Ukus. Coaching and ears . . .

The very name can cause incessant panic and wide spread itching to occur simultaneously. I was around it once. In Hawaii. When I was a teacher. One day a cute little girl came to class missing her beautiful thick black hair. Her mother had shaved her head- and all of her sister's head's. She then pierced their ears herself using a needle and a potato so that one would not mistake her for a boy. I called CPS on them several times for various reasons. They didn't do a thing until two years later. Sigh . . . I digress. That is not the real story.

It would not have been on my top 20 lists of fears. I hadn't conceived of it yet to add it to my list. Especially not for my four year old. The one who doesn't go to school. At all. Yet I was brushing her hair back one afternoon and I saw it. A bug. Almost the same color as her strawberry hair. I thought. That is strange. Then I brushed her hair back some more and though I had never actually seen a live specimen before. I knew instantly what it was. It makes my gorge rise a bit in my throat now just to relive the event. Lice. How in the @#** did my four year old girl get lice? Kai went to the school to have Cambria's head checked. Luckily her hair is more like brown cement than fluffy strands of silky hair. I put so much styling product in her hair to control the curl that whatever lice tried to make her head their home probably died on impact. You could hold onto her hair in a hurricane.

Long story short . . . one of the neighbors who frequents our house had lice but not the decency to tell us. As soon as I found out that Kiera had lice I was weak with shame thing of how to tell all the kids that she plays with that we had a problem and they should keep themselves alert. If only the same courtesy could have been afforded to me.

I do not wish lice on any of you. I think it should require a quarantine. I did 21 loads of laundry ( oh yeah and my dryer broke half way between those loads- luckily we have a handy man friend because this wasn't the time for broken dryers). Vacuumed twice a day for two weeks (including every bed and every couch.) We still have a few pillows and toys stuffed in black plastic trash bags. It was a nightmare. One that drained me emotionally and physically. I do not wish lice on any of you. Ever.

In other less disgusting News . . .
Coach Davis and Coach Davis are now in the business of soccer. Kai and I have the opportunity to coach our little girls' soccer team. It has been so much fun to renew my old romance with the sport. Soccer is in my soul. So far Malachi has the best ball handling skills out of the three of our children. It makes me sad as I realize I never taught my girls how to kick. The soccer field never saw such comedy before. We won our first game 4-1. It was so exciting! To keep it real though, we lost our next game 1-6. Only time will tell where our coaching journey will take us.

Kai really make the BEST cookies. I think that is why I am not a skinny mini anymore (okay so I was never a skinny mini- but I had a nice figure at one point:)). He could give old Betty and Aunt Nestle a run for their money. This really has nothing to do with anything else. I just like this picture because my kids really like to congregate together and it makes me really happy.

In our most exciting news . . . My mother would be ashamed, but

The girls got their ears pierced. Cambria had been asking for about 6 months. We tried it with Cambria once but it only resulted in 30 minutes of sitting in the "piercing" chair crying because although she really wanted her ears pierced, she didn't want it to hurt.

"If you want to get your ears pierced you may want to hug your mom and hold onto her while you do it because it does really hurt. But it won't hurt forever" Cambria Davis

Cambria cried and Kiera didn't. It is a point that both of them will make sure to tell you. When Cambria cried I knew I had to be strong for her. When Kiera didn't cry it made me want to cry because I knew it hurt and she was trying to be so tough. It did leave her speechless for about 5 minutes which for Kiera is highly unusual.

I wish I got Kiera's smile when she saw her earring in the mirror for the first time. It was a look of pure joy. She has a hard time smiling on demand.:)

They have been so excited about the new jewelry in their ears and can't wait until they can change them out the week of Christmas. So don't be surprised if when they see you they let you in on the good news. Be happy for them (mom:).

I tried it myself . . .

It is hard to take your family picture and be in it at the same time . . .
There are some more great ones . . .make sure you see them here.
I want to take your picture too!

Spread the Word!

Don't miss out this time and dress warmly. I think we are supposed to have a cold weekend. Thank you.

Get Driving Directions here.

Time Out For Women

I was supposed to attend with my mother, grandmother, aunt and cousin. As it turned out I went alone. That fact seemed to be rubbed in many times when people could not believe I wasn't saving the seat next to me. Not quite as much fun this way. I tried to call dozens of people. Most were already going, some never got back to me. It really should have been a shared experience. As my tone may hint, I was a little bummed to be without family or friends. The Friday night event was amazing though and I was glad that I had shown up anyway. We heard from Kenneth Cope, Hillary Weeks, Chieko Okazaki and Carolyn Rasmus.

Sister Okazaki was so funny. I had been privileged enough to meet her in Hawaii and though she would never remember me I felt a connection to her. She turned 82 on October 21 and this is how she started her talk.
"I have five boyfriends that I spend my time with now days. I wake up in the morning with Will Power and then I go and visit John. After awhile Charlie Horse come to call and he takes up a lot of my concentration. Then "Arthur Ritus" pays me a visit, but he doesn't like to stay in one place for very long so he takes me from joint to joint. By the time he leaves I am so glad to go to bed with Ben Gay."

- "Life is like a roll of toilet paper. the closer you get to the end the faster it goes. Make sure to live joyfully."

Two very important principles of the gospel are Free Agency and Love.

God will not override of agency even to bless us or he would cease to be God. Overriding agency was Satan's plan . Satan chose to walk away from God and become The Deceiver and the Adversary. This was his agency.

Establish a pattern of prayer and make your home a library of learning. Make sure that your children know that prayer is an ongoing conversation with the Lord.

Hillary Weeks was absolutely amazing. She is beautiful and absolutely hilarious. She commanded the crowd and if no one else was there, the conference would have been worth the price of admission. She sang some beautiful songs and shared such a sweet testimony all with the gift of humor.

She said:
-Prayers are always answered. Sometimes exactly as we predict, sometimes in ways we could never have expected and sometimes with a 'no.'"

-God knows us. He knows our names. He could walk in to this room and call any one of us by name. He cares enough to know us by name and her cares enough to know all the details of our lives.

Carolyn Rasmus is someone I had never heard of. She gave a beautiful talk about God's love and mercy for us. I took the most notes on her talk.

She said that when the old testament was being translated from Hebrew to English the scholars came across a word that had no translation in English because it was so complex with multiple meanings.So the translators invented a word to encompass the entirety of it's meaning: at - one, meaning to bring everything together: atone

She said the power of the atonement can make a difference in our lives. It can increase of faith and dispel our fears.

There was really so much more, but alas . . . you really had to be there to appreciate it all. If TOFW comes to a town near you grab your loved ones and go. It is worth every penny.

Just when you thought it was safe . . .

you have to look at one last Halloween post!
Kiera was really trying to get into character for her costume, Sleeping Beauty. She fell asleep while I was brushing her hair. My children NEVER just fall asleep so it was pretty funny.
Kiera thought the pumpkin smelled disgusting. She has quite a nose on her! She is very sensitive to smells.

Me finishing Kiera's pumpkin. She did all the "freckles." They were little holes poked all over the pumpkins face.

Cambria was the only kid who did her whole pumpkin by herself.

I love my Grandma so much. I am so glad that we could spend time with her. We got to eat a couple of dinners together and take a shopping trip and spend Halloween night with her.

Bubba had so much fun stacking blocks at Grammy's house. WE had so much fun in CA for Halloween. We are so glad that Nevada became a state on Oct. 31St so that we could get every Friday before Halloween off. It was very thoughtful of them. We were glad to see friends and wish we could have spent more time with them.

Next post: What is scarier than Freddy, Jason and Chucky all rolled together . . .? Something you better hope you never have to deal with.

