Birthdays Birthdays Birthdays.... April 30th must be some special day

So I have 4 friends with a birthday today and one tomorrow!! Crazy huh! April 30th must be the day to be born! haha... not actually July is the perfect month ;)

Anyhow. This is Dean. He is from Taiwan and is here going to school for physical therapy at Loma Linda University. He has NEVER had birthday presents before for his birthday and he told me that birthday cake was unheard of in Taiwan. He said that he remembers his Dad bringing a cake to elementary school like once or twice but it's not usually done a lot. So my friend JJ decided that he wanted to throw Dean a party with presents and I agreed to help so we threw together this bowling party for him and it was so much fun! By the way, this friend, JJ it's his birthday today too (and also Don's and my other friend Marks!) but he didn't want a lot of people to know but somehow word got out... it wasn't me... but secretly I think he liked the fact that people wished him a Happy Birthday too, who wouldn't! :) He did still stay under the spotlight though for the most part and let Dean have his Happy Day :) It was priceless seeing Dean open his gifts. It was so fun to see how excited he got for each and every one. All day I kept asking him if it was his best birthday ever and at the end of the night, he said yes it has been!! Good...mission accomplished :)  Here are photos of our fun group and bowling :) I apologize if they are blurry.... the lighting was bad and it was cosmic bowling so it was dark and smokey with those fog machines lol

Eric, Don (birthday boy as well), Tara and Me... all watching the score of someone haha...gotta love random photos!

Aaron getting ready to bowl

Bogh watching his ball hit some of the pins...not all of them ;) 

Mikey and Em

Elyse and Joseph

This is the only picture of the two of us who put the party together... JJ must've been watching someone get a strike or something instead of the camera lol

Tara and Me :)

Dean, Mike, Tara and Me 

Aaron and Em

Dean and Shelby

I just love the randomness of this one so I thought I would share haha
Sister Brice, Emily, JJ and Jonathan

The cake :)

This is the video of us singing to Dean. He started taking candles off because JJ put too many on haha it was so funny!! 

Weddings....

Okay so people must be drinking water that I have never found because they are either 1. Already married and pregnant or 2. getting married. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for all of them but um, I'm already left out as it is haha crazy! Anyhow... today has been a BUSY day which is why I needed to break up the posts because it's too much to do it all in one. Nate and Meghan are some really good friends of mine that got married on April 6, yep I won't ever forget that because Nate was determined to make sure I never forgot lol :p .... and had their wedding reception today :) I'm so happy for them! I've actually known Nate for quite a few years from the Singles ward but we never really became friends or had conversations really until a few months ago. Why the change? Oh I don't know...probably because I needed some male advice and he was being a good friend haha. Really though, he is awesome and I'm glad we are friends. He has been a great friend and I appreciate all that he has done for me. Meghan is a sweetheart and when she moved into our ward I was so glad I got to know her! She is so fun and sweet and is SO nice to everyone! I'm happy these two found eachother. Nate sure found himself a winner! I told him he better not ever screw it up haha. Here are pictures of the fun night! :)

Nate, Meghan and I

Cute Elyse

The happy couple dancing their first dance

Me and Tara :)

Mikey into his food... I LOVE taking random photos of him!

Yep, Bishop had ALL of that cake!

Tim and I

Denise and I 

Millett and Dean

Me and Aaron

Celtics vs. Lakers haha

The groom with Aaron :)

Mormon Helping Hands Community Service Project

Every year at the end of April (well I think it started last year but oh well)... the churches in all the communities come together and do a service project. Last year it was at the park, where our ward was in charge of re-doing a roof of a bathroom. This year we redid Redlands Blvd median and it was a lot of work but it was fun! There were so many people of different faith there along with the Redlands stake and it was just a perfect day to do service. The temperature was just right and we actually finished really early (about 10-1030ish) and lunch wasn't supposed to be until 12 but they served it to us early haha :) It always feels good to do service and give back to the community so I was happy I was able to participate. I wish I had worn my pedometer because I think I walked like 10 miles (no not really but I did a TON of walking) I definitely got my exercise in for the day haha :) Here are some photos of all our service :)

Joseph starting to plant 

Matt hard at work

Chelsea and I

Me with Steph and Justine

Svea and Emily

My awesome Bishop who was in charge of a BIG portion of this project

JJ moving rocks

Bogh hard at work raking mulch

Me and Elyse

Nicole hard at work :)

Awesome Elders
Skaggs, Shaw, Preator, Larsen, Gilbert
(at least I hope that's Elder Skaggs haha) Sadly I cut out our other missionary but no worries there will be more service opportunities I'm sure to capture him.

