Modern Day Pioneers

Having been born and raised in California I have been impressed with the many stories from friends and family members about all that is going on with Proposition 8. I get tears in my eyes thinking of the countless people lining the intersections with their "Yes on 8" signs. For some it is hard to stand up for what they believe in. They are a little fearful, but they do it. For others, they take charge and even bring their kids to share in the momentous event. They have been asked by the prophet to do whatever they can possibly do for the cause. People are giving money, they are picketing, and they are sacrificing their time. They are also being persecuted and threatened all because of what they believe in. These modern day pioneers are showing extraordinary faith and courage not unlike the pioneers of old. To all of you Californians rallying the cause, thank you for your great example.

We need to win this one!

Halloween 2008

We hope everyone had a Spooktacular Halloween!

emma

eva

ben

ella

tayli

Thoughts from tonight: Emma and Eva carved their own pumpkins for the first time. Mother nature blessed us with the most amazing weather for Halloween night. The kids didn't have to wear their coats. It was even warm! Tayli got to come with us. Even though Ella's flower bit the dust half way through the night, she was still the cutest little stem in town. My vampires scared me. Eva made me wish she really was still a baby. Time goes way too fast. Forget the passing out candy thing. I am going trick or treating with the kids every year. How many more days until next Halloween?

"Focus On The Family"

On Saturday, this family took a much needed break from Life and spent a few hours at the park together. We had a picnic and thoroughly enjoyed one another's company. It was just what we needed. We laughed and we played and, of course, we took pictures...

On Sunday, we got to go up and visit Grammie and Papa and also Ryan and Cheryl and the kids. We got to see the cousins participate in their Primary program which Grammie was in charge of. Everyone did such a great job. It was also Tayli's 12th birthday and we were so lucky to be able to spend it with her. Before dinner we all decided to go on a leisurely hike. Warning: Lee and I did not come up prepared for a hike hence the mismatched clothes and shoes. On the way, we stopped at the old house where my Nana and Papa spent their honeymoon:

I loved thinking back to how times must have been back then and wondering how the house was decorated and what went on behind that wall, although I do have a little bit of an idea. ;) That property is currently up for sale. If I could have anything in the world right now, it would be to be able to purchase that property to keep it in the family.

While the rest of the clan was exploring the old house Ella and Papa stayed behind and threw rocks together.

While on our hike we found this cute little area that the kids wanted to explore. Tess and Tayli were so nice to help all the kids across the wet swampy part.

All the kids were in line patiently waiting for their turn to go across.

They all made it!

Lee taking a moment to enjoy nature.

Following in Daddy's footsteps, literally

Tess and Tayli helping the kids back to safety. What would we do without our cousins?

Lee asked Ella what she would do if she saw a bear. Ella said she "would go like this". She then put her arms up and growled. Then Lee asked her what she would do if the bear came after her like this and he growled at Ella. Ella then said with a serious look on her face, "Oh that would die me, Dad".

Pausing for a quick pick.

I just love how much Ella loves her Papa. They are so cute together!


Oh, how I love these men! My brothers and my Dad are such amazing examples to me. Eric and Julie, I was missing you so much right about now.

After we got back to the house Grammie had a nice , yummy dinner waiting for us. Thanks, Mom!!

We had a great family filled weekend and it's times like these that help me remember just how important our families really are. It's worth it to take time out of life and enjoy them every once in a while.

The Prophet And The Brain

On Monday for Family Home Evening we decided to learn more about our prophet. The kids sing "Follow the Prophet" every week in primary but how much do they really know about Pres. Monson?

As part of family night, we all watched a video about his life. We were all having a nice time. We were feeling the spirit and could tell the kids were as well. Periodically we'd pause the program to answer great questions from the kids like:

"How does Heavenly Father talk to us?" (Eva)

or

"How do you know when you receive a prompting from the spirit?" (Emma)

I loved that the kids were actually listening AND learning. It was a great moment for all of us. Ben had a question next, so Lee paused the program so we could hear what he had to say. His question was:

"If you take out your brain will it drip?"

I guess Ben wasn't feeling it quite like the rest of us! I sure love that boy!

