An anticipated day...

finally arrived today! I had a mentored photo session with Jessica Kettle. She is a photographer from Salt Lake and someone that I have been stalking for a long time! She offered mentored photography sessions on her blog and I was one of the lucky ones to score a session with her!
Hilary came along and was my BEAUTIFUL model for the day! It was cloudy, cold, cold, and very cold! She was such a trooper! My friend Mariah brought her baby along and I was going to photograph him as well but lets just say things didn't work out so well! Sorry Mariah! I still have you on my top list! Don't worry, one free session anytime!

I had the best time learning different manual settings on my camera, hanging out with Hilary, and being able to learn more about something I love so much! I hope someday I can be an awesome photographer like Jessica! And now for my favorite picture of the session...
Isn't my sister so pretty! She has the prettiest eyes!

So, what do you think?
Anyone that may be interested in a FREE session with me leave me a comment with your contact information! I need to build a portfolio and practice, practice, practice! You will get a CD with approximately 15 images to print at your hearts desire!

Take me out to the Ball Game

For family night on Monday we spent the night at the ball fields. Colby has been playing on a softball team and has had so much fun. The tournament started on Monday. Sad to say but they lost the first game. They have been really good all throughout the season and so it was sad to see them loose so early. They played a few more games after that but Trevin and I left. It was about 90 Degrees outside, the M &M's were melting, and Trevin was sit of sitting in his stroller.

I know this picture is a little blurry but it's so cute! He was saying "Cheese" and then all of the sudden as I snapped the picture, he screamed! Gotta love it!
I could not get a good picture of Colby so this will have to do. I didn't want to look like an idiot taking pictures so I tried to play low key. It has been fun to go and watch Colby on the nights I have not had to work. I think he really has enjoyed playing. With work, school, and managing Trevin the nights I work, he needs a little break! I love you Colby!

Clean Up, Clean Up

A few minutes ago Colby and I were in our office and we hear Trevin start singing, "Cean Up Cean Up!" We walked into the family room and he had found the box of vanilla waffers, they were everywhere! He had poured the box on the carpet and tile. Mom didn't get mad, just got out the vaccume and explained that we needed to pick up the cookies. He is such a good little boy when it comes to picking up his toys and helping us out. I wanted to get mad but it is so cute to hear him sing the Clean Up Song.
All of us have not been feeling the greatest the last few days. I wasn't sure if Trevin was getting some more teeth or if he had a cold. Colby and I now have sore throats and I feel dizzy all the time. Hopefully we get better soon!

Trevin fell off a chair yesterday at the babysitters house and got a nice shiner on his cheek! He's a tough guy! Maybe someday he will learn that he can't always be "Danger Boy!" I swear he has no fear!

Now, more laundry, packing, and getting ready to leave for Nephi in the morning! Lots of fun and exciting things going on tomorrow! More to come...

Make me a Deal

Ok so I realize this picture is really bad but I want to get to bed! I went on my usual trip to Albertson's this morning after work. Grabbed all the items on my list and met up with my newest friend Josh (the checkout boy) and watched my bill go down!

Here is what I purchased:
4 BC Cookie Mixes
4 BC Frosting
4 BC Muffin Mixes
4 BC Warm Delights minis
2 Jell-O No bake cheesecakes
2 Bisquick
5 Digiorno Flatbread Melts
3 Bagel-fuls
9 Bottles of Pop (2 Liters)

Oh and I also bought two Gallons of Milk FREE! I have not bought one gallon of milk for three weeks!

Total Out of Pocket Paid: $37.90
Total Savings: $73.04

And I am up to $35.39 on my next gas purchase! Awesome!

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I gave Josh (the checkout boy) one of my Bagel-fuls to have for breakfast! He asked me if they were good last week when I bought a box and so I felt like it would be nice to repay him for being so nice when I hand him 500 coupons! We know each other on a first name basis! LOL!

Worst Night Ever

So this morning at around 4:00 a.m. I look down at my left hand only to find that my wedding ring is not on my finger. Immediately I freak out and think to myself, "Did I wear my ring to work tonight?" Of course I had worn my ring to work. Being a nurse in an ICU you can only imagine how many times I washed my hands, how many bed linens I changed, what other patients rooms (besides my own) I went into, and where in the world I could have lost it! It could be anywhere I thought to myself.

I called Colby, yes I woke him up at 4:00 a.m. only to hear the sad news that indeed my ring was not in my jewelry box. I started to cry!

In the next four hours, with tears streaming down my face, we gathered together every single bag of trash and we searched with our hands through each one! No luck. Not only did we search through once, but we searched through each bag three times and also xrayed each one with a C-Arm. Again, No luck!

