My visit to Oregon.

Alone, four days, nice.

This is my sister and most of her family (one of her sons is on a mission in Florida) and her second son, Nic, will be leaving on his mission on the 18th to Sau Paulo, Brazil. I went for a few days to visit them and spend some time with Nic as he prepared to go. We had a super nice weekend. My mom was able to come to so I also was able to spend some time with her. And get this, it didn't rain hardly at all which is truely crazy and almost unbelievable. But notice I said hardly - I think it rained one night while we were sleeping so I never really even saw the rain.
(Pictured above, Doug, Tammy, Nic, Megan and me)

We saw a few movies, did a little shopping (some to get things on the packing list for Nic), did some decorating, planted wheat grass for Easter, played a little pool, and lots of eating - one of my families favorite things to do together! I enjoyed my local favorites, Burgerville and their secret sauce, and Muchas - the have great nachos. Oh, and of course, Tillamook ice cream! Gotta get some of that while I'm there - Chocolate Peanut Butter is darn good, but this time I liked Marionberry Pie. Yum!

(My sister, Tammy, my mother, LeeAnn, and me)

One of the best parts about going was that we were able to attend the Portland Temple with Nic. It was a beautiful session and it was nice to share that with my nephew.

Nic spent a few weeks with my family here in Texas a few years back and ever since then, he has been a University of Texas fan (which is kind of funny since our household is not - Huy won't conform just because we live here)! So... his mother believed he needed an apron to take on his mission. And as you'd expect of most 19 year old boys, he insisted he didn't need one until one day after church while eating his lunch, he spilled on his nice, new suit. It was then that he finally agreed that maybe it would be a good idea, but only if he could have one that had "a UT something" on it. It then became my assignment to find one and it really wasn't that hard - those fan stores have everything. He proudly used it while I was there when he made french toast for us!

Nic is a great nephew and I will miss him, but I know he will do wonderful on his mission and have so many experiences that will bless his life, the life of those he teaches, and the lives of his family back home. Good luck Nic. May the Lord bless you. Be good and be safe.
AND WRITE YOUR MOTHER!!!



Thanks for a great time Tammy and Megan!!

And thanks to my sweetie for making it possible for me to go and for taking such great care of the kids while I was away!

Holy Cow, my boy is 10!

I can't believe that more than half of his life in my home is over. My days of teaching him are being numbered so I better pray that he's learning only the good things from me!

He got a new BMX bike. I think his words were, "It's sweet!" He went with his dad to help pick out the one he wanted so we were sure to get it right. He's a new man on that thing and has been begging to go to the BMX dirt track. Mental note, we've got to do that.

We had to come up with yet another idea for some kind of football cake. With the help of Karmen, we made the cake pictured above. It was a 3D football and Tanner had asked for a chocolate and yellow cake so we put a cutting board in the middle of the pan and poured half of each on each side. It was pretty tasty.

Tanner got a large Transformer from Grandma and Grandpa, the Transformer 360 Xbox game from Aunt Linh and Noah and Luke, nice clothes and a gift card from Ba Noi and Ong Noi, Ravin' Rabbits Wii game from the Clarks, his bike from Mom and Dad, knee and elbow pads from his sisters, and the very thing he wanted, a pillow! Thank you everyone!

Tanner invited a few friends (Tanner Walker, Ryan Schroeder, and Connor Kaup) to go with us to Dave & Busters for dinner and then they played some arcade games. After loading up on sugar packets, it was everything we could do to not get kicked out of the joint! Boys make me laugh.

Princess for a day! Again!

Kaylie celebrated her 1st/4th birthday on her first real birthday... Leap Day! She had seven little princess friends come to her party and they all got little princess shirts that said "pretty" and Kaylie's shirt said "princess." (Being the talented mother that I am, I sewed toole around the hem to make them look like princess skirts. Not all the girls wanted to wear them so I never really got a good picture of them, but they were darn cute if I do say so myself!) We read the book "The Frog Prince" and then played Pin the Crown of the Frog Prince. We also played musical pillows because princesses don't sit on hard chairs. And we also played Pass the Frog, but in all honesty, it doesn't work very well to tell little girls they have to sit out of a game! I think they had fun - or at least I want to believe they did.

