Halloween Part 2 - The Party

Tonight we had our party. The kids had a blast. I made mummy hot dogs and radish eyeballs. I made eyeballs with powdered sugar donuts too, but I don't know what happened to that picture. Em and I took the kids trick or treating up and down my street. It started sprinkling so we didn't want to be out too long. Plus I live on a long street and know all my neighbors (they're all in my ward but 2) and the last time I took my kids trick or treating for a long time they ended up with over 10 lbs. of candy. I didn't want that again, because you know who really eats it. LOL! Robyn and Joe came while we were out and Robyn came and found us. Henry was the cutest little pea pod ever, but I didn't get any pics, because when we got back to the house Robyn changed him and then he didn't put it back on. I will get some from her though.

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After that, we came back to the house and the kids had treats and I rented the new Tinkerbell movie that had just come out. After everyone was home, we headed over to my friend Christina's house so the kids could go trick or treating there. The kids were excited because she was handing out big sheets of stickers, which they love. After that we were supposed to go to my ex-in laws so they could see the kids, but it was so late that I called and we agreed that I will take them tomorrow instead. I'm glad I did, because within 30 seconds of calling, Brooklyn totally puked in my truck. Seems while everyone was visiting and not paying attention, she ate almost all her Halloween candy. Nice. Luckily we were at the end of our street. We pulled into the driveway and I grabbed her out of the truck. She stood at the edge of our yard and puked what looked like a fountain of chocolate. Talk about curing my craving for Halloween candy! I showered her (in her Sleeping Beauty dress) and then sent all the kids to bed. I could have lived without that part of the evening.

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It was fun to hang out and visit. This was the first year that I have done anything for Halloween, because it's not my favorite holiday. However, Em and I decided that we will have to do this again next year (assuming we're still here) and I totally agree. I think I had as much fun as the kids did.

Halloween Part 1 - Dressing Up

This morning the kids got all dressed up for their Halloween parties at school. (Well, except Amelia who's not in school, but I did let her wear her costume to Wal-Mart.) Tyler and Hailey were nurses because they wanted to be like their dad (say it with me, awwww). Austin was Buzz Lightyear, Camren was Peter Pan (and made the cutest most perfect one you ever saw), Brooklyn was Sleeping Beauty (the costume was to big, but I let her wear it anyway because she wanted to wear it so bad) and Amelia was - of course - Cinderella. For Amelia and Brooklyn, it wasn't any different than any other day, because they probably wear those dresses 3 out of 7 days a week. I don't normally let them wear them out of the house though. Anyway, the kids are super excited because tonight I am having my best friend Emily and her kids, Hailey's best friend Mya and her twin (Austin's friend) David, Hailey's friend Aubrey and Robyn and Joe (and Henry) over for a Halloween party. So I have a lot of final shopping and cooking to do. I'll be back later with party pics.

Happy Halloween

Changing Political Parties

Why I'm Voting Democrat

I'm voting Democrat because like most Americans I trust lawyers more than anyone else; I think only lawyers should run the government, and all the Democrat Leaders are lawyers: Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, John Edwards, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Leader Harry Reid, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry, to name just a few. (Al Gore dropped out of Law School, so I don't trust him as much, except on Global Warming.)

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I'm voting Democrat because the Democrats support the trial lawyers and I think this country needs more lawsuits and less tort reform. And I know the trial lawyers' contributions have a thing to do with it.

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I'm voting Democrat because Congress has done such a wonderful job under Democrat leadership the last two years, that I want a lot more of the same.

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I'm voting Democrat because I want to get my health care from the same competent, efficient, cost-effective, customer-service-focused folks who run the US Post Office, the Pentagon, FEMA and the state Registry of Motor Vehicles.

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I'm voting Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.

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I'm voting Democrat because Sen. Obama has promised to cut the taxes of 95% of American workers, including the 30% who don't pay taxes, who are part of the 50% of taxpayers who pay a grand total of 2.9% of federal income taxes each year. It is only right, fair and patriotic that the 10% of workers who pay 70% of federal taxes each year pay even more, by golly.

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I'm voting Democrat because Sen. Obama has promised to take away the secret ballot in union elections, and I think the union bosses should know if a working man or woman is with them, or against them.

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I'm voting Democrat because Sen. Obama has over three years experience in the Federal Government, and "Hope" is a great strategy.