Unprepared

I was quickly approaching the end of my rope. I had already turned off my emotions in order to think rationally and calmly, but I wouldn't be able to hold for much longer. Malachi's hands are red and largely swollen and the two different doctors I had just spent and hour and a half with were medically stumped. They had no diagnosis. Malachi is in misery. He is unable to grasp a spoon or hold a bottle and to top it all off we lost his woo (pacifier) last night and he could really benefit from it's comfort right now.

I had gone to Walmart to buy a new woo, and to get some more Slimfast. I headed to the 20 items or less express lane with my four year old sitting so nicely in the basket of the shopping cart and my two year old in my arms resting his head on my shoulder and crying softly. I waited in line patiently for someone to check out who had way more than 20 items, my total came to $11.03. I slid my credit card. It was declined. Whoops. I wrote a check. It was declined (I had expected the credit card failure but not the check.) I stood helpless and embarrassed trying to sift through my mind as quickly as possible for options. I had decided I would just come back with cash. I hadn't realized it before though I had made small talk with him, but an angel was in line directly behind me. Of course he was in disguise. He wouldn't openly flaunt his angelic likeness. Instead he wore a faded baseball cap over his graying hair and a red t-shirt. His face was kind. His tone was gentle. He asked the cashier how much it was. He said he'd just pay for it too. I quickly declined letting him know that I would return shortly with cash to pay. The cashier told me "There really are nice people." I could have handled more bad news or disappointment, but what I was not prepared for was kindness. My eyes began to swim as I thanked him. He said he had four daughters and sometimes things just happen.

I wrote a check out to him. In the section labeled for: I wrote "being my hero." How do you repay an angel. You can't really unless you pay it forward.

If you know a Frank Larsen, give him a hug for me. His kindness came at a time when it was least expected. He paid for a stranger and he will never know how it touched my heart. Tonight his name will hang on a leaf cut out of construction paper. I will tape it to a picture of a tree we cut out and hung on our wall. It is our Tree of Thanks. Each night after dinner we hang a leaf with something we are thankful for. Tonight I will hang his name. Frank Larsen.

I love Photography!

So I may be an amateur, but one thing is for sure . . .I love taking pictures. I have loved photography from an early age and now I ask myself how did I never take a class? Not in college, not in high school. Where were my priorities? Someday I promise myself to pursue this interest though it will most likely be when all my kiddos are in school. Someday I promise to take a photography course.


This is Matthew.
To see more, click here.

Want me to take your portraits? I ain't a pro, but I'll do a mini shoot for you for $25 that includes a CD. It'll be great. I'll get practice and you'll get pictures to send out in your Christmas card.

I have lots more to say involvng:

A.) Halloween

B.) Lice

Trust me . . .you don't want to miss it.

The Agony of Defeat

When you want something so bad, it seems like you can will yourself to get it. You can taste sweet victory in your mouth, so when that taste turns into the sour taste of defeat, life can be hard to deal with. Especially when you are six.
To the desert dwellers it seemed unbearably cold. The thermostat tapped out at 53 degrees. Spectators were swathed in blankets and jackets and hats. Nothing seemed to cut the chill.

Today was the day for the annual Pumpkin Run. Each grade level raced and the first 20 or so to cross the finish line won pumpkins. Cambria won a pumpkin last year.

Unfortunately this year she followed some bad advice given to her by her mother. "Just follow Spike the Bull Dog. He'll lead you to the finish line.

Spike was on the opposite side of the field from Cambria. So instead of running in a straight line, She zig zagged through the crowed of runners trying to claim a spot behind the Bull Dog. This is what lost her the race. Instead of running to the finish line- she was trying to find the dog. I am sure there is a lesson in that somewhere. Cambria is in the orange sweater.

The Agony.

The comfort.

This little guy came in thrid place in his group. We love him. He offerede to give his pumpkin to Cambria. Isn't that sweet? Who says chivalry is dead?

Birthday, new bed and Halloween Party for FHE

Thank you for all the birthday wishes and cards, phone calls,blog comments and the surprise birthday party! It really made for a special day. I am thankful for family and friends who make my life happy! The night of my birthday we had a super craft night for RS. I was so excited to spend the night painting and gluing and Kai was so excited because he got to go to the high school football game. I still have to finish up a few things but then I will take pictures and post the things I made:)

My mom sent me these pretty flowers.

started this tradition on my 18 birthday when I lived in Hawaii.

They are the perfect Fall bouquet!

On Saturday (the day after my birthday)I was fooled into attending a surprise birthday party for myself. I think the mastermind behind the party was my friend Dee Dee. There was food and cake and flowers and most importantly good friends. We don't really have family around here that we spend much time with. Many of our friends have filled that role for us and we feel blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

The day of my birthday, I had help making a yummy birthday cake. Kai mixed it all up and I frosted it.

Malachi has learned how to climb out of his crib. This is a first for me since I usually remove my babies from their cribs before they climb out. I usually need a crib for a new baby- not this time!Kai went to check on him the other night and this is what he found. I tried to buy a bed rail at Walmart but they didn't have any:(

Last night for FHE we attended a Halloween Party! There were so many people there and they had a few fun activities for the kids to play. It was a great night! I had a witch, Princess Aurora and Curious George.

Malachi and Abigail

Kiera, Maverick and Savannah

Fun Family!

Fun Kids!

Fun Adults

Fun Legs!

Fun Cannon!

She couldn't find her witch's broom so she tried out the cannon!

Love that chubby face!

Sleeping Beauty missing her bed.

Happy Halloween!

My Special Day

Forever 29- that's what I'll call it.
October 23Rd is the day I celebrate my birth. While it is no longer a day of celebration with candles and gifts and toys like it was when I was a kid, I still enjoy it. How can anyone not feel special on their birthday. It's like a day filled with the possibility of magic.

These are a few of the memories that are fun to

consider in my brief . . .ahem . . . 29 years:

1. Scoring the game winning soccer goal in double sudden death overtime in the second game of CIF Senior year
2. Being accepted to BYU-Hawaii
3.Meeting Kai in the lounge of Hale 3. He sent my heart a flutter.
4. Surfing Waikiki and the North Shore of Oahu
5. A Dance Performance with the Spanish Club for Culture Night at BYUH
6. Founder and CEO of the first ever soccer club at BYUH (we played Chaminade, UH, HPU and many North Shore club teams- so fun to play soccer on a filed by the ocean!)
7. Marrying Kai- the best man I could ever have chosen
8. Being the Relief Society President of the married BYUH 14TH ward in Laie. I learned so much.
9. Giving Birth to Cambria
10. Giving Birth to Kiera
11. Buying our first house (even if it was in Mesquite)
12. Giving Birth to Malachi

I feel so incredibly blessed to have the family that I have. My husband is wonderful and always keeps me on my toes, my children are great and the way they interact with their dad melts my heart. I have everything I always wanted when I was growing up and I also have everything I never knew I always wanted. What more could you want on your birthday?! (Besides a new shirt or two?)

Dead things and other true stories

I gasped as I entered the large room and surveyed the horrific scene before my very eyes. There were hundreds of them. Motionless. Still. Carcasses littered the area as far as the eye could see. Their arms and legs lay motionless at their side; they had stopped dead in their tracks. I was overwhelmed with disgust and my body fought the wave of nausea that threatened to breach the borders of my stomach. My mind quickly flashed back to a time in my youth. It’s funny how an entire memory can be relived in mere seconds. I was eleven. We were at a restaurant with my family ordering from the menu when my cousin interrupted this routine event with a shrieking scream. I immediately looked to see why such a sound of fear had been squeezed from deep with in her soul when I saw them. There were three of them. Dead, not too far from where we sat. At the time I was unmoved and a little embarrassed by her shrill cry. My cousin couldn't understand why I wasn’t filled with the same sense of horror that she was. I had seen dead bodies like these before. Truth be told, I had even killed a time or two myself. Even at my young tender age I knew that killing was sometimes necessary. Sometimes,
it was even . . .satisfying. I distanced myself from my cousin quickly not wanting to be a part of the commotion that would inevitable come next. The clean up.