Kaylie got clothes from her Ba Noi and Ong Noi, PollyWalks from her Aunt Linh and cousins Luke and Noah, a gift card from her Uncle Vu, a two-wheel scooter and helmet from her Grandma and Grandpa, a musical toothbrush from her Aunt Tammy and cousin Megan, a princess plate, bowl, and cup set from Tanner and Taylin, Polly Pockets from Mom and Dad, the Island Princess elephant from our good friends who came down from Fort Worth, the Clarks, a Littlest Pet Shop magnet case from Brittany, the Barbie movie Mariposa from Morgan, a High School Musical keychain, bubbles and candy from Kyla, and a Barbie phone from Nicole. With each gift she opened, it was proudly displayed as high above her head as she could get, standing on her tippy-toes accompanied with a huge smile! Thanks everyone for making her day so wonderful!!

This is the cake I made (so proud of it - pat my own back) and her invitation which reads...

Hey everybody, it's time to cheer,

It's 2008 and it's a LEAP YEAR!

It's my birthday and I'm here to say,

I've waited four years to celebrate my big day!

It's 2008 - yep, it's my LEAP DAY,

And I'd like you to celebrate with me in a very special way!

I'm planning a princess party so come with your hair in a bun,

Because I'm turning four, but technically just one!

You see, Leap Day comes but only so often,

And usually my birthday isn't on a calendar, how rotten!

It's my LEAP DAY birthday this month on the last day,

Come on February 29th where fun will be the way.

So come one, come all,

We're sure to have a ball!

On Bamfield Cove at 1503,

From 4:00 to 5:30 - it's the place to be.

If you want to come to my party for kicks,

Have your mom pick up the phone and call 246-9026.

Use a marker, a crayon, pencil or pen,

Just mark your calendar, hope to see you then.

Your friend,

Kaylie

Happy Leap Day 2008 Everybody!

Little did I know that Leap Day would be such an important day in my life. I use to think nothing of it, except that maybe "that's weird." But now, it is Kaylie's birthday and so it is technically her 1st birthday today! She has no clue why people keep asking her, "Oh, is it your 1st birthday?" She quickly replies, "No, (holds up her three, then changes it to four fingers) I'm this many!"

So... I thought I'd let you all in on a few "nuggets of wisdom" about Leap Day that I found in the LDS Living magazine and thought it was pretty cool.

Leap Day occurs every four years, when an extra day is added to the month of February. In honor of 2008 being such a year, here is some leap year trivia:

* The actual length of a year is 365.242 days , not 365.

* Although a leap day is added to the calendar every four years, this is not the case if it is a century year such as 1800 or 1900. Only one in every four century years has a leap day; otherwise there would be three extra days every 400 years. The next century year to have a leap day will be the year 2100.

* Leap Day, February 29, is also traditionally known as Sadie Hawkins Day - the only day in the year when women are allowed to pop the question themselves rather than having to wait for their beuas to propose.

* There are about 4 million people living who were born on a leap day!

So I guess that mean Kaylie is in one-in-four-million! She will be having a big party later today - A princess one! She is so excited!

Telling our family secrets

Kaylie goes to preschool at the Fellowship and yesterday I was picking her up and was headed out the door when the education pastor (much like a principal) stopped me in the hall because she wanted to infrom me about what happened earlier that day.

She said it something like this ... "A few of the classes had a little assembly where a dentist came to talk to them about eating healthy, brushing their teeth and flossing. As the dentist was demonstrating how to floss and explaining how important it is to do it daily, Kaylie decided to inform the audience that "my mommy does that to my daddy!" We all had a good chuckle at that one. Kids say the darnest things." (Smile, smile, laugh, laugh, laugh.)

So I guess our family secret is out... I floss Huy's teeth! Thanks Kaylie for sharing and good for you - you are finally doing what I try and teach you all the time... SHARE!

P.S. Just incase a few of you are wondering if I really floss Huy's teeth... NO, I don't.

I've been tagged.....

My first time. Yeah! Thanks Cindy! It's been fun to recall all these specifics that I don't think about all too often, but am so grateful for! I love my husband! Look at him. How can a woman resist?!

