As of Lately...

...Polly (my car) has been struggling. I took her in to get the tire pressure checked before my big trip home to California. While i was at Les Schwab, the worker told me my front tires were bald. Then, later that day, i got a flat. Holy cow! Polly is seriously having a hard time keeping it together. So, naturally, the first thing i do is call my dad. He knows how to handle these kinds of things. I spent most of my day talking to him and realized many things:
-he is one of the smartest guys i know.
-he is extremely patient...especially with me, his 19 year old daughter who knows NOTHING when it comes to care maintenance.
-he is kind
-he is helpful
-he is protective
-he is the best dad ever.
My dad truly takes on the role of an ideal father. He has all of those qualities and ultimately provides, presides, and protects his family. I love you, dad.
Happy last week of school,
Spits

Here's to the Weekend.

That's it. I'm all done. After two years at BYU-I, i have completed my associates degree and have been accepted to attend BYU Provo in the fall. Wednesday marks the end of the semester for me. That means i get to enjoy FIVE MONTHS of summer in SoCal. But that's not the best part. I get to spend a 12 hour drive home with my momma. She is one of my most favorite people. We have so much catching up to do...even though we talk every day. It is going to be a great start to a fabulous summer.
Love your family. I sure do.
xoxo
Little Ream

10 Things to Remember

1. Service helps you grow closer to one another.
2. Being a stay-at-home mom is one of the most rewarding jobs.
3. Carefully balance work and family life.
4. Finding "The One" is a four step process: dating, courtship, engagement, marriage.
5. Transitional figures are extremely courageous people.
6. Cohabitation doesn't result in a happy, long-lasting marriage.
7. Although being violated is a tragic thing, it doesn't break your spirit. You can mend your hurt self.
8. Intimacy= Time+Togetherness+Talk
9. A marriage requires all types of love: Agape, Eros, Philia, and Storge.
10. Don't just plan a wedding...plan a marriage.
Do the best you can to prepare for your future family.
xx,
Spittle

Parenting is the Best Thing.

I promise. No one likes to be around kids who haven't been parented. True fact. Although it is much needed, parenting goes beyond disciplining your kids. It includes teaching them and being good examples for them to look up to. My parents rocked at parenting. Truly. We were taught that there was a time and a place for most things. There was a time to have fun and be silly, and it wasn't at the dinner table. We were taught to be respectful. We were taught to be kind. We were taught how to share and play nicely. With all that teaching, we turned out to be the most well behaved kids. It seems like my 'rents had a tough parenting style, but in reality, they disciplined with love and with the intent to teach us a better way to go about things. They were definitely authoritative parents...the best kind.
Be good parents.
Love to all
Traci

When I Grow Up I Want to be Just Like My Mom.

She is a stay-at-home mom. People often make jokes that being a mom isn't a job. I beg to differ. She works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. She would wake up early each morning to get my brothers and me ready for school. While we were there, she would clean the house, do the laundry, take care of the marketing, run errands (usually for everyone but herself), and then make it in time to come pick us up from school. We would get home and she would get a snack in our bellies, drive us to soccer/basketball/football practice, start dinner, pick us up for practice, finish dinner, feed us, clean up, help us with homework/school projects, get us ready for bed, and then start again the next day. That was a just a typical day in the life of my mom. She devotes every minute of her day taking care of her family. Her job never stops. She can't call in sick or take a week off of vacation time. Instead, she works day in and day out ultimately blessing our family and keep us one strong family unit. I will always be grateful for her admirable decision to be a stay-at-home mom.

love these people to pieces.

enjoy every moment with your family.
xx,
Tray

Learn to Love Serving.

"Service changes people. It refines, purifies, gives us a finer perspective, and brings out the best in each one of us. It gets us looking outward instead of inward. It prompts us to consider others' needs ahead of our own. Righteous service is the expression of true charity, such as the Savior showed."

~Elder Derek A. Cuthbert

One of the best ways to grow closer to one another is to serve. You are able to think solely about the other person allowing you to better understand their needs and how you can help them. In doing this, you develop a greater love for that person, ultimately strengthening that relationship you had. Service can be a little thing that makes a world of difference.

Always love,

Little Ream

My family is so fun.

We seriously love to be with each other. In one of my other classes, we briefly discussed family traditions. There are good traditions, and there are bad traditions. My family has great ones. For as long as I can remember, we have gone on a houseboat trip each summer. This is one of our favorite things to do. I guess you can call it a tradition. Each summer, we take a week off and head up to our favorite lake where we rent a houseboat and spend our days on the water. It is the trip that is most looked forward too, and I can't help but think it is because we get to spend a week together as a family. 