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I'm voting Democrat because Sen. Obama voted "present" instead of "yes" or "no" over 120 times in the Illinois State Senate, and I think we need a decisive president.

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I'm voting Democrat because I think that drilling for American oil is foolish when we can buy all the oil we need from the Middle East .

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I'm voting Democrat because I think windmills (except off Hyannis Port ) are a better answer to reliable, clean energy than Nuclear Energy.

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I'm voting Democrat because I don't think we give enough to other countries in foreign aid.I'm voting Democrat because I'm for putting up barriers to free trade, as they did in 1930 with the Smoot-Hawley bill. That made things much better then.

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I'm voting Democrat because I miss the high unemployment, inflation and interest rates of the Jimmy Carter years.

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I'm voting Democrat because parents shouldn't get to choose the school their kids go to. Parents should leave their children's education to the teachers and stay out of it.

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I'm voting Democrat because I think this is the perfect time to raise the Capital Gains tax and drive investment money out of the stock market.

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I'm voting Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene, but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

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I'm voting Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would, and I want the government to spread my wealth around to those who earn less or nothing.

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I'm voting Democrat because freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

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I'm voting Democrat because, when we pull out of Iraq , I trust that the bad guys will stop what they're doing because they will think we're good people.

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I'm voting Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday CAN tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

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I'm voting Democrat because I'm not concerned about restoring partial birth abortions so long as we keep all death row murderers alive.

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I'm voting Democrat because I believe that small businesses should not be allowed to make a profit. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution to people who didn't start businesses.

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I'm voting Democrat because I believe the law is what judges say it is, and not what legislators say -- or the Constitution.

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I'm voting Democrat because the media would call me a racist if I didn't.

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Robert A. Hall

10 Places To See Before You're 10

I was reading an article entitled "10 Places to See Before You're 10". It said "Family vacations should be fun, of course, but we always hope they’ll do more—kindle an interest, inspire a career, or at least pry them away from computer screens. Here are 10 U.S. sites guaranteed to rock young worlds. "

I was surprised to see that I had been to all but 3 of them. Most of them I probably went to because I grew up in California. Colonial Williamsburg and Ellis Island I went to on a 2 week trip back east with band. I guess I better get some traveling in, if I want to cross #1, 9 & 10 off my list.

You can click on the names below to link to articles about the sites. Enjoy!

1. American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland
2. Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia
3. Disneyland
4. Ellis Island, New York City
5. Grand Canyon, Arizona
6. Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles
7. Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California
8. Muir Woods, Marin County, California
9. Niagara Falls, New York and Ontario
10. Sears Tower, Chicago

Coming Up

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that my schedule is up for a change starting next week. So much for sleeping in 'til 8. Starting next Wednesday I will be babysitting 2 brothers, ages 2 and 6 weeks. I have been so baby hungry and am totally excited to get to babysit a newborn. I am also glad that Amelia will have someone to play with in the afternoon after Brooklyn goes to kindergarten. The downside? They will be coming to my house at 7:20am, so I will have to start getting up early. At least it is only 2 days a week. It will be a big change for me. When John and I got married, Camren (our youngest boy) was 2 1/2 so I have never had a baby boy before. I'm excited!

My Schedule

My husband says all the time that I don't have a schedule or practice any time management. He thinks that because I'm just sitting at the house (not kidding) so how could I not get everything done that I need to every day. Well, I just don't feel like I need to be slaving away every second I am awake. I want to enjoy my day too. Here is my "schedule". Let's see what you think.

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7am - Alarm goes off. Think about how horrified I am that it is still dark outside and that I am still sooo tired. Go back to sleep.

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8 am - Get up for real.

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8 - 840am - Wake up the 4 older kids. Make sure they get dressed, clean their rooms, make their beds, and straighten up any messes they have left around the house from the night before. Load them on the bus and off to school. (They eat breakfast at school - major morning stress reducer!)

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840 - 10am - Get Brooklyn and Amelia dressed. Strip Amelia's bed if I need to (We are in the middle of night training. Days are done. Yay!) and throw sheets in the wash. Get the girls breakfast. Check all my email accounts, facebook, myspace, friends blogs, etc. while the girls are eating. Eat breakfast myself if I feel like it.

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10 - 11am - Do quick straightening up of house. Take out something for dinner if I need to (ie. meat that needs to thaw). Make sure Brooklyn knows where her backpack and shoes are (daily problem here -esp. the shoes) and put them by the front door.