What is his name? Huy Nguyen (pronounced We Win and yes, it is a full sentence. How many of your husbands can say that about their name? Isn't Huy special?!)

How long have you been married? We have been married 11 years, quickly approaching 12.

How long did you date? We dated for several years before he begged me to stick around.


Who said I love you first? I asked, "What if I told you I love you?" Does that count?


Who kissed who first? He did, but I didn't give in easy.

Who asked who out? He did - hockey game and dinner in Salt Lake.

Who proposed? He did - a planned visit (I was living in CA, he was at school at BYU), but it was a total suprise. I had received a huge bouquet of roses earlier in the day of his arrival saying how excited he was to come visit and then he showed up at my door all dressed to kill. (He had to ride home from the airport with my dad which at the time, and given the circumstances, must have been one of the hardest and longest hours ever.) It was a great weekend visit as a result!

Who eats more sweets? Me for sure, but I've about got him hooked too!

How old is he? He is a whopping 35, but he thinks he's 25, sometimes 18!

Who is taller? He hates this question, but I am - by two full inches.

Who is smarter? I hate this question cuz he is for sure.

Who can sing better? Tough one. I think I can, but he probably does.

Who does the laundry? Me! But he's a great help!

Who pays the bills? Me! I was out-of-town once and he had to pay a bill. He called to ask if he had written the check out right.


Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does.

Who mows the lawn? We've shared this responsibility off-and-on. I like to, but he thinks the neighbors will think poorly of him for making his wife do the mowing.

Who cooks dinner? We share this too cuz he's a great griller and we grill a lot!

Who drives? He does. I'm old fashioned that way.

Who has more siblings? I do, 3 to 2.

Who wears the pants? He mosly wears shorts literally, but he usually has the pants on too!

I tag Suzy Christensen and Natalie Barratt!

Confession.

Now that I've been sitting at the computer a bit more lately, doing the blog thing, I have to confess, I've found a few blogs that I've been hearing so much about - friends from church, how great they are. So I've added you to my list of favorite blogs (still looking for more). Hope that is okay. I enjoy reading them and hope I can call you a friend! Thanks for sharing.

Daddy Daughter Dance

February 8, 2008

It was a special night for the girls as their dad took them out on a date! They met up with some friends at Chili's for dinner and then they went to the community recreation center for an evening of dancing. Kaylie thought she was going to dance class, but soon figured out she could wear her Sunday dress and that something different was up. They had a great time!

A few have asked to see pictures of the girls' new, shorter hair. It's been a while since they both had it cut, and in the picture of Taylin, you can't really tell how short it is - about the same as Kaylie's - so it has already grown a lot. They're still cute!

Superbowl fun in Arizona

On January 30th we drove to Phoenix, Arizona (or to be more exact, Queen Creek, AZ) to visit our friends the Ricks, go to the NFL Experience, eat at In-n-Out, watch the Superbowl - at their house - and catch up with our good friends (Jeff Engelke and his boys flew in too). We did just that and more!

We also used some connections (Huy's cousin Griffith - thanks a ton Griffith! We all had a great time!) and had a cabana at the Builtmore. The kids got to swim and go down a slide while some of the bigger kids went "star searching." They saw Barry Sanders (running back legend), Art Rooney (owner of the beloved Steelers), Al Davis (owner of the hated Raiders), Clyde Drexler (Portland Trailblazer great when Kim lived in Oregon, the late 80's, early 90's), Neil O'Donnell (Steelers Superbowl XXX QB), and they saw Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather's cars (Dancing with the Stars - or some of you may know him as a famous boxer).

While the girls stayed home and played, the boys went to the NFL Experience. It was unanimous that they had a good time. When questioned what they did, there seemed to be only one story to tell and lucky for me, Aaron caught it on video for us all to watch and enjoy! A shortened version would be... all the boys ran through this obstacle course and Huy took a turn. He was showing all his stuff... speed, agility, power, and then... he trips! Yes folks, full on flat faced wipeout. He was in the video and then disappeared out-of-sight, only to appear again red-faced and laughing histerically. A moment that will not be forgotten by those in attendance. If I ever get the footage from Aaron, I will be sure to share it.

