching the girls dance(i've always loved polynesian dancing since i was a little girl). but i didn't want to take any chances with my back...but next year, i'm so in-and i hope that all my friends & family members who are with child this year(and those who are't), will dance next year-the more the merrier. that's what i noticed this year, it looks much better when there's more people up on the stage performing. so ladies, watch out because next year, i think you'll be doing more than just one or two numbers:) although, i should have passed on the traditional "electric slide" dance at the end-i just couldn't help myself. consequently, my knee ached all night and all day today(but i still say it was worth it). and unfortunately, i missed out on ashley's birthday celebration with the girls-i'm sure you had way too much fun without me:) so, here's to ashley, happy happy birthday(i know it's a week late). and here's to the beginning of a new week...happy tomorrow guys.

the search continues

well, as some of you have already heard, our first offer on a house was rejected-kinda stinks but i guess it wasn't meant to be...so moving on-the search continues for a new house to call home. we have way too much stuff, seriously we have way too much stuff. and we're increasing our size by 1 come next may. it would be really nice if it was a boy, then he'd share a room with mese, but if it's a girl-things will be a little snug with sila and nani. we'll have to wait and see.
primary was way crazy today...i'm without a secretary and boy, that one person really can make a difference. hopefully we'll get someone by next week. i should be grateful at least that we didn't have any runaways right?
i woke up with a sore throat this morning, not good. but mason made me some bacon and eggs for breakfast with orange juice. side note: upon tasting her eggs, sila walks over to mason and tells him"i can't eat the eggs, they taste like soap!" to which mason replies,"oh sila, just eat your food!" to which i replied,"uh, mason...my eggs tasted like soap too!" i ate the eggs of course because i just thought, i'm pregnant and my sense of taste, smell are magnified & sensitive. mason felt bad and told me i should have thrown them out-he did tell sila she could throw her eggs out too. thanks for trying honey.

Prop 8: In defense of the teachings of the Savior

Friends and family, we want to let you know that we stand to protect marriage as it is ordained by God. It is important that we all realize the importance of this moral issue. Prop 8 defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. The Proclamation to the Family also states this. We do not wish to take away the agency of our brothers and sisters or pass judgement on their actions. But, we must not allow immoral actions to be recognized as valid.
The validation of gay marriage will result in the taking away of our rights to believe what we believe. Make no mistake, satan supports gay marriage and will use it as a tool to take away our religous freedom. The next initiative if prop 8 does not pass will be to sanction churches who will not marry same sex couples. Then they will teach gay marriage as a norm in schools. We have the right to believe that same sex marriage is immoral. Please stand with us and vote yes on prop 8.

still kicking

here's a recap of what's happened this last week-
monday-put our first offer on a house(quite exciting)
tuesday-threw my back out, spent most of the day on my bedroom floor(not fun). shawn & darcy brought a delicious dinner over-thanks guys! and nia, carrie and mason were so helpful in watching the kids and helping me-thanks to all of you.
wednesday-still recovering from back injury. cop showed up at my door to inform me that they just arrested a man for burglary and he had mason's credit card statement in his wallet! we sure lucked out-what a blessing that they caught the thief. johanna took the girls for the morning while i rested-thank you johanna-it sure is a blessing to have family & friends who take such good care of you!
thursday-still recovering and getting much better. ala & jeanette brought a wonderful meal over-thanks guys! and later that night we took peaches over to mese's and he concocted a divine peach pie-so good! thanks again for helping to ease my back pain even if for a moment:)
friday-johanna's 21st birthday! kenny, however did you get so lucky?!
saturday-stagecoach days parade(nice, but weather was cold), looked at another house, had delicious apples from herschel's farm, and enjoyed the evening with darcy, ashley, and our children. we topped it off with mason's outrageous beef stew-thanks honey.
sunday-listened to conference-way good. had a feast at my dad's during halftime(i guess it would be more like breaktime) then returned home to listen/nap to the rest of conference-also way good.
i know, it's a long post, but a lot happened and i didn't want to miss a thing-thanks again to all who helped me and our family this week as i recovered from my back injury. we love you.

p.s. the rumors are true...i'm 10 weeks pregnant and the baby's due may 4th-yeah for spring babies!