We looked through laundry, changed each patients bed linens, and looked in EVERY single room (even if I had not remembered being in there). Again, No luck!

I am completely in shock and extremely sad that such a thing would ever happen to me! I am not sure if it fell off my finger and someone picked it up without saying a word. I would hope that nobody would EVER just take something so precious, but in the world we live in, everyone could use a little extra cash. I have been praying to try and get those thoughts from my head. I know it's wrong for me to think that way and something that should never cross my mind. Colby and I are going to the temple tonight, maybe the Lord can help ease some of my anger and sadness.

Word to the wise: Don't wear your wedding ring to work, even if you want to so badly. I knew I would feel lost without it on my finger while at work, but now, I am completely lost without it!

I know it's just a worldly item, but it means so much more than that! It is a symbol of love and a token of the happiest day of my life! Something that I can never get back!

***UPDATE***
Colby and I went to the temple with Braydon and Melissa tonight. I was an emotional wreck the entire time, but I couldn't help it. I thought about Colby and what a wonderful husband he is. I realized that my life is good. I realized that I don't need all the material things in the world to make it wonderful. I had come to grips with the fact that I probably would never see my own ring again.

And then...the call came. After we got home from the temple, Kevin (a tech at work) left me two messages on my phone telling me he had found my ring! I was in shock! I almost didn't believe it! I went right over to work and picked it up. It didn't seem real until I actually placed the ring on my finger. I cannot explain how excited I was!

I guess this is a wake up call. Colby and I have not been to the temple in a long time. We had plans to go each month and then things just fell through. Maybe tonight the Lord was trying to tell me something. Maybe we need to attend the temple more often (I know we do). Maybe I need to realize that life is about family, love, the gospel, and cherishing moments together as a family. The material things don't matter.

This trial (as I like to refer it as) was a lesson I needed to learn. Going to the temple tonight was so wonderful. I need to be better. Colby needs to be better. We need to be better. We are working on it....

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was so much fun! We got up early, went to church, had an awesome dinner, and after all that we looked outside and the Easter Bunny had brought Trevin some awesome treats. My dad was making fun of the Easter Bunny because he apparently didn't do a good enough job hiding the eggs. That little Easter Bunny must have realized Trevin is not even two years old and may struggle finding the eggs he left for him! Grandpa was excited the bunny had hid them on the putting green and in the golf holes. The Easter Bunny came a little early while Trevin was taking a nap and so by the time we opened the eggs, the chocolate was melted and Trevin got it all over his hands. He decided his dad needed a little Chocolate.
This picture was taken after Trevin had found all of his eggs! The weather was so nice!
Great Job on the pictures Grandpa!
Trevin in Action!
Trevin had so much fun finding the easter eggs! He knew exactly what to do. After finding an egg he would run over to his easter basket and put his egg in it. It was so much fun to see how excited he was and to let him run around the yard for a little bit.
Don't worry, Roscoe was not far away!
After the easter egg hunt at the Hitchcock's we went over to the Park's house and had another easter egg hunt. I didn't even think about taking my camera out there! Bummer! Grandpa Kent hid money and movie tickets in over 70 eggs and let us go find them. Trevin found the biggest prize egg which had a twenty-dollar bill in it! I was so excited! After trading one movie ticket (which we gave to Jordan) for money, we came out with almost $34.00! What a deal!

We are going to put that money towards a Bike for Colby and a trailer to go on that bike for Trevin. The weather down here is so nice right now and we can't wait to enjoy it as a family!

Thanks everyone for letting us spend the weekend with you! We love you all!

Camping

Every Easter weekend the Park family gets together and goes out west camping. I guess camping is not exactly the word to describe it because hardly anyone ever actually sleeps out there, but we spend the day together. This weekend we decided to make dutch oven dinner and have different couples make different food items so Kent & Diane did not always have to do the cooking. Needless to say, it was a huge hit! The food was delicious and everyone enjoyed making dinner together....some people enjoyed supervising more than others, but we won't discuss WHO that was. Josh made BBQ Ribs and Chicken, Riley made cheesy potatoes, Colby & I made Chicken Cordon Bleu, and Carson made Dr. Pepper Baked Beans! Diane made potato salad and some other things for side dishes. I think everyone else at the campsite was a little jealous of our family dinner!
Most of the boys in action. It was windy, rainy, and a little cold so we decided it would be better if we cooked dinner inside the enclosed trailer. Josh brought his new camp chef and we cooked mainly on that. We did the hot coals on top of the dutch oven because with the wind and rain, we didn't feel like the dutch ovens outside would be a good idea.
Patyon enjoyed digging up an ant farm (with the help from his Uncle Colby) and later we decided that probably was not a good idea after Colby got bit by one! Payton had fun while it lasted. He even saved a beetle from getting killed by the ants! He was so proud!
Trevin enjoyed turning the key to the four wheeler on and off about two hundred times. He loved to climb on the four wheelers and wait for someone to come and give him a ride!
Trevin & Austin had a great time together! They hug each other, share toys, and play all day long together. It has been so much fun to have them born so close together! I am so happy they get along so well! They are both so cute!
Austin enjoying a ride with Jordan. I can always get my nephews to smile. My son will never smile for me when I want him to!
The boys enjoying a ride together. Nice Shades Jordan! Thanks for finding Trevin when he was lost in his own little world in the trees! We had so much fun being with the Parks!

