Visiting Rexburg and our Healthy Quest!

For President's day weekend, we drove up to Rexburg and visited Monica and Daniel. The kids had so much fun because E-Ca spoiled them! It was a much needed break from work and study for all of us. Rico had lots of homework to do, but knew how badly I wanted to visit so, we went for a three night visit. First thing we did was hit Texas Roadhouse and then Orange Leaf frozen yogurt in Idaho Falls! After two weeks of being on the South Beach diet, I felt I deserved a non-fat frozen yogurt treat! It was nothing like I ever tasted! They had something called fish eggs they were strawberry and peach flavored and when you bit into it, it was this sweet juicy thingy! Yumm! The following day, we went and toured the new conference building? on campus and it was ginormous! We then went to eat at this sandwich shop called Gator Jack, went sledding, and to top it off had hot chocolate and cupcakes at the Cocoa Bean! I wasn't cheating on my diet that bad...so I skipped the hot chocolate and cupcake and Rico and I took a stroll to Great Harvest Bread and got a loaf of honey whole wheat bread and dakota bread! So, worth the money!

I couldn't resist passing by New Fong's without having their hot and sour soup, so the next day Monica and I had lunch there and boy was the soup goooooood!!!! Then, we made our way to Porter's!!! I love Porter's and I really needed to get some things for wedding gifts!

We also got to visit our dear friends the Lines!!! We miss them so much and our kids just played together as if we'd never moved away! They're awesome and we love them!

We love short family trips like these! Our next break is in April and I am hoping to take another short trip elsewhere...hMMM...where will we end up going? Did I hear...Disneyland?????? We shall see!

Rico and I are on this health quest! This will be his 4th week on the p90x program and I'm so proud of him! He hasn't eaten rice for the past 4 weeks!!! Surprising since he could never have a meal without rice!!! True asain, right??? He's also trying to eat healthy, thus also eating most of the food that I prepare from my SB diet menu. The food is great! I eat 6 small meals a day and really, if diet food tastes like this, it's a breeze!!! The only thing I caution is that it could get expensive and I have lazy cooking tendencies! Anyone would like to volunteer to be my personal chef? Anyway, I feel great! The first day I started the diet, I was working and went home visiting all day to my kids' house! I was afraid that I would faint, shake, or have withdrawals - not at all! In addition, I walk/jog the treadmill or do the elliptical 30 minutes a day on my lunch break! I am so lucky that our school site is at a recreation center and I get to work out FOR FREE! So, far I am liking the results! I am hoping to make more progress in health, weight loss, and maintaining this lifestyle! PS...the kids love the food as well!!! They actually thing Ricotta cheese is ice cream! Of course, we add the needed carbs for them with every meal! All I have to say is - Diet & Exercise: It works!

Lackadaisical!

My baby girl was in her school spelling bee contest on Wednesday! I didn't get to go, but Rico did and videotaped it. She studied very hard and wanted to win badly. She was competing with fourth, fifth, and sixth graders and there were about 25 kids total. Some of the words she practiced for were very hard and some I couldn't pronounce and have never heard of. She was one of the last 7 still standing. The word that got her eliminated was lackadaisical. She was very disappointed, but we were so proud that she made it that far! She gave it her best and that's all that counted!!! Daddy and I are so proud of you and love you beyond measure,Cakey!

Life lately and the Holidays

We have had some changes in the last couple of months and the transition wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Rico and I have switched roles. While I have been working full time, my dear beloved husband has been a full time stay at home daddy, a part time student, and an entrepreneur in the works. Erin Cake has been doing well in school. She is a natural mathlete and I am proud to say that she is also the top speller in her class and is moving on to the next round in the spelling bee contest to compete against the other top three 4th graders. She is also in the Junior Penguin swim team and enjoys it very much. If she could, she would spend every spare minute swimming. Eli has never spent as much time with Rico as he is now. I love it that they get bonding time while I am at work. Today, Rico asked:

Eli, you're my pride and what?
Eli: Proud and joy! And you're my number one, daddy!
Rico: Mommy's your numnber what?
Eli: My number 3!

LOL. I love my boys!

We spent our Christmas break in California and had such a blast! It was the best Christmas and New Year we've had and we were sad to come back home. I am proud to say that I won our family dessert contest. I made this awesome looking jello glass bar and ice cream sandwich banana split. It was to die for! If you'd like the recipe, you'll find it at www.ourbestbites.com. It's an amazing website Meg introduced to me! Amazing, and easy recipes! Ok, I'll be honest Monica and I shared the prize. She should have won really because she slaved away in the kitchen all night and her desserts looked and tasted fabulous! We both won $30 each!