Huy gracefully accepts his embarrassment as long as it is accompanied by his "money ball" story. I got a full-on, three dimensional drawing of the event that I am sure he would draw again if anyone wanted to see and hear about his amazing throw! He's cool and I love him!

And we mustn't forget Jennie's half marathon race. We watched her take off and her big finish! I am definately impressed because running isn't something I enjoy at all. She rocked the race and did great. I can't even imagine her pain, but also her victory! Thanks for letting us be apart of it Jennie!

The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in an awesome Superbowl XLII game. The commercials were decent, the food was delicious, and the company was even better. The trip was a great break from life in Round Rock. Thanks Ricks for a great time!!

Well, it has been over a month since I've posted. It has stressed me out thinking how far behind I have gotten so I just keep putting off my return, but enough is enough. Let me make several excuses for my tardiness before I work towards "catching up". First excuse... we took a trip to Arizona and I forgot the camera at home (agh!) so... how do I post without a picture? Second excuse... my computer got a virus and Huy has attempted to fix it, but we are going to have to take it to "the shop" for repairs and for some reason, using Huy's computer isn't as good as mine. (But note here, I have resorted to using Huy's computer!) My third and final excuse, the behinder I go, the behinder I get. Isn't that how the saying goes?! : )

So now, I will attempt to get back on the horse and post the happenings I have missed.

Bet you didn't know...

... we had three girls, I mean princesses in our house. It's a rare occasion, but I think Tanner was desperate today. He was home sick from school and after laying on the couch most of the day, he decided he was feeling better so he got up to play with his sisters because he knew Mom wouldn't let him go outside to play with the neighbors. I would say he is definately feeling better, but maybe no, maybe he's not feeling better. Maybe something was unscrewed in his brain from all the vomitting he did. I'm not real sure.

And by-the-way, this is the norm for Kaylie, but it was funny to see her siblings join in her fun!!

(To Tanner's credit, as I sat down at the computer, he said, "Don't you dare post that picture on the blog Mom!" I'm sorry hunny, but you must not know me very well, now do you?)

I've wanted to "jazz" my blog up and after seeing my friend Jeannie's, I learned how to do it. But just so Jeannie knows, it wasn't my intention of using the same template as her, but of all the choices, I liked it best so I hope she doesn't mind. (Let me know Jeannie and I can change it!!)

Stay tuned for some music to be added too. I like it when there is music!

C H R I S T M A S in Utah 2007

This is one wonderful Christmas! We had such a great time with both our families. Below is a sampling of all the fun things we were able to pack into our five days in Utah. We can't thank everyone enough for all the beautiful memories we shared, some filled with laughter and others with tears (okay, not the last one) and for the great gifts. But next year, you are all invited to Texas!!

P.S. To my cousin Scott... if you see this, please call me and let me know how to do the Flashslideshow. I tried everything to get it to be like yours and lets just say, I'm just glad people can view the pictures at this point.

And so the photo shoot began...

It started out as all smiles...

We were having a great time...

But by the end...

We had all gone a bit crazy and couldn't take much more!

Merry Christmas!!!

Not your traditional Thanksgiving

We didn't have any visitors coming into town this year, and although we were invited to share Thanksgiving with friends, we decided to take a mini-vacation as a family and use the days off to go the the Texas beach in Corpus Christi. We stopped at a Golden Corral for our "not traditional Thanksgiving dinner." The kids found something to eat and I'll just say that I missed my Mom's cooking! Funny thing was that the usual warm Texas weather didn't hold out for the holiday weekend. A cold front moved in and well, we were a bit cold, a bit wind blown, and a bit wet at times. We still had a great time playing on the beach, taking a dip in the hot tub, going to see the movie "Bee Movie," and Huy got up early to get some good deals on Black Friday.

This is our beauitful pilgrim girl who came for dinner!

Texting in church
Huy is notoriously known for texting people while in church. And sometimes the kids like to play games on his phone or text people too. When we came home from church today, upon checking my email, this was the text message waiting for me on my email (Taylin had sent it to me) ...

"I Taylin know how to count to five in vietnamese this is how:
1- mop
2- hi
3- ba
4- bom
5- nam"

She's gonna be a GREAT negotiator...

