30 in 4, 3, 2

I skipped a few days, but I have a really good excuse! Joey took me to Palm Desert for a weekend retreat! It was fabulous. The weather could have cooperated a little better but we made the best of it. Joey's parents came down and watched the kids so we had a great, kid-free weekend.

We headed out Friday morning and hit the Cabazon outlets. We found a few small items and had a great time going into any store we wanted without worrying about how much longer the kids would be able to shop.

We stayed at the JW Marriott in Palm Desert and it was beautiful! It sits on a small lake and there are boats that take you from the lobby to the different restaurants. It is very cool!

Before dinner on our last night.


We slept in one day and then went to the gym but still felt like breakfast at noon, so we went to IHOP and enjoyed a yummy breakfast (it was good but this didn't even compare to breakfast on our last day!)


Joey spoiled me and bought me this beautiful diamond ring! The jeweler described it as a "bed of diamonds".



This is the restaurant where we had the BEST breakfast. It was a great little French cafe recommended to us by our good friends, the Bennetts.


Holy moly! Snow on the drive home!! What in the world!!!


What a great trip! Thanks honey!

30 in 5

You've got to laugh! Reading my journal I came across some funny things my kids have done over the past years and I'm so thankful I wrote them down because it is sooooo important to laugh! Here are just a few:

Dec. 17, 2006
Hayden has some funny new things… she loves Dora the Explorer. Dora has a little friend named Boots, but Hayden calls him Boobs. We try to say his name correctly for her but for the past two weeks it has been Boobs.

April 1, 2007
Hayden is also doing well. She is a hoot. She makes me laugh all day long. She says the funniest things. When I change the boys’ diapers I sometimes say, “Holy crap”. Not good, but I say it. Anyway, the other day Joey was changing one of the boys and she came in to the room saying, “Holy crap.”

May 3, 2007
We are attempting to get her to go to the bathroom in the potty. She went in her diaper (even though we ask her to go in the potty) so Joey went to change her. He said, “Hayden, you need to go potty in the toilet.” And she said, “I need your help.” And Joey said, “What do you need me to do.” And she said, “I need you to change your attitude.” How funny is that!

March 10, 2008

Hayden said the funniest thing tonight during Family Home Evening. We were talking about the prophet and we asked her who the new prophet was and she said, “President Monson.” We said, “Good, now who was the prophet.” She said, “President Hinckley.” We asked, “What happened to President Hinckley?” and she said, “He turned into President Monson.” We cracked up. It was so cute!

January 23, 2009

Poor Lincoln. He has been very confused lately. He thinks his name is Spencer. We ask him who everyone's name is in our family and he gets everyone right but he calls himself, "Penth" which is Lincolnese for Spencer. It doesn't end there, both boys have little stuffed animals they got while in the NICU after they were born. They sleep with them every night. Lincoln has a rhinoceros name "Lyle" and Spencer has giraffe named"Gus" but lately Lincoln thinks his rhino is named "Gus". Maybe "Spencer" and "Gus" are just easier to say...who knows!!!

January 15, 2009

After Primary, Hayden reminded Joey and me that she gave the scripture and prayer and we asked her how it went. She said, "Well, I didn't pick my nose." Too cute!

March 22, 2009

Spencer's prayer from last night:

"Dear Heavenly Father, We grateful for our families, grateful for Lincoln, grateful for Jude, grateful for Hayden and Mommy and Daddy, grateful for the fan, grateful for Horton, grateful for Mickey, grateful for Yerdle, grateful for the basketball hoop, grateful for the door, grateful for Jude's door, grateful for Mama's and Dada's door, grateful for three doors, grateful for that, grateful for those..." and it went on and on and on and on! It ended with, "and Lincoln has his eyes open and I want to sleep with that (pointing at something in his toy bin)".

March 28, 2009

I sang “The Spirit of God” the other night to Lincoln and afterwards he said, “Mom, I shout for Jesus.” I didn’t get it then thought, “Oh, from the song.” It was cute!

Sept. 6, 2011

Be still my heart! Lincoln stubbed his toe and was crying at the kitchen table while I was making dinner. Spencer came in to check on him and said, "Lincoln, are you okay?" Lincoln said, "No, my toe really hurts." Spencer said, "I will make it better, do you want me to tickle it or kiss it?" Pure sweetness from a not so sweet little boy!