Decades later I finally felt the complete and utter horror that my cousin had felt that day in the restaurant; as I stepped onto a scene where hundreds lay dead before me. The only difference between now and other time was the shear number of dead and broken bodies and of course that this time it was on my turf and not a restaurant. How could this happen? How could so many of them penetrate the walls designed specifically meant to keep them out? These intruders must have found the weak link in our armor and it was up to me to locate it and increase our defenses. I have to protect my family. This was supposed to be my safe place. I didn’t know what had caused them to gather and die in this location and I might not find out in the near future but I knew I had to compose my self. I knew I had to think- to move myself to action. I cleared the fog of disgust from my head and got to work. I rolled up my sleeves, went to the kitchen sink, grabbed a paper towel and began squirting it with dish soap almost simultaneously. I wrung out the excess water and began wiping, cleaning and removing the lifeless bodies of ants that had invaded kitchen counter.

One more Dead topic:
I got a phone call from a member of our ward. He needed help at work and wondered if Kai was available. He wasn't. I asked if I should have Kai call him back. He said he would call back if he couldn't find anyone else to help. I didn't know what he needed help with. He called back 20 minutes later. Kai had returned home by this time. Turns out this guy works at the morgue and needed help going to pick up a body. Kai's a good sport. I am sure that is one thing Kai thought he would never do. He dressed up in a white shirt and tie and helped the man in our ward do his job. Could you do that?
I have so much to post about . . . nothing special, but lots of little moments that I don't want to forget.

H1N1
I thought I would share just a little bit of the
data I gathered regarding the H1N1 shot.
Dr. Marc Siegle (for vaccine) and Dr. Kent Holtorf (against vaccine) had differing views and this is what they had to say:

Dr. Siegle said:
-5-24 year olds more likely to contract H1n1
-The older generation seems to have a better resistance to H1N1
-H1N1 seems to be killing people in the age range their 20's-40's (which doesn't seem to fit with the whole 5-24 year olds most likely to get it)
-pregnant women at higher risk
-14 year olds are more at risk than 60 year olds
-people with asthma or other illnesses should NOT be vaccinated for H1N1- you MUST be totally healthy. (this Dr. said he will vaccinate all in his family except his 4 year old son with asthma)
- Says thimerisol should NOT be used in any vaccine.
Dr. Holtorf says:
-Thimerisol should not be used in any vaccine also
-says he is worried about how well vaccine has been tested
-says there are multiple versions of H1N1 and vaccine will not work for all strains
-We don't know what future consequences of vaccine could be since it has only existed for 6 months
-In 1976 an H1N1 vaccine was created and it killed hundreds and caused severe neurological damage in many others who were not killed by vaccine.
- There have only been 24 clinical trials. (The reg flu shot only goes through 2 clinical trials.)
- He says he would never give his children anything that contained thimerisol, but he would consider giving the nasal flu vaccine.

Thimerisol is a neuro toxin- also know as mercury and it is used in all/most multiple dose vaccinations (this includes childhood immunizations). To get any vaccination that does not have thimerisol in it you must request it and often you must pay more for it. (I actually did this with Cambria's vaccinations) Along with being a neuro toxin that actually collect and stores in you brain, some there is much debate as to whether or not this ingredient causes autism and Alzheimer's.


Bull Dog Pride
There is no mistaking that I live in a small town. I can't say that I completely hate it anymore, but I still won't say that I love it. There are some really perks that come with small town livin'. One of those things being that teachers have connections- so do principals for that matter. Kai's mom in the Principal for the elementary school that Cambria attends. If you know Cambria, then you know that she likes parades. She doesn't just like parades, she longs to be in them.
Good old Grandma (or Maama as we call her) called and invited us to be in the homecoming parade with her. I don't think she wanted to walk alone:) I hesitated for a moment (because it is not my dream to be in a parade) and finally agreed knowing what it would mean to my eldest. It was fun. We even threw candy out to the adoring crowd.

Mini Cheer

Those of you who know me know that I come from a world of boy. The girl thing is new and exciting to me. My girls got to participate in a fundraiser event that the cheerleaders put on for the one and only high school in our town. For a week the girl's got to learn two cheers and perform at the football game's half time.

When I say that my kids learned two cheers I should put that in quotes or italics or something, they had fun, but I don't know how much was really learned. They couldn't do the cheers for you today if you asked them to and it has only been two days. I need to put them in a really good dance class so they can learn to move like girls. Kai loves to dance and he has been very generous in passing on his knowledge to his children. They can do the funky chicken, the sprinkler, some scary modern dance moves and the dance where you shake your knees back and forth while moving your hands in front of them, OH and don't let me forget the ROBOT. Big sigh.

Aren't these two really funny faces. They make me laugh. I just love these little girls!

Oh yeah, the other good thing about small town teacher stardom:

As parents we weren't allowed to go down onto the field to watch the performance until one minute before half time started. I didn't like this idea because it hardly gave me a chance to set up a good place to take pictures and watch the show (turns out my pictures turned out bad anyway). I walked to the ticket booth hoping for leniency when I saw our ward primary president taking tickets. She said I could probably get in just because I was Kai's wife. I walked to the ticket place and asked about getting on to the field with my pink mini drill ticket. She said I would have to wait until half time (even though I saw a cup on her table where she had already accepted other pink tickets identical to mine.) I said "Um, I'm Kai Davis's wife do you know him?" She said a little to loudly "Oh you're Kai's wife, well then you get to go right on in!" She promptly stamped my hand with a bull dog paw and sent me on my way. I was glad it worked.

Until the next time . . .ALoooooooooooooooooooooooha!

I guess I better add this:

I have decided not to vaccinate. I never get the flu shot and I have never given my kids the flu shot. I didn't know if I needed to make an acception this year or not but I have decided not to. I know that there are risks in getting sick, but I just don't feel comfortable the vaccine.I don't think it is bad to ask why someone decided to get the vaccine. Who knows, the reason that made them decide to vaccinate might be something that would make you consider it. That is why I asked in the first place. I am sorry you had that experience.This is why I decided not to:1. I don't like thimerisol and where I live you can't get a vaccination without it2. You have to be completely healthy to get the shot- we have all had colds for the lst two weeks3. I just feel uncomfortable getting a vaccine for something like the flu. I know people have died from it, but I wonder what their current health situation was like in the first place. Were they relatively healthy? Were they dehydrated? Were they unable to control their fever? Were there other complications?4. I just don't feel comfortable with the actual make up of the vaccine. 6 months is not along time to be tested. We have no idea about long term effects. In the late 1800's one military doctor used to give a spoonful of arsenic to cure malaria. If he had know what we know now- that would never had happened.This is long and I hold no feelings of contempt for those who choose to vaccinate. I won't even think bad thoughts in my mind:). We all have our own reasons to do so and who really knows who is right. Only time will tell.

SO Yummy!

Caramel Chocolate Cinnamon Apples . . . m m m m!
If you are fortunate enough to live in Mesquite (or Scenic or Beaver Dam) then you are in for a treat. My friend Lori sells these lovely little treats for four dollars a piece. She sold out of her last batch at our boutique on Thursday but in two weeks she will be making more.

