6 Months and 4 Years.

Well its now been 6 months since we had baby Brooklynn, and what a crazy 6 month they have been. She is now moving all over the place trying to get anywhere but not yet crawling, its fun to watch her grow.. she likes to say mamama, not really know what shes saying but she does look at me when it happens.. I WIN! I had my sister-in-law take some pictures and I will get them posted soon.
As for the 4 years. Yup you guessed, Derek and I have been married for 4 years now. I think I have counted 6 houses we've lived in not including living at the in-laws a couple of times, multiple jobs and schools. It has been crazy but we are still in it together and enjoying every minute with each other and Brooklynn.

Derek is full speed into Paramedic school, Its taking up all of his free time and he loves it. I am looking for a new hobby to keep me entertained, think I might take up sewing now that I have my mom to help :)

Christmas was good. We had the whole family over to my parents house (except for Jo and Jon) and we played our annual kick ball after presents to get out the energy, you just had to make sure you didn't step in any puppy surprises. My parents got two puppies for Christmas you could say and Brooklynn just loves them. She laughs and smiles when they are around, as well the cats outside the glass door.. Hours of entertainment for her. Makes getting ready nice.

As for new years.. well we didn't do much. Brooklynn decided she wanted to stay up till the new year with us but fell asleep just shy of 12. As for me I haven't celebrated in the last couple of years due to work, and was tired, but I made it through had some bubbly and went to bed. I know we're boring.

Here's to wishing you a late Happy New Year and to hopes that we
can keep you posted.

What's New II

Well, Its been a few months since either of us have had the time to get on and blog about life. We decided to call this post "What's new II" because basically if we've only been blogging every few months its all new. I promise that we'll get better and spend more time blogging.


We recently spent a weekend at Yosemite National Park, It was FREEZING, At first we were disappointed that there was no snow, but we got blanketed with fresh snow on our first night there, It was enough snow to snow us in for a day, so we had a movie night and enjoyed each others company while watching a fire to stay warm, Then we spent time in the park.

This was Derek's first trip to Yosemite National Park, Needless to say, He loved it. Yosemite is beautiful, and I think we were lucky to catch it on a day with fresh snow.

We bundled Brooklynn up in a pink snow suit, She couldn't move around in it much because it was so thick but I think she managed to stay the warmest out of all of us.

During this trip, we spent time at the AHWAHNEE Hotel just walking around, enjoying their warm huge open fire pits and watching the light shed on Half-Dome nearby,

We also spent time walking around The Giant Redwood Trees in Yosemite Park. (Obviously the day before all the snow fell, but it was still really cold)


We borrowed a play jumper for Brooklynn to jump in, Its her new favorite toy (Thanks David and Kristin) You could even go as far as to call it the new babysitter, This thing is GREAT, It allows us to cook, study, work on the computer, and even blog... Maybe we'll get more done with this thing around, She'll spend up to 30 minutes at at time playing and jumping.

We recently fed Brooklynn her first solid foods, She went crazy for the rice cereal, She's been watching us eat for months now and we finally decided it was time.

Derek is working pretty well Full-Time at REI in Marina just feet from the ocean (Recreational Equipment Incorporated) which also happens to be one of his favorite stores of all time, They sell camping and human powered sports gear. He is a customer service specialist, and gets to give advice to people for upcoming outdoor trips as well as hear about fancy trips customers have taken that only make him feel jealous.


Finally, (Here's the BIG news:) We found a way for Derek to be able to attend Paramedic School, Remember how a few months ago we were worried about the future and didn't know what was going to happen because our student loans for the program fell through? Well, we tried again and this time, Its all smiles! Derek starts Paramedic school on January 12th, He can't wait, This is the final step towards reaching his ultimate dreams and we feel like its going to be a great opportunity. He'll still be attending Westmed College which is a prestigious name here in the Bay Area of California.... Leave no doubt that Derek will be spending the next 10 months diving into textbooks and for once actually Loving it..


We really miss the snow (At least Derek does) and as Christmas approaches, We just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, We probably won't be back on to blog until after its over at the current rate we are going. For now, We'll stay here where compared to Utah its quite warm, and we'll watch the prickly pears on the cactus' growing in our driveway ripen.


We love and miss all of you. Please remember to write us, stop by if you're traveling through, or check in on us, and we'll do the same for you.

.. Until Next Time:

So What's New?