September 29, 2011

Spencer said the funniest thing last night. I was asking him about how preschool is going and he said, “No one plays with me.” I said, “Oh, well why don’t you go find Lincoln and play with him?” Spencer responded by saying, “I seek after Lincoln but he doesn’t seek after me.” So dang cute!!!!

November 8, 2011

Jude has not been feeling well the past week and I finally took him to the doctor yesterday. He has an ear infection and got started on antibiotics yesterday. He woke up much happier this morning so I told him to go tell Daddy Jude was back. He walked into our bedroom, found Joey, turned around and pointed to his back...Jude's back! I just started laughing:) So just so you know Jude's back...take it however you want!

January 16, 2012

Today we asked the twins what they wanted to be when they grow-up. Lincoln said, "I want to be a rugby player" and Spencer said, "I want to be a hamster." Hmmmmm, those are two very different things!

March 12, 2012

When Jude gets mad at one of us (and especially Daddy), he yells, "Go time-out, DAAAAAAD!" he means it!

30 in 6

Little Jude was born on Nov. 22, 2009. My pregnancy with him was really, really tough. I had an eye condition (that the doctors still don't know what it was) and I lost vision in my right eye and lost much of my sight it my left eye. I also had muscle issues and the muscle above my left eye weakened and my eye looked half-closed and I had extreme light sensitivity. I remember being very down during the pregnancy but after he was born thinking that all the hardship was worth it to have this perfect, wonderful little baby.


Motherhood is hard, motherhood isn't glamorous, motherhood tests us and sometimes we want to throw in the towel and say "I give up!!!". But it's worth it. There are moments that make it all worth it. Like when I held Jude for the first time. Or when my kids insist I hold them because no one else will do. Or when Hayden draws me a picture because I'm having a hard day. Or Spencer laughs so hard because he is just enjoying life. Or Lincoln comes in and says, "Mom what can I do to help you?" Or Jude says, "Mom, play wif me??" My children bring me more happiness than I could imagine. I love you Hayden, Spencer, Lincoln, and Jude!!!!!

30 in 7

Twins! Yup, I had twins 5 years ago. We were shocked when we found out it was twins. I was reading in my journal and I love that I have kept a record of how I was feeling during the pregnancy, how I tried to balance having a barely 2-year-old and brand new twins and how I felt. Sometimes I shake my head and laugh at myself and sometimes I am impressed at my insight. Journals are so important and reading mine reminds me how important it is to keep up in my writing. So to my almost 30-year-old self, please keep writing in your journal!!

Reading in my journal, I also realize I couldn't have made it through those last weeks of pregnancy and first few weeks of the boys' lives without Bob and Deborah, my mom, and Jeff and Dianne! We had a great support system and our families were really good to us. Thanks for flying in last minute and taking care of us! And Jeff, thanks for teaching Hayden bad habits (see food??)

Here is my big belly just a week before the boys were born (so this was at 34 weeks) My face is not pictured cause I carried about 30 of the 55 lbs. I gained in my nose!


My boys!
Love this picture of Spencer and Lincoln!

30 in 8

Just 9 months after Joey and I got married, I got pregnant with Hayden. We were so excited! She was my little buddy! Joey started law school and Hayden and I did everything together.

I love this picture! Joey loves playing with our kids. He is a great dad! At night when I'm calming the kids down, I usually have to say, "Hayden, Spencer, Lincoln, Jude and Daddy!!! Calm down!"

Me and my little buddy:)

This picture is from the first night in our apartment in Los Angeles. Our furniture didn't arrive when the moving company said it would so Hayden slept on a blanket. I can't imagine one of our boys sleeping so peacefully but she slept great that night!

This might be my favorite all-time picture of Hayden. Her smile and her eyes are beautiful in this picture!


I'm grateful for motherhood. Being a mom has taught me to be less selfish (still working on that one), to be kind, to see others as children of God, and to want more for others that I want for myself. My children are examples to me. They are teaching me how to love. I have a huge responsibility to teach them but each and everyday they teach me something too.