My mouth is watering just thinking about them. My preggo Sister in law ordered 4!
I am not joking when I say these are the best candy apples you will ever have!

Let me know if you want one and I will tell you how to get in touch with Lori. You can pay her when she delivers them to you:)

I have a lot more to post about but it will have wait!
For a little more info check out Say It Sweetly!

TODAY! Craft Boutique!!

First off, I really appreciate every one's thoughtful comments about H1N1. You all have given me a lot to think about and I appreciate the discussion. I would love to hear more thoughts about it if anyone feels so inclined to make additional posts as more info becomes available or more of you have personal experiences. I also have some research to post about it but I'll do that when I have a little more time. Thank you so for for commenting!

I wanted to announce this:

If anyone happens to look at this blog today and lives in the Mesquite area . . . please come. It will be OUTSIDE on the front lawn of Angela Shaner's home right behind Maverick's gas station.

The prices are great- so much under $20! Buy something for you or make a dent in your Christmas shopping list! Bring your kids . . . don't worry about finding a baby sitter!

Call all your friends and tell them today! (sorry about the late notice!)

A Penny For Your Thoughts

Please Comment on this Post!:)

That sounds like a desperate plea and in a way it kind of is . . . but not for the reason you may think.

I have heard so much about the H1N1 virus (the horrible flu) and about the the H1N1 immunization. I want to know what the rest of the mother's think out there. Is it safe? Will you vaccinate your child with H1N1? Tomorrow Glen Beck is having a panel of doctor's on his show. The hour will be spilt giving equal time to doctor's of opposing views. One half says- Don't get it -it's not safe, the other half says you'd be crazy not to protect yourself. So how do you know who to believe? Is it safe or isn't it?

I really want to know what other moms are deciding and their reasoning behind it. Will you please leave your thoughts in comment form? Pretty please?

General Conference Weekend

What a great two days! There were so many great general conference talks. I found myself getting teary and emotional so many times. During the first session this morning Kai built the kids a huge tent to crawl through while they listened to the speakers. Kiera said it was the best Sunday ever!

During the second sessions we had three young men who came to join us. They go to church even though their parents don't. I have so much respect for them because what kid would go to church if they didn't have parents encouraging or forcing them to go. One young man is actually an investigator. He has been attending seminary as well as Sunday meetings and the weekly young men's night activities. He said conference was so amazing.

These missionaries have been working hard to teach him. Me and Kai think it is so funny that they are on a tandem bike! (I hate them; the bike not the missionaries- I broke my arm riding one when I was nine. I had to have two surgeries, four pins and lots of therapy before my hand even started to work again a year and a half after the brake. I saw that two seater bike and my whole body is seized with fear- not really, but I sure don't get the warm fuzzies when I see those kinds of bike.

Speaking of warm fuzzies- President Monson got a full jar of "warm fuzzies" for his birthday- each one representing an act of service that a young primary class did. I thought that was such a cute idea.
I just wanted to record some of my favorite quotes from conference. These are not perfect verbatim quotes because I can't write that fast anymore:)

President Monson said "Those who give themselves in service to others save their own lives."

"We spend too much time on things that don't matter at all in the grand scheme of things."

As a family we will now ask around the dinner table each night what we did to help someone earlier in the day.

Elder Holland:
"Love. Healing. Help. Hope. This is the power of Christ to counter all troubles in all times. That is the safe harbor of the gospel of Jesus Christ that our Heavenly Father wants us to find.

Some one's Great Grandpa said of the Book of Mormon:
"No wicked man could write such a book as this, and no good man would write it unless it were true and he were commanded to do so."

Elder Holland closed his talk with his testimony saying:
" I declare to the world that the Book of Mormon is true. That it came forth the way Joseph said it did. That it was given to give happiness and hope to the faithful in the travails in the last days."
Christ said "Whosoever treasureth my word will not be deceived."

Michael T. Ringwood of the 70 said:
" Some may find they have periods in their lives when it is easy to believe the word of God- Like when we are children. Sometimes we realize that it is not the circumstance that made it easy to believe but the commitment to be on your knees more in prayer more often that you read the scriptures more often. When we live the gospel daily our softened hearts are able to hear the whispers of God.

I witness that the willingness to believe will come from doing those seemingly insignificant things taught to us since our youth. It will bring an outpourings of the spirit. Read. Pray. Attend church. Be submissive and gentle full of patience.

Jesus is the Son of God. He is our shepperd and those with easiness and willingness to believe will hear his voice."

Elder Christofferson (sp?)
"We all posses moral agency and the right to be accountable for the consequences of our choices."

"Moral discipline is the consistent exercise of agency to choose the right because it is right even when it is hard."

"The societies in which we live have failed for more than a generation to foster a moral discipline. They have taught that truth is relative and that everyone decides for himself and herself what is right and what is wrong. Concepts such as sin and wrong has been condemned as value judgements."

As the Lord said "Every man walketh in his own way after the image of his own God."

"As a consequence self discipline has eroded and societies are left to try and maintain order and civility by compulsion. The lack of internal control by individuals breed extreme control by governments. Our increase reliance on laws to regulate our behavior is a measure of how uncivilized we've become."

An internal moral compass is the only thing to improve societal decay." ________________

There was more that I like but I'll spare anymore writings . . .

This is how we ended the day . . .

Brrrr, it's cold outside!

It is officially official. I have desert children; children who love the sun and heat.

Yesterday morning was perfect. It had cooled to 80 degrees and the breeze in the air was actually cool instead of fiery. I opened the van doors to escort my brood to school and what do you think I hear them say?
One says, "Oh, it's s o cold!"
And another says, "Mom, you should have checked the weather so I would have known to wear a jacket!"
And I am sure if the other could speak he would say, "I need a blanket to wrap up in- it is freezing!"
(Big sigh) I thought it felt wonderful.
This morning it was even colder. It was only 74 degrees. Cambria had goose bumps.


I thought this flower in my back yard could make a good object lesson for my young women's class. It didn't survive Kai's edging and I was ready to clip it of win the spot on the stem where it broke, but then I thought I would leave it and see what happened. It had no flower on it at the time. But look at it now. Despite being broken and beaten, it decided to bloom anyway. It even has two more buds that will soon bloom as well. I though this could be a good life analogy. We all have trials. We all get beaten and bruised at times, but we can bloom anyway. We can bloom despite heart brake and despair and trial and tragedy. There is always hope.

In other news, I have a few upcoming events that I am very excited about. When I became a mother it defined me. I have loved every moment of motherhood tremendously, but I haven't really done much over the last 6-7 years that were just for me. So, I am really excited to go to Time-Out for Women (a two day conference in St. George) in November. There will be some great speakers and two musical performers and I can hardly wait to attend. I am also hoping to recruit a few family members to go with me. We have to register by October 5Th and you get a ten dollar discount if you have a group of five or more. I am so excited!

Also, I am signing up to take a two day writing seminar in October with some professor whose name I can't remember. I am so excited because I have been trying to write a novel and sometimes it is pretty hard. I also don't really know what to do after I finish the novel (if that ever happens). I want to know about getting it professionally edited and how or if to get an agent to help me submit it to different publishers. Little Brown and Co. won't even look at a manuscript unless it has been submitted by an agent. I hope to get some good ideas and get pointed in the right direction.

This is also the month of my birth and I am happy to announce that I will be 29 (again). Also a few friends and I are hoping to do a few boutiques again this year and I am just really excited to have things to look forward to.

Ladies Craft Night and More!

I love this picture! I always wanted to have a sister.

That picture is totally unrelated to the craft night though. My friend and neighbor Kim Thurston has decided that we need to get to gether once a month and chanel our creative energy as women. All Mesquitions who are interested check out this cute project. The first craft night is Thursday, November 5th.

