4 years ago..

I gave birth to the most amazing little girl ever! B turned 4 on the 24th of June! I honestly can not believe it has been 4 years! She has grown and changed so much! Her little personality is really starting to shine! Her knowledge, her skills, her presence is just unbelievably amazing! Who knew that in just 4 short years, a tiny little human being can go from 8 lbs. 21" knowing not much more than how to eat, pee, poop, and cry all the way to 35 Lbs and well over 3ft tall with a mouth full of words, self-care, hygeine, how to write, and a wild imaginitation! It just blows my mind!

At 4 years old, B has been to more places than most people have been in the adult life! She's been a travelin little bug! She's been to California multiple times, Texas, Arizona, Germany, Netherlands, numerous layovers in Detroit, South Carolina, Las Vegas, etc. And if you wanna get specific, she was "Made in Korea"! I hope to take her many more places and be sure she knows there is more out there than small town Minnesota!

She began preschool at age 2! She learned to write her name at early age 3! She can count in Enlish, Spanish, German, andVietnamese. She is bilingual in English and Vietnamese! I also hope to have the Vietnamese culture be a part of her life as well! I want her to be as diverse as possible! I want her to experience all that she can! She deserves nothing but the best!

B has affected so many people's lives! Friends and aquantences who've met her just one time, to this day, ask how she is doing! She's got that personality that just sparks! She will do great things! :) She's grown into this little person thanks to all of the amazing people she has in her life! To name a few, her daddy, nana, grandpa, aunt m, mommy, noy, cousins, friends, teachers, etc!

Happy Birthday B! We love you and can't wait to watch you continue to grow and learn and amaze us all! :)

Happy Father's Day!

 I hope all of the wonderful fathers out there had a great day! My dad spent the entire day on the couch! I'd like to say it was him relaxing (but we all know that's just not my dad). The poor guy was sick ALL day! So aside from him being sick, I am glad he did get to stay home and sleep! Not many men are as amazing as my dad. And I am not saying that just because he is my dad, but because you don't find men like him very often! He will ALWAYS put everyone else first! He will bend over backwards to help just about anyone, no matter what it is!

B and I made our move back home with him and my mom. He agreed to help me re-do the few rooms her and I have. I'll just letyou know that he didn't rest until they were nearly finished! :) Our rooms look fantastic and it means so much more because he did it himself (with a bit of help from nana and I) and he did it for us. He wanted to be sure we were comfortable and had our own little space! He was pretty enthusiastic about getting B's room done! Of course EVERY little girl wants a PINK room! Grampy and her picked out the color "cotton candy swirl". And if you know my dad, the color, according to him, was "cotton candy SQUIREL!" :)

My dad has been there from day one! He's helped me get through challenges in my life, always stood by me and my choices, and rarely passes judgement! He has done everything in his power to make sure my mom, my sister, and I were always taken care of! His ways of teaching us life's lessons are what has gotten us this far in life. He's taught us right from wrong, the good from the bad, and that compasion and empathy are a must. I will admit that we can all be a pain in the ass to eachother, but he has always forgiven us for our mistakes and those days where we're having a "moment." He's made sure we know that we can always come home and they him and my mom will always be there for us.

I love my dad more than words could ever explain! He truely is great in every way, shape, and form! Little Mr. Funny guy can always make us laugh, simply by laughing so hard himself while trying to tell a funny story! :) He can definitely be a work-a-holic and make us women worrrrry to no end, but at the end of the day, he's ours and we couldn't ask for more! I could go on and on!! We love you man!

Also want to wish T, B's dad, a happy father's day too! Unfortunately he is training this month and she wasn't able to spend the day with him! He's been such a great dad to her and always makes sure she is taken care of! He has done a great job with her and I hope soon him and B can spend some quality time together! I know she definitely misses her daddy!

Short and Sweet

Yep, back to reality. The real reality, work, school, mommyhood, and family (I left out exercise, as I haven't squeezed that in for a while)! Started school this week, as well as work this past weekend. What am I thinking, trying to take a Biology AND Chemistry class in a Summer session? Well, I can do it! Believe me, I WILL do it! So far, I really am enjoying them both! I also took Nutrion, but I am debating about dropping it. It's a 2 credit class, but honestly, I have done more work for that class than the other two combined, and they are each 4 credits! Grrr!

On a good, or should I say GREAT, note, sister is here visiting! It's nice having her home, she brought the boyfriend home too. I like him, he fits right into our family humor, and he can definitely hold his own! :) Hope to spend a few more days with sister before she goes back to reality! We went go-karting with all the family today! I'll post pictures soon!

B is doing wonderful! She's growing like a weed! Had to buy her new flippies the other day, her heals were hangin off the back of her old ones! If you have kiddos who where flip flops, OLD NAVY is the place to go! 2 pr for $5! Can't beat that these days!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Back to reality...

Shortly after Mother's day, I went on a little vacation to my favorite place, Germany! I went there with the intention of having a good time, forgetting my responsibilities for a few days, and spending time with my favorites. Well, I did accomplish what I had intended, and so much more than expected. I believe I came home with a new outlook on life, or at least I hope that's what I did. It was short, bitter, and sweet. I needed that time away to figure out what I really needed in this moment of my life. And I believe I am now ready to move on from the negatives in my life. I found simple joy in the things I once loved, I can't believe how I missed that feeling so much! I always knew I had people who truely cared for me and had my back, but this trip just further proved that I do have an affect on people, in a GOOD way! :) I couldn't have been more thankful to the boys who let me crash at the "orphanage"...and it was definitely a good, relaxing, drama-free time!

Below are a few friends that are still in Germany! Enjoying our glamorous dinner at none other than the famous CHILI's! I secretly miss working there!

At the beggining of my trip, I may have burned a bridge or two...or possibly crossed one I had been hesitant to cross. I can't decide which one it is yet. Well either way, whatever happened in the past, happened. There isn't much more I can do about it, but be sorry and move forward from here, which is exactly what I am going to do! And I believe those 6 days away helped give me the piece of mind and the courage to fully move forward without looking back. I think I am ready, I know I am ready. And for my B, she needs a strong and happy mommy! A mommy who puts B first no matter what!

Below is a picture of B and her class the last day of CJ. They got to make and launch little rockets! :) Too cute when they tried couting backwards from 10!

Getting back to the grind...what little grind I have really had the past few months! I will admit it has been extremely nice not working, sleeping in, doing a lot of nothing, and spending some quality time with my B. But the time has come where I definitely need to and am ready to start a legit routine. SCHOOL STARTS ON MONDAY! I am more than excited! The only downfall to that is that my amazing sister will be here this weekend for 2 weeks! I'll be studying and cramming in time with the fam! Wish me luck! Write more soon!