School cancled due to snow . . . Ummm, what?

They did get snow 84 miles south of us in Vegas. They also got snow 26 miles north of us in St. George, but here in Mesquite, no snow fell. Well I take that back. Three days ago at 7:41 AM a few wispy white flakes blew around in the breeze for about 20 minutes. But nothing stuck.

So, today my kids (Kai and Cambria) enjoyed a day off of school due to snow even though we didn't get any. We are in the same school district as Vegas, so what they do, we do. Funny.

We didn't want to be left out of the of the snow club though so we hopped in the car and drove to Cedar City! Along the way, we saw some unusual sites.

For any of you that frequent the drive between California and Utah, you may recognize "the gorge." At first approach in our car with near to bald tires, the mountain pass looked quite ominous. Tips of the mountain that usually display a proud reddish brown color were dipped in white and surrounded by thick and heavy clouds. Our tires carried us safely through the mountain pass and we were all amazed by the site of snow that rarely ever happens. My children are sure that ogers live in the gorge and they were quite concerned about their welfare. We don't really know how the ogers feel about snow. Hopefully they have soft, cozy blankets to keep them warm and toasty.

We have a favorite sledding spot near Duck Creek. But the weather didn't look favorable and as I mentioned before, our tires weren't in tip top condition so we decided to seek out a new location.

We were very luck to find the perfect sledding hill near and old hospital. And the best part - since all the kids in Cedar were in school (because to them snow in not a novelty) we had it all to ourselves!

We were very luck to find the perfect sledding hill near and old hospital. And the best part - since all the kids in Cedar were in school (because to them snow in not a novelty) we had it all to ourselves!

Cambria had the most fun, I think. She was the one who was best dressed for the weather. Kiera wanted to spend most of her time lying on her belly, eating the snow (thank goodness it was all white!) and I don't think Malachi liked it at all. He had a few moments of pleasure, but I think the four layers of clothing he was wearing made him feel too restricted. As soon as I took of all his snow gear and let him run around in the car, he was all smiles.

Me and my Bubby-chubby-dubby!

I made sure that I packed everything under the sun (plus extra) that the kids could possible need, but I forgot to pack and extra pair of shoes for myself. Kai insists that he reminded me to take another pair of shoes, but I must not have heard him. I don't have snow boots so I wore my tennis shoes. They served their purpose and my toes didn't freeze, but they were completely drenched at the end of our sledding sessions. We had a few errands that we needed to run on our way home in St. George, and I was shoeless. It just wouldn't do. So, our first St. George stop was to Payless. Kai carried me in the store from the car on piggy back. I did have socks at least. I was a little embarrassed, but what could I do? The two sales girls looked at me and giggling said, "you need shoes- it's buy one get one half off ( BOGO!) day" I did however only choose one pair to spend my money on. Though Kai hates the shoes I picked (my girls like them though) he was very proud of me for saving money instead of BOGO-ing.

The St. George Temple is always a favorite stop for me. It looked very pretty with all it's light. The Nativity display played music and quoted scripture and there were two missionary snowmen in front of the window that displayed the statue of Christ.

These are the shoes that I got. I really like them even if Kai doesn't. They are the most comfy flats I have ever owned!

This is how we ended the night. They won't let you take pictures inside this restaurant so I had to settle for the outside. It was really yummy.

I put the Christmas lights on our house all by myself.

There have been a lot of exciting events that have occurred during my two week hiatus from blogging.

Cambria has lost her bottom two teeth! She was very excited to get notes from the tooth fairy. The tooth fairy thanked her for her teeth and told Cambria that she was using the teeth to make an addition to her home for her daughter.
This is how I found Kai's car when we walked home from church on Sunday. He is too busy for his own good. He left the keys in the car while he ran home from sacrament meeting to get something.

This is us celebrating Kai's 31st birthday! He was only home for a half hour on this special day. In 30 minutes we had his favorite dinner, a yummy ice cream cake and opened his three presents and birthday cards. We love him very much!

Sting Rays don't belong in Thanksgiving.