Oh, yeah . . . My friend Lori got me on this 30 day yeast cleanse diet. I have lost 10 pounds in 15 days. Ten down, ten to go.

Big Day!

The Boy.

The Gifts. (ignore the xmas wrapping paper on the big one)

The Cake.

The Birthday.
It was a great day to turn two. The sun rose warm and sunny on a home filled with love for a special little guy we like to call, Bubba. For an early treat we made cinamon rolls, topped it with candles and sang happy birthday. We tried to teach Malachi to blow on the fire that lit the candles, but he just didn't have the wind power.

In the evening when Daddy got home we celebrated with gifts and cake. Cambria was a little concerned that the party was kind of boring because only our immediate family was in attendance. So without my knowledge she invited our two neighbor friends who happened to be riding their bike down our street. When they came in they said "my mom and dad want us to bring home some cake for them too." I told them that if their mom and dad wanted cake then they would have to come and get it themselves:) So Cambria was satisfied that we had a few extra guests at Malachi's party.

Above he is reading a card from Gigi that plays music of course. It was a hit because he loves cards that make noise. Below he is opening the most inexpensive gift; a case of match box cars for $4.50. Guess what he loved those the best. He kept saying "wow-wee!" with big exagerated, round lips. He carries them everywhere.

He also loved this, but a little less than the cars.

I am not quite sure as to why the kids ended up eating their cake under the table, but they sure had fun. Who am I to the question the wisdom of childhood? I am just so happy to have Malachi in our life. He is such a sweet boy and brings great balance to our family. He is a treasured blessing.

We started a new tradition of compliments for the birthday boy. While we were sitting at the dinner table each one of us took a turn saying what we like best about Malachi.

Cambria said: He hits you, then he hugs you. He wants me when we are being babysat at other people's houses. It is fun when I get to be the mommy. I am glad that he has rootbeer colored eyes like me.

Kiera said: I like that he has lots of presents!

Kai said: I like that he likes balls.

Amy said: I like that he is so sweet. I like that he sings to himself, that he wants to copy everything that Kiera does, that he runs to Cambria at naptime because he thinks she can save him from the impending sleep. I love that he gives me sweet kisses and that he is still too young to be willfully disobedient.




Switching gears:
We had our Tea Party gathering on September 12. We only had about 21 people. 10 people cancled when we changed the time but we didn't want to hold signs in the 102 degree weather. It was much more pleasant at 6PM. We only had two rude comments. One was directed at Kiera and me when we were standing all alone doing nothing more than holding the American flag (I didn't know that was offensive) and the people on the other side of the street got flipped off. Other than that we had lots of honking horns and cheers and thumbs up and shouts of approval. It was really fun actually. Here is the article they did on our event in the local paper. The didn't post the picture though so I will post that later. (We were on the oppositte side of the street from where this picture is taken - although Cambria and Sean are in this photo.)

The 9/12 Project- Please READ ME

I have never been one to follow politics or even care about them for that matter. That all changed this year. I'm not trying to be a hater, but I am concerned and I no longer feel like I have the luxury to ignore what is happening with my government.

I have started a new blog and I beg you to take a peek at it. A lot of people are completely unaware and we need to know. I would love civil, insightful comments- all of you are my friends and family and I love you all. I tried to stick closely to the facts with little personal commentary.
_________
Kai and I are hosting a TEA PARTY at 6PM tonight. We are meeting at the Smith's parking lot. Glenn Beck was the instigator of this project and already tens of thousands of people lined a mile long walk in front of our capital this afternoon.

This is what it is about:

The Nine Principles
1. America is good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

12 Values
Honesty
Reverence
Hope
Thrift
Humility
Charity
Sincerity
Moderation
Hard Work
Courage
Personal
Gratitude


Is This Reasonable To Request?
To Congress, The 5 Pledges

1. I believe in a balanced budget and therefore will vote for a freeze in government spending until that goal is realized.


2. I believe government should not increase the financial burden on its citizenry during a difficult economic times, therefore I will oppose all tax increases until our economy has rebounded.

3. I believe more than four decades of US dependence on foreign oil is a travesty, therefore I will support an energy plan that calls for immediately increasing usage of all domestic resources including nuclear energy, natural gas and coal as necessary.


4. I believe in the sovereignty and security of our country and therefore will support measures
to close our borders except for designated immigration points so we will know who is entering and why. I will vehemently oppose any measure giving another country, the United Nations, or any other entity power over US citizens.


5. I believe the United States of America is the greatest country on earth and therefore will not apologize for policies or actions which have served to free more and feed more people around the world than any other nation on the planet.

---Glenn Beck: In or Out 2010 If your politician doesn't believe, support or reflect these beliefs in their actions then they aren't supporting you. More importantly, they aren't supporting, protecting or defending the Constitution.

The week in review

i don't know what kind of news I could write to make people interested enough to comment on my blog but it is surely interesting to me that I have lost some weight!!! My pants sag right off of my waist now. I have been running 3times a week since May and it has been hard to tell if any weight has been falling off. I could tell that my legs were getting back into shape and that I was feeling more fit, but the numbers on the scale only dropped by a few little pounds that I didn't feel was very reflective of all the work I was putting in. Finally last night I put these pants on and realized that even if the numbers don't way what I thin or want them to say, something good is finally happening!


The blond missionary in this picture is Elder Hanson. We have known him his whole mission-he has been here through at least two transfers but maybe even three. He is somewhat shy and reminds me of my brother Chris who is also serving a mission. Elder Hanson helped demo our bathroom when we were going to put new tile in. (I'll post a picture of that when it is all painted.)
Cambria thinks he is really cute and I suggested that we call him Elder Handsome. She was mortified at the thought of me ever mentioning such a thing. Elder Koontz is his companion- we like him too and he is still here in our area.

Kai wanted me to take this picture of our little beloved. Soon it will happen and their is no way for me to stop it. This week our little baby will turn two which means he will no longer be our little baby but a full fledged toddler. . . time flies on the swiftest of wings.

I found this picture in a photo album that my grandma has. The bride and groom are John and Libbie Ferguson, the aunt and Uncle we just had such a great time with in Utah. My mom is the red head on the left. It is fun to see a picture like this of all my aunts.

Kai has been having quite an interesting time at the High School where he teaches . One of the classes that he has to sit through with his sped student has been teaching about evolution vs. creationism. On the black board notes that the students were supposed to copy said creationism was a theory based of faith that has no scientific proof to support it. Evolution included notes that said scientifically proven. Kai was quite upset at these notes but didn't feel like he could say anything in front of the students to directly contradict the teacher. After what seemed like an eternity a student raised his hand and asked "How has evolution been scientifically proven?" To which the teacher stammered and finally admitted, "Well, I guess it is really just a theory . . ."

Wow- do you know what your kids are being taught?

The next day was teaching about how we evolved from apes. The same students asked "if we evolved from apes, then why aren't apes still evolving into humans?" Good question right? The teacher then had to explain that once again it was just a theory. Good thing that student spoke up. It is amazing what liberties teachers can take these days. He was presenting theory as fact. Pretty scary. It makes me remember that I need to be involved in my kids education and know what they are learning everyday.

Say What? July and August edition

Cambria: (about our campfire dinner) I will always remember this night . . . (takes a bite of Kai's cheddar wurts sausage) but this I will forget, yuck!

Kai: That is the coolest new bike seat! (Kiera's princess bike seat brke off and when we got a new one, let's just say it didn't match the whole princess theme- we were afraid she would hate it.)
Kiera: Yeah, I know! It looks like batman!