I was getting Kaylie ready for her preschool today, doing her hair up in pretties while she "washed" things in the sink. After finishing her hair, I said it was time to go and get her shoes on. She, of course, fussed a bit, but to stop an all-out tantrum, I said, "Okay, in one minute." She kept about her business and said, "Okay Mom, in two minutes." With the tilt of my head, I re-emphasized, "one minute Kaylie." And she then questioned, "Okay Mom, three minutes?"... and before I could once again re-emphasize the "one minute," she went back to her business and told herself, and the items she was washing, "Okay, three more minutes. Thanks Mom."

How can you not just want to squeeze all that cuteness out of her and give her a bunch of kisses? I just couldn't control myself and so I squeezed her and kissed her and squeezed her and kissed her some more and then we smiled together! What a great way to start a great day!!

Check her out!!!

Taylin was all smiles when she finally received her first pair of "way cool" glasses. She had been asking for days after arriving home from school, "Did you get my glasses today Mom?" To her, and my, dissappointment, it took several extra days to get them. She hoped to get them Friday, but we had to wait until Tuesday and so it was a long weekend. But now she is "Miss Sophisticated" and loves her new glasses.

It may be hard to tell, but they are kind of a red and blue stripe. She tried on several pair, but she must have known these were the ones from the beginning because she kept going back to this pair and just seemed to know that they were "the ones." And she was right! She looks awesome in them!!

We went into the eye doctor just kind of expecting a check-up on her eyes, not even thinking we would walk out with a prescription for glasses, but it was a good thing. She said upon putting them on for the first time, and dropping them below her nose and then placing them back on again, "Things look so different. Blurry (with them below her nose), clear (putting them back on correctly), blurry, clear," followed by a big smile!!

She is supposed to wear them at school, to a movie, and in the car - times that she needs to see things that are far away. She is doing great with them. We are so proud!!

Congratulations kids!

It was a great day today! Tanner brought home an "A Honor Roll" report card and Taylin brought home a super duper one as well (they don't start letter grades until 3rd grade). They are such awesome students and we are so proud of them. They work hard and put forth a lot of effort to do well in school. Keep it up guys!

Trick-or-Treat???

It was a tough year for the kids to decide on that final costume. For most of the month of October the girls were planning on being dogs and Tanner was going to be a transformer, Optimus Prime. But on Halloween night, it seemed that everyone had a change of heart - Kaylie wanted to be a princess, Taylin thought she wanted to be a Steelers football player and Tanner was in his transformer costume until Taylin decided the pads and helmet were too uncomfortable and she changed back into her dog costume and then Tanner changed his mind and put the Steelers outfit on. Got all that? They all turned out darn cute no matter the costume!

And we can't forget the most unforgettable, "the Wendy's guy!" Huy was an original. What can we say about that?!

The kids also had a good time carving pumpkins. They are getting old enough to be a bigger part in it. Can you guess whose is who's?

Regionals in New Orleans

Tanner's flag football team has been working hard all season to be the best so they could take their talent to the NFL Regional Tournament in New Orleans. After much anticipation, they made it to game day. They were pretty nervous, but pretty pumped as well!

The morning of the tournament, the team was able to take a private tour of the Superdome for our team only. It was definately one highlight of the trip. The boys were able to walk on the field where the New Orleans Saints play, practice a few drills of their own, and sit on the bench "where Reggie Bush sat." The boys thought that was the best. And then they saw the locker room and inspected Reggie's locker, looking for a souvenier to take home, but it was cleaned out.

As a woman who likes football, but doesn't love it, the whole "Superdome experience" was cool, but I'm not sure I understood how cool it was. The "big" boys (pictured above) were just as excited to see the locker room - Drew Brees' locker to be exact - and throw on the field and run a few plays themselves. It was a chance to be a pro football player that they have never had before.

The team played in one of two pools (11 teams in the 9-11 age group) and had 3 games. The first game they won 6 to zero, the second they won in overtime 7 to 6, and the third game they won 27 to 13. This put them into the semi-final game which they sadly lost. They were so close, but just couldn't pull it together in that last game, but they did have some good competition throughout the tournament and they did very well. 3rd place is pretty darn great! They were proud of themselves, and we were proud of them as well. Way to go Saints!!