The story for the headlining news is as follows:
My brother Elder Hendrickson wrote an email to Kai that said something to this effect: please take my little brother surfing over Thanksgiving break. Please show him a good time.
My brother Ryan finally caught a wave then jumped off of the board into the shallows and landed on a stingray- it stung him. He said it felt like hot metal piercing his skin. He was in misery but he didn't want to ruin Kai's surf session so he offered to sit on the beach and wait. Kai of course refused the offer and took him home right away. The remedy for this excruciating event: soak your foot in the hottest water that you can stand for 30 minutes, This neutralizes the protein. If it causes so much pain that you can't sleep then you need to seek further medical attention.
I can't wait to see the email that Kai sends to my brother Chris recounting the event.
Now onto the rest:

It was quite the whirlwind weekend. We spent Thanksgiving in California. It was a last minute decision that I am glad we made. My mom had the family dinner at her house this year and it was really nice because Kai and I didn't have to pack the kids in the car and travel to several different places to enjoy turkey. Thanks Mom! It was such a great time! Since our family is so large now, we don't all get together like we used to and I really miss seeing everyone. Sadly, this is the only picture I took at the Thanksgiving party. My cousin Tiffany and my little Kiera!

Before Ryan's run in with the stingray he took us on an adventure - his girlfriend is a champion horse rider. She invited us to go riding at her house! My kids love to ride horses so this was the best treat ever!! Bubba, of course liked the ride on lawn mower as much as the horses.

This was actually Ryan's first time riding a horse!!!

Maybe he liked the lawn mower more . . .

We ended our trip making gingerbread houses with Gigi. We love her so much!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

I have been tagged by SO many people!

Tagged Part 1: Find the 4th picture from the 4th file. Me and baby Kiera. Not the most glamorous. Kiera is 22 mos old in this picture.
Tagged part two: It is supposed to be crazy 8's but I am just going to do crazy three's.

1. 3 Shows I watch
Grey's Anatomy
If Walls could talk (HG TV)
The Office


2. 3 Favorite Restaurants
Mimi's Cafe (breakfast)
Olive Garden
China Buffet (only place on my list that is here in mesquite.)


3. 3 Things That Happened Yesterday
Went to Church
Taught the 9-12 year olds a Sunday school lesson
Got a surprise visit from our Hawaii friends, Dane and Jen Gilson.


4. 3 Things I'm Looking Forward Too
How sad that i can't think of anything!


5. 3 Things On My Wish List
Teachers will get paid more
Our mortgage will be cut in half
To have a vacation house in Hawaii

6. 3Things I Love
My family- Kai, Cambria, Kiera & Malachi
I love that I have a home with a big backyard
I love my church

7. 3 Things I Can't Stand
Not being included
people who call for tolerance but can't practice it themselves
Dishonesty


8. 3 People to Tag - Your IT!
Toshia
Lauren
Candi

It's hard to think of something trivial to write about when other things weigh heavy on the mind.

Here are a few things that I have been meaning to post, but haven't.

My son and his first tantrum. I thought this wouldn't happen until he was older. Usually he gets upset when I don't let him go outside.

My son, discovering rain. Here in Mesquite we call it rain even when the mist is so light you can barely feel it. This little rain storm did happen to create a few puddles which Bubby was amazed by.

I love this picture because the cup is almost as big as he is. It is really hard to train babies not to push the water cooler buttons.

The girls got to go to a young men's activity at church with their daddy. They got to partake in an astronomy lesson presented by one of the boys and they made edible spaceships as the closing project.

They had so much fun. Look at Kiera as she gazes lovingly at her ship.

Cambria drew this picture. A bad guy being arrested by two policemen. All of them are very upset. I love the dress on the police woman.

This of course, is a family portrait. We all look that beautiful in real life. She really captured a great likeness.

Bubba has discovered what crayons are for. We have small samples of his artwork throughout our house on various surfaces. His new skills also include climbing (up the ladder to the bunk bed, up the slide (not the ladder), on various toys and a kitchen stool.) We have had to put many new safeguards in place. I didn't really have to worry about climbing with Kiera. Her heart was willing but her little body was too fat. She never had the arm strength to hoist herself to forbidden levels.

Look how proud his new skill makes him. Our next step is to get rid of the pasi!

