Like Father, Like Son

Brad is usually pretty stubborn/lazy about getting his haircut...and he loves to puff up Joshy's curls to make an afro. So, we just had to take a picture of the 'fros!!! Hopefully Brad will have a shorter haircut soon! But who can resist Joshy's cute curls?? I love them!

Cousin Love

I babysat my brother's kids last night while he went to a meeting for an internship (his wife is currently in cosmetology school at night) and boy, did we have fun! Luke was right at home with Jakob and Joshy digging in the dirt in the garden and pushing Tonka trucks around. Bella and Drew played together in the Pack-n-Play and he only tried to tackle her once or twice! Then it was bed time and it actually worked out pretty well...Bella slept in Drew's crib, and we set up another pack-n-play in the same room for Luke. Drew slept in my room, and it all worked out really well. Then this morning after I got home from walking, we went over to the pool and had some fun swimming! There was a water aerobics class going on when we got there, and when the ladies finished and came over to exit the pool right where we were in the kiddie area, they all kept saying, "Wow, what a beautiful family you have!" And my brother and I just kind of laughed because they must have thought that we were married and all those kids were ours! It was funny! The kids had so much fun and I love it when my kids are able to spend time with cousins...I think it's so important for them to build those relationships with their family. My brother made a comment to me about how when he was younger he never imagined that someday we'd have kids that were the same ages...WHODATHUNKIT???? They are all so cute and sweet and all have such fun personalities!

A MUST-SEE Video!

This is not only important for parents to watch, but for all of us out there who believe in preserving traditional marriage between a man and a woman.

I have gone out and walked twice for Prop 8, and was pleasantly surprised that most people in my community also believe in protecting traditional marraige. There of course were those who didn't, but weren't mean or rude about it, just that they believed anyone should be able to marry anyone. I even met one man who said that he and his wife believed that, "You should be able to marry your dog if you want to!" WHAT? I disagree.

A little over a month ago, my friend posted a really message about what will happen if Prop 8 fails...and rather than copying and pasting it all, click here to read the original.

If you feel so inclined and are able, please help by donating at http://www.protectmarraige.com/.

One thing that my husband and I have found interesting is that in all of the commercials that oppose Prop 8, they use a heterosexual couple...whether it be a bride trying to overcome physical obstacles on her wedding day, or an older couple saying that they raised 3 children and never treated any of them differently...now one of their daughters is gay and they don't believe that we should treat her differently and that she should have the same rights as anyone else to get married to whomever she chooses.

I know that the adversary will do anything he can to trick us and make us be sympathetic to beliefs that are contrary to ours. We must be valiant and diligent in working to protect the sacred relationship of marraige between a man and a woman, and set the example for our children that we are not afraid to stand up for what we believe in. They will remember our faith and hopefully theirs will be strengthened in the process.

The following video is not specifically about this issue, but it is a video about the last days...and how we must be firm and immovable in preparing for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is well worth the few minutes it takes to watch.

OH, MANNNNNN!! (a la Swiper)

Yesterday morning, after dropping Jakob off at school, I backed into a car that was parked behind me... BIG OOPS! Luckily it looked like there was very little damage, and the lady even told me that she was getting ready to turn the car over to her teenage daughter who probably wouldn't even care about it. It was a Honda CRV and my trailer hitch attachment had pushed in the plastic part under her bumper causing it to crack on one side. I was quite hopeful that I would never hear from her again...or that it wouldn't cost very much. Needless to say I felt like such an IDIOT!

Well, last night, she called. AHHHH. Apparently she got two quotes, one is $699 and will take 5 days to repair, and the other is $430 and will only take a couple of days...but she will also need a rental car while it's in the shop. I'm glad we have insurance, but not glad that we have a $500 deductible. :( Oh well... even though it is a big pain, I am truly glad that it wasn't a little kindergartener behind my car. Cars are just THINGS. They are replaceable/fixable. Just thinking about it that way makes it a little easier to deal with.

Luckily the rest of my day went pretty well. I had my first paying photo session (YAY ME!) with a lady that needed some headshots for an upcoming concert series program. She was such a nice lady and it was really fun! I have a few family sessions coming up in the next two months, and I'm looking forward to those too! If you're interested in my progress as I'm building my portfolio, I'll be periodically updating my photoblog with sneak peaks from my sessions. Feel free to check it out and pass the word around! Thanks so much to all of you who make nice comments and even have let me practice on you, your kids and your families! :)

Welcome to Forks, WA

A friend of mine recently returned from a trip to Forks, WA -- for those of you who have read the Twilight series, then you know what I'm talking about! She sent a few teaser pics and promised more soon, but I thought this first one was particularly funny! This was taken at the hospital where Carlisle works...

This picture is just gorgeous in my opinion...although most of the filming for the movie took place in Oregon, this is definitely how I imagined the forests up there. Beautiful, misty, and GREEN!

Joshy's first day...

Today was Joshy's first day at "preschool" -- it is actually a play group held at our neighborhood clubhouse -- but mommies don't stay, so I consider it more like preschool! He was so excited, and he even picked out his favorite shirt! He's getting so big!! I can't believe how fast he is growing up...I hope he never outgrows his cuddly/snuggly side...even when he's 6 feet tall and 200 something pounds...he better still snuggle with me!!!!! :) I love you Joshy!

