Hard to believe, but 8 years has passed since that day in Los Angeles. Who knew it would fly by so fast? or slow? I guess it just depends on your perspective...Who knew we would have 3 boys and another baby on the way? Who knew we would have lived in 6 locations, 3 states, attended 3 schools, and still owned the 1978 Dodge through it all? I'm just glad that despite all of my flaws she picked me.
As you can see Van is not a fan of pants. He isn't really a fan of wearing clothes, but we try to keep at least a shirt and a onesy(sp?) on him that he can't slip out of.
Friday it began snowing and Saturday we woke up to a good 5."
Rusty likes playing outside but has a hard time keeping his gloves on b/c they always seem to be too big.
Van lasted about 5 minutes before he was ready to come inside and get out of all of those clothes.
Stone loves the snow and is usually the first one out and the last one in. He is our Polar Bear.
Saturday breakfast with the boys.
Rusty has a funny scowl.
Sunday breakfast w/ the boys.
Saturday afternoon the EQ went skeet shooting.
Playing in the leaves. 
Van is a big helper.
This is the black widow we found in our basement. Luke wanted to catch it and take it to work. He's crazy, I wanted him to just smash it.
The first snow of the season. When the boys woke up and saw the snow, they asked if Santa was coming that night. Then they started "praying" to Santa to bring them a puppy.
Sara came and surprised us. It was fun to see her and Mike. Stone and Rusty were really sad when they left.
This is the kids with their jack-o-lanterns
On Halloween we had great weather. We didn't need to wear coats over our costumes. Stone had fall break the week of Halloween. That means we got to sleep in because we didn't have to take Stone to school.
This is Van's pouty face. He does it when he doesn't get what he wants. It's so cute.
I had my birthday. I am now 29 years old.
He got a scooter for his birthday.
On his birthday we ate dinner at the Trail Dust Steak House. It has a 2-story slide which the kids loved.
Rusty, the preschool drop out. It was a big struggle everytime he had to go to school. Finally we decided not to make him go anymore. Since his birthday is right before the school cut off, we aren't going to send him to kindergarten next year. So we figured it wasn't a big deal and he can do preschool next year. Poor parenting? Maybe. He did ask to take off his training wheels because it's "too easy" so I did and he took off riding with no problem. But he isn't tall or strong enough to keep it up when he stops. So now he wants them back on.
Though we are not residents of California, we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have been encouraged to use social media to educate others on Proposition 8.
Here are 6 reasons why voting yes on Prop 8 is so important for our generation:
1) Children in public schools will have to be taught that same-sex marriage is just as good as traditional marriage.
The California Education Code already requiresthat health education classes instruct children about marriage. (§51890)Therefore, unless Proposition 8 passes, children will be taught that marriage between any two adults is of the same worth, regardless of gender. There will be serious clashes between the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children their own values and beliefs.
2) Churches may be sued over their tax exempt status if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings open to the public. Ask whether your pastor, priest, minister, bishop, or rabbi is ready to perform such marriages in your chapels and sanctuaries.
3) Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston already had to stop providing adoption services in Massachusetts because courts legalized same-sex marriage there.
4) Religions that sponsor private schools with married student housing may be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if counter to church doctrine, or risk lawsuits over tax exemptions and related benefits.
5) Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages may be sued for hate speech and risk government fines. It already happened in Canada, a country that legalized gay marriage. A recent California court held that municipal employees may not say: "traditional marriage," or "family values" because, after the same-sex marriage case, it is "hate speech."
6) It will cost you money. This change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits, including some already lost (e.g., photographers cannot now refuse to photograph gay marriages; doctors cannot now refuse to perform artificial insemination of gays even given other willing doctors). Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today's activist judges), think of the money – your money – that will be spent on such legal battles. The following reasons were blatantly copied from the website: http://www.whatisprop8.com/
Hate is not the issue here. Not in the least. I can LOVE people who are gay. That does not mean that I agree with their lifestyles. I don't. I don't believe in many things that are becoming more tolerant in our world (pornagraphy, drugs, alcohol) but that doesn't mean that I hate or dislike any people who have a lifestyle that tolerates them. Quite the opposite.
It is wrong to me that a court, supposedly representing the people of California, can change something that the people already voted on. The people of California already voted against gay marriage. They cannot change the minds of the people.
What has surprised me is that amount of angst that comes from the opposition. The opposition demands tolerance but is unwilling to show any towards our views.
Please take the time to review what voting on this Proposition means. You have a voice, you have the ability to choose. The following sites have a great deal of information regarding Prop 8:
http://www.preservingmarriage.org
http://www.whatisprop8.com/
Please pass the link along and encourage your friends to vote! Every vote matters.
Fall is such a pretty time of year. My friend Tracy and I decided to go to the mountains to see the changing leaves. We went to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. On the way up, we got stuck behind a big, slow truck. The road was curvy so there were no chances to pass. He finally pulled over when we were almost there. The kids kept asking how much longer, but they were really good. We had a great time. The kids loved being there. We ate a picnic lunch and let the kids run around.
We found this cool looking tree while the kids were on a "bear hunt". Luckily they didn't find any bears.
I added this picture because Van is so cute. I can't believe how big he is already.
Stone's first day of kindergarten he did great. He didn't cry or anything. The next week when Luke wasn't there to drop him off, he started crying and holding on to my leg and not letting go. The teacher had to pull him off of me. But once he's inside, he does fine. This happened for a few weeks. One time I had to chase him across the school lawn. Another time, he got away from the teacher and ran away. I had already left, so another mom had to bring him back. Last week, he was holding on to me and crying. My friend Emily from church has a daughter in Stone's class and she could tell I was embarrassed. She was holding Van for me, she gave Van back and she picked up Stone and carried him into the school for me. After that he has not acted up like that since. Yesterday, I volunteered in his class for the Reading Rotations. He is one of the smarter kids. He didn't need any help with the work. One girl in the class reads at a 3rd grade level already. I thought that was impressive.
Rusty started preschool. For the first few weeks, he cried too. I would have to drag him out of the car and hand him to the teacher. All the while he was kicking and screamin. But now, he just walks right in. I think Stone's behavior influenced Rusty because when Stone stopped crying at school so did Rusty.
These pictures are at the Butterfly Pavillion. Stone and Rusty held the tarantula named Rosie. I did not.
We went to Castlewood Canyon State Park one day. Stone loves to be in the mountains and hike. He didn't want to leave. Last week we went to Golden Gate Canyon State Park and saw the beautiful Aspen trees. They have changed color already. I will put those pictures up later.