New Orleans is an interesting city. We were able to take a brief sightseeing trip with Aaron and Micah Ricks (who came to play on the team too) and we saw the Mississippi River, had a little experience on Bourbon street (ask Huy to see the moves he learned), and enjoyed a beignet (a French donut)...yum! All I can say is that I'm glad it was daylight, there are a lot of smokers there, and they girls did great at Karmen and Ty's house back in Fort Worth. A big "thank you" to them for helping to make this weekend possible!

My Dad...

Just a quick update. Two days after Kaylie and I returned home (the 20th), my mother called to report that my dad had gone back into the hospital and had two more stints (he already has about four) put into a major artery to his heart because he was having trouble breathing and having cold sweats. After some testing, the doctors concluded it was a mild heart attack because there had been some muscle damage. They will also have to go back to the hospital in about 6-8 weeks to repair another artery that is mostly blocked and we're waiting to hear how that will happen, more stints or bypass surgery.

He is home again and feeling better again, and back on a better road to recovery. I told him he could have had that excitement when I was there, but he said, "then what fun would we have had?"

Sure love you Dad!!

A Fall visit to Utah

What a beautiful time of year in Utah. The trees on the mountains were beginning to change colors and the air was crisp. It was just lovely! Kaylie and I were there for a week to visit my dad. He had a hip replacement surgery on the 4th so I came to help where I could. I was mostly able to spend a lot of time visiting with both him and my mom, but we also were able to watch a few movies, play with Kaylie and Kaylie played with Buck. They became buddies because she took him for walks on the leash from one end of the driveway to the other side of the yard and back and forth and back and forth until they both were very tired. She also loved throwing the frisbee with him too. I saw my dad improve a lot while I was there and although it is a bit of a long road to hoe, he's doing very well. We had a great time being there.

While there, we were able to see the cousins too. This is Luke and he is now 3 months old. He has chubbed out since we last saw him in July, and what a cutie he is. It's so fun to squeeze him and tickle his double chin!

Kaylie spent the day with Ba Noi and Aunt Linh and Uncle Mark and Noah and Luke. They had a great time at the discovery museum. When Aunt Linh brought Kaylie home, she and Noah had blue tongues from a sucker. They were so cute!

Meet "the Creature"

This is Mo (a.k.a. the creature, as named by Kaylie). He is one of the latest members of our family - a little dwarf hamster. He was a gracious gift from our friends the Clarks when we visiting their house over Labor Day weekend. We brought him home and the kids (and Huy) thought he seemed lonely so Karmen promptly replied that she would meet us in Waco (that's halfway) to get us another one because "it's best they not be apart for too long. It will make it harder to put a second in the cage with him," said Karmen. How convienent right? So the following week, Mo was no longer alone. His brother, or sister (sadly we don't know what gender they are and hopefully we won't know by a litter of our own), joined him and we named it Meinie as in Einie, Meanie, Meinie, and Mo! (Meinie is all white.)

It's hard to know who likes the creatures the most... the kids or Huy!? We went out and picked out this spaceship of a cage and although they had a hard time climbing the tubes, they are fattening up and getting bigger and now can climb the tubes and run on the wheel. The kids are learning to clean the cage and are wondering if a dog wouldn't be better!

Kaylie's first day of preschool

First of all, I can't believe my baby is starting preschool, but it's true. Kaylie was somewhat excited for her first day of preschool. She would tell me "no" one minute about getting dressed, eating breakfast, but then she was happy to put on her new shoes and her backpack. She barely wanted to smile for the picture so it was a good thing her dad was there to make her smile so she at least looked like she was excited about pre-K. And when we did drop her off, she knew right where to go to her classroom and she sat right down to start a puzzle and then she gave us kisses and said goodbye. No real fuss, not super excited about it either. It was a good thing, but it was hard for Mom to leave her baby there all day. I was very lonely without her, but I also got a lot done! By-the-way, check out her fabulous rings!!

When I went to pick Kaylie up, she was zonked out on her mat, sweating and drooling all over it, but before school, she insisted on not putting her blankets or a stuffed animal in her backpack for nap time. If you look real close, you can see the start of her name on her forehead where she lied on the mat and the ink rubbed off. I guess preschool is a tough job because she was wiped out!