Women Have a Great Influence for Good

"Too frequently, women underestimate their influence for good. Well could you follow the formula given by the Lord: 'Establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God' (D&C 88:119)."In such a house will be found happy, smiling children who have been taught, by precept and example, the truth. In a Latter-day Saint home, children are not simply tolerated, but welcomed; not commanded, but encouraged; not driven, but guided; not neglected, but loved."

Thomas S. Monson,, "The Spirit of Relief Society, Ensign," May 1992, 101-102

P.S.

I almost forgot to mention some exciting news! Tonight after Jakob's shower, I suddenly wanted to see if he had any loose teeth. He does! One of his bottom middle baby teeth is loose! He seems to think that when he loses a tooth, the toothfairy will bring him a present (i.e. robotic dinosaur) and I explained that that probably wouldn't happen, but a quarter or a cool new toothbrush is more likely. :) WOW, I can't believe it...he is growing up so fast!!! Check out some pics of Jakob that I took today on my photoblog.

Apple Party

On friday morning we went to an Apple Party over at my friend Kristie's house. Kristie is so much fun and is always planning celebrations! We started out with a game "pass the apple" -- kind of like Hot Potato...most of the kids didn't really want to pass the apple though! It was really funny to watch!

Next, the kids got to make apple stamps -- with apples sliced so that you can see the star on the inside. That was a lot of fun and Joshy even made his handprints!

After the painting, our friend Alex read the story of Johnny Appleseed (which she had never even read before - I think due to the fact that she is English...) and Joshy and her daughter Ellie were pretty much the only ones who sat still and listened to the entire story.

The best part about the Apple Party were all the yummy apple TREATS! We had apple crisp, German Pancake with apple, applesauce, apple juice, mini-candy apples, sour cream apple pie, jello with apples in it, apple slices with caramel... YUM YUM YUM!

Thanks for inviting us Kristie, we had so much fun!!! I can't wait to start doing fun Halloween stuff!!!

Boy, (n): a noise with dirt on it

Have you ever seen that little quote about boys? Well, it is absolutely true when it comes to my 3 boys. Seriously, if there was nothing else in the world to play with but dirt, they'd be happy. At least once a day (lately) I see this:

When we first moved in, it was Joshy, multiple times a day, digging and burying toys in the dirt and generally just making a huge mess. He has since then gotten a bit bored with the dirt inside and his specialty is now the dirt outside. Usually Joshy is the one to get the dirtiest, but the other day while Drew and Joshy were napping, Jakob was playing in the backyard so I decided to watch the rest of a show I had missed on our DVR. Pretty soon I noticed it had gotten really quiet, and any of you moms out there know that when it gets too quiet, you know that means TROUBLE! I walked over to the sliding door to look out and saw Jakob buried in mud/dirt from the waist down (he was sitting) in our garden. He had dug a hole, turned on the hose to make mud, sat in it and then proceeded to bury himself. I couldn't even bring myself to take a picture -- I was in shock. I don't know why things like that surprise me, they shouldn't by now! Who needs transformers and trucks and trains when you can amuse yourself forever with dirt???

I'll never forget that day...

Today marks 7 years since the attacks on 9/11 and while reflecting on my own memories of that day, I decided to look online for some poems that have been written about it. Here are two that I found - among thousands - that stuck out to me.

Nation Of Survivors

In the bright September morning without warning to us all

A few thousand lives were shattered and we watched two buildings fall

And a billion souls felt empty, and the flags at half-mast fly

In the memory of the innocent which didn't have to die.

We've lost brothers, sisters, cousins. We've lost family and friends

But we've made the choice not to forget their lives and tragic ends

Though we've had our share of troubles we have put them all aside

As a nation grieves we find ourselves defending them with pride.

We're a nation of survivors, with one heart we share a tear

But we live to serve the memory, not giving in to fear.

Though they try to take security with the things they've done and said

All their acts of inhumanity bring unity instead.

So we stand here as a family. One heart, one soul, one voice.

We are challenged by this moment, and united here by choice.

--Jack Foshee Jr., Sept 12, 2001.

dis n dat

Here's a little bit of what we've been up to these days...

Making sure we don't forget to put the gate up, because HELLO we have a climber now!

Lots and lots of walking...in addition to the 4 (approx.) miles I walk at Mile Square, I've been walking Jakob to/from school every day...Joshy isn't a fan of sitting in the stroller anymore, so sometimes it's a battle! Thank goodness fruit snack bribes still work with him -- and he doesn't know how to take off his buckle!

Spending lots of fun days with Joshy while Jakob is at school...eating lunch outside is always fun, and give a him a straw and a cup of milk and it's so fun to see how making milk bubbles never loses it's luster!

Jakob has always been one to strike a pose in front of the camera...and his shirt says "less talk, more rock" -- what a cool 5-yr-old! He has since had his hair cut into a faux hawk...(thanks Kristie! I owe you!) so I'll post some pics of his new 'do later!