P.S. I've been tagged by three people - so that will be coming soon. Okay, all you taggers- I will play your game!

Rollin' in the dough

I want to make some good homemade rolls for the holidays. Does anyone have a good recipe?

For Twilighters and Twi-hards

What do you think about the first batch?? My only regret is that they will not be available in time for the premiere! I think I will be able to sell them for under $20!

The one on the right is not Twilight related, but I thought that it might be fun to brag about our husbands!

I have a lot more designed but I wanted to see how these ones did first!

To paint or not to paint

I think I will take a long break from my political posting! I just wanted to thank all of you who sent me emails with info about other religions and people standing up for the LDS community in this time of modern day persecution. You never know when this issue might arise in your state.

What I really need is advice. I have had part of my living room painted for quite some time now and for the life of me I cannot figure out what to do with this triangle above my planters shelf. Because it is a big open space Idon't know if I should paint it green as well as the rest of the walls (the archway you see below will soon be green.) This is the problem: Part of the triangle spreads into my kitchen (with no wall to divide it) as well. I think it would look funny if I had part of the kitchen green and nothing else. So what do I do? Paint the triangle green? If I do then do I have to paint the kitchen too? Or does it look okay with a big blank white space. Do I need to repaint my living room a more neutral color? I wish I had an interior designer at my disposal.

Any Ideas? It doesn't help that my kitchen and living room are completely different colors.

Seriously, give me a break!

I don't know how many of you are aware of Prop 8 that was just passed in California. It amended the state constitution to state that marriage was to be between a man and a woman.

Since it passed the gay community has been outraged. Not only that but they have directed their outrage towards the Mormon church. Yesterday protesters flooded the streets of LA directly in front of the temple. The effectively stopped traffic flow and covered the temple gates in posters of all kinds. They say that the Mormons must pay and that they must know that they cannot get away with forcing their religious beliefs on the rest of the world. They say the Mormons bought the ballot.

As I read the articles expressing the fury of the gay community, I find it interesting that the facts of the passing of prop 8 are often wrong. The first day, they were saying the Mormon church was horrible because they donated $40 million dollars to the prop 8 cause. Today they are saying they were terrible because they donated (only) $12 million. The gay community had $43 million to work with plus, Ellen Degeneress.

Also an interesting fact. Prop 8 passed with 52.5%. The Mormon community of CA makes up 2%. Even if every single Mormon voted "yes" (and we know that some voted no -ie: Steve Young's family) they would have still needed 50.5% of the population to also vote yes.

Also a fact: Huge supporters of the yes on 8 was the religious black community. Fact: no one is protesting in their neighborhood. Thank goodness Compton is safe!

Fact: Prop 22 was essentially the same thing - marriage between a man and a woman - That passed a couple of years ago (I think 2001). Could it be that California has spoken about how they feel about marriage and about whom it should be between?

Fact: 4 liberal judges overturned the vote of the people on prop 22. If 4 judges take it upon themselves to ignore the will of the people and create a law regardless - how scary is that? What other laws that we vote on won't matter if judges think that the government of the people and for the people don't matter as much as they do? If nothing else, we should have all voted yes to let the judges know that they are not rulers set above the people, but rather they are there to serve the people.

Fact: Domestic partners are promised all rights and benefits that married partners are promised under California family law.

Fact: this has been an battle of semantics and not benefits.



One news paper article I just read shot an attack at the Mormon church saying that all the Mormons have done in this battle is turned the children of same sex couples into bastards. Huh? Explain that one to me please because I am pretty sure that same sex couples cannot reproduce a child that has DNA from both parents.



Fact: One gay blogger is calling for a ban on Utah. They want to hit the church "where it hurts" to send them a message. They have called for a ban on the Sundance Film Festival as well as skiing in the state. Now, that will really teach those California Mormons! How will Utah survive?! They are also trying to revoke their tax free status because of the huge $12 million dollar donation that they made. Oh wait, the church didn't make a donation at all, they asked members to donate of their means and their time.