no news is good news

i haven't been blogging in a little while, which should mean that things are going allright, right? well, so far, so good. we had a funtastic time with cousins from eagle mountain-thanks for all the fun! i'm looking forward to cooler weather-did i mention i LOVE fall? it's my favorite time of the year-besides christmas of course. wouldn't it be nice to visit the eastcoast in the fall? one of these days i'll make it there. anyway, sunday...primary was a little hectic with new teachers, new classes-but it all worked out in the end-or at least it will, eventually. i was nauseated all day long and my back was killing me-but i love it! it's a good sign, so they say. mason has started the new book, brisingr. any eragon fans out there? i haven't quite gotten myself to sit down and read it-even though mason says they're great. maybe one day. for now, i'd rather take naps during my spare time-yeah, that sounds a whole lot better. have a super week everyone!

cousins

it's almost monday and that means...pili's are coming! we can't wait-mason's sister jenny and her family are coming to visit for a few days and we're so excited. i've got to pick up some perricone's orange juice for ifo(he likes oj, and if you're wanting the best, perricone's is it). hopefully the weather will be nice, so we'll see what fun things we come up with-yeah for family:)

hot! hot! hot!

this past weekend, mason, mese and i went to the annual fire knife competition in anaheim-it was awesome! we have no pics. to show, of course, but we had an enjoyable time. and yes, we opted not to take the girls because last year sila got bored and nani was scared-so there you go. sarah o. was a wonderful babysitter and the girls liked hanging out with her. can't wait for next year's competition-anyone game?:)

first grade, good/school at home, not so good

mese started out the first day of first grade with delicious pancakes and sausages(thanks mason). he was anxious to get going and get gone but we had to take a pic. and so we did. i did fine all the way up until his teacher put a lei around his neck and said"mese, welcome to first grade!" i almost had to run out, i could feel the tears swelling up. i made him his lunch(with a notecard in the shape of an m&m) he told me later how excited he was when he saw the card because he thought it was a cd! sorry big guy-just a note from your mama who loves you. so, first day was good.
now, school at home with sila also started today. she did fine writing her name but writing the letter "A" was a challenge. she gave up before she even started and said,"i can't, i can't, i can't do it!" i tried to show her several times how easy it was but she wasn't having it, and after a minute or two of the crying, i wasn't having it either. we came to a mutual agreement that we should try school another day. i'm going to try some different things with her-any suggestions?

poor thing

first week back with orin-it's been quite fun. we've been spending our mornings outside(weather has been very nice). he plays well with the kids and he pretty much entertains himself when mese and sila go outside and he and nani are left inside with me while i get lunch ready. he's likes snack time and he's just so much fun because he's mobile, he's older and he's growing in leaps and bounds.
so-today, orin and nani are both climbing onto the bottom shelf of the bookcase(it's deep). and i hear laughing, then orin's high pitched scream-what went wrong? i asked nani and she ever so clearly tells me,"i bite him." oh no, i said. she got in trouble of course, after i located the bite on his arm-poor thing. then later he bonked his head on the kitchen cabinet while he was reaching for his cup-again, poor thing. i held him and he fell right to sleep. i'm sure next week will be much better orin! and we love having you(hopefully you feel the same about us:))

message in a bottle?

i checked the mail this morning and found a plastic bottle filled with orange sand, a tiny umbrella(the kind you put in those fancy drinks), tiny sunglasses, and a note. at first glance into the mailbox, i thought someone was playing a trick on me and put their trash in it. but after close observation, i discovered it was a letter in a bottle to mese from his 1st grade teacher(he'll be starting first grade next monday). how cute! after some intense handiwork with the tweezers, i was able to retrieve the message, an invitation for mese to first grade-way cool. he loved it. the note is now on the fridge. the umbrella he immediately took out and played with, the sunglasses-too hard to get out. so we put the cork back in the bottle and it has now found its place on mese's dresser. he's so ready for first grade-quetion is...am i? thanks mrs. c. smith.

a pleasant visit

last week thursday, we had a fun visit from the overtons. it was good to see tim & bethany and of course, their ever so cute girls, gracie and melina. thanks for coming to see us, and next time we'll be extra careful about the door!:)

hooowaii (according to nani)

oh what a lovely time we had in hawaii-paradise! i missed my babies terribly, but we managed to have lots of fun nonetheless. we saw many beautiful places and we loved it all. we ate delicious food(except for senor frog's, not so good). thanks to the westbrook's guide to oahu, we had a blast checking out all the fun things to do there and all the wonderful things to eat. mahalo ben & lynn!