Keepers :)

My Grandma is always sending me cute forwarded messages and sometimes I pass it along and other times I just don't, simply because I'm checking my email fast and don't have the time to pass it on. I always get great stuff from her and I wanted to share this one on the blog :) I modified it a little but I hope it's worth the read, I definitely think it is :) Enjoy and Happy Friday!! :)


I grew up with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it...

A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.
 Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away..  I  can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things.. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress.

 Things we keep.
 
 It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.
 
 But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck
 with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.
 
 Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return.. So... while we have
 it..... it's best we love it.... and care for it... and fix it when it's broken......... and heal it when it's  sick.
 
 This is true. for marriage....... and old cars..... and children with bad report cards..... and dogs with bad hips.... and aging parents..... and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth
 it.

 Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.
 
 There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special........ and so, we keep them close!
 
 I received this from someone
 who thinks I am a 'keeper', so I've sent it  (well sharing!) to the people I
 think of in the same way... Now it's your turn to send this to
 those people that are "keepers" in your life. Good friends are
 like stars.... You don't always see them, but you know they are
 always there. Keep them close!
 
 TEN THINGS GOD WON'T
 ASK ON THAT DAY.
 
 1.... God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't  have transportation..
 
 2.... God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
 
 3.... God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.
 
 4.... God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.
 
 5.... God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.
 
 6.... God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.
 
 7.... God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.
 
 8.... God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your  character.
 
 9.... God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.
 
 10.... God won't have to ask how many people you share this message with, He already knows your decision.

Changing my ways....

I'm a horrible person. Yep, I am. And I'm admitting it very publicly to where everyone who reads this knows that. There are things in my life that I wish I could erase, go back in time and change but then again, if I did that, how would I learn from my mistakes?? We aren't perfect, every day is a challenge and my goal is to strive to be a better person each and every day. Going back and re-reading some of my blog posts I have come to the realization that perhaps I'm putting myself out to be a negative person. I'm really not. I love having a positive outlook on life and trying to enjoy each and every moment. Sure there are things that I strongly believe in that I need to vent about on here but not all the time. The purpose of this blog was to write down my thoughts, mostly good with only a little venting. I feel like it has been the opposite so I'm promising to be better at writing the positive things in life instead of venting random thoughts that may come off as negative. I'm changing my ways so to speak ;)

This week has been one of those off weeks where everything is out of place and so on but I've found so much good in this week that I can't say it's been a bad week. Not at all. Work has been super busy, which is great, the days go by fast but I wish the phones would not ring so much haha. I was amazed at how I got things done with how many phone calls I took today. I seriously do not want to hear another phone ring the rest of the day haha. Anyways... like I was saying... I have found good among the bad things of the week. Here is what I realized this week:
*People come and go out of your life---like leaving the city and never coming back--- but the ones who care about you, will stick around and help you through anything no matter what :)

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*Family matters. I would like to give a SHOUT out to my cousin Carissa. I seriously have been so touched by her words of encouragement and words of wisdom and she inspires me to be a better person daily. Thank you my dear! You are amazing!

Aren't we just the cutest ever?? Haha :) 

*Honesty is the best policy. I know I've talked quite a lot about this but I recently had a conversation and wasn't sure how honest I should be with everything but truthfully, I was so honest that it worked out okay and I feel much better knowing what the other person is thinking/feeling and they know how I feel. It's so good to know that people around you prefer honesty, I know I do :)

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* God loves me! I know that you are probably well duh Kati of course he does but no really, I know He does. I've been feeling a little torn as to what He has in store for me and trying to decipher between my feelings and what He is trying to tell me and even though I haven't figured it quite out.... I know He loves me and that everything works out the way it's supposed to.

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*Patience is a virtue. Haha... yep it SURE is. I've been praying to have more patience and I realized that is a mistake because now God is trying my patience haha. Seriously... it's been really  hard trying to be patient in all things but I'm getting better and I'm relying on the Lord to help me through and show me more patience :)

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So with all that said... that's all folks ;) I'm proud of myself for even blogging today ...it's not Saturday haha but I had some time so I thought I would write some thoughts down. You are all AMAZING and I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I know I will and I will have tons more to blog about from movie nights, to weddings, to parties, to service projects!! :)

My mind is obviously gone.....

