some pictures

I LOVE this one! Lauren gave me a CD of the ones that she made brighter and more vibrant or turned black and white. They're huge files, though, so downloading them will take a while. I'll have to put more up later. But they turned out AWESOME!

yippee yippee yippee

My friend Lauren took pictures of the girls yesterday. Emma, as always, was the cooperative one and Lauren has TONS of pictures of her. Bree, on the other hand,...do I even need to comment on that??? Every time she looked up and saw the camera she immediately turned around. I'll bet Lauren has more of her backside than her front side! But, MAN, I loved these outfits! Once again, I copied from somewhere else, but who cares??!! THEY LOOKED ADORABLE!

So you have to go over to Lauren's blog to see my sneak peek. Those pictures over there have to be enough to pacify me for now, but I can't wait to see the rest!!!

Yes on Prop 8!

Lately our church leaders have emphasized the importance of using "personal media" to share the gospel or, in a broader sense, be an example of Christ. I don't know that I've done a very good job of that, so I've made a new commitment to use this blog as a force for good, of sorts. It'll still be our family blog, but I hope I can make this a place where people can come to also be uplifted :)

So, first order of business. I've forwarded on a couple of emails recently regarding Prop 8 that I felt were important and prompted me to action. But just in case I didn't get them forwarded on to YOU, here they are. I hope you'll take the few extra minutes needed to take some action as well.


EMAIL #1:

Hello All.
Sorry for the forward, as a rule I NEVER forward. But this one is worth it. This email was sent to me, Alison. Tracy Picketts is a friend from a previous ward and she currently is a member of the Heritage Oaks ward. Please take the time to help out some one who put it all on the line. If you have not yet seen the Yes on Prop 8 Ad, here is the link.
Please help.

Thanks.
Alison Dunn

If you have watched the TV in the last two days, you may have seen the new Yes on Prop 8 commercial. (the one with Gavin Newsom). The professor from Pepperdine University who speaks on behalf of all of us in the commercial is man very close family friend...so close that I refer to him as 'Uncle Richard'. He does a fabulous job stating some key consequences of NOT passing prop 8.
Since the commercial has aired Richard has been receiving literally hundreds of emails, some violent and very threatening from various gay groups and also some even from the faculty. His wife Patti said that another well respected and prominent professor was supposed to do the commercial but was called away to Washington D.C. and unable to do it so they asked Richard if he would consider doing it. He said that he would but he had to clear it with 'the powers that be' at Pepperdine first. He submitted the script to them and they said that they had no issues with it. Now with the backlash, as so often happens, they are not being very supportive. Richard thought that if there were some positive emails amid all the negative it would help.

To help support this cause and those who speak out publicly as our voice for our stance... would you please email the head of the law department at Pepperdine, Ken Starr, and let him know how appreciative you are for their support in allowing Professor Richard Peterson to speak for all Prop 8 supporters? If you could please also contact your friends and other supporters and ask for their help in sending an email as well.

Ken Starr's email is: Ken.Starr@pepperdine.edu

After receiving this email about the backlash of his participation in this commercial, it confirmed to me again why we CAN NOT be complacent as defenders of the Proclamation on the Family. It also gave me more insight as to the church's unprecedented and vigorous support of this issue. As we can see, many groups against prop 8 are VERY vocal and VERY pushy with their views and beliefs. Many of them are all for freedoms of speech, except when it contradicts their beliefs. I personally have seen many No on Prop 8 commercials and haven't thought once, 'I am going to email those people and tell them I disagree with them through hateful speech and threats.' We can not allow our opponents on this issue bully us into submission and silence our own personal views for fear that we will receive similar backlash as Richard. We can not allow a loud minority to shape an institution that means so much to the very core of our beliefs. We need to stand up and be counted. I give a lot of credit to Professor Richard Peterson and others who (at some cost) have chosen to stand up and be counted.

Thanks,
Tracy Pickett

EMAIL #2:

We need to all vote Yes on prop 8 in Nov. I don't look at it as a matter of marriage between two people but as a confusing message it is sure to send to our little ones. Please, no matter what your beliefs, think first of your posterity and the negative effect it will have on them. Check out the link below.
Deborah

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1815825713

She Speaks!!!...in Spanish

We finally got rid of the bottle and now we're working on the binky-Bree only gets it while she's sleeping. So now that she doesn't have her plug she's been a lot more chatty. Of course, most of it is jabber, but there's a lot she CAN say. So I spend a lot of my day saying, "Bree say ____ " and then she'll give me her version of whatever word or phrase it is. Needless to say, it doesn't always sound like what I've asked her to say. So Emma lets me know that she said it in Spanish.
And Emma likes to make up words and ask me to spell them. When I tell her it's not a word, she informs me that those words, also, are in Spanish. Does she watch a little too much Dora???