faavorite foods:(in no particular order)

puka dog-yummy! love that mango salsa and lilikoi mustard

keneke's pork sandwich-the kalua pork was sooooo good

macadamia nut pancakes @ boot's & kimo's-to die for(mason wanted to lick his plate)

giovanni's shrimp truck-the shrimp of course was so tasty and we tried the sausage too, also yummy

the luau buffet @ pcc-awesome! everything was grand(darcy was right about those taro rolls, yum yum!)

the food co.-shared the breakfast special(paki's bowl) oh sooo good(i think a little too heavy for mason-what a wimp.)
and we had lots of other yummy treats and foods that are too many to mention.
as for sights and sounds, we enjoyed the following:
snorkeling at three tables
swimming/snorkeling at waimea bay
swimming at lani kai beach-breathtaking!
walking all over waikiki and just taking in everything there is to see. people are fun to watch.
we drove almost all the way around the island-and it was amazing! we stopped at different beaches to take pics. and just to stare in awe.
we visited one of mason's friends from his mission. he lives in waimanalo-gorgeous place. thanks to cory & heather for dinner and a fun time at the water park!
all in all, we had a glorious time(i'm running out of good adjectives to use) and a huge thank you to nia & carrie for taking good care of our babies. and thanks to everyone who was so generous and kind in letting the kids come over and play. mahalo everyone!!!
stay tuned for pics. of our trip...

fun in the sun

besides the relentless heat, st. george was fabulous! we love going to grandma's & grandpa's-we're always well fed, well entertained, and there's always so much fun to be had-especially with cousins around! our short trip was super and the kids enjoyed playing with lilia, lei, ave, and baby ifo. the grandkids spent lots of time with grandma(which was so nice for us as we ran around town getting stuff we needed-and some we didn't need-oh how we love cafe rio!) as you can see from the pics. the kids were in the water, a lot. we even got to see g-ma in cedar city and that was nice. grandpa's cousin janna was there and she's a lot of fun. big thanks to grandma & grandpa for hosting us and making us feel so loved and taking fantastic care of us!

foreign, but good

wow! when i woke up this morning i didn't know what i would be in for at exercise class today-my body hasn't moved like that since i don't know when! it was almost foreign i guess you could say-but it was good and i can't wait to do it again-next time, i'm taking a lot of water. thanks amy-i had fun! and the nore the merrier-we had around 15 women there today-too fun, even if we were exercising!!!

yum yum!

on our way home last night, we went thru mcdonald's drive-thru for some ice cream cones; nani had a cookie. this is what i heard...

nani: mama, want ice cream!
mese: no nani, you have a cookie.
mom: mese just give her a little bit of your ice cream.
mese: ok nani-just a little bit.
3 seconds later...
mese: look mom! now i have cookies & cream!

apparently nani's cookie crumbs from her mouth relocated onto mese's ice cream cone and mese had such a positive attitude about it!

lovebirds tag! part 2

apparently only the first part of this post was saved so here's the second part starting with question #5.

5. when was "i love you" first said? mason actually told me he loved me when we were on our way home from a fireside and it was the night before he left for provo(mtc). i just thought, "ok, he loves me like a friend." but my mom and cousin tiare thought otherwise. but the second time around when we were dating, shortly after our first kiss, he told me he loved me and the following evening i told him i loved him too(it took me a day to think about it).
6. long/short engagement? mason asked me to marry him on feb. 27, 2001 and 5 weeks later on april 7th we were married-yeah it was a short engagement.
7. where did you get engaged? we were at my cousin tiare's house babysitting her little girl. mason made us dinner, afterwards he professed his undying love for me and proposed.
8. where were you married? l.a. temple
9. where was the honeymoon? hawaii! a bunch of members in our ward got together and sent us on a beautiful trip to paradise-we are so blessed!
10. where was your first home? yucaipa. we lived in a studio apartment, and we were only there for 9 months, then it was back to good old banning-home sweet home!

lovebirds tag!

i was tagged by amy so here goes-enjoy.

1. where did you meet? at church-my family moved here in 1989 and mason's family was already here, his dad was bishop. i actually don't remember when we officially met, but for sure it was at church.

2. first thing said? probably, hi.

3. first date? it was shortly after mason turned 16, i had not gone on a date ever, and he asked me out and we went to a high school play-not fun at all. i couldn't wait for it to end!

4. first kiss? ok this is the thing-mason has always liked me, since he was 12 and i never even looked his way til the summer of 2000-i thought....hhhmmmm, he's looking good! how come i've never noticed him before??? in any case, we dated for a few months, broke up, then dated again. the second time around after dating a month, came our first kiss. it was the huntington beach dance and i so wanted to kiss him but i knew he wasn't going to do anything so, there you have it, i planted one on him-the rest is history!