Side Note: I was a little upset because we were not able to roll eggs down the hill on Saturday because it was raining. Better luck next year I guess!

Can you Say Screamin' Deal!

Ok so I told myself when I got home I was going to put everything away and go right to bed, but I just got the best deal of my life!

I went to Walgreens and this is what I got:
4 Schick Quattro Disposable Razors (3 Razors in each)
1 Skintimate Shaving Gel
2 Visine AC Eyedrops
1 Colgate Toothpaste

Total Spent: $8.84
Total Savings: $43.43 PLUS as you can see in the picture I also got $6.00 worth of Register Rewards. If you minus the RR from what I spent, the difference is $2.84! I am THRILLED with my purchase! I am trying to get together my 72 hour kits and so I am going to add some of these items to that kit.

Next I went to Albertsons and this is what I got:

3 Kellogs Cereals (2 Pops and 1 Apple Jacks)
10 Dole 20 oz. Pineapples

Total Spent: $9.20
Total Savings: $27.35 PLUS I got a voucher for a FREE milk!

I know most of you won't care, but I think it's awesome to use coupons! I am having the time of my life doing it and my pantry is stocking up FAST!

Now its off to bed....

Trevin Officially Loves Cookies and hates Pants!

So while I was posting my last post, Trevin decided that it would be smart to try and take his pants off. Lately, he has hated pants and will keep taking them off! I tried to put these back on him four times and he just would not leave them on! You can see how frustrated he gets trying to get them off!

These next few pictures are of us baking some yummy cookies!
Getting a closer look at the cookies baking in the oven... smashed nose and everything!
Trevin was sitting on the counter helping me! He loved eating the cookie dough while watching Dumbo. I guess he takes after his mom. My favorite movie is Dumbo and I love eating cookie dough!
This is my favorite picture of the night! He just looks so BIG in this picture! I can't believe how big he is getting! Don't mind all the hand prints and marks on the oven door! Oh, and the chocolate on his face!

Conference Saturday

Today all of us finally got in the shower after the second session of general conference. It was so nice to just relax as a family and enjoy the words of a prophet and other speakers. I have been looking forward to listening to conference for awhile now and I really enjoyed it! I can't wait to hear the choir tomorrow in the morning and listen to the last two sessions.
Trevin lounging around in his PJ's and playing with his toys. His favorite toys right now are his shopping cart, animals, Little Einsteins, and legos. He loves to play with his Mickey Mouse toys in the tub! He can say Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, and favorite character is "DONALD!" He has become quite the little talker lately. We love him so much!
This is when he was saying "Cheese!" I wanted to take some pictures of his curly hair before we cut it next weekend! I think all three of us are in need of some haircuts!

Now Colby has gone to the Priesthood session (alone, poor guy) and Trevin is helping me make some of Grandma Hitchcock's awesome cookies! I made them last weekend and he LOVED them! Grandma, you might want to consider making some for next weekend! You might just be his favorite person if you do!

Hapri Swimwear Party!

I am having another Hapri Swimwear Open House again for those of you who loved the one I did last year! They have the cutest swimming suits for all ages (including men) and this year they are actually cheaper than last year! They fit great and are very good quality! I have loved the ones I got last year and so did my sister. They are modest swim suits. You can get Tankinis at short length, medium length, or long length. They have skirts you can order to match as well.

Please plan on attending!
May 9th is the date.
I am going to be doing it around 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. at my house here in St. George. I will be sending out invites within the next two weeks. If you are interested in coming and need my address please e-mail me at natalie_park5@hotmail.com
(I am sorry I am not going to post my home address on my blog)

For those of you who ordered a suit last year and liked it, but are unable to attend, you can check out their website HERE and contact me if you would like to order a suit! Keep in mind they only have a limited selection on the website.

Please tell your friends! Anyone is invited! Thanks!