And here's a sneak peek at what we'll be doing with the girls in the next couple weeks...pray for good weather. Just think rocker girls and black converse hi-tops :)

TAG-JuJu's Paul Mitchell Contest

My sister Julianne attends Paul Mitchell Hair Academy in Rexburg and she's entering a contest. I want to say just a few words about her. She is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet in your life. She has had to overcome some SERIOUS obstacles throughout her life. When I think about the things that she has encountered, I am amazed at her ability to get through them. No doubt she is one of Heavenly Father's strongest and most faithful daughters. She is a loyal friend and tries so hard to bring happiness into the lives of those around her. Hair school means so much to her because it's a place where she can go and feel safe, feel confident in her abilities, and feel like she has a support system all around her. Here's what she wrote:

Paul Mitchell is having a you tube contest that all Future Professionals in all of the schools nationwide are invited to participate in. And I really really really want to win!!! The grand prize is an all expense paid airfare, hotel, and dinner with John Paul Dejoria and Winn Claybaugh. So here is the deal. The winners are picked by the HIGHEST NUMBER OF VIEWS and HIGHEST RANKING. So here is where all of you come into play and your friends and family and their friends and family! You will all need to view JUST my video (don't view the other videos b/c then they get a vote as well) as often as possible and then rank it high!!! In order to rank it, you need to be a You Tube member-it takes just a couple minutes to create an account and other than the confirmation email, you don't get any other emails from them. You can view it as much as you want (please view it a lot) and then I would love you to tag everyone on your blog list with it. Voting goes from the time my video is uploaded until October 18. This is so important to me. Love you all!!!!!!! So keep your eyes open for the link!

which is right here (and to make sure you have the right one, her username is julijam421):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEEFibmvwdY

TAG ALL OF YOU WHO READ THIS!! Just copy and paste this post and put it on your blog, then create a You Tube account and view, view, view!!! Julianne would flip out if she won this contest.

THANKS!

***Voting starts at midnight tonight-Thursday***

Tessa Lynn

SHE'S SO SO SO SO CUTE!!! Pictures don't do her justice. She hated the lights, so anytime a flash went off she got mad :) I had a hard time choosing which of the million pictures I took to post, so here's photomania:


She opened her eyes but hated the flash so she would close them before we could get a picture. So I turned off the flash-the pic ended up pretty dark so I photoshopped it so it was lighter-still not the greatest quality, but it works! She has such dark eyes, and she was following us around!






She was able to do "the lip" SO WELL...Von and Lindsey are in for it!!

ATTN: Girls Night ladies...

Lindsey had her baby! I'm heading to the hospital, so don't show up until 8:30! See you later!

Tagged

Haley tagged me. I made Dave do the last one and it was so funny. I don't think I'll be able to do this justice. I don't even know if I have 6 quirky things about me...spazzy maybe, but quirky? I'll try.

1. I'm a little bit of a control freak. Not OCD control freak, just more like I like to have my way. It's actually not something I'm proud of. If someone loads the dishwasher for me, I do it all over again...MY way. I don't let my girls paint or do craft projects very often b/c I can't handle glue/markers/paint all over the place. That's why I'm grateful for preschool. Just call me CF for short.

2. I still believe we're in a drought. The whole phrase "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down" still rings true for me. Dave hates this. But I seriously can't understand the WASTE when it's just a little bit of liquid. Of course, if we have guests, I take care of business, but otherwise... :) I try to maximize my shower, washing machine and dishwasher usage, and when I'm getting ready for bed I let the water heat up for washing my face while I'm brushing my teeth, then the second the water gets warm I turn it off until I'm done brushing. That way I'm not letting it run cold and wasting while I'm brushing my teeth and THEN run it to warm it up. Dave thinks I'm crazy that I'll rinse my mouth with warm water. He can't stand that either. But I can't stand his long hot showers, so I guess we're even there.

3. People think that I can do everything, but I can't. I just copy other people. It's true that if I see something I like I usually don't buy it-I just figure out how to make it myself and personalize it to my tastes. It's good if I can make it for cheaper than it would cost to buy, not so good if it ends up costing more. But even when it costs more, I like the learning process-I come away knowing how to do something I didn't know before. But I'll bet you can't find an "original" thing in my house, just replicates of somebody else's stuff.