5. when "i love you" was first said? mason first told me he lov

lamese luis patterson, 6

happy birthday to mese! yesterday he turned 6 and we celebrated with a family dinner at our place. mese requested hamburgers and mac n cheese so that's what we had along with other yummy treats. mason made mese's birthday cake, batman of course. i think mason did a fantastic job. mese received lots of fun gifts. mese will be starting 1st grade in the fall and we are so thankful to have him in our family. mese is quite the artist, he loves to draw and he loves anything that has to do with super heroes(like his dad). he likes cartoons(like his dad). and he loves toys(like his dad). he is a blessing to our family and we love him a whole bunch! happy birthday son! (pics. soon to follow)

good times

wow! what a week-we've had frandsens visiting, randy & dixie & glenna visiting, 4th of july bbq with wilsons, and randy james' 1st birthday party-i chopped my hair off and yes-got bangs. so we've had a fun filled week with family, fun, and friends. we swam to keep cool and cousins enjoyed playing and just being kids. thanks for all the good times guys-we love you!
we're so fortunate to have good people around us who love us and take good care of us; thanks to our family and friends who've been so kind and supportive as we've been dealing with my miscarriage this week. it helps to have wonderful people around you who love you. we're doing well and trust heavenly father whole heartedly. thank you for all of your love and concern.
we're hoping for more, less than scorching hot days ahead-but i just heard that the humidity is not over yet-darn, so much for my bangs.
with family in town visiting this week, i've picked up a favorite habit-overeating. not too much though as before, so if i stop myself now, i can lose the five pounds or so that i've gained this week and it'll be ok. i guess it's back to smaller, more frequent meals for me. and walking.

family, fun, and fourth of july

the patterson household is up and roaring this week! frandsens are visiting this week and we are having a blast! it's fun to see the cousins together and christines's jambalaya and boston cream pie were delicious!!! we visited oak glen today and saw many beautiful peacocks-orin really enjoyed that. and the kids got to feed the deer-after elijah helped himself to some corn kernels-too funny. and we can't wait to feast with family and friends on the 4th-not to mention the fireworks. then we're off to encinitas for little randy's 1st b-day party-can't wait! happy fourth of july everyone!

hip-hip-HOORAY!!!

what a HUGE weekend we had-and we loved it! mason graduated on friday, june 13th with his bachelor's degree in liberal studies and we are so proud of him. it's been a long and sometimes not so pleasant road for us(especially for mason), but we've been blessed beyond measure through it all-we love you mason and we can't say it enough! and happy father's day to you too honey-you're the best in the whole universe! of course mason's parents were here this weekend to help celebrate and it was awesome as usual. they're always so supportive and loving-it's so hard when they leave. we really enjoy their visits. mason's party on saturday was a big hit-we love celebrating with family and friends so thank you to everyone who came to party with us.
so, because it was a long and sometimes hard road(12 years, but who's counting), i started thinking what i could get mason for a grad gift. surfboard, nintendo wii-these things popped into my head-then i thought-what does he really want above all else??? a trip to hawaii! so there you have it...we're going to hawaii in august and we're ecstatic! i definately think he deserves it-he's worked hard for it while working full time to support his family and everything else that's too much to mention here-just know honey that we love you tons! and thanks to nia & carrie, we'll be going to paradise without the kids-i know, we're soooooooo lucky! i just hope i don't cry everyday missing the kids. but i'm thankful for great family who support us and help out so much-what a blessing.

what's new?

what's new with us? besides pregnancy symtoms, there's much going on here at the pattersons. mason is working hard to finish strong as he approaches his last 2 weeks of school before he graduates-hooray!
mese is also working hard at school-i don't know if it's the weather or school's almost out, but he's getting a little mouthy with us-and i really don't like it(mason tells me he's a boy and he's growing-yeah, and?!)
sila is sila and she does her best to help with just about everything i don't want her to help with-so i guess that means i should be looking for things she can help with. she's very good with the babies(nani and orin) and i do appreciate that. although she does tend to eat up all their snacks and they don't like that.
and nani girl-she's funny. she likes to roll her eyes at us when we tell her not to-where did she learn that i ask? she's a girl of course- it's in her. she says 3 word and sometimes 4 word sentences and she still is trying to adjust to nursery. snack time's her favorite.
and me, well, i'm just trying to keep up with everyone. today, i did sharing time and it's hard enough that i'm emotional anyway, but now with the pregnancy, i'm a huge cry baby-it's horrible.
i just wish i could get through my thoughts before i start crying. i need to work on that somemore. i'm enjoying primary more and more, even with the bumps in the road that we get weekly. but i'm glad to be working with such capable people-and the kids, well, the kids are funny. never a dull moment-nope not in this ward/branch.
and so it seems that life is looking pretty darn good for us pattersons and we're grateful.