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11am - 12pm - Make lunch for the girls. Eat something if I feel like it. While they are eating, take a shower. After they are done eating, let them watch cartoons (about 30 min.) while I get dressed, do hair, etc.

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12 - 1pm - Get Brooklyn ready and out the door to the bus. Get Amelia cleaned up from lunch. Put Amelia down for a nap (or attempt to, depending on the day). Sometimes, instead of nap time we go hang out at Robyn's house for a couple hours.

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1 - 330pm - Do any real cleaning around the house (ie. vacuuming, scrubbing). Fold any laundry I have while watching my shows I dvr'ed from the night before while the kids were still awake. Run any loads of laundry I have. If Amelia is not napping, I will run any errands I have while I only have 1 kid home.

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330 - 8pm - Check email for a few minutes. Eat something for lunch. 5 older kids get home from school. John gets home from work (usually right after the kids). Kids finish any chores they have that are undone. Start homework and reading time. Run any errands with John that we need to do together. Start dinner. Feed John and the kids dinner. Kids do their kitchen chores. Get the kids jammied, teeth brushed and in bed.

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8 - 10pm - Finally sit down and eat dinner. (Sometimes I eat with everyone, depending on how crazy the evening is). Sit around and relax with John for a little while. Maybe do some cleaning. Maybe some reading or watch a movie together (ie. me watching it while he sleeps on the couch next to me).

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10pm - 12am - Play on the computer. Answer any emails. Do my food journal for my online group. Check out ksl.com and craigslist. Plan any things I have to do tomorrow. Think about what I want to do for dinner tomorrow, in case I need to get anything the next day. Take it out then, if I want to do a homemade freezer meal, so it can thaw.

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12 -1am - Finally go to bed. I have a real hard time falling asleep, so sometimes it's not til 2am.

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Repeat the next day.

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Well, that's what I do in a day. Give or take, depending on the day. The last couple days I have been painting some furniture for a friend (table, chairs, buffet) and the kids have been out of school. That always throws me off. Well I better get back on track, and get some stuff done before lunch time.

Technical Difficulties

Sorry I had to take the links out of my SSM post. I am new at the whole linking thing and it is just not happening. I will keep working on it and hopefully figure it out.

Austin's Baptism

Today was Austin's baptism. He turned 8 back in July, but we had been working on some issues before he was ready (read: stealing every piece of candy in sight, no matter where he was) and we decided he was finally ready to take the plunge - literally. It was a stake baptism, but the only ones there from our ward were Austin and a girl from his class, so that was nice. My family wasn't able to come out, but I did have Robyn and Joe there. Emily also came, and my ex's family came (minus him, of course). It was nice to have everyone there. It was a special day and it was nice to have everyone back to the house for lunch. It turned out that today was the first snowfall of the year, but not a lot. Still it was pretty exciting to the kids. I am proud of Austin that he made the decision that he wanted to be baptized. Great day. 3 down, 3 to go. :)

SSM And Our Children

I received some of this as an email from someone at church. I think this should be a concern for all parents, all people, no matter where you live. Because if it passes in CA, it will be coming to your state next. The day I live somewhere where this is taught to my kids in school will be my kids' last day in public school. I have home schooled them before and I will do it again. Nobody is going to take my place as parent of my children and teach them things I don't want them to be taught.

** Please know if you post any hateful or contentious comments, I will not post them. I moderate all my comments and, while I am open to civil, adult discussions, I will not tolerate hatefulness. This is my blog and my beliefs and if you don't agree, go comment somewhere else.

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If CA falls, the rest of the country will move in this direction. The loss of traditional marriage will be the undoing of this nation so no matter where you are, please help to support prop 8.
As a reminder, the last 2 paragraphs of the Proclamation to the World state:

"We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society"

(this material has been condensed/pieced)