Kiera: Mom, everyone who was nice to me in primary is getting a real live monkey!
Me: A real monkey?! Is that your thank you gift?
K: yes.
Me: Where will you get them?
Kiera: The jungle of course.

Cambria: Me and Kiera are going to be jungle girls when we grow up. We'll get married and tell our husbands we are moving to the jungle, not a house or a hotel and we wont wear underwear, only leaves.
Kiera: (rolling her eyes) And I will have to sew her clothes everyday.

Kiera: Jungle girls don't live any more do they?
Me: I think so . . .
Kiera: but even if they don't me and Cambria are going to be them anyway!

Me: Oops, I'm sorry did I bump your face?
K:(sweetly) Yeah, it's okay, just don't ever do it again.

K:What's this?
Me: It called plaster of paris (sp?). It's a dinosaur mold.
K: Can i hear it like a seashell (holds it to her ear ) oh! I hear Paris people talking . . . and a T-Rex!

Me: I'm going to start calling you "band-aid." That is your new name.
K:The Prince won't like that name. ( I don't know what prince she is referring to.)
Me: Well, he needs to know that you use a lot of band aids. I will tell him, Prince . . .
Kiera: (cutting me off) NOoooooooo!
Me: Okay, if you go brush your teeth right now I won't tell the prince about your band aid obsession.

Me: Hmm, those eggs are not the best.
K: Shhh! You'll hurt their feelings!

Me: Did you brush your teeth?
K: (shakes head yes) Shake, shake, shake, butter, butter, butter, brush, brush, brush!

Grammy: Kiera don't you want to try and go to sleep?
Kiera: hmmmm, do I want to go to sleep? hmmmm, do I want to go to sleep? . . . .hmmmm, that is a good question?

Me: (whispered) Sleep good, okay.
Bubba: (whispered) okay.

Seen: Bubba giving knuckles to 5 month old Justus.

Me: Every time I ride in this elevator I get light headed.
Cambria: (look of surprise- lifts up hair from over my ear) Let me see!

Me: Cassidy, I am afraid Kiera has come down with the chicken pox.
Kiera: And then I will jump out and say "Cock -a -doodle-doo!"


August

Kiera: I hate this new timer because you always set it for 5 minutes!
Me: I know, I love this new timer!
Kiera: Well I hate it! It is such like a naughty word!

Cambria: I wonder who thought of a unicorn.
Kiera: (Yelling down the hall) Jesus made them!

Cambria: Mermaid an satisfaction! (giggling) Uh, I can't believe I just id that! I don't even know what it means!

Kiera: Dad wants me to help him get water but my legs are all tingly and you know how that feels . . . you can't really walk.

me: EW! Your feet are all black from walking in the garage!
Kiera: They look like burned cookies. Every time I see them I want to eat them!

Our Friend Jodi sent us home from her house with two goldfish: Chanel and Princess.
Kiera: Cambria, isn't having a pet great!
Cambria: Yeah, this is even better than having a horse!

First day of school and eight year olds

Well, it's that time of year again when swim suits will soon be put away and backpacks will be used in their place. Today Cambria is finishing her last day of her first week. Before school started she'd had nightmares each night and wound up in bed with her mom and dad. The unkown can be a scary thing for kids. Luckily our school has their open house BEFORE school started and Cambria was able to visit her class and her teacher. It took out a lot of unknowns and made her feel so much more confident about the new year. There are only 17 kids in her class. That will be a big difference from 30.

Cambria wanted a picture with her brother and sister. And yes, Malachi does have a pink bottle- that is what happens when you have two older sisters.

It is a brand new start for my little brother Ryan as well. He is 12 years younger than me and twelve years older that Cambria. He headed of to BYU this week. I am so excited for him. I had so much fun in college. I can't wait for him to have all the experiences that come with college life.

Kiera was mad that her piece of cake was not as big as Ryan's piece so she refused to look at the camera for the picture.

I also got to do a photo shoot with this little beauty. She will soon be eight and be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

For more beautiful pictures of little Millie, click here.

This is the last post on our Utah trip!

Memorable Utah Moments and Phrases:
Moment: A man riding his bike down the street wearing shorts and a t-shirt and packin' a huge ol' gun!

Phrase:
After the wedding reception:
Cambria says: Boston has a crush on me, his own cousin! But I'm too young! He said to me 'you look pretty!' I wanted to say 'you look handsome' or 'thank you' but no words came out of my mouth!

Moment: Kiera completely afraid of dino museum.

Moment: My mom answering her cell phone in the hotel room we were all staying in.
Mom: Hello . . .Hello . . . Hello?
Bubba: (from Kai's cell) hu-low

Me: (to Kiera) I said hug me!
Cambria: Oh, that game never gets old!

Malachi trying to fill his daddy's shoes!

Cute little Daphne! I just love these little hair bows!


Our Trip to Cabella's: the outdoorsman's dream shop! We got to see them feed the fish. It was a little sad to see tiny goldfish in the swim of their life against lake fish.

Kiera: Can Jesus run faster than zebras and cheetahs?

Me: I don't know if Jesus has ever had a race with a zebra or a cheetah. We'll ask Him when we get to heaven.

Kiera: ugh! It takes a hundred years to get to heaven!

Me: Well, I'll write it down so we don't forget to ask

Kiera: Ok, but you know we can't take journals to heaven.

Perhaps one of the most fun things we did on our trip was hunt for golf ball. Yep, you read me right. My Aunt and Uncle live on a golf course and everyday we took two walks. Looking for golf balls was even more fun that an Easter egg hunt. We came home with a hundred of them.

I saw it first!

Kai: Do you know what this is? It's a tee.

Kiera: Like a cup of tea (hahahaaa- laughs heartily at her own joke)

Kai and my uncle John have the same taste, it would seem in clothing and footwear. They often have something that matches. This time they got David in on the game. These shirts were $3.50 each at the Quicksilver outlet. We got so much great stuff at that store!

The only "kids" our age that we got to hang out with on more than one occasion (we wish we got to hang out with everyone a lot more) was my cousin David and his wife Rachel. We just love and adore them. In fact here is another little conversation that went on:

Amy: David, Kai says he loves you.

David: He loves me! Why doesn't he come here and tell me that to my face!

We are so sad that they live all the way in Chicago! They are the parents of cute little Daphne.

I didn't realize that the following is a little tribute to Bubba!

Uncle John and Bubby checking out the view from the back deck.

Bubba yelled Hi to everyone who passed by below.

Snake in the grass. The little neighbor boys brought a snake for the girls to see.

They thought it was awesome!

Cambria: Daisy loves me!

Kiera: Yeah . . . she loves you because when I hugged her she nippled me. (nipped me)

We love you Utah! Or as my girls used to say Metah!

Thank you to my Aunties for letting us stay at your house!

Part Three . . . I know it's alot

One part of our trip was a plan to reunite former missionary companions Kai and Nato. They served their missions in the country of Panama. Nato and his wife, Yolanda, and their two beautiful little kiddos took us to a place near Liberty Park called Rodijio Grill. It is an awesome Brazillian steak house. We had so much fun hanging out with them and I especially liked getting to know his wife.
Cambria thinks that Nato looks like one of the guys on the Young Johnny Lingo. We went on wild game night and tried aligator sausage (nasty) and wild boar (not horrible). Cambria's favorite- chicken hearts ith fresh lime juice.

This is my Grandma. I love her dearly. My Kids call her Gigi for "Great Grandma." She lives in California near my mother but she was visiting Utah at the same time I was for the same reason I was (my cousin's sealing). We got to spend a lot of time with her and I am so glad. She made me take this picture so that she could show her hair dresser how she wants her hair done in the future. She was having a really good hair day:)
This is Gigi holding baby Daphne. Daphne, born to David and Rae, is the second newest addition to the Ostler side of the family. She is such a sweet little baby.