Okay so I must be a spaz...no really... I think I am. For some reason I seemed to have thought that I hadn't posted about Disneyland with the Pilkingtons (check), baseball season (check) and some other stuff I had wanted to (check). Wow.... I can't believe how dumb I am lol. Well since my last post was kind of a downer, here are some things that make me happy :)


*Compliments :) It's always nice to have someone say you look cute today or thank you when you really did nothing. Makes my day!! :)
*Doing service :) A friend of mine was recently in the hospital and so I went with another friend to go see him and we ended up walking around the hospital a few times despite the pain my friend was in. It was so good just to go visit him and I even made him a pretty picture :) (sorry no picture for the blog)
*Friends!!: I can't tell you how happy it makes me that I have such amazing friends!!! Some know me SO well that they just know when I'm having a hard day and I don't say a word, others put up with me when I said them a wrong text meant for someone else entirely...and they don't care, and others who just genuinely try to make me have a good time whenever possible. It's so great to have such awesome friends and I try to be the best friend I can be too so people can say they have an awesome friend too :)
*Baseball games... yes I know in my last post I said that I was tired of the politics and so on but I still love watching my brothers play. Here are a few of Chad :

On the bench with his pals :)

Up to Bat

Catcher :)


Well that's it for now I guess :) I'm going to go start prepping dinner for tomorrow!!  Hopefully I can get most of it done and out of the way before too late tonight so I can rest and just enjoy the evening :) 

Random Thoughts....

I have TONS to blog about and I feel like I'm getting behind (Yeah not really but when you go from no job-blogging two to three times a week to working-blogging maybe once if that it means I'm behind!) haha anyways... I will just do random thoughts for now until I edit all my pictures and post about stuff later! By the way...this is my venting blog thoughts lol.... Just alot I needed to get off my chest ;)

What you say to People Matters!!
I am not a big fan of LYING!! What hurts me more than probably anything else is when someone lies to me about something. And they do it to my FACE! It's just as bad over a text message or email but to your face is a whole lot different. It's ridiculous. And I honestly think the saying is right, "What goes around, comes around". Obviously if you can't say anything nice than don't say anything at all but also Don't LIE to your friends. Or at least I thought we were friends! Good grief. Yeah... don't ever lie to me please. Truth hurts but it's better than being lied to.

Baseball Politics are SO overrated!!
I will blog about Chad and Bret with baseball later but let me just say... I'm not looking forward to when Bret gets up to high school ball. I think it's ridiculous that only the favorite players get to play, even when the better players are sitting on the bench watching from the sidelines. It breaks my heart to see all these Dad's have a "talking" to with the coach about how their son needs to play and so they do and then Chad sits...ALL the time. Don't get me wrong, there are other GREAT players on the bench as well who have Dad's that don't give in to the dumb politics and I like that. Every kid should get the chance to play.  It shouldn't be about who knows who and who is the favorite. The kids should play. How are they supposed to show improvement if they never play? Yeah... my point exactly!

All for Nothing Sometimes....
Do you ever have those days where you weren't planning to look really nice and then you end up looking all nice and then have nothing to do? Yeah... I think everyone has had those moments and I have had some recently and I think wow it's going to be a good day but then when I realize that there isn't a whole lot going on...it's all for nothing. I think from now on though I'm going to try and make it something :) I mean I did put in all the effort to look nice and then my mood is like super great so why shouldn't I go do something? huh... see how writing stuff down...makes you realize that things can change :)

Supermodel? I don't think so!
Okay so this is really for guys (but none really read my blog so ladies just put up with me for this one!) but seriously.... WHY do guys think that they have to have a blonde..super thin..model looking girl for their someday wife?? Us girls with curves.. yeah that would be me.. would really like to be appreciated as well. Just because I don't have super skinny hips doesn't mean I'm not as great as those supermodels over there. Ladies..remember though to be your own kind of beautiful. Don't ever change just because you want a guy to like you. We are all beautiful inside and out!! ...alright..done for the moment with that haha

Sushi?? :/
So I've been meaning to try Sushi for a while but have been kind of nervous about it for a long time. I mean..some it it is raw so yeah... makes me nervous!! I was talking to a friend of mine and she was determined to have me try it! So today for lunch... I had Sushi! YES! I can cross that off my bucket list now :) It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and the raw stuff wasn't too too bad either. Thank you to my amazing friends for making me try it :)

Alright...this last thought is in regards to what I just read on my cousin's blog!

Grass Greener on the Other Side??
Carissa just posted about this and now I just feel I need to comment about it on my blog haha. We've all be there, where we think the grass is always greener on the other side. Or we think someone is having a better, more blissful life than we are. I think we are all  guilty of it. I know for one I definitely am. I look at people who have all these things in life, I have yet to have (husband, kids, house etc.) and sometimes I catch myself thinking...man she has the PERFECT life! But you know what, in reality... there could be something else going on that I have no idea about. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. God gives us all different trials, because he knows us best. Sure it may seem that some people are better off than others but you don't really know that....so don't sit there day dreaming all day about wanting to over there instead of here! I remember reading a study once when I was in school and it said that those who have lived in poverty or  have very little, are the most humble. We take a lot forgranted here in the U.S. and it makes me really sad. There are people worse off than me and my heart goes out to them. I want everyone to have what I have and to know what I know but sadly this world is full of statuses and cliques and so all I can do is be the best person I can be and not day dream about life being greener on the other side!