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Education on the issue
What is disturbing is that unlike Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is confined only to those who are residents of the state, California has no such law. Thus residents of other states, whose marriage laws do not allow genderless marriage can come to California, get their nuptials, and then head home claiming their marriage is legal.
This not only opens the door for legal chaos, but for courts, along with rogue state officials to systematically dismantle state statutes and amendments designed to protect the traditional definition of marriage.
Most recently, New York Governor Paterson ordered state agencies to recognize out-of-state homosexual "marriages" even though New York's Court of Appeals ruled in 2006 that only the union of a man and woman is a legal marriage in the state.
Thus, with this Supreme Court decision, if a marriage amendment does not pass in California this fall, California will be exporting same-sex marriage possibly to every state in the nation.
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In 1996, the U.S. Congress made the following findings, "Marriage is the foundation of a successful society," and "marriage is an essential institution of a successful society which promotes the interests of children." Decades of government and social science data prove these statements are true. Yet, never in the history of the world has the institution of marriage been under such aggressive assault legally, legislatively and culturally.
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"Can a group — a church or religious charity — that opposes gay marriage keep its tax exemption if gay marriage becomes the law?" Marc Stern, general counsel for the American Jewish Congress, asked. Certainly, if the California court's logic is carried beyond California, tax exemptions and government benefits for religions and their affiliates such as church schools and social service agencies benefits will be affected.
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When Massachusetts adopted homosexual marriage, the state left a Boston Catholic adoption service no choice but to shut down or agree to place adopted children with homosexual couples. This is not because the state funded the charity, but only because the charity had to depend on a state license to operate. They were left with a decision, violate their conscience and place children with same-sex couples or shut their doors. After decades of service to the community, the Boston Catholic Adoption service was forced to shut their doors.
After New Jersey passed civil union legislation, the state removed part of the tax-exempt status from a church in Ocean Grove after the church refused, on religious grounds, to offer its gazebo for a civil union service. In Massachusetts, parents lost the right to be notified when their child's public school was going to teach on the topic of homosexuality.
Acts done in the name of freedom have shut down the freedom of the religious.
Harvard Law professor Mary Ann Glendon wrote in 2004, during the same-sex marriage debate in Massachusetts, ''The experience in other countries reveals that once these arrangements become law, there will be no live-and-let-live policy for those who differ. Gay-marriage proponents use the language of openness, tolerance, and diversity, yet one foreseeable effect of their success will be to usher in an era of intolerance and discrimination ... The ax will fall most heavily on religious persons and groups that don't go along ."
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Areas of Conflict
Tax-Exemptions and Government Benefits : Religious groups could find themselves suffering along with the Boy Scouts, as access to public facilities is stripped away. Gay-rights lawyers will likely challenge groups' federal tax-exempt status, charging that such an exemption "subsidizes discrimination." Maggie Gallagher, president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy says, "Religious groups that take government funding will almost certainly be required to play by the nondiscrimination rules, but what about groups that, while receiving no government grants, are tax-exempt?
"Can a group — a church or religious charity — that opposes gay marriage keep its tax exemption if gay marriage becomes the law?" Marc Stern, general counsel for the American Jewish Congress, says "That is the 18 trillion dollar question."
Professional Licenses : Professional licenses might also be denied to psychological clinics, social workers, marriage and family counselors, and others who believe same-sex relationships are "objectively disordered." Would family service providers affiliated with a religion that opposes same-sex marriage have to give marriage counseling to same-sex couples to help them preserve their marriage?
Religious Employers : Suppose a Catholic summer camp refuses to hire or retain employees in same-sex marriages, they could be sued on the basis of "marital status discrimination."
Religious Colleges : Colleges that refuse admission to same-sex couples could face civil lawsuits and loss of accreditation. Marc Stern says that "same-sex marriage will affect religious educational institutions, in at least four ways: admissions, employment, housing, and regulation of clubs."
Public Accommodation Laws : Many legal scholars agree that public accommodation laws can require all commercial enterprises to serve all customers. However, if same sex marriage is legal
Marc Stern asks, "What about religious camps...? Will they be considered by courts to be places of public accommodation, too? Could a religious summer camp operated in strict conformity with religious principles refuse to accept children coming from same-sex marriages? What of a church-affiliated community center, with a gym and a Little League, that offers family programs?"