General Conference Wordle

Lee got this cool wordle off of http://ldsmediatalk.com/ . This shows the most often used words from every talk during this past General Conference. The bigger the word, the more often it was used. We thought it was pretty cool. So then last night Lee experimented with different text and made wordles out of his patriarchal blessing, his journal, the Declaration of Independence, even my blog. Our favorite was the Family: A Proclamation to the World. I think I may even blow it up and frame it. You can choose any text you want, and even different fonts and colors. If you want to give it a try, go to http://wordle.net/.

Warning About Jib Jab

I have, and I know a lot of you have done some cute Jib Jab greetings in the past. Just this morning I got an email from them about some new Halloween greetings they have. I thought it would be fun to have the kids pick one to do to put on our blog. As we looked through them we came across one that looks like this:

We thought this one looked spooky so, innocent little Lara decides to check it out with her kids watching it as well. The purpose of this post is to warn you about it. Not only was it utterly gruesome, but it shows a naked girl sunbathing who I think gets murdered. We turned it off just before that happened. There was no warning about content unless you consider this a warning:

This ‘Starring You’ horror movie spoof has a chainsaw scene that will make you throw up a little in your mouth. Seriously demented Subscribers only!

That warning was a little too "silly" for me. It's Halloween, of course things are going to be spooky and scary. I just wish there would have been a more serious warning about the content. My kids were uncomfortable and I was uncomfortable as well.

To make matters worse, today I helped in Ben's kindergarten class and he said, loud enough for those around him, including the teacher, to hear, "Remember that weird movie we watched today with the naked girl?" My face turned bright red!

Some may say that I am overreacting but the bottom line is this: I have been sick that I exposed my children to that and I know I would not be the only mom not wanting their kids to see that. So if I could spare one more family this yucky experience than I will feel better.

It's All In The Delivery

For the past few weeks I have known exactly what I have wanted to do with the kids for UEA weekend. I wasn't quite sure what they would say, so I waited for the perfect time to tell them, mustered up as much excitement in my voice as possible, and then said, "Guess what we GET to do on your day off from school?" They got so excited, I could see it in their expressions - Disneyland? The Zoo? Camping? I knew what they were thinking. Little did they know that I was about to burst their bubble.

"We get to go to the dentist AND get our flu shots!"

I immediately saw a look of confusion in their eyes and then cautiously proceeded to tell them how great this day would be: "You'll get to show people how brave you all are and then you will receive new toothbrushes, floss, you'll get to pick a toy, you may even get a sucker after your shot." I couldn't believe it, but they started to realize that in fact it would not be as bad as they originally thought. Ella even told me that she had trouble sleeping the night before because she was so excited.

The much anticipated day came and we were off to the dentist. Ella made sure everyone was aware that she was going first. So when the hygienist came to get the first victim, I mean patient, she called for Emma. Ella immediately threw me a stabbing glare that said, "Tell her I am going first, Mom." So I did and Ella jumped up from her chair and ran to the hygienist's side. And that was it. A little while later Eva went without hesitation as well.

While Ella and Eva were being worked on, Emma, Ben and myself had the pleasure of witnessing a fish in their tank be bullied by another (much smaller) fish and almost eaten alive. It was quite a sight. I also never thought that I would appreciate the kids' Nintendo DS's as I did today since we had to wait for two hours. I even got in on a little Super Mario action myself.

Soon enough it was Emma's turn and then Ben's. One by one they came out with smiles on their faces and "party" bags, as Ella called them, in their hands. And the best part of all...NO CAVITIES!! On our drive home Ella even said how much she loved going to the dentist.

The kids showing off their clean smiles and "party" bags

Next stop: The doctor's for flu shots.

After lunch I piled the kids back into the car and headed to the doctor's office. On the way we all sang to Jack Johnson (who else?) and had a good time. I thought to myself, "Do they remember where we are going?" As soon as we got there, they immediately started arguing; not about getting shots however. They fought over who would get to push the buttons in the elevator.

While we were waiting I discovered that in fact we would be receiving the flu mist rather than the shot. I couldn't wait to share the good news with the kids. At least I thought it was good news. The kids didn't like the idea of something being stuck up their noses so they decided they would rather have the shot after all. To make a long story short they tried the flu mist. Two kids liked it and two kids would rather have the shot. Go figure. We left the doctor's office laughing about how weird that flu mist felt while sucking on our suckers that were given to us.

