san fran my place of growth

san francisco seems to be the place where i grow, the same held true for my recent visit. i went there to participate in a floral design workshop (WFA) with the talented and famous nancy liu chin. i went on the basis that i was to help assist nancy and teach a little in exchange for free tuition. an opportunity i couldnt pass up! i took my assistant julia with me for some good times!

we drove, or i should say i drove which was fine jules would have if i had asked her to. but the last 3 hour leg of the drive left me with one of the most intense migraines i have ever had. when we arrived at the hotel all i had left in me was a hot shower and stillness in order to avoid all out chaos bursting from the brain. the morning brought some typical san fran fun and some non-typical. in fact most of the time we were there the weather was very non typical, clear and warm. it was really nice but i kind of missed the expected. in the morning jules wanted to go for a walk but we were in civic center area so i wouldnt let her go alone so i got my bum out of bed and went on a walk with her. first sight out of the hotel doors ... human poop on the ground. how do i know? well only a human would attempt to wipe with napkins, and only a bum would leave it all there. fun stuff. made us both dry heave.

then we got ready and headed out to oakland to do some temple work. next to sd t this is my fav. what a gorgeous place. amazing view. they were decking things out for the holidays. that was fun to see. i really needed a temple visit and it felt so good. we wandered the grounds and the visitors center after our session and visited with missionaries. i had told jules about the non member brides who often take their pictures at the pretty mormon temple ... and just as we were leaving she got to glimpse of this akwardness.

that evening we settled into where we would stay for the duration of our visit at jules good friend emilys place. a great house in a great area of san fran full of 6 single mormon girls. interesting place for me a married mom to be. but i adored these girls. emily was so fun and sweet and took us to some great places and showed me what icecream should taste like @ bi-rite. the best view of the city at night and so much more. non the less it took some strength to reach out of my comfort zone to be in this strange environment for a few days. it caused major inner reflection about where i am at in my life, why and where i am going. so good for my soul. so much gratitude for my life and experiences. its just so beautiful.

WFA started sat night with a cocktail party, that also too was akward. since i dont drink. and either does jules or emily. so .... not much to drink on our behalf. shirley temples do not rock.but it was a fun and interesting night.

sun was business day. and perhaps were i learned the very most. still overwhelmed with thoughts to implement into my business and ideas on how to make studio stems more successful in every aspect.

mon, tue were both floral design days at the best flower market ever! i so wish we had one of these. its just so different then how the flower wholesale industry runs here in utah. and soooo much cheaper. nothing in sf is cheaper then utah except maybe this! such an eye opening experience. full of new resources. working with nancy was so worth my time, she pushed even me and took special care to take the advanced version and push me individually. out of my box, out of my typical thinking and into something new. amazing growth artistically. and amazing knowledge.

we had a fantastic blog class thanks to stacie with the flirty bride that made me realize my co blog is not running the way it should.

kim and chu saylors nurses took me to dinner and the time just didnt last long enough. i wanted to visit with them for so much longer. makes my heart feel ways i cant describe. had mandarin pancakes and other yums. and cried and hugged. and cried.

visisted UCSF. expensive visit that came with parking ticket ..yeah! got to see tamara, jodi, bev, dr farmer, and of course stephanie. it was such a rushed visit that i barely was able to soak in the feelings. but i was overcome with how long its been. how much time has passed and how much growth has occured. i went to family house, not the same place, not the same people. let me let go a little. i needed to do that, it was the next step. sometimes i hang on to tight. but that all being said it looks as though we are going back very soon. and i cant wait!!!! study has put in for another follow up grant and saylor will be the first to be brought back.

all in all you dont want to read more and more do you? it was amazing. it made me stretch in every aspect of my life. i came home overwhelmed but rejuvinated, grateful and excited. and nate did a great job with the kids (with the help of our moms of course) but he really did fantastic. made it easier for me!

saylor the cougar!

ok ok i know your all anxiously awaiting this post. and we would have done this sooner had the computer genius of this household (me) not gone out of town. so here it is. but first ...

we really are consumed with thought on how to thank 125 football players, the coaching staff, bronco, cort, justin, cosmo, coach weber, and so many others. and i have come up with nothing that sufficiently express's our gratitude. so i just want to say publicly... how grateful we are as a family to be part of this, and to watch our daughter actually BE a hero outside of our home and be recognized, honored, and provide inspiration for people, a team, and an organization that is so dear to our own hearts. Words, food, little tokens just cant do our feelings justice. thank you. simply and so sincerely THANK YOU!


JUSTIN - thank you for being a good friend to nate, for loving him. for caring about what his life is like and for making this happen.



CORT - you rock. what more can i say. you were a pure delight. thanks for helping share our story and experiencing this with us.



C. WEBER - we adore you. you light up our faces. we miss living close to you! your such an amazing sincere kind man. thank you for stopping so we could spend a min with you.

BRONCO - there is no doubt that the powers above picked the very BEST coach on earth today to lead His team. thank you for pushing a program of this nature and all that comes with it, all the good on every side. for being an example and an inspiration!



COSMO - after being told that you have been requested so often by thursday heroes and knowing that you have never been able to make it but that by miracle you made it for saylor, our gratitude for your heart and time runs deep, so deep that a river of happy tears has been shed. saylor loves and adores you. she has been blessed enough to have had you visit her home and now even make this special appearance. it truly is a blessing, the big man upstairs must know what she needs to get her through a few more things. you will never not have a place in her little heart or ours!



MAX - thanks for spending sooo much of your valuable time with our family. for wrestling with our son, who pretty much worships you! like any other 8 year old boy obsessed with football (ok stock is more then obsessed you cant even catch him without gloves or a ball!) this experience was mind blowing! he is still in a daze! thank you.