30 in 9

Wow, I'm going to be 30 in just over a week! It's a little hard to believe! I'm really excited cause my sweetheart is taking me on a weekend getaway and my in-laws are going to take care of the kids.

I've been thinking about these 30 in 30 posts I've been doing. The other day I thought, "Is this a little self-indulgent?" And you know what, it might just be. But I justify all my "Katie" posts on the fact that I spend so much time scrapbooking for my kids and writing down memories for them because I think it's important for them to have wonderful memories to look back on and I wanted that! I wanted to remember and enjoy:) So even though it's been a lot of Katie, I will get back to more kid stuff soon:)

So I'm going to rewind just a bit. I went through the temple just about three weeks before Joey and I got married. I went to the Mount Timpanogos temple in American Fork, Utah. I am so grateful for temples. I'm grateful that I live near a temple. I love the feeling I have when I'm in the temple and that, for just a moment, I have clarity. Isn't this a beautiful picture?? It really is a little bit of heaven on earth.

30 in 10

Just 7 months after we met, Joey and I were sealed in the Oakland Temple. We did a lot of planning from Utah and my mother-in-law was a rock star wedding planner! My parents lived in Tokyo, Japan at the time and Deborah didn't mind helping with the wedding. She has 3 sons so I told myself it was a blessing she ended up having so much of the planning on her shoulders...but maybe that's just to make myself feel better for having her work so hard!

I remember we had a fun wedding dinner the night before at a great boutique pizza shop. We also had gelato brought in because Joey loves gelato. It was great for the families to get to know each other a little bit. Mind you, this week of wedding festivities was the first time Joey had met my parents since they lived overseas and had not been back while we were dating.

The night before the wedding I didn't sleep a wink! I sat and talked to my mom and sister and finally forced myself to try to get some shut-eye. I woke up and had the most excited feeling. I remember sitting in the bathtub and just thinking about the wonderful events that were about to take place. I went and got my hair and make-up done and then I drove to the temple with my dad. We had to stop and get gas on the way there and my dad bought me a granola bar. Whenever I see that particular type of granola bar, I think of my wedding day!

I remember walking into the temple and seeing Joey and feeling so much peace. I loved being near Joey and feeling so safe.


After the temple sealing, Joey and I went out and met all our friends and family who were waiting outside. It was such a joyous occasion! We took pictures, then more pictures, and then a few more pictures!



Joey and I headed back to San Jose in his dad's car and he dropped me off at my hotel so I could get my things for the reception. It was weird to be separated from him for those few hours! We were just married but we had things to do to get ready for the PARTY that was about to happen. I ate a whole box of Teddy Grahams and then headed to the reception.

The reception was amazing! The food was great! The decor was beautiful! The music rocked! It was perfect! It was the best day ever!

The head table (our name places were mini Martinelli's bottles with personalized labels and the guests got to take theirs home)


Cutting the cake

The dancing was awesome! We danced and danced!


After the reception we headed to San Francisco and stayed at the Marriott hotel and woke up early the next morning and went to Oahu for our honeymoon.



I'm grateful my best friend asked me to be his wife. I'm grateful each day for him! Joey is one heck of a guy!

30 in 11

I dated a lot at BYU. I hung-out with a lot of guys at BYU. I didn't want to get serious with anyone at BYU. Then I met HIM!!!