This day was very surreal for me. What could have been a horrible, dreaded day ended up being...brace yourself...FUN! This post is proof that a positive attitude is very powerful. It really is "all in the delivery".

Because the kids had no cavities, their dentist gave them all free meal certificates to Del Taco. After a day like today, it was the perfect ending. The kids sure earned their free meals. How could we not reward them? The kids' positive, mature attitudes really impressed me today. Never once did they complain about not being able to play. Sadly there are some parenting memories I wish I could forget. Today is a memory I hope I will remember for a long time.

Forgetting Ourselves

For a little while now I have heard people talking about Nie Nie, her blog and her story. Here and there I would look at Nie Nie's blog and her sisters as well, but it wasn't until yesterday that I sat down (for hours) and really read them. I have to say that my heart breaks for Nie Nie and her family just like everyone else who reads her story. But what else amazes me is the hundreds of total strangers who are sacrificing their time and talents and doing everything they can do to help. I love reading the many comments of how people's lives have been affected after learning of Nie Nie's story. My life has been affected after hearing and reading about all of these selfless acts. People from all over the world are uniting for one purpose which is to help this sweet family in any way they can. They truly are "losing themselves in the service of others". I am so grateful for examples like these. If you haven't yet been touched by Nie Nie and her story click on one of these pictures to learn more:




I remember one particular time that I was a recipient of an act of service was at Christmas time when I was a teenager and my brothers were both on their missions. I knew that it would be a humble Christmas for our family. Christmas Eve came and my friend Jenni pulled up to my house with her mom to deliver probably a dozen presents to me. They knew our situation and that I was missing my brothers and wanted to do something special. It touched me that they would sacrifice part of their Christmas for me.

*

I love what Pres. Hinckley's father told him: "Forget yourself and go to work!" I think this really applies to serving others. I'd like to challenge you (as well as myself) to do just that. Let's forget ourselves and start thinking of more ways we can help those around us.

Monte's One Year Old!!

Warning: This post may make you severely nauseous...

Today was Monte's 1st Birthday and we just had to celebrate.

I made him a party hat. Doesn't he look excited to be wearing it?! Actually, this look is his "These people are SO weird" look.

I also made Monte some tasty tuna treats for his special day. They actually didn't go over very well. What cat doesn't like Tuna? Then again, Monte isn't a normal cat...he likes being in water.

The kids got Monte a few new toys too. This one, a bird on a string, seems to be the favorite.
As you can see, Monte really is part of the family. The kids call me his mom and Ben even calls him his brother. We love our little kitty cat!

Here We Go Again

Dance has officially gotten underway and this family is so excited!! Their teacher made sure that Emma and Eva were put with the same group of girls as previous years which we are so thankful for. They have made some great friendships over the years. This year is a little tricky. Emma and Eva's classes are back to back which makes for four straight hours of dance which makes for one long day. Eva is new to ballet this year and is loving every minute of it.

I am so happy to have girls that love to dance. Dance was not something that I was interested in as a girl and looking back I wish I would have been a little more receptive to it. My only memory of dance class was my mom pushing me into a ballet class and quickly closing the door behind me. I had been crying to my mom, begging and pleading for her to take me home but she "paid for the class so I was going". A girl in my class asked me if I had the chicken pox because my face was all blotchy from crying. Like my mom, I decided I would try to put my girls in dance and fortunately they love it and they now have 10 years of dancing experience between the two of them. (Mom, thanks for trying - your efforts finally paid off!)

Our newest dancing princess...

Ella has been waiting her whole life to be able to dance like her big sisters and finally her time had come. We were counting down the days and I was so excited to be able to see her do her thing. I was especially excited because this would be the first year that I could actually watch one of my girls because I don't have any babies distracting the dancers. All through the lesson Ella kept looking back at me, almost like she was bothered that I was there. And sure enough on the drive home Ella said to me, "Mom, next time you can wait for me outside, OK?" So that is what I have been doing, waiting outside because that is what she wants, although my heart follows her in. I guess I really don't care if I have to wait outside. The only thing that matters to me is that she loves it. Every day Ella asks me how many more days until tap. She is definately in her element.