4. As social of a person as I am, I actually LOVE having alone time. There is nothing better than laying down with a book (on a couch, in bed, outside in the sun, wherever) by myself. As a matter of fact, I just got a new book from the library, so the faster I finish this, the faster I can get to my book. This is also the reason why people don't see much of me during the day-playdates are hard for me b/c I like to be alone-whether it's a playdate where only the friend comes over, or the friend AND the parent comes over. It's not that I don't love the playdates, b/c I do-I love all my friends and all their kids. It just means less alone time. Weird, huh? I'm actually quite conflicted about it b/c this can't be good for my kids. AND THIS DOESN'T MEAN I DON'T WANT ANY OF YOU TO EVER CALL ME AGAIN :) I'm willing to have playdates-it gets me out of the house :) I'm a control freak AND a hermit...is anyone else noticing a trend?

5. I can't say no. I've actually gotten a LOT better at it, so if I've said "no" to you recently I'm sorry-you should've hit me up a year ago when I wasn't able to say no. It's REALLY hard for me to tell people I can't do something, b/c in all honesty I usually am actually physically able to do most things. But then it kind of goes back to the control issue. If I say I'm going to do something, I put everything into that, and my mental health suffers and my family suffers. So I have to pick and choose. I've gotten better at understanding my limits, which is why you local people won't see me in charge on Saturday at the women's conference-I'll just be actively participating. But for the most part, you'll probably suck me in if you ask me to do something.

6. My sister has mentioned this about herself before, but it applies to me as well. I LOVE color. So when I see awesome scrapbook paper or (my latest addiction) fabric, I go nuts. My sister said that if she could wallpaper her house with scrapbook paper she would. Same goes for me. If we didn't have to focus so much on having to re-sell our house, you wouldn't be walking in and seeing beige walls. We'll have to see how it goes in our next house. I know I'll have to create some sort of "flow" in the house and its color schemes, but I would LOVE to have each room be it's own "character." The closest I've been able to get to what I really love is Emma's room right now. I'm actually quite surprised at the feelings color invokes in me. Maybe my feelings will change over time...but I doubt it. Too bad for Dave-what he really wants is a log cabin with moose curtains. No way. I can't work with that.

So now I tag anyone who has never done this before. Or who has done this before but has a lot to say about themselves :)

And just because a post is always better with pictures, here's one for ya. We went to the Geauga County Fair and thought this was quite accommodating of them...

Green Eggs and Ham

Some of my earliest memories are during preschool. Which I suppose would be true for everyone since honestly not a whole lot went on in any of our lives prior to that. Unless you count learning to walk and use a toilet. But some of us may not have really mastered the 2nd feat by that age so let's not count that.

Anyway there are 2 memories from preschool that stand out to me. The first was the realization that I am the fastest tricycle rider ever. I remember seeing my friend walking with his mom and we decided we were going to play together at his house. I got really excited and rode home to tell my mom where I was going. I don't know if I was hyped up on pixie sticks or just really excited but my legs were a blur as I zoomed home. I think I almost went into a wheely due to my superhuman acceleration. I ran into that friend after our missions and that was the one childhood memory he brought up to me. "Man, you sure could fly on a trike. And you knocked me out once." He didn't have much of a smile after that 2nd memory for some reason. But in my defense he was really asking for it. That's a whole different story.

So is this one. I remember the first time I heard the story Green Eggs and Ham. Our preschool teacher read us the book and at the end surprised us by having our own Green Eggs and Ham lunch. I remember thinking that those were the best eggs I'd ever had and was always a little mad that my mom wouldn't make them for me. Anyway I didn't want this memory to die with me so I decided to re-create the magic for our girls.

I know, hotdogs don't really count as ham but they're close enough by my book. Now if I could only get Emma or Bree to develop super huge quads to go really fast on their trikes. Maybe it's time to get them into the gym or pump them full of steroids.

Oh and one last memory. I was doing the truffle shuffle in the bathroom one day and my brother caught me. Very traumatic. And for those of you who don't know what that is and before you get some inappropriate ideas reference the movie Goonies.

Here's a link for you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltp-PPL_yeY&feature=related

Permanent Girls Night/Project Night

Monday nights, at my house. Come after the kids are in bed (so I'm not reigning in on anyone's FHE parade). For those of you without kids, that's between 8-8:30. Bring something you're working on or nothing at all. We talk...a lot. And if your kids don't go to bed until 9:30, it's not too late to come. We stay up REALLY late. If you have the munchies and want to bring something, we accept treats of all kinds. :) I'm thinking of spending one night showing people some basics of digiscrapping, so let me know if you're interested in it. If, by chance, I have to cancel, I'll post about it and hopefully offer a replacement location for those still wanting to have it that night.
Hope everyone can come!!