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!