HARVEY - i would say your the families overall fav. you just bring it every time! thank you. stockton looks so spaced in every picture, well because i think he kind of was. can you imagine, i cant. this experience was incredible for my kids. all of them!

and ultimately we want to thank our Father above for this amazing spirit in our lives and homes, for saylor! for who she is and what she does. for letting us learn and be with her. for providing a way, a better way.

ok onto the story. when we first arrived on campus we got to see all the trophies and team awards and tour the football offices. the kids liked sitting in bronco's chair! that was special. and i was so impressed to see open and read scriptures on coaches desk. how inspiring.


we also got to see our old friend amy who brought cosmo to see saylor the first time about 3 years ago just after a surgery.

the office tour was fascinating for us all but most likely for the boys. after the tour we headed to the practice facility. nate and i both were very nervous that saylor would get shy, and steer away from the players and people. we just watched them practice for a min and then they finished and all gathered in the middle and you know what she just cruised on those crutches right towards them. ahead of us all. this is when both nate and i lost all control of emotion and became crying parents.

a few members of the team knelt down so they could be at her level and explained to her why she was their hero and thanked her for coming. they showed them their team flag, the one that is at every game and comes out of the tunnel ahead of the players. it looks so white from stands but its actually covered in names, signatures of players, coaches, and honorary team members. they then asked saylor to sign it so she could always be part of their team.


next they showed her a blank Y flag that they all were gonna sign for her to remind her of them. then the bag of goodies came and they helped her open it. she was in heaven. literally. we all were that night.


i think the best moment for nate and i was when the players, and staff all created a circle around saylor. enclosing her. so she could lead them in their "go cougs" end of practice send off. nate, the kids, and i were on the outside so we were expecting a team captain or coach to lead the send off. the room fell silent, and suddenly we heard our little angels voice, strong and soft say 1...2...3... does it get sweeter then that? oh man. then having video of it now from the inside just brings it all together. full circle. one team.


then came cosmo and cute explanations about how special this really was! she was smitten, as she always has been. pretty sure she wants cubs not babies at this point. there is this pic below i was so reluctant to post cause i seem to be the focus and i dont want to be. and i dont look my best at all. we are all laughing and looking to the side at something else but saylor her focus is fixed on cosmo!





we shook the hand of nearly every single player, all of us. then we chatted with a few that lingered and the coaches. max hung out, so did harvey & cosmo. then it was time for goodbye. the emotional high, that high lingered for days. its still kind of there. and it feels sooo good.

in case you missed the bronco show with video footage you can get to a link of the taping by going here.

how do i even finish a post about one of the funnest best days our family has ever had? i simply cant. so i wont.

SF bound

so i know today is our BIG cougar day and i know you will all be so anxious to hear all about it. i can hardly stand the wait. saylor is soooo excited. but your gonna have to cause i head to SF early in the morn for this ...


the long anticipated adventure in floral design. i have grown to love and adore NLC the lady who put this great venture together. She has spent a lot of time planning this event and i have had a finger or two dipped and cant wait to go out there and help. I am taking my fav intern ever with me jules.... a girl trip. design focused. in my fav city in the whole world (of course i am bias because so much of my heart is there) i find it difficult to leave the fam and also to go without them, isnt that OUR city, not mine? i cant imagine going there without saylor. but i am gonna have to. it will be a spiritual journey of rejuvination!

meanwhile nate is mr mom ... we shall see how he does. of course he has the two grandmas so i can rest easy. and promise when i get back to update you on thursday's hero and the trip. but be sure to watch the BM show on sunday night to catch a glimpse.

i have a feeling thursday is gonna be a good night!!!

but first halloweeeeen!


So miss storie was smarteeeeee pants! so true to her character, easy costume. fun too. stock doesnt like to dress up ... i tried to convince him to be a quarter back by just putting a quarter on his back. that way he wouldnt have to dress up. but he ultimately decided to be nate. kinda interesting because he doesnt look like thats what he is trying to be, he looks like just a football player to the average person ... we all know he doesnt even have to dress up to be nate. and miss saylor insisted upon being mary poppins! she was mistaken for little bo peep, miss muffet, and a few other things but never once did someone guess she was mary .. oh well.

now to the most exciting news of all. a once in a lifetime opportunity. one of nates friends has affiliation contacts with BYU's football staff. after having some discussion with nate about saylor he turned saylors name and our contact info into the football department for the thursday heroes program. a short time later cort trejo with the football department emailed us and asked for some information about saylor and some pictures. we sent it of course. yesterday i heard back from cort, and they have asked saylor to be their hero this week. i am filled with emotion, it floweth over. i am so excited for her and for us. there are so many heroic people out there and so few thursday spots, i am overwhelmed that we have been given this opportunity.

for those of you who dont know what that is, let me explain, what it is as far as i understand it. every thursday before the game the football department brings in someone inspiring to practice, to give the players motivation to play hard and for something. they share the heroes story and spend time with them and their family. they also ask them to sign the team flag and invite them to be part of the team forever. this flag is carried at every game and hangs in the facility.

when we tried to explain to saylor what would be happening this thursday she didnt really get it. so we started watching the bronco mendenhall show on the internet to show her. we did this while doing treatment on the potty and she chanted for about an hour cougar cheers. she is pretty excited. i dont know if she grasps the enormity of this for her and our family but someday she will and i hope that the memories stay strong enough to remember it all.

following sports beat sunday on KSL they feature the hero of the week on the bronco M show. so be sure to watch and spread spread spread the word so you can share this with saylor and us!

thank you for all your love and support. for being part of our lives.