Haha, I have to admit I think it was funny posting the small link I did last night. I've been meaning to get online and blog for a while, With a new baby, a large yard filled with projects and family one could say that we've been pretty busy. Living in California has been fun, Even though Derek isn't going to Paramedic school at the moment we've managed to have fun. Derek has been rebuilding the deck here at home and doing other various projects around the house to keep busy.

We celebrated my 24th birthday at the beginning of the month, Derek along with his parents bought me tickets to go see WICKED on Broadway in San Francisco. The show itself was completely amazing, We both enjoyed every minute, It is filled with surprised and a fun filled story, The music as well is amazing. Great times were had. It happens that the huge California rain storm (Biggest in 10 years they say) happened on the same day so needless to say that traffic sucked on the way up.

Brooklynn can hold her head up on her own now, She loves to play on her tummy, Seems like everyday something new happens and she become more alert. I can't believe that she is 3 months old now. Time sure flies! We took Brooklynn to The Monterey Fisherman's Wharf, (New Family Picture on top) It was kind of a cold night but we wanted to get out and she seemed to really enjoy it, Since we forgot her stroller we'd just hold her and she was a fighter (as far as sleeping goes) until we got back into the car and she crashed.

Well, I guess thats it for now, Brooklynn's calling for us.

Remember when we used to post on here?

Yeah... We do too. We'll be back sooner or later.

It Changes Again!

Hey Guys, Its Derek: Well: Dang! That's about all I can say. As it turns out, Life has thrown us another curve ball. I went through several different banks and none of them would back up my student loans because of this rotten economy. I suppose it doesn't help that tuition was nearly 14K and I wouldn't have been working as I went through Medic school. Amy and I will be heading back to Utah here in a while, but for now I think we'll try to enjoy our time here in California. I recently spoke with a past Fire Chief of mine to see if they had any open spots and luckily he agreed to offer me a spot on the department again. Once home, I plan on getting a job, supporting my family and keeping a positive attitude, I'll continue to test everywhere and anywhere that I can attempting to find a professional firefighter job near home, A task that is proving to be really tough but I dare not say impossible. In the past I have competed against more than 600 applicants for one or two positions and I'm happy that I placed 10th overall in that specific example.

In the near future we'll be dragging our family back to Utah with hopes of furthering my education and hoping to make enough money in the meantime to be able to afford Medic school on my own. Yes, I'm quite crushed that I had to leave the program that I've been in, However I'm keeping my hopes and attitude high, No sense in letting it get me down, I guess that's the simple message I'm trying to convey with this post. We're looking forward to what the future holds for us, We have no idea what that is, or what we were supposed to learn from this lesson in moving all the way out to California just to turn around and try to make it work in Utah again however I'm sure that there is a plan out there for us and we'll figure it out in time. See you all sooner or later, Until then, We're going to enjoy our time out here.

A New Chapter

The past few weeks we've had limited access to the internet, We have been staying in limbo with The Greens in Logan. It has been fun and nice, Grandma and Grandpa Green have loved having Brooklynn around.
We blessed Brooklynn in a park nearby after listening to Elder Robert D Hales speak in a Stake Conference locally, It was very uplifting. Blessing her outside was sure fun. Well: Its time for a new chapter in our lives. We are officially moving to San Jose California so Derek can attend Paramedic School at WestMed College. We're pretty excited about this opportunity. Derek will be working with San Juan Fire Department, (Well, I guess he'll be Volunteering, but he's happy to be getting back into the fire action) We will both miss Utah and all that is has to offer us, Hopefully friends and family will come visit us! Seriously, Feel free to come visit us, We'll show you a good time around the Bay Area. Its going to be a long drive.

Derek's Family 4 Generation Picture.
I guess this is one of the bonus's to blessing her outside. (Preparing for the Blessing)

Family Photos

Well its been over two weeks, man does time fly. We went and got Professional photos taken of our new little bundle of joy and can we say they are darn cute! (www.karlykim.com) Thanks Karly, The turned out GREAT! We Love Them!

We are still learning as we go and always try to change our schedules to fit hers as she changes her mind daily. My mom left last Friday and we are still getting by.

Brooklynn in her Tutu.

Brooklynn in Old-School Style Turnouts

Sitting in Derek's Fire Helmet

Our Favorite Family Photo
Mommy Daughter PhotoDaddy-Daughter Photo

So: What's New? We have started to pack as we are moving in with Derek's parents next Saturday and the old plan was to move to California in September so Derek can attend paramedic school in San Jose, but new ideas in the Fire-service locally have presented themselves and now its unsure where we may end up. Well keep you posted on whats happening but until then let the packing begin!