Parent / Teacher Conferences

Well, tonight we went to the school to meet with the kids' teachers. I am really involved with my kids schooling, and talk to their teachers on a regular basis. So no surprises, but here's what we chatted about:

*Tyler (5th grade) - Really smart, not turning in all his work and being a total brat in class. This wasn't news to us. Tyler has had a behavior contract every year that he has been in school. Not just being mean, but because he is so annoying. He will walk around (during class) talking to other students, touching their stuff, taking their stuff and playing with it. Just generally being really annoying. To the point that he has had to be sent to another classroom to get away from his classmates and miss recesses. I have told him before that when he acts like that he is not impressing the other kids and making them want to be friend with him. He is making them think, Gad he's so annoying! I wish he'd get away from me! Not a good way to make friends. His teacher told him that when he is acting like that, he is being a bully and that is not acceptable. They are really strict about that there, and he is going to be facing a lot of trouble if he keeps it up. I let her (and him) know that John and I support that 100% because his behavior is just totally unacceptable! The hard thing is that he is one of the very youngest in his class (his birthday is 2 weeks before the cutoff) and extremely immature. However, because he is so much younger, I feel good about our position that if he doesn't start turning in all his work and behaving in class, we are going to hold him back next year. I really think it would be better for everyone if that happens, so we will see how the rest of the year goes. We have discussed this with his teacher and she agrees with us.

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*Hailey (3rd grade) - Nothing really to tell here. She has never been a problem. She turns in all her work, is at the top of her class, and very helpful. The only problems she is having are being a little to chatty (no surprise if you know her) and really needs to work on spelling. Spelling has always been her biggest problem. She spells everything just how it sounds. So that is something that we will continue to work on at home.

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*Austin (3rd grade) - Major problems here. However, I email back and forth with his teacher on a regular basis, so no surprises. He has not turned in one assignment since the beginning of school. Not kidding. He would tell his teacher that he had left it at home and then tell me he left it at school. So once we started emailing, that all stopped. However, the not completing homework continues. I just don't have 3 - 10 hours (NOT exaggerating) to stand over him and keep trying to force him to do his work . So John and I have told him that we are not going to fight him to do his work, but if he doesn't do it and gets an F on his report card he will do 3rd grade again. He is old enough to know what he is supposed to do and do it. The problem is that his whole goal in life is how little can he possibly get away with doing, and he is like that about everything. He is also having problems behaving and not doing things like having crying tantrums and going under his desk when he doesn't want to do something. Um, not acceptable. His teacher is in agreement with us, and like Tyler, he is also one of the youngest in his class. So we shall see how this year goes.

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*Camren (1st grade) - Still fighting the school to get him into speech. The school says that they usually wait til they are older, because they think he will outgrow it. I don't, because I went through the same thing with Tyler and he just graduated speech last year in 4th grade. Camren has had major speech issues since I have known him. When John and I first got married, he was 2 1/2 and could not speak intelligibly. It took me a long time of working with him, to get him to where you could understand what he was saying, but he still has stuff he needs help with. It is really frustrating. Other than that, he is doing ok. He is still behind, but I already knew that last year, so I had them enroll him this year in a program where he is getting extra help with reading and letter recognition and all that. So that is going well, and I am already starting to see improvement. However, he is having behavior issues as well. Is this a boy thing? His teacher said that she has to remind him several times an hour to be quiet, or do his work, or whatever. So we put him on contract. He will bring a chart home every day that is broken down into parts of the day and will tell how he behaved during those times. That way we know how he is behaving and he will have consequences when he's not doing what he should. I don't want his issues to turn into the major problems I have with his brothers.

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*Brooklyn (kindergarten) - She is doing good. Chatty during class, but no surprise as someone who lives with her. She is doing good with her school work and just needs more practice with her sight words. The only problem her teacher has had with her is that it takes several times to get her attention. Like if her teacher is calling her name to do something. I told her that it had been one of my concerns when she started school. Since Brooklyn was a baby, she has been in her own little world. When I tell the kids to pick up or whatever, it seems she thinks I meant everyone but her. It is very hard to get her attention and very hard to get through to her that she really has to do something that she is told to do. So that is something that we will continue working on.

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I was glad to meet with the teachers and glad that they agreed with where John and I are coming from. That is really important to me. I want to know if my kids aren't behaving or doing their work, and know where they are in terms of grade level. That's why I talk to their teachers all the time. I don't want to wait 'til the end of the year, and then have them be all, oh sorry your kid is way behind. Because if we catch it now, we can do something about it. If my kids aren't doing the work or behaving, I don't want them just passed along to the next grade when they shouldn't be. The work is only going to get harder and the expectations higher, so I think that would be a big mistake. So I guess it is just back to the daily struggle, and see how this year goes.