This was the theme song of our trip one year. Needless to say it is my family's favorite song.

Make good traditions.
Much, much love,
Trace Baby

I'm Struggling...

...to write new posts. Its evident in the fact that I only have four posts to date. Life seems to be crazy busy and writing blog posts doesn't exactly make it on the priority list. However, because the amount of posts determines whether I get a good grade or not, I'm going to get my little bum in gear and start writing.

The other day we talked about how work has affect the family unit. Before, work used to be mostly manual labor in which the whole family helped. Now, it is an excuse for the father to leave the home for the majority of the day only to make just enough money for a family to survive. Sometimes, a mother may even need to work in order for a family to live a little more comfortably, enjoying some luxuries of worldly living. This way of living is sad because not only does it take the father away from the home, but it may take the mother away too. In addition, each member of the family can grow farther apart because they spend most of their time away from one another.

This made me reflect on my own family experiences.  My dad was an entrepreneur, so to speak. He owns his pool contracting business. Being his own boss, he was able to make his own work schedule, however, he made many sacrifices to be with his family. He often left at 5 in the morning so that he could get his work done in time to be home for dinner. Because of that, our family was able to spend a lot of time together and develop strong relationships. I will always be grateful to my dad for the sacrifices he made to spend more time with us as a family.
I love my family.
xx,
spits

I Had the Best Weekend Ever.

My mom came to visit. I drove down to Salt Lake and she flew up from Southern California. We had the most fun girl's weekend full of shopping and good food. Honestly, that's all we did. Shopped and ate. It couldn't have been better. When I was spending time with my mom, it made me think about what we had discussed in class a week or so ago. How would things have been different had I been a boy? I'd rather not think about it, but for a split second, one thing came to mind. I wouldn't have gotten all those dang cute new clothes. That's about it. I realized that not much would have changed. My mom and I would probably have a super close relationship, even if I were a boy. I see the relationship she has with my other two brothers and it couldn't be better. Not only do I have a close bond with my mom, I have an equally great relationship with my dad. So do my brothers...so that wouldn't be different either. Also, my brothers and I have many of the same "chores."Now that we're older we just help out when needed. No one is exempt from vacuuming the floors, doing the dishes, or cleaning up after the dog. In addition, we were all shown love in different but equal ways. In all honesty, my life would be just the same even if I were a boy. But thank goodness I'm a girl. Just saying.
Infinite x's & o's
Little Ream

This is Just a Little Shout Out.

These past couple days have been seriously awesome. And it's all thanks to my four favorite people.

I first received a letter from my older brother who is serving a mission in New Jersey. They are honestly the best things. I love hearing about how he is doing and the awesome experiences he is having. He is funny, down to earth, and crazy about the gospel. His letters are perfect. The BEST part is that he always ends with a scripture or a quote, and amazingly enough, it is one that is so relevant to my life at that moment.  I swear he is an inspired human being. 

The second best part of my week was talking with my dad the other day. I called the home phone, which I never normally do, and I was so glad that it was him who answered.  It had been a little while since we last talked, so I was thrilled to hear his voice on the other end. We had the best little chat, just catching up and filling each other in on what has been going on. The things he says seriously crack me up, and I don't think he even means to be funny. That's why it's hilarious. 

Then, there was my little brother. We don't talk often, but when we do, we have the funniest conversations.  He speaks fluent sarcasm and tells things like it is. He honestly knows what to say to make my day. I just love this kid. 

Yesterday, I talked to my mom. Not just once, but four times. I had so much to tell her, but when I called her, I would forget to mention something every time. So I would call her back when I remembered...four hours later. That happened three more times. I love to tell her everything. She laughs with me, cries with me, gets excited with me, and vents with me. She's the best. 

My family rocks. Enough said.

Sending joy your way,

Tream

Hello. My name is...

Traci Ream. But it doesn’t stop there. I’m also known to many as Spittle, Spits, Tray, Little Ream, Trace Baby, and The Best Daughter slash Sister Ever. I seriously have the best life. My mom is my #1 best friend. My dad is the funniest guy I know. My older brother, Matthew, is the smartest kid in the world, and my younger bother, Cameron, is the coolest kid ever. I have lived my whole life in Southern California, spending my days at the beach or on the boat. I have also been fortunate enough to grow up with much of my extended family close by. We have family get-togethers often and truly love to be with one another. Because of this, I have come to really understand the importance of family and can’t wait to be with mine forever.
Love to all,
T