no. 4

yippppeeee! we have another one on the way and we're so excited-i didn't think i'd get pregnant this soon(especially without the clomid, seeing as it took a year to get pregnant with nani) this is a wonderful blessing for our family and we're truly grateful. the kids (and mason) are already calling him(yes they say it's a boy) tau(we're naming it tautagi if it's a boy-if it's a girl her name will be luana). i see the dr. next week so i hope i can get a better idea of when the baby will be here. oh- and tiare called me today-she's pregnant too! this will be no. 5 for them and so congratulations to the terrills! we love you guys.

monday, monday

what a lovely weekend we had! grandpa, grandma, and glenna came for shawn's graduation and we had a wonderful time with them-thanks for the fun guys! mese and sila could hardly wait for them to come and they can't wait for them to come next month for mason's graduation-yippppeee!!! it's always nice to have family over and it's always a hard thing when they leave. congratulations to shawn for graduating from law school and to darcy too. it's difficult, i think, to have to work your way through 3 more grueling years of intense schooling. but it helps to have a super wife who supports you through it all-so kudos to you both and we love you! (and orin too of course). well, on a sour note, the stinky, hot weather is here-yuck! the only thing good about it is, the pool is open-yeah! some relief for us. tip for the summer: eat more otter pops to stay cool-or you could try these really good popsicles dixie got; they're blue bunny pomegranite cherry-yummy!

mother dear i love you so...

mother's day turned out to be fun. i did have to do sharing time in primary, but it was fun. i really only wanted two things for mother's day. i wanted to eat crab and i wanted my bedroom to be cleaned(it's difficult keeping my room clean when i share it with mason, aka makes lots of piles) in any case, i was spoiled and got both-and then some. sila made me some beautiful cards with her name and handprints and footprints, and she did it all on her own-she told me she did it when the sun went down and everyone was sleeping(that would explain the numerous red marks on her hands and arms i saw in the morning and weren't there when we went to sleep the night before.) mese also wrote me a lovely letter wishing me a grate mudrs day(kindergartner speller). and he also wrote me lettler from nani-too cute. they gave me some delicious german chocolate and lots of gum. my sisters and dad came over for dinner and we had a scrumptious feast of coconut shrimp, tri-tip roast, green salad, fresh mango, strawberry,and pineapple salad and of course my crab-YUMMY! oh and baked plantains which i love so much. and for dessert, island sorbets from costco-yes i'd say mother's day was pretty darn good. i also got lots of yummy chocolate from my sisters and a mini muffin tin which i tried out today. i hope all the wondeful mothers i know had a fantastic mother's day-you certainly deserve it!

valid question

apparently with all the talk last week about mother's day, sila was beginning to feel a little left out...

sila: mom, when's mother's day?
mom: it's on sunday.
sila: (after a moment of silence) when's father's day?
mom: next month, in june.
sila: (after another pause) well, when's it going to be sister's day?!

a valid question i thought.

"not good buddy"

conversation in check out line at albertson's yesterday-

melina: (to mason) hey, what should we make for dinner on sunday?
mason: what's sunday?
(melina glares at mason)
mason: are we feeding the missionaries? someone coming over?
melina: HELLLLOOOOO!!!!! MOTHER'S DAY!
mason: oh, yeah- i got it taken care of-don't worry. (???)
melina relates this conversation to the check out lady to which she responds,
"ooohhh, not good buddy!", and melina agrees.

sila keeps telling everyone(it's a secret of course) that she's getting me a new pack of gum(hhhmmmm-maybe it's because she keeps taking gum out of my purse and devouring it at record speed)...i take that back-she used to take gum out of my purse, until she got the spacesaver in her mouth so now she can't chew gum. nani has discovered that she enjoys taking gum out of mom's purse-still not cute, so i gladly welcome a new pack of gum sila girl!

