Valentine's of the past & Valentine's of the present

One Valentine's Day years ago... When I was 9 years old, I became a member of 

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". 

I love that every Feb. 14th--- the day of love is linked to one of the happiest moments in my life. I'll never forget the feelings I felt that day, and the confirmation I received from the spirit that in fact this was His true church. This was years before my dad converted and we became an eternal family, in fact only my mom and I were members at the time and it was the beginning of many wonderful things to come.

Now, 19 years later..... I not only have been sealed for eternity to my parents and siblings, but have a beautiful family of my own! 

I'm so grateful for those missionaries that taught me the gospel and prompted me to ask Heavenly Father if Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and if this was His true Church.... I knew it then and I still know now the answer given to me by the spirit... What a blessing this knowledge has been in my life and how this little act of courage has molded my character and changed the course of my life forever!

This year Valentine's Day was also special and this is why:

I got 12 beautiful red roses from my best friend along with a hand-written love letter.

Tommy has the hardest time holding secrets, so he couldn't wait till the 14th to give me my present, and on Sunday while we were having dinner at my mom's he surprised me with a brand new HP Desktop Computer.... I was in shock! Totally unexpected and maybe not the most romantic gift..., but it was the perfect addition to my new work area and I love it!

I made these Valentine's Day cards for Andy's friends at school. 

Andy made us the sweetest Valentine's Day card. 

It read:

"To Mom and Dad

My love for you is cooler than Iron Man hot toys, warmer than the sun.

Every time you smile it makes me feel like I am a star.

Love Andy"

Isn't that the cutest ever!

He also made these Cards for Sean, Ally, mom and dad.

We celebrated by going to the Olive Garden's and spending time as a family, telling each other how much we love one another and how happy we are to have a FAMILY that is forever!

Happy Father's Day Tommy...

To our dear Daddy- we love you! You are the best daddy 3 little monkeys and a mommy could ever ask for! Thanks for all that you do!

We spent the afternoon at my mom and dad's to celebrate Father's Day and had a carne asada meal prepared by Patty and Mike- it was delish!!
After dinner we let the kiddos run around and had fun taking pics of the babies. Broderick and Ally are best buddies already- aren't they cute???

I can't get enough of Ally- she is at such a cute age! and so fun to photograph.

Daddy's girl!

I'm so grateful to have such great men in my life--- I can't imagine my life
without them!
I'm specially grateful today for my dad- who will always be so special to me!
Thanks for everything! Te quiero papi!

Sean Hannity in Salt Lake City

Sean Hannity came to Salt Lake City today to kick-off his book tour- "Conservative Victory". Many of you may not know that Tom is a big fan and loves politics... so Tom and I went to Borders in Murray hoping to buy a copy of his book and have Sean Hannity sign it. Little did we know that we were also going to have the opportunity to be part of the live audience for the taping of "The Sean Hannity Show" that airs every night on Fox News. We never thought we'd get in since there was only room for about 100 people, but we were lucky enough to get some passes from a very generous man who picked us out of a room full of people...

Sean came across as a very down to earth, nice guy, and a great American with some very good objectives and solutions for all the craziness that's going on in Washington! We got to speak with him briefly. He asked us if we were dating- we said "no, we've been married for almost 8 years and we have 3 kids"- his response was, "wow 3 kids, you guys look like you're 18". He went on to give us some marital advise and told us to stay close to our faith- cool huh! it's not everyday you hear people in showbiz (or politics for that matter)- talk about values and the importance of staying close to God and Christian principles. It was really fun to be a part of a live taping- 'we had our 5 seconds of fame' and an experience we will never forget.

Welcome to Miami

It's been 3 1/2 years since I've been back to Miami, & Tom had never been. We met up with family & friends, celebrated my 26th B-day, went to the Beach, attempted to meet Enrique Iglesias --;) & survived a Hurricane (Tropical Storm Fay that is). It was jam packed with adventure as always. The air was fresh and humid. We even managed to get a little tan.

My dad's little brother- Tio Carlos & his wife Diana w/ baby Sean who loved all the attention. We had dinner @ Tia Mayra's when we arrived Saturday night.

 

My Grandma Mercy.

 

Cohen clan- Tio Carlos, Tia Mayra (dad's little sister), Ab. Mercy, Me, Sean, & my dad & my aunts puppies.

 

Miami Beach

My best friend Ingrid & I having some Pina Coladas @ the beach & lookin good!

 

Sean & Mommy

 

Mom, Ingrid, & Laura posing for a quick picture! hoping to get a little sun...

 

Sean made the funniest faces when he tasted the salty water- he thought it was gross, but loved splashing in the water!

 

 

 

Cute! Sean loved playing in the sand & found all sorts of buried treasures.




Bye- Bye South Beach!

Celabrating Laura's B-day @ Primo Giorgio's

We had a big BBQ at my dad's cousins house & celebrated my 26th B-day. He & his partner Ken live in a beautiful home in Biscayne. The backyard is breathtaking- lined with Palm trees, lush greenery & flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A visit w/ Abuela Esperanza

We got to see my Great Grandma. she is doing so well and so full of life @ 95 years old. She's so cute & looking for a boyfriend- anyone know a rich 90 year old?!!! I hope this isn't the last time we see her. It's hard being away from family.




5 Living Generations in this picture- My great grandma (@ 95 years of age) to Sean (11 months old. Pretty neat-huh? I know this is one picture we'll treasure for years!


Pollo Tropical

One of our favorite places to eat in Miami is Pollo Tropical, it's fast food Latin Food, but doesn't taste like fast food. It's so yummy!
Sean loved the black beans & rice!


We went to eat w/my good friends Ingrid & Ximena- we've been friends since the 3rd grade- crazy!


Pastelitos- YUMMY!

Sean loved the food & managed to get his hands on this Pastelito.



We spent some time with My Tio Carlos Sczek's family:


Like always my uncle is a goof & loves to make the little ones laugh. They were playing w/sticks. It was really cute!



Farewell Party

Our last night in Miami, we had a get together at My uncle Carlos Cohen's house. We celebrated my B-day again & ate Chinese Food, Pollo Tropical & my favorite Cake!!! It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, who knows when we will see eachother again, hopefully soon! I Hope my family takes us up on Skiing in utah.....;)






I took over 300 pictures of our whole trip, I'll spare everyone the boredom of looking at all of them----

I love Miami!!!

Tommy Rockin' Out!

Tom was asked back to play at Mustang Days, while we were in Wyoming (he even made the newspaper as their guest guitar player). He's so darn good! He brought the house down with his guitar licks. Take a look....

Daddy Love!

I love these pictures of my 3 boys...especially the ones of Tom tickling Sean and making him laugh!

 

 

 

Tommy is such a great dad! He loves to play with the kids...give them hugs and kisses, tickles, and always lets them know how special they are and how much he loves them!