It is sad that they gay community has chosen to target the church simply because they are the most organized party that they can put a face on. They have also started up a fund for people to donate money to rebuild and continue the fight for gay marriage. For every $5 donated they will send a strongly worded postcard to President Monson at the Slat Lake Temple. I think they think the temple is like the white house and that it is the presidents residence.



The church has issued a statement regarding this uproar:
"It is important to understand that this issue for the church has always been about the sacred and divine institution of marriage -- a union between a man and a woman," according to the statement."Allegations of bigotry or persecution made against the church were and are simply wrong. The church's opposition to same-sex marriage neither constitutes nor condones any kind of hostility toward gays and lesbians."Even more, the church does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches."

Not every church is in favor of so much for the gay community.

From the beginning of time, the word marriage has had two innate meanings: 1. a religious union 2. a union between a man and a woman. Comparing a homosexual "marriage" to a heterosexual marriage is like comparing apples and oranges.

If I take two oranges, peel them, cut them up and put them in a bowl, then I have a bowl of oranges. If I peel and cut one orange and throw it in a bowl with a cut up apple, then I have a fruit salad. Ask anyone. Two oranges can never be a fruit salad. They are simply a bowl of oranges.

Maybe the gay community should invent a new word in lieu of marriage and fight for whatever rights they want under that title. I am sure the boy scouts were invented before the girl scouts. I am even sure a few girls participated in the boy scouting program before they created their own, more appropriate program.

Here are a few suggestions: endowed, bound, united, promised . . . got any others?
Marriage isn't a pretty word. Only the meaning is beautiful and it is beautiful because of it's religious significance.

I have known several people in my lifetime that are gay. Three of these people are dear to my heart. One died of AIDS. I have no hatred towards the gay community. I have no desire for violence towards the gay community. I do not consider myself a bigot and it hurts to be considered as such. I judge a person by their character and their actions, not by their sexual orientation. Neither am I so apathetic or "tolerant" that I will not fight for my belief system. Tolerance seems to have become a word that magically allows sin to be accepted. Tolerance also seems to include everyone and everything except people who actually believe in something or choose to live religiously moral lives. I really hope that we will not be entering into a time of religious persecution.

So, seriously, give me a break. The people have spoken.

Operation: Pile o' Thank-yous

What a good idea this is . . .

This post is copied from my friend who copied it from her sister, Amberly. I have a portion of it here, but check out her blog for the full deal. I think this is a great idea!http://jasonandamberly.blogspot.com/

"I think it is polite to send a thank you note.
(Even if I have failed to send you a much deserved thank you note I still think it is polite to send a thank you note - hey, I'm not perfect.)

And seeing how it is November and all - the month for gratitude - I decided to send my Commander-in-Chief a little thank you love. I was thinking about this quote, "...The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined..." (full article here) and I thought what, my friends, is more tender, kind, and refined than a lovely homemade thank-you card with a thoughtful expression of gratitude? By the by, I called the White House today to make sure that mail can really get to the President and I was assured that it would. I am not kidding, I really called the White House and I even blushed a full crimson blush as I talked to the switchboard operator. So get going, send a card, and pass this on."

"I too hate that President Bush is being blamed for things that are not in his control. Check out the following article....I found it interesting."

http://www.meridianmagazine.com/ideas/081017light.html

Now go check out Amberly's blog... http://jasonandamberly.blogspot.com/

Address:

Mr. President George W. Bush

White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington, DC 20500

Also . . . another friend challenged us to find something to be thankful for something everyday. Since this is the appropriate month for thanksgiving I wanted to play along.

So as of yesterday:

November 5- I am immensely thankful for my three children. I feel so blessed to be able to be a stay at home mommy because I know that little ones grow quickly and soon they will be big ones who don't need me so much. They teach me and make me laugh and even though it isn't always easy, I am so happy that they are mine.

November 6- I am thankful for the St. George Temple! I spent many a summer sitting on the long, grassy green lawns staring at the beautiful, white, steep stair cases dreaming about what it must look like inside. It is the first temple that was finished. Can you imagine how many noble saints and prophets have walked its halls? Well, today I was able to go as an escort to a friend who was taking out her endowments. At one point I was left in the bridal room to wait for her. To say that the room was beautiful is completely inaccurate. It was more than that. The attention to detail is exquisite. I was overcome with emotion because this was truly the fulfillment of a life long dream.