Actually we had a lot of run-ins. Our first meeting was when I went over to some of my guy friends' apartment and he was playing Hearts with them. They were into the card game and not the girl (ummm, me!) so I left annoyed that they hadn't paid more attention to me. Then I met him at Battle of the Bands. I said, "Hi" and he just looked right over me (he is a foot taller!). He swears he has no recollection of this! He remembers meeting me at his apartment when he had a party. He was dancing with one of his friends and all the girls were circled around them like a bunch of groupies. I was in the kitchen, and I thought he was cute, but I couldn't bring myself to ooh and aah with all the other girls so my roommate and I left. Then in January of 2003, my roommate and I had a spaghetti dinner at our house and we invited a few guy friends over, okay like 20 guy friends (no girls, that would have been silly!). And he came...he wasn't supposed to, but his roommate talked him into it. He was dressed in his white shirt and tie because he had been teaching at the MTC that day. We spoke for over and hour and I was so excited! I desperately wanted him to ask me out. We both played it cool and saw each other once or twice over the next few days then he asked me out on the steps of the WILK. I remember us separating to walk to our classes after he asked me out and I tried not to skip! He made me pesto, we played cards and watched Moulin Rouge (I still have the VHS we watched!) on that first date. We both had some dates we had already committed to, so we both went out with a few other people. (I won't get into the night he was supposed to come to my house for a party and I saw his roommate that night and he said, "Isn't Joey on a date with you?" My thought was, "No but it sounds like he is on a date with someone!" Nope, I'm over that!) Anyway, a few weeks later we had been out, talked a ton and we just stopped seeing other people. We hung out all the time and talked more than I've ever talked to another person.


In March we went to California so I could meet his family and he popped the question on a beautiful beach in Santa Cruz. He asked me three questions. Are you committed to living the gospel? Are you committed to loving me? and Would I marry Him? I answered "I promise" to the first two questions then "Yes" to the final question (I had the words "I promise" inscribed in Joey's wedding ring) I was shocked and happier than I had ever been. Joey makes me want to be better. He sees so much potential in me. He loves me more than anything. He wants me to be happy. He has made me realize that I'm worth loving and I really, really love him for that.

This is after he proposed. We drove back to his parents house and I was so happy. I tried to find the picture that the hippy took of us right after he proposed but I couldn't find it! So these are about an hour after the actual proposal:)

30 in 12

Yes, I missed some days and I'm just going to skip them because it will make my life a little easier:)


College! I loved college! I had great friends and we had a great time! My Darcy, Meagan and Megan made life fun and we had some great times. (This picture is missing Megan and Alisa is in it...sorry I didn't have one of all 4 of us)



Megan has been one of my closest friends since 7th grade. We were freshman roommates and she was always a rock for me. She was friends with everyone and was always up for a party! She gave so much of herself and even spent a semester in Guatemala teaching English. She was very independent and never did anything just because it was cool. She did things because she wanted to do them. She could get any guy to like her...she had a knack for hanging out with a guy and just being cool and then before you knew it, the guy was madly in love! She listened and still listens whenever I need her and I'm so grateful for her! (Are you glad I didn't post "the picture"?)



Meagan and I had way too much fun together! We were so spontaneous and if we were always up for anything. Weekend in Vegas, let's go! Snowboarding trip to Colorado, when can we leave? We were each like a half of a whole. We ate the same food, worked at the same places and even dated some of the same guys (no Joey was not one of them). Hill Air Force Base, baseball players and late nights to the gym. Her family was very good to me and let me crash Thanksgiving. I loved that her parents loved me for me but expected me to be better. I felt like a 6th child. We could talk about anything and I'm grateful she is still a part of my life.




Darcy is one of those amazingly talented people who write their name and you can tell they are artistic. She was always cooking something yummy. She has the best laugh! When were 18-years-old she would give me advice and I felt like I was talking to an old woman. She is wise! She is beautiful and she has finally come to grips with that at 30-years-old. She was always hard on herself but has realized how wonderful she is. Love you Darcy!

I'm so grateful for these three wonderful women in my life. They are wonderful and I'm grateful we've grown together. Now instead of figuring out what to wear to a party on Friday night we talk about how the only day we take a shower in Sunday! Love these ladies!!!

30 in 15

This is me at my high school graduation. My parents were living in Japan at the time and flew back so they could attend. I spoke at my high school graduation and I remember it so clearly. I spoke about enjoying life, especially the little moments. I laugh at myself because I had so little life experience but my words still ring so true. I read my speech from that day and I can apply so much of what I said to my almost 30-year-old self. Sometimes I'm waiting for that next big thing to happen, but if I'm always waiting then I miss out on the wonderful, little moments that are always happening. Now that I've graduated from BYU, been married, seen my hubby graduate from law school, purchased a home, and had 4 children, many of my BIG moments have passed. I'm sure there will be more, but we had a lot in a short amount of time. Now it's time for me to enjoy my children, my husband and my wonderful life...it's time to stop and smell the daisies (that was the theme of my graduation speech from more than 10 years ago).