Our next adventure was a picnic down in the canyon. Life was pretty high speed at the time so Kai volunteered to stay back at the house with Bubba so they could both take a little nap.

The day was beautiful and warm - thank goodness for the shade from the trees. Cambria was smart enough to wear her swim suit under her clothes. This made Kiera very upset. She wanted me to make her swim suit appear out of thin air. Luckily I found leggings and a shirt that she felt like she could get wet in.

The face below is right before we found Kiera some clothing to swim in. She was very upset because Cambria splashed her on purpose.

Another really fun thing we did was meet up with some of Kai's cousins. It had been more than a decade since he had seen them and I had only conversed with them via the blog world. We had such a great time at the home of the Nelson's. All of Kai's family made us feel so welcome and comfortable. They fed us lots of yummy food and let my little girls play with their toys. My kids kept asking us if we could go back .

All of the cousin's kids . . . does that make them second cousins? I have never been good at figuring that stuff out.

This was Malachi's first time ever eating an Otterpop! He had five of them I think.

This is a big, BIG spider living over the Nelson's backdoor. They jokingly said they let it stay because it caught the bees or wasps that bothered them. Well low and behold It really does. I got a picture of it making a little bee it's next meal. My girls' were quite amazed and scared all at the same time.

Another high light of the trip for all three of my babies: stairs. We don't encounter much in Mesquite or in California for that matter. It seemed that every house in Utah had stairs. We couldn't get enough of them.

It was so fun to be outdoors again. The summer is too sizzling hot in Mesquite!

Thank you for the good time Nelson's and Haun's.

only one more to go and I'll be all caught up!

Part Two

The next stop on our adventures in Utah Was a trip to the Mauldin family's house. We were good friends with them during our time at BYU Hawaii and have managed to visit each other on several occasions through out the last six years. Our kids are all about the same age- except they have a fourth and of course we do not, but their fourth is too little still to be missing a buddy. They have one son, Peyton, Who is Kiera's age and I think he was feeling a little left out because of all the girl stuff going on. Hopefully they can continue to develop a friendship over the years.

Kyle and Amanda are so amazing! They both still look as great as they did in college, they are super generous and extremely kind. Kyle is quite the handy man and built his kids a fort- Fort Mauldin- as it happens to be called. My kids have began laying plans to have their own built in our back yard ever since they saw it. Unfortunately, Kai is not so handy with a hammer and nails, so we might have to recruit Kyle to build Fort Davis.

Notice the bare feet in this picture. I guess you can take the kids out of Hawaii,

but you can't take Hawaii out of the kids.

We also got to visit with another one of our long time friends Pualei and her new husband and her two really cute step sons. Pualei is another BYUH alum that we have been fortunate enough to see through out the long years since college. Amanda and Kyle invited them over to dinner as well so we could have a mini reunion. Pualei also looks as great as she did in college. She is beautiful and happy and sweet and now has a happy family of four. Her two girls and her two step sons. It was so fun to be together again

Fort Mauldin!
Courtney and Cambria

Malachi and Aubrey on their first date: Notice Aubrey is driving.

Kiera loving the motorized toys.

Bubba in shear heaven. He was on this thing almost all night.

After awhile he didn't so much help anymore.

Remember that wiggly tooth Cambria wanted me to take a picture of at Temple Square? Well, she lost it at the Mauldin's house. The kids were brushing their teeth (sad to say I think they were all swapping toothbrushes as well to see whose they like better) and she brushed the little tooth right out of her mouth! There was surprisingly a lot of blood but that just seemed to add to the excitement! This makes number three for Cmabria and they have all been on the bottom of her mouth. I think I can already tell that she is going to need braces because there is a lot of crowding going on in that little mouth of hers!

You can already see that the permanent tooth was growing up behind the baby tooth.

I always though that was weird.

She's got the tooth in the bag and got one dollar for it that night.

Next Stop: Dinosaur Museum.

We also had to make a stop at the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving point. We'd only attended the museum once before, but it quickly became a favorite and occupied many a conversation through out the year. We were very happy to go back and very happy that

Aunt Libbie gets a good discount!
Cambria and Malachi had a blast. Kiera on the other hand has seen Night At The Museum one too many times to feel safe. Too make matters worse, upon entering the museum you immediately see a fossil display of a giant T-Rex and what do I have to say?
"Oh, look it's Rexy!"
Insensitivity to my children's emotional state is usually not my style and those of you who have seen the movie understand what I am talking about. In any case, that brought the museum to life for Kiera in a whole different way. She spent most of her time hiding in the stroller basket with her hands firmly planted over her eyes.

Cambria and Bubba feigning fear

Luckily the museum had a few saving graces in the eyes of my second child, namely the erosion table and the plastic dino action figure toys. She spent a good hour at the erosion table and then a good amount of time with the dino toys.

Malachi and Cambria were brave enough to explore other exhibits.

Saving Grace #1

Saving Grace#2

Bubba giving his new friend a hug.

Bubba trying to become more like his new friend.

Cambria getting her hands dirty at the fossil rubbing station.

Malachi drawing at the fossil rubbing station

Build your own dino!

One of the reasons for Kiera's fear: Big Bruce.

Another reason for Kiera's fear, the Mammoth The mean old human skeletons are

spearing the poor mammoth, Manny.

Archaeological dig site- this was actually another saving grace for Kiera.

We had a great time. And would you believe there is still more to blog about?

Stay tuned for part three!

We wanted to stay forever!

I have a lot of events to catch up on and a lot of blogs to catch up on!
We just spent a wonderful 13 days in Utah (20 for Kai!) with family and friends. I think I will break it up into a few different posts because we did so much and I just don't want to skimp on my memories.

The one very sad thing about these pictures is that they are raw and untouched because my beloved photo editing program became corrupted and is no longer on my computer.

First up: Salt Lake City.

We came to this beautiful city to witness the sealing of my cousin Johnny to his wife Leah and their little boy Alex. Kai stayed in Lehi to watch the kids so I could attend the sealing. When they finally met us in Salt Lake at 4PM my babies were starving because they hadn't eaten since breakfast. So While we were waiting for Johnny and Leah to come out of the temple for pictures, we took a walk to find something to eat. These are a few sights that we saw a long the way. I have always wanted to take a tour of these buildings and as of now that dream has yet to be realized. One thing that I love is physical evidence of history. So I had to take pictures of them.

The Beehive house:

I think this one was a reception hall of some sorts for guests to hold meetings and social gatherings.

The Lion House.

I think Joseph Smith referred to Brigham Young as the Lion because he was so fierce in defense of the church and Joseph. So it seems fitting that this would be the theme for his house.

Cambria had a very wiggly tooth and she wanted me to take a picture of it:)

Love this temple.

It is amazing to think that it took this temple 40 years to build. The temple corner stones were laid on April 6, 1853 under Brigham Young, the 2ND Prophet of the church, and was not finished until 40 years later on April 6, 1893 and dedicated by the 4TH Prophet of the church Wilford Woodruff. Those dates were not coincidental. The stones were cut from a place called Cottonwood some 20 miles away. It took the saints 4 days to bring the stones back from the quarry. At one point the saints actually abandoned and bury the work site of the temple and headed south because the feared and exploratory unit that came to check out the area.

I told Cambria that she was as pretty as a flower so she posed with the flowers and her hands on her head are meant to be her petals.