Your turn . . .count your many blessings.

I want Candy!!

This was a great October and it feels like it is going to be a great November because the weather is starting to get cool. This is my October wrap up:

A big old box of Halloween costumes was all we needed for an evening of fun! Kai had a carnival at his school and we needed to find Bubba a costume (because this years costume was waiting for him at Grammy and Papa's house in California!) So I dragged in a box of Halloween costumes from the past - and the girls picked out all the things they thought they could have fun with. Notice the glare that automatically come with this ensemble.

My girls usually like to be pretty princesses and magical creatures, but this time they had a blast being the "evilest!"

A glare comes with the devi lhorns as well.

I did not teach her to pose like that . . .

This picture is not related to anything that has to do with costumes, but I think it's really cute!

Fabulous photo before we leave to Daddy's school carnival. Giselle, Spider- man and Hanna Montana

The itsty -bitsy spider went up the water spout!

Love this shot!

PUMPKIN RUN! In lieu of wearing costumes at Cambria's school, all the children were instructed to wear orange and black. They also had a school wide race. Cambria placed in the top ten out of 120 kindergartner's to win a pumpkin!

Cambria and her favorite neighbor friends, Cassidy, are pictures below.

Her purple ribbon from the race.

Her winning stride!

Cambria and Daddy. They actually awarde pumpkins to the tope 25 finishers from every grade. i thought that was so nice to reward more than the top three kids. It sure made it more fun for the kids.

Bubba holding Cambria's winnings. He'll be happy as long as we don't make him sit in it again!

The best part about Halloween this year was that we got to go to California, mostly to celebrate my birthday, but of course to trick or treat as well. The sad part was that I forgot my phone book and couldn't call all the friends I wanted to see. I tried to email them, but I still haven't recovered every one's email addresses from when the hacker erased them from our account. Sorry California friends. I hope to see you next time!

Halloween day started off with a party at Grammy's preschool. She works with chirldren who have disabilities. We played in the school yard, participated in a parade, sang songs, did a craft and ate some yummy food. Thanks for taking us to your school Grammy!

Kiera getting into the car . . . all you can see is fluff!!

Little Bubba in the giraffe costume Grammy bought him - so cute!

Scarecrow Grammy and her pet giraffe!

( This is so out of order - more info on this in a minute! Gigi came over to visit us right before we went trick or treating. She brought us some cute little cups full of goodies! Thank you Gigi!)

Scary hand making at Grammy's school. Rubber glove with candy corn finger nails and pop corn filling.

Bubba thought he was so coo because he got to sit on a chair at song time! WE changed him out of his costume becaus eit was so HOT! Look at his rosy cheeks!

Hanna Montanna and Gisele (from Enchanted) were so excited to trick or treat around Grammy's house!

Here is Kiera eating the cookie on a stick that Gigi brought over! Or maybe she is singing into it like a microphone . . .

We love Gigi so much and we are so glad that we got to see her!

I didn't know which picture I liked better so I used both!

I was a witch and my favorite part of my costume was my black and purple tights!

We had to check out our haul when we got home. we were so impressed with the good candy we got. Last year we just got smarties and dum-dums- this year it was all kinds of chocolate candy bars. We really didn't go to that many houses, but our buckets were packed full and quite heavy when we got home. The girls even got whole candy bars, not just the mini sizes. Someone forgot to tell my mom's neighborhood that the economy is not doing well.

Kiera trying on her ugly fake gummy treat. (This candy truly looked distgusting.)

Cambria was so tired from all the fun!

Cambria with her fake, disgusting gummy teeth.

Lastly, my birthday party! We just had the Grandma's over for a little food and some ice cream cake.

It was so yummy! Thanks Gigi!

I got this pink robe for my birthday. It is super duper soft and cuddley and I don't know if I will ever get it back. It started a three way tug-of-war between Cambria, Kiera ad Uncle Sean.

Cambria got really tall!

Here is my Kiera monster!

Uncle Sean sure is great at making fun memories with the kids!