I also finally I met my aunt, her husband and son who was petitioned to come to the United States from Cambodia. It made our family complete that after 30+ years my mom and her family reunited with her long, lost sister! It was surreal to finally get to hug and kiss her!


Well,I'm going to wrap it up for now! It's been a long and fun-filled day, friends and family! A bientot!

The cutest little bumble bee!

Happy Halloweenie (is what Erin used to say when she was 2 years old! We have so much fun in October because it's Erin and Rico's Birthday, and Halloween. Here are some pics of fun things we did.






Meg made these really great lookn Jacko-O-lantern jars. She also made these yummy pumpkin whoopy cookies which I can not duplicate! They are sooooo delicious! Below is a post of the chocolate pretzel treats she made and I am going to have to make them for my family when we visit for Christmas! We had a blast!

October festivities!

A visit to the Taylor Science Museum at the Y!

So, we visited the science museum at daddy's school and a lot were under construction. What Erin enjoyed most was all the fascinating rocks she saw. She wrote down the names of the rocks she liked and came home to look it up! I might have a little geologist! We parked pretty far from the museum and the walk exhausted the kids, so we came home and made giant sugar cookies! It was yummy!

Topaz Mountain and the 4th of July

The Blair's took us to this place in the middle of no where, away from civilization to look for rare crystals that were formed by lava! We didnt' find anything. The kids just loved picking at the rocks and throwing them.



The 4th of July was fun and relaxing. We watched fireworks from the top of the soccer field, across from the MTC. It was nice because Carrie Underwood performed at the stadium and we heard her singing. We enjoyed it and the kids loved sitting on a picnic blanket and snacking! Why is my daughter wearing a beanie on a hot summer day...IDK!



Eli made a mean spaghetti dinner for us! Thanks E-Ca for making the apron for him. He's also wearing a matching underwear!

At the duck park and splashing in the pool in the hot summer!

Our friends Jordann and Zach bought a pool so that the kids could cool down during the hot, hot summer day of Provo! The kids had so much fun splashing in it! Thanks Keller, for sharing with us! We love and miss you guys!




Feeding the ducks was one of our favorite summer activities! Eli loved the tortoise that also lived in that pond. It was right next to daddy's school!

The Discovery Museum at Gateway!

We, along with the Blair's took E-Pa and Jakey to the Discovery Museum at Gateway. Jakey loved it so much that he didn't want to leave any of the stations we were playing at. The boys could have played at the water station all day!



E-Pa having fun with Jakey at the water station. Isn't she a hot mama?

Eli loves throwing balls into the running water!

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Jakey and Evelyn! Jakey tipped a bin upside down so he could climb on it to reach for the balls!


Look how big this thing is compared to Eli! It's a cross breed between a Lion and a Tiger!

Summer in Provo with E-Pa & Jakey!

At the Bean Museum at the Y.


Don't ask me what E-Pa and Erin were trying to do here!

We kind of just invited ourselves to sit in this reptile presentation. They kids got to pet this really big lizard.


Erin picked some beautiful bright tulips for me on mother's day from our front yard!

Look, I can swing like E-Ca!!

E-Ca, here is the video I was comparing to the pic Pa took of you swinging on the bar! Listen closely and you can hear him say, "Wheee!" He was a 1 year 7 months!

Blessed with amazing friends!

Rico and I are so fortunate to have made so many great friends everywhere we end up. I guess one thing I've learned to do since we moved to Rexburg about two years ago is learning how to step out of my comfort zone and have a social life! You see, I grew up in a strict household. So, I was never a social kid and was quiet and timid. Which some people may initially percieve me to be snobby...as I've been told by some of my bestfriends now! =)
Anyway, back to the point! I am glad that I experienced life in Rexburg or else I wouldn't be as open and made so many great friends! We love Meg, Mike, Reyna and Tom, who we met up in Rexburg! Crazy, but who knew we'd all end up in Utah...45 minutes away from each other! I think Heavenly Father had a hand in it and knew that we all needed to be close to one other!

We love Provo! The biggest reason why we are loving it here is because we made some really neat friends here as well! Jordann, Zach & Keller!!! We love hanging out with you guys! We are going to miss you whent it's time for us to move!

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”-Anonymous (i think)

Wow, I am a slacker!

Hello, friends and family! Sorry, for being such a blog slacker. We are all doing well. Erin is counting down to summer vacation and E Pa and Jacob coming to visit us from California. We are super excited! Erin also looks forward to being in the Boys and Girls club this summer, and ballroom dance. She's just itching to start!

Eli is potty trained and loves it! So, far he hasn't had any wet pull ups during the last couple of nights. I have never used pull ups for Erin because I guess I had a little more patience cleaning pee and poo at the time, but Eli is like a fire hydrant! He goes every half to an hour! Is it a boy thing? I'd really like to sign up Eli for the mommy and me swimming, but since I can't swim I am hoping they let me register for the sake of Eli. Poor kid needs something to do while sissy is busy doing other fun stuff!