countdown

wohhhh-we found the warm weather! mason's thrilled-i on the other hand prefer cold weather over warm any day. but i must admit, the warm weather is long overdue and i'm glad it's here-for now. the kids get to run and play outside and we can make more frequent visits to the park. mese got the calendar out last week and wanted to know how many more days he had til school was out so we counted-34 days , 7 weeks. not much time left. time really does seem to fly right past us these days. we're anxiously awaiting mason's graduation from high school(just kidding, that's what the kids call it), i mean college. and we're just so excited for him. i can't believe how much my kids have grown and little orin-gosh, he's crawling! so exciting. i can't dwell too much on how fast my kids are growing up cause then i'll just be sitting at the computer crying, and wishing they would stay small-for a little bit anyway. sila's in big trouble for filling up her toy kitchen sink with water-twice! and there's water all over her floor. she's got a hearing problem, right? i did take her to the dr. yesterday and she has an ear infection, maybe i should give her a break. i'll discuss it with mason. nani and sila are always fighting, and most of the time, nani ends up crying. so we ask her "who did it nani?" and she always responds with"Sida!" (she can't say the "L" sound yet) so last night in the van during our family home evening drive, sila was trying to get nani to say mese did it, but nani wasn't budging. i think nani just likes saying sila's name-yeah that't it. anyway, life is still good here at the pattersons. and soon the pool will be open and then it'll get even better! stop by and see us!!!

always nice

another beautiful wedding! congratulations to cameron and vivian(also our new neighbors)! we had a lovely(and too short) visit from grandma & grandpa patterson and glenna this past weekend-it's always nice to see them. and the kids just love it when they're here(except nani had a little adjusting to do before she warmed up to them). but we can look forward to seeing them again next month when shawn graduates and then again in june when mason graduates. we also got to see grandma gardner with her daughters-that was a treat! the kids loved chasing the grasshopper with grandma gardner-too cute and too funny! i wish we got that on camera. it was a very nice and enjoyable weekend-and i got to see my aunt and uncle and my cousins i haven't seen in 4 years-they stopped by my dad's house on sunday after church-that was fun to see them all again. and i'm sure it won't be the last. this week has been eventful with nani's fever and cold-she's got some teeth coming in and it's hurting her-poor thing. maybe tomorrow will be better for her-i'm hoping.

happily ever after

wheeeewww! what a weekend-we were in newport beach since thursday evening, enjoying the warm sunshine and the beach as we were getting ready for aggie's wedding on saturday. it was a lovely ceremony and aggie was gorgeous! bryce was looking spiffy as well. it was so nice to see everyone again and we had lots of fun. thanks for a splendid weekend at the beach, at the temple, and with our family and friends. as you can see, we had a great time and we'd like to also say happy birthday to little noah laker who celebrated his 1st birthday-we hope you had lots of fun and ate lots of birthday cake! happy monday everyone!

is that so???

sila, in the van, on the way home after a long day of practicing her agency to the fullest extent possible(if you know what i mean)...

sila: daddy(short pause), i'm trying to be like jesus....but i just can't!

to which mason replied: is that so?!

say cheese!

yes-we finally posted some pics. mason did it. mese was excited to get dad's hand me down sunglasses and sila was just glad to strike a pose. mason and i were thrilled when we came upon the delicious discovery at costco last week of the chip and cookie cookie dough-of course mason made me check to see if it was from hawaii-and kailua it was! so that was a nice treat for us. the other pics. are of us with family and friends at the beach by randy's place-we had such a great time and we can't wait to go back. happy sunday everyone!

spring, spring

what's happening? to start, i'm FINALLY done with the dentist!(or as mason likes to call her, the butcher) she's so awful and we're never going back to her again-now the dentist will be a pleasant experience for us-it was torturous going to her. but anyway, now my teeth are well and we can move on. nani has gotten over pink eye, and is moving on to diarrhea and a major diaper rash and i've been battling pink eye for almost 2 weeks now-thank goodness none of the other kids have gotten it. i've had this chest cold for a few days now and i keep thinking it's going to get better but don't know if it will. mese is loving kindergarten and sila is being a wonderful helper at home-she tells me that she thinks about how she can help me everyday-and i really do appreciate her efforts. nani is talking up a storm-mason calls her our little recorder, she copies everything we say(the last word of each sentence anyway). the other day i told the kids to pick up their toys and nani said"toy, pick up". it was cute. and mason is starting his last quarter at cal state san berdo-HOORAY! and he'll only be gone one night a week-more time at home to work on my honey-do list right?! oh, and we had such a lovely weekend last week when we visited randy, ashley and randy james in encinitas-i don't remember the last time i had such a nice weekend-thanks guys! hopefully we'll get some pics. posted here soon. have a lovely(i like that word) spring week and don't forget to watch conference- and if you happen to be in our neighborhood on sunday, stop by for some brunch-it's going to be good!