Alright... I'm done for the day... haha. I still have some other posts I want to do but maybe I will do that tonight after I get some things done!! Love you all :)

How Life Works Sometimes....

So I posted this a few days ago on facebook and I want to explain why. First off, I wasn't going to blog about it but I think that writing it down for others to see and relate to might be of some use and if not then, at least I'm writing it down for posterity :) This is what I wrote:

"It's interesting how life works sometimes. When we go through something we have people around us who have experienced it before to help us get through it. It's hard to understand how life works someways but it's amazing how it works out to where we help each other get through it. Life isn't always easy and it's good to know we have friends and love ones to get us through each day! "


Now you are probably wondering why I wrote it, and if you aren't wondering than you probably shouldn't read this haha. A few weeks ago a friend of mine had texted me about her Dad who has now been diagnosed with cancer. I was so sad for her and her family but I was grateful that they are members of church and know about life after death. (If you would like to know more about what we believe go to mormon.org or click on my temple picture to the right)  They are strong and I know they will get through it just like I did. For those of you who don't know..which is a very small number, my Dad passed away almost two years ago from cancer as well. I will probably blog about that story, how I got through it and how I still get through every day but that's not what I'm blogging about today :)

Today it's about how life works and how interesting things in life happen. God has a purpose for each and every one of us and while we don't necessarily know exactly what that plan is, God is with us every step of the way. I never expected to experience what I experienced and what I went through and still go through. And I certainly never thought I would be the one that would be able to help lend a hand to a friend who is now experiencing the same thing, one of my great friends who helped me get through my ordeal two years ago, even though she hadn't experienced what I was going through until now.  It's so awesome to know what great friends we have to help us get through the hard times. I don't think there have been many times in my life where I have been one of the few who actually understands what someone else is going through. Mainly because I've experienced different things. It can be hard at times not knowing EXACTLY how another person you love feels and you want to help so bad and say the right things. I think the IMPORTANT thing though is being a friend to them when they need it most. The rest doesn't really matter. I am grateful for the friends who got me through the tough times and still continue to do so and I am grateful that I can be one of those friends back!

It really is interesting how life works out and how in some moments, the right person is placed into your life for a reason. We are all here to help each other and I am so blessed with great friends and family! I'm grateful that I know what my friend is going through so I can help her like she and others helped me in many ways years ago. Life isn't always easy but it's worth it, especially when you have GREAT people around you to help you every step of the way!! I love you all!!

Exhausted!!!

So I started a new job. A temporary job of course until I get a nursing job but it's still a job!! :) Let me tell you though, I forgot how much work it is to just go to work!! haha...crazy I know but after my first two days of working I was exhausted!!! I'm definitely thankful that it's Friday!! Now I can maybe catch up on sleep...NOT!! Both Chad and Bret have games tomorrow and then it's Stake Conference for my stake so I've got that as well. Plus the normal cleaning and laundry and so on... it's going to be a busy weekend!! But tonight I'm just relaxing :) Going to watch the movie SALT with the family :) And then probably blog more... haha I don't know... we'll see. Have a great weekend!! I have loads to write about so hopefully I can this weekend!!

Blessings Come in Disguise Sometimes....

Life has been rough for me the past few years. Most of you know that. I've been through trials that I don't necessarily understand but I do know God loves me and everything happens for a purpose. With that said, I have been extremely blessed and sometimes I don't even realize it until after the fact. As most of you know, I have been looking for a job as an RN for about five months. While I am still looking, I have been offered a job temporarily as a secretary in a hospital setting. It's only temporary but it's still something! I have also been seriously considering going on a medical mission for about a month or two to get some experience. My cousin gave me info from Global Crossroads that I've been looking into and researching a lot about. If I can figure everything out, then I would like to go in June. My temporary job will be done by then so it works out perfect!! Mind you this is all still in the "dream" works process about doing this mission. But it is something that I would LOVE to do and have wanted to do for a long time now. Anyhow, I just thought I would write a quick note and update you about life. Count Your Blessings...there are many .... God loves us all!! :)

Handsome at 16 :)

My little bro is 16 today!!! Crazy huh!!! It seems like just yesterday I was 7 and no longer the baby of the family! This guy is amazing and I'm blessed to have him as my brother! He is funny, smart and of course quiet (when he wants to be lol) and he is my brother!!! It's so weird to think that he is 16!!! In just 3 short years he will serving a mission like Donnie and JJ!! Crazy!! I went through some pictures and found some of these of him! Isn't he just the best!! Love him!!! Happy Birthday little brother!!

Best of Friends :) 

HAPPY 16th  BIRTHDAY CHAD!!!