Rico's first year of graduate school is almost coming to an end. I can't believe it's gone by so fast! One down two more years to go! He's really enjoying it and loving it! Before you know it...maybe we'll have a #3 soon????? Hint, hint honey!!! =)

I am still working at Erin's school and have started a job as an office assistant there as well. Ialso monitoring students who are diabetic, helping them with insulin shots and making sure they eat!!! I so enjoy doing it! I think I have every mom's dream job! I get to work at Erin's school and I get to see her! I teased her and told her that I better not see her in the office for doing something she's not suppose to do. LOL. Although, the other day, I saw a student bouncing into the office and all I could was this little girl's head from her eyes up because she was so short! It was Erin and she'd done something good and received a token to redeem a prize in the office! She had mentioned several days before that she never sees me in the office and I told her that I leave after lunch, so I felt special because I knew she came down during that time so that she could see me. It made my day that I had gotten a big hug from her in the middle of my work day! I've gotten comments from teachers and administrators that she is a very good student. That makes me a proud mom! I love my little girl and wish that there's a pause button so that she would stop growing up so fast! I know I'm rambling, but hey it's almost 3am and don't ask why I am up at this time! I will post up recent pictures next time! Ta-ta!

Life lately and Valentine's

I know, I've been a blog slacker! We have been so busy. I have been working part time at Erin's school with afterschool reading and teaching ESL to parents. I love it! It's an adjustment since I have been a stay at home for a very long time and I have never been able to leave Eli with a babysitter because of anxiety attachments. Luckily, we have friends from our ward who are so willing and offer to take care of him while I am at work. Rico is interning in SLC at the mayor's office and loves it with a passion. Erin is enrolled in the afterschool program I am working at and she enjoys it. She's in ballroom dancing, choir, arts & crafts, and many more fun things. We have the best dance team in the valley. They compete and always come out first place!!! She will have he first performance in May is so excited. Eli is incredibly smart and very talkative. We have started him on Hooked on Phonics and he recognizes about 2/3 of the alphabets. He's like a sponge. Our Valentine's was nice and relaxing. Erin, Eli, and I made tons of cookies for our favorite teachers at Erin's school. I got a huge box of chocolate truffles and a dozen of roses. We also went to Winco the day after Valentine's and bought tons of candies that were on sale and shared some with our friends! E-Pa sent the kids stuffed animals that sings, dances, and laugh. Erin got a bumble bee and Eli got a a dog that makes a creepy laugh. Here's a video!

The Treehouse and Christmas in Provo

Erin received a Hannah Montana fleece blanket from Santa!

Eli loves bowling, so we Daddy bought him a bowling set.

Best of all, Santa brought us candies and healthy snacks..

The University Mall had an indoor treehouse we heard about and the kids love it especially when the cold weather forces us to play indoors.

Christmas in Provo

The children loves playing in the snow, eventhough it is negative outside!

I tackled Erin in the snow and felt so bad that I had actually buried her face in the snow. She was upset, but I had to laugh.

Sugar cookies of course for us and we shared some with our friendly neighbors!


Our first Christmas without extended family was a really sad thought for us, but we actually really enjoyed being home and celebrating with out little family. We made a snowman, made sugar cookies, made chocolate chip cookies for Santa, drank lots of Stephen's hot chocolate, watched movies, and ate lots and lots of junk food Santa brought us. Rico and Erin had two weeks vacation from school.

We almost didn't make it home for Thanksgiving.

We almost didn't make it home because Rico did not get requested time off for work. So, our plan was to have Thanksgiving dinner with neighbors, friends, and Monica and Daniel. The Monday of Thanksgiving week, my mom called and told us that my dad had suffered what seems to be symptoms of a mild stroke. He refused to go to the hospital (because he is stubborn like that and is scared). So, the Platts and our family drove down for a couple days to spend time with our family and especially dad. We had fun! It was short and sweet. This is a picture of my parents and the grandkids except for little Jakey who had to stay home during flu season.

Eli and mommy!


We make it a tradition to all dress up in our Cambodian dresses and take pics before feasting so we can still fit into them!

The Pascual and my parents. I love them. They are empty nesters and ask us to come back home as soon as Rico finishes school.

My immediate family! This years newest addition to our family is Daniel, Monica's husband. They are newlyweds and was married and sealed in the Oakland Temple. They are a hilarious couple! We love them. Missing are the Sorensen's. Jakey's pediatrician recommends him to stay home during the flu season because he has a high chance of getting RSV. We missed them, but they are coming to visit us in Provo the last week of December for their nephew's baby blessing! We're excited!