While we were walking back to the temple we saw Johnny and Leah walking the grounds taking pictures with their photographers. I yelled out, "Hey married people! Married people look over here!" I noticed that I got a few strange looks from the surrounding crowds surprised by the audacity of a seeming tourist no doubt. I think once the crowd realized that we knew each other they forgave me of my actions. I wish this was a better picture. I should have followed the photographers until I got a good one!

This is their little boy Alex. Watching the sealing of a family to one another is so amazing and sweet. I am so glad that Heavenly Father organized away for families to be together through eternity. The thought of being reunited in heaven with the ones I love most has always had special meaning to me. What God binds on earth he shall bind in heaven.

We took a quick tour of the conference center. It was so hot I don't think the kids really enjoyed it.

The conference center is where General Conference in held twice a year as well as other performances. President Gordon B. Hinkley had it built so as to accommodate the growing population of LDS members who wanted to attend General Conference. He built it to the highest standards because he said he wanted it to last through the millennium. He wanted to be able to seat 30, 000 people but the architect said he could build it to only accommodate 21,000. As our tour guide stated, it is the largest "stadium" in the world until someone builds a bigger one.

stay tuned . . . there is so much more to blog about!

Sorry, no pictures yet . . .

Lots of rambling ahead:

We are having the best time gallivanting around Utah! We had a great time at Johnny and Leah's sealing. Leah's dress (made by Rachel) was so pretty and it fit her like a glove. We wandered around Salt Lake a little bit and we got to see the Lion House and the Beehive house (though we didn't get to go inside. Kai's former missionary companion, Nato, and his wife took us to Rodigio Grill on wild game night and we bravely tried crocodile sausage (yuck) and wild boar (not bad). We met up with some of Kai's lovely cousins- Kimberly and Lindsey and Co and had a blast. They were so nice and welcoming to us. We were able to visit with the Mauldin family and they were great too and had the best back yard ever for our kids to enjoy. We also got to visit with Pualei and her new husband while at the Mauldins'. We have also gone to Desseret book store, the distribution center and the quicksilver outlet. Tonight we plan on going to Cabella's to watch them feed the fish. And how could I forget the Dinosaur museum! Kiera was scared to death almost the whole time. Too much Night at the Museum for her I guess. Good thing they have the erosion table because she spent over an hour there!

We have been having so much fun with the Ferguson family and the weather is so much cooler here and we don't want to go back to Mesquite. If we haven't see you yet, friend sin Utah, we still want to but you might have to come to us. Our kids are sick of being in the car:)

I'll post again later with pictures and a more coherent thought . . . but before I forget!
the best part about the trip is being reunited with my husband.

Laugh Out Loud

If you haven't laughed today, then you need to watch this. It is my cousin Tiffany and her friend being so silly. I promise it will not be a waste of time.

Heritage

Today I find myself musing about the rich LDS heritage I have. I just finished reading Praise to the Man, the sixth edition in the Work and the Glory series. It is a historical fiction about events surrounding the restoration of the gospel and it is really amazing. In addition to this my husband has left me for a week to take the young men in our ward on a 55 mile hike that follows trails from Wyoming to Utah. They begin their hike tomorrow at Martin's cove.

One thing I have found to be an interesting little tid bit of info is this:
Joseph Smith said the Spirit made it known to him that the rainbow was a sign given to Noah as a promise. The Spirit told Joseph that in any year that the rainbow is seen there will prosperity, seedtime and harvest. And in that year the rainbow is seen the Savior will not come. "But in the year when the bow is withdrawn, or not seen, then will come desolation, calamity, and distress among the nations, and there shall be no seedtime or harvest, but we can look for famine." Reference from The Words of Joseph Smith


I was telling my mom about this and she said that it makes sense that we could look for famine if there was no sign of a rainbow because you have to have rain for a rainbow. No rain =no seedtime and no harvest=famine.

These thoughts make me want to increase my food storage.

Secondly, I was flipping through the July issue of The Friend (Oscar: Trail Leader) and noticed a short article about Martin's Cove. Come to find out it was named for members of the Martin Handcart Company who sought refuge there during the early but devastating winter on there way to join the saints in Utah. I am in awe of the strength and courage as well as the testimony of the early saints who endured so much hardship (a word that hardly begins to describe their trials) to bring themselves to Salt Lake City. The Martin and Willie handcart companies got a late start to Utah and were warned that traveling this late in the year (October) could catch them in much danger because the winter snow would soon be upon them. 145 people died on the trail. Many froze to death. Later over 400 thousand people came through on this same trail- mormon and non-mormon alike.

John Chislett of the Willie Company wrote:
Cold weather, scarcity of good, lassitude and fatigue from over-exertion, soon produced their effects. Our old and infirm people began to droop, and they no sooner lost their spirit and courage than death's stamp could be traced upon their features. Life went out as smoothly as a lamp ceases to burn when the oil is gone. Death was not long confined in its ravages to the old and infirm, but the young and naturally strong were among its victims. Men who were, so to speak, as strong as lions when we started on our journey, and who had been our best supports, were compelled to succumb to the grim monster. These men were worn down by hunger, scarcity of clothing and bedding, and too much labor in helping their families. It was surprising to an unmarried man to witness the devotion of men to their families and to their faith, under these trying circumstances. Many a father pulled his cart, with his little children on it, until the day preceding his death. I have seen some pull their carts in the morning, give out during the day, and die before next morning...

No one paid a higher price to live in the West than the people of the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies, and I have not seen a reference to one of the actual survivors complaining or blaming anyone for the ordeal they endured.

-Sara Crossley

I do miss Kai. So do the kids of course, but we hope he is having fun and that he will stay warm. Some of the passes they had planned to take are blocked by snow which is something they didn't expect. They do have a satellite phone so I am sure they will fare much better than the handcart companies if they should get into any trouble.

My mom is coming to keep us company, bless her heart, until we drive to Utah later in the week to meet up with Kai and attend my cousin's sealing in the Salt Lake Temple. I have never been inside that temple and am very excited to go.

Viva Las Vegas!

The end of last week found us driving into Vegas for a basket ball tournament that Kai was involved in coaching. We stayed in the South Point Hotel for three days and two nights. It was a nice change of scenery and even though the kids quickly tired of watching b-ball games, they loved the hotel room and the pool, the elevators and escalators . . . and running up and down the hall. I am sure those in the rooms around us loved that part too.
Being on vacation is hard with babies when you don't have your "Stuff." We didn't have a high chair and Malachi though tit was great that he could roam around with what ever food item he had in his hand. This turned out to be very messy as you can imagine so I finally confined him to his stroller. Luckily he didn't mind.

It's funny to think about their fascination with escalators and elevators. I guess because I grew up in a big town and was frequently using escalators and elevators they weren't such the novelty to me. But here in Mesquite they only exist in hotel and we just don't go to them. When ever we used the elevator one of the kids would push the call button and then we would all stand by the elevator door that we thought was going to open. It was great fun and it was the only gambling that we did.

The girls even loved the bathroom. They loved that the toilet was in a separate room from the sink. We did too because Bubba took his afternoon naps in that "room".

The kids and I stayed at Uncle Joey's house for Kai's last game (which they won). He had a swimming pool complete with a cascading waterfall and a hot tub. The girls were sure they were in heaven. Though the skies were gray and the wind was blowing we enjoyed a fun time in the pool playing mermaids. It was the perfect end to our trip.

So, on Sunday I taught the Young Women a lesson on keeping the Sabbath day holy. Basically it was about doing activities on Sunday that were uplifting and could build a stronger relationship with our Heavenly Father and invite His Spirit into our homes and heart. So What activity did my children choose to do on the Sabbath? Give each other the "chicken pox."

I think I need to practice what I preach a little better.