easter bunny vs. wanda

easter was great! the kids were excited to see their baskets filled with...inedible stuff-take that back-they did get a fruit roll up. mason and i decided that we didn't want a visit from wanda the toothfairy anytime soon, so we'd better limit the sugar in the basket-but just so you know, they went to their cousins birthday party the day before and recieved tons of candy-not to mention the egg hunt at carrie's house on sunday, and later that night, they missed the easter bunny again right outside our door(he's so tricky that bunny). he left them some goodies to which of course, mason helped himself to. (and of which i'll be enjoying as soon as i'm done with this)-how did the easter bunny know i liked cadbury eggs! needless to say, easter was very nice and we enjoyed a nice ham dinner at my dad's. i didn't take any pics. of the girls in their easter dresses and accessories-yes, the girls wore hats and gloves(mason loves it) and mese, even though we bought him a new suit, didn't want to wear it because it was too big-i measured wrong-it'll be perfect for him in 2 years. oh well. hope all of you had a wonderful easter-oh-i almost forgot-the easter bunny left me some goodies too! i got some cranberry/nut trail mix and the natasha bedingfield cd-the easter bunny has good taste in music!

i didn't know...

yesterday, in the van, on the way to the dentist...

sila: mom, what's the toothfairy's name?
mom: uhhh-the toothfairy!
sila: no, her regular name-like wanda, yeah, wanda's a pretty name!

and so apparently the toothfairy has a name and i just didn't know it.

by the way, sila did great at the dentist yesterday-she had her canine pulled because when she was 2 she broke the back half of it by hitting it on the slide-tooth got a small cavity got bigger then eventually rotted and now it's completely out and she'll be toothless til she's 11 or 12.
and yes, wanda did visit sila last night and left her some green, to which she replied"yes, now i can buy lunch-let's go to mcdonalds's!"

p.s.

yuuuummmmmmmmyyyyyyyyy!!! a big mahalo to lynn for the delicious chocolate chip cookies she sent over for us-we thoroughly enjoyed them-perhaps too much(mese insists that i ate them all when in fact, dad and i ate them all-we did share with the children)-and we were even feeling generous enough to share one with carrie-thanks a bunch lynn!

hawaii, vomit, and everything in between

welcome back shawn,darcy,orin,and the pattersons in encinitas! heard your trip was fabulous-then i wouldn't expect anything less since you were in hawaii. it's so nice to live out your dreams through loved ones! (if it were up to mason we'd be living in hawaii like yesterday) we've enjoyed hearing of all the fun things you did and saw while in paradise. not to mention all the delicious food you ate-wish we were there. someday we'll make it back(mason is quite determined) we've had an eventful week ourselves with the kids getting sick starting with sila on monday-she threw up chinese food we had the night before(it's not your fault carrie!) then nani followed suit(without the crying and drama) and lastly mese ended the week with a bang-we were up(actually mason was up with him) last night(and the night before)-i don't know, 3 times with mese crying about how he didn't feel good and he couldn't make it to the bathroom to throw up-i guess we're just not meant to get more than 4 hours of sleep at a time. such is life. today we had our relief society enrichment birthday brunch and it was a breath of fresh air! i'm so glad i went(even with a sick son-sorry everyone). mason and shawn are helping randy mart move today so i dragged the kids to church with me and i think they did fine-hopefully no one will get the bug that's going around our home(and other homes i hear). and poor little orin even got sick-but was still a trooper and smiled and laughed and played. so, another week another dollar and i've got to go-i hear something buzzing in mese's room and i'm afraid to see what it is!

kids say the darnedest things...

*conversation today with carrie and the kids-

carrie:(talking to me about a male friend)
sila: is that your boyfriend?
carrie: no, i don't have a boyfriend.
mese: well, you need to get one! (said emphatically)


*sila on the way home from her birthday party-

sila: brady & theresa didn't come to my party.
melina: i know. i think maybe they had to work.
sila: well, i'm only going to invite them one more time and then that's it!