Family Night Fishing

We took the kids fishing for family night tonight. My best friend Christina and her 8 year old twins, Mya and David came with us. We had a lot of fun, even though we didn't catch any fish. With 8 loud kids, I didn't have any false hope of catching anything anyway. We saw them jumping in the water a ways away from us, but that's as far as they came. This was the first time I had taken my kids fishing, so they had a blast learning how, and cruising around the lake. I took so many pictures, I told John I will be able to do a whole scrapbook just from tonight. :) I can't help myself. They are so dang cute and were having so much fun! You can click on the mosaic to see the pictures closer up.

Check It Out!

I have a zillion new posts on here for September and the beginning of October. So check them out and I will be back with more posts and pics to add later. :)

Girls Night Out! or Holy Crap What Did You Just Hit With The Boat?!

Today (or I guess it is yesterday now) is my friend Christina's birthday, so we decided to have girls night out to dinner and the movies. She has 8 year old twins, so she gets out about as much as I do (never) so we were excited at the prospect of cruising around town with no kids. Then John asked if we wanted to go out on the boat, cause I had mentioned that Christina really wanted to go on the boat sometime. So we decided to go out and do some fishing. Unfortunately we were headed over to a good spot, when there was this awful noise and we knew we had hit something. John looked in the back and it had hit the propeller and screwed it up. We had only been on the water maybe 10 min, but we had to go back. We were too nervous about staying in the boat, and we wanted to pull it out and see the damage. I told him we probably hit a car (a real possibility out on Utah Lake). He was like yeah right. We pulled the boat out and saw that the whole propeller was mangled. It looked like someone had chewed the edges of it and it was all crumpled and has chunks missing out of it. Well after that, we decided to head home. We were in separate cars, so I dropped Christina and her kids off at home, with plans to go out later, and headed home to deal with the kids. I knew how upset John must be, so I just wanted to deal with them and keep them away from them. I didn't want them to be in the way and him to get mad and blow up at them. While John had a neighbor come over and look at the boat, I dealt with the kids. Luckily, it was 7:30, so I had them fed, ready for bed, and in bed in an hour or less. Yes, everyone should be totally impressed with that. Once I was convinced they would stay in their beds and behave, I went and checked with John. He said that Trent told him it probably was a car that he had hit. We looked closer at the propeller (after he had taken it off) and there were streaks of gold metallic paint on it. He said that there are dumb people who try to drive their cars out on the frozen lake. That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard! John said, go ahead and go. There's nothing you can do here. So I went to Christina's. We left her 18 year old daughter in charge, and headed out. We went to Chili's for dinner (got the fajita trio, which was wonderful!) and then headed out to the theatre. We saw Eagle Eye. It was really good. Lots of suspense and really stressful, my favorite kind of movie. On the way home, it started pouring rain, so we just sat in the driveway and talked. I had a lot of fun and I'm glad we got to go! I'm sad about the boat though. I hope propellers aren't really expensive.

Picture Day

Today was picture day at the kids' school. They were really excited and they looked so cute!! I had to get Hailey up an hour earlier than everyone else. She totally has my hair (in curliness and thickness) so it took me that whole hour to shower her, blow dry and straighten her hair. That's ok, 'cause I was prepared for it 'cause that's how long it takes to do mine. She looked so dang cute I just wanted to squeeze her guts out. Then she got dressed and I got the boys up and showered. I dressed them in matching RL polo shirts, and they looked so handsome. After everyone else was at school, I showered Brooklyn and got her ready. I was disappointed that she didn't end up wearing what I wanted her to wear (couldn't find the cute fishy clips that went to the outfit. yeah you know how compulsive I am) but she still looked cute. I took pictures of all of them at home. They're so cute I just can't stand it. I have the cutest kids ever!!

The Amazing View Out My Bedroom Window

Yep, you read that right. These pictures were taken out the window in my master bedroom. Pretty awesome view, huh? If you look closely at the first picture, you can see the American Fork temple at the base of the mountain around the middle of the picture. I love the views from my house. It is so beautiful here. The bottom 2 pictures are also from my bedroom, and if you look really closely, that white boat going across the water is John out on the lake with the girls. He decided that since the boys were all in trouble for homework issues, and the girls had been behaving (or as my kids say, "I've been having) that he would take them out for some father/daughter time on the lake. They didn't get in the water, but had a blast cruising around and watching the fish jumping in the lake.