30 in 16

I had really great friends in high school. Unfortunately I haven't been back to Indiana since I graduated from high school and I've only seen two of my friends in the past 10 years. Sometimes it makes me sad that the people who knew me in my teens aren't a part of my life now. You share so much of your inner self with your 17-year-old girlfriends! I've changed and they've changed and it would have been great to see them and catch-up. BUT I have made amazing new friends and I have the best family, so even though I don't have "old" friends, I have great "new" friends.

30 in 17

I don't remember much about my baptism day so I'm really glad there are pictures to prove it happened! I'm so grateful for that day. I'm grateful I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. And I'm really grateful my little Hayden is getting baptized next year so I can reflect on what a wonderful and important decision it is. (She will probably not get baptized until January of 2013 because she has a December birthday)

30 in 18

Growing up I thought we had the "perfect" family. A mom, a dad, two boys and two girls. Here are the kids in all our glory: Elizabeth Ann, Brennan Marlowe, Kipp Richard and Katie Ruth.





I don't know when I was told that I had an older brother that passed away before I was born. His name was Spencer Dee Wood and he died when he was 6 months old from SIDS. He died on my parents anniversary, just 6 days before Christmas. I never thought I could be sad about him (not because my parents said I couldn't, but because I didn't know him). Then I met a friend who lost her son in a sledding accident just 4 years ago. Talking to her I better realized the pain my parents went through. Talking to her I realized that, to my parents, Spencer is still a very integral part of our family. Talking to her I realized that I also experienced a loss. It was very different for me because I never knew him but our family misses him because he was supposed to be a part of our family and we love him and we want to see him again. Last year I made a book for my mom about Spencer. I talked to family members and got stories of memories they had of this little boy. It was an amazing experience and I'm grateful I got to know Spencer a little better.

Isn't he beautiful? This is my favorite picture of him!


I am so grateful for eternal families. I know we can be together again. I know my children are mine for eternity. I don't think this feeling called "love" could exist without a God who intended for us to be together again. This love we have for one another didn't just happen when the universe came to be. It's not made up. That just doesn't make sense. This love has existed forever and will continue to exist forever. I don't know much. I feel like in the gospel of Jesus Christ I am still learning and figuring it out but what I do know is that this unit we call a family is eternal. If we do our best and live this life in the best way we know, we can be together again. This keeps me going. I want to see Spencer Dee again and I want to be with Joey and my children forever.

30 in 19

This was my cat, Carmel. I loved this cat. She was my little buddy. My dad didn't know how much I loved this cat, and to be honest, I was a little kid and I probably didn't do a good job taking care of her, but I still did care about her. My dad thought he would get rid of the cat because he didn't think any of us kids would notice, so he took Carmel up to the cemetery which was about 5 miles outside of town and left her. Sad, huh! Well he got home and the first thing I asked him was, "Where is Carmel?" He played dumb but thought, "Oh no! What have I done!" He secretly went back to the cemetery and looked for her but couldn't find her. I was sad. I missed my kitty. Weeks later a mangy, beat-up cat arrived back at our house. Yup, Carmel found her way home! And my dad was really, really good to that cat after that.

I'm not an animal person anymore. I'm the first person to admit that. But I want my kids to have an animal. It's a relationship that kids should have. They should have a dog they love to play with or a kitty they like to pet. As soon as we figure out Hayden's allergies, we need a dog. And a bigger house...yeah, it might be a while before we get a dog!

30 in 20

This is my big brother, Kipp. He and I are only 20 months apart and we were little buddies growing up. Kipp is hearing impaired and has been wearing hearing aides since they discovered his hearing loss when he was 3-years-old. He speaks incredibly well now but when he was little he didn't speak as clearly. My mom tells me that I was his little translator. Whenever Kipp said anything everyone would look to me to figure out what he said. Friends, neighbors and family members relied on me to translate.



I love this story. I love that siblings can be each other's best buddies even if they fight and bicker. I think of this story often when I see my kids. My kids fight but they also love each other so much. There isn't anything better that watching my kids playing together, sticking up for one another and just enjoying one another.