Sila's party

Sila's 4th birthday party was alot of fun. All of her friends came and she danced. We wish everyone could have been there. We decorated Melina's perfectly magical butterfly sugar cookies and the kids went on a treasure hunt. Everyone stuffed themselves with fried chicken, teriyaki short ribs and potato salad. Shawn made a wonderful Ceasar Salad and Costco provided the rolls. We had 2 giant cakes and only ate one of them. By the end of the party we were all tired and Sila was so excited to take home the wonderful gifts she received. It is so nice to have such kind and loving friends and family that come to the parties. she also recieved alot of Happy Birthday calls and was so excited. Even though uncle Randy did not call her. By the end of the day Sila was demanding a Happy Birthday from anyone who called.

home again, home again

the trip to st. george was very nice-the kids loved spending time with grandma and grandpa-and we always have plenty of good food to eat! of course i gained 2 lbs. but it was worth the gain. i'll just work harder this week. so, mese's on break this week from school and we're home trying to come up with fun things to do indoors since the rain won't stop. playdough will have to do for today. and i'm baking cookies today for sila's birthday party next week. friday can't come soon enough for her. my brain is pretty much dead right now so i think i'll stop. gotta get some water-fast way to get your brain going again(so i was told, but mason says it's bologna).

sunday, sunday

i keep thinking that sundays would get better for me-sometimes it does and other times not so much. the weekend comes around and i just feel overwhelmed(i hate that word) with everything i think needs to happen in primary but i need to change my way of thinking-do the most important stuff first, and whatever else happens will happen. for example, it was my turn to do sharing time today and i had the kids attention as i was telling stories from the scriptures-that was until it was time to sing-of course sila wanted to help hold the pictures at which point i said ok.(i knew better of course) i gently reminded her that she could only hold the picture of the heart if she could stand quietly and not dance around-her response was yes. so long story short, i was teaching a new song to the children while sila was giving high fives to the sunbeams in the front row getting them all fired up and not even the least bit interested in the song-just my energetic and quite entertaining 3(almost 4) yr. old daughter. i immediately took the picture from sila and said i was sorry but she didn't do what i asked her to do and so now she needed to go and sit down. she cried and she cried and her teacher came over to comfort her while i just spoke louder, trying to hide the frustration in my voice-but i think it was pretty obvious-i'll try again next week. it's got to get better, right? but on a brighter note, i can say that heavenly father is merciful and still allows me to have tender moments-even on sundays where i can feel the spirit-i just have to listen.

tip of the day...

well guys, i think i'm losing it. maybe it's the weather-yeah it's the weather. it's been so cold lately, that the kids just stay inside and try to make themselves happy and busy by fighting, spitting, jumping on the couches, picking up nani then dropping her, kicking each other, and everything else they can think of to push my buttons. i realize they're just kids trying to get their wiggles out, as sila likes to put it. so, after their morning cartoons, we put a cd in, turn the music up loud and dance our lives away-even orin gets in on the fun. lately, we've been listening to the likes of shania twain, disney mixed cd, hip hop, marty robbins, celine dion, wicked soundtrack, alicia keys-anything that sounds good to us(me and sila). music really seems to put us all in a better, happier mood. so we listen to music a lot in our home. and the fact is, we really love it. i've even heard our little nani girl singing words to hannah montana. i heard somewhere that if ever you're in a foul mood, the quickest way to turn yourself around is to put on some good music. i like that idea. try it next time you're feeling less than chipper.

and we're back!

hi all! it's been sooooo long-i know-we're slackers. actually, i just now remembered my password. anyway, we're back into the swing of things. christmas was wonderful. new year's was fun. and my birthday was a bit stressful but turned out to be fantastic in the end. i guess you could say my birthday celebration finally came to an end on wednesday(my birthday is jan. 6th) when mason took me to see wicked at the pantages theatre in hollywood-can you say amazing! i absolutely loved it.
mese's back in school loving kindergarten. we signed him up for basketball-i guess we made it official by buying him some basketball shoes today-he so can't wait.
sila is in sunbeams and is loving it. it gets a bit tiring trying to keep her in her seat in primary but i have help-she is a fantastic helper/leader. and sometimes she's a little too fantastic when she tries to tell mom and dad what to do-but that's our sila girl-and yes...she has a birthday this year(sila's a leap year baby)-and she can't wait to celebrate.
nani girl is walking a marathon daily-she really is developing her own personality and it's fun to watch. she definately lets us know when she's not happy-and when she is. her vocabulary is increasing daily-new words now are moon, cookie,me,thank you, welcome, but her all time favorite word is NO. i'm not a fan myself.
mason is back in school and working hard to provide for all our luxuries(as he so puts it). he's looking to graduate in june-and we can't wait!
so there you have it-pattersons are well and can't complain!