My sister Sonya came for a short visit...the kids were SO excited and she was kind enough to play chutes and ladders with them (after they had bugged me all morning to play...) We went to the beach and she went to see Wicked with a friend who was also in town. I always have fun with her...she's such a great sister and friend! The boys were sad when she had to leave, and kept asking when she was coming back...SO COME VISIT US AGAIN SOON!!!! :) We love ya Sonya!

And, I'll spare you an gross pictures of what an appendectomy looks like...but Brad has been getting better, little by little. He ended up getting a HUGE bruise all across his waist area, and when I say huge, I mean like probably 15 x 6 inches. But, the doc said that is normal...so it was nothing to worry about. Thanks again for all the well wishes and support and help offered/rendered! We appreciate it all so much and feel so blessed to have such good friends and family!

Where does the time go? It's already time to wake up Drew and get the kids in the stroller to walk over and pick up Jakob. 10-2 is great...but it FLIES by! I'm just glad Jakob is happy and loving school!

FYI

I just started a new blog...check it out:

http://lookinfine09.blogspot.com/

Welcome To Kindergarten!

I woke up to the sound of whispering voices and our front door being opened...it startled me at first until I realized it was Jakob whispering to Joshy, "Let's go see if the First-Day-Of-School-Fairy came!" The next thing I know they are both in my room excitedly looking at their treats...so I grabbed the camera to snap a few shots...and Joshy was actually being very smiley this morning, not very like him! They were both very excited about their treats and then Jakob was even more excited to go put on his new clothes for school.

We met Ryan (his cousin starting 5th grade) at the front of the school to get some pictures and then we headed over to his classroom. I took the last picture of him by the door mainly so I can take the same type of picture at the end of the year to see how tall he's gotten! (Oh, and he wasn't sad, it was just REALLY bright!)

He made his first friend while we were waiting to go into the class, his name is Carter - and we thought it would be easy for him to remember that name since has a cousin named Carter! Then I gave him a big hug and sent him on his way...no tears from either of us! He was very excited and happy to be there, he didn't even look back when I said good-bye!

When it was time to pick him up, I noticed that all of the kids had purple crowns that said, "Hooray! It's the first day of school!" They looked so cute! Each class had different color crowns. When I asked him what his favorite part of the day was, he said, "Everything!" That's a good sign!! :)

He had a folder full of papers for me to read and fill out, and one of them was a questionnaire all about Jakob. One of the sections had a list of words and you were to circle the ones that described your child. It also had a space to add any other words. It was difficult for me to stop at 5 extra words...Jakob is such a complex kid! I hope his teacher will be great for him...so far, so good!

I'm so happy that he had such a good experience for his first day of school...he is kind of a pro at it by now, considering the fact that this is the 5th school he's been to! (3 different pre-schools and 1 elem. school for extended K) I'm hoping we can stay here so he doesn't have switch schools anymore!!!

He's home...

We brought Brad home today around 5pm, and other than the annoyingly long (2 hours) trip to Costco to get his prescriptions filled, things have been great. Ok well, I'll be honest, I was in a pretty foul mood by the time I got home from Costco...but once I got some food in me (thanks Evaly!) I started to feel and function much better. Then, once all the kids were in bed, I felt even better. Brad on the other hand, is still in quite a bit of pain...he says his whole body is sore...and the dr. said that is due to the air from the surgery. I remember feeling that way after my gall bladder surgery...not fun. Anyway, that just takes a bit of time, and so I am hoping he'll be doing much better by the end of the week. I hope he'll at least sleep much better at home in his own bed. We'll see. :)

Thanks again for all the well wishes and offers to watch our kids through all of this...I honestly feel like we are so blessed to have family and friends who love us and who are more than willing to help us out when we need it. I hope you all know that we'd do the same for you if/when you need it!! :)

Sidenote: Jakob starts Kindergarten tomorrow!!! He has had his outfit picked out since Monday, and I know he is super excited! I'll post more about it tomorrow...

Update

Well, so far I know that Brad will be staying the hospital one more night. NOt sure if he'll get to come home tomorrow or not, we just have to wait and see.

FOr any of you who have been calling my cell phone...I appologize for being unreachable. I have dropped that poor phone so many times that is has finally died. Well, it's broken in half to be exact. :( ANyway...it's very annoying, but in the mean time, you can contact me at our home number, or on Brad's cell - seven one four, four two zero, zero nine three three.

I'll update again when I find out when he can come home. In the mean time, feel free to call Hoag if you want to talk to him...949/764-HOAG (4624).

PHEW!

Just got home from the hospital with Brad...he did indeed have appendicitis, and had surgery to remove it tonight. He's doing OK and luckily it hadn't burst, so it wasn't too difficult to remove.

I just wanted to let everyone know...if you hadn't heard it through the mormon grapevine yet. :)

I also want to give a big thank you to Ken and Beverly for helping with the boys and hanging out with me at the hospital through most of it, keeping me company. And thanks to Todd for watching my boys while we were gone. It's nice to have family close by who is willing to help out with anything I need. :)

More details and updates on Brad tomorrow. (well, today really...yes, I KNOW it is late!