Presidential Election

So, it's over and McCain didn't win, which I kind-of knew would happen but I had hoped it wouldn't. But I just got to move on and start using my quote from an earlier post...."Oh Crap! A Democrat!!"

Now that I've said that I want to say something in contrast to it.

I want to say that I am really really sad that Obama isn't a conservative. I would have loved nothing more than to be a part of this historic election and be able to say that I voted for the first Black President, but I can't, which makes me sad :( I am so grateful that this time has come, I just wish Obama didn't support Abortion!

Now for those of you who are in Utah thinking..."What are you talking about? Racism is long gone and in the past! Who cares what color a person is? Aren't we past that yet?" All I can say is that NO we are not but we, as a nation, are obviously moving in the right direction. Here in Utah, we live in a bubble and not just a religious bubble. We also live in a "no one is racist anymore" bubble because people here in Utah usually aren't racist but the hard truth is that there are many places, especially down south, that are still VERY VERY racist. The KKK is very much still functioning and still teaching their children that the white race is superior. They still put ads in the papers about their meetings and they even "adopt a highway" which then states that the highway is being taken care of by the KKK. Yeah, it's still going strong!

When we lived in Texas, Greg quickly learned where he could take us when he went out of town (sometimes we'd go with him on his business trips) and where he couldn't. Even though Hannah is a lighter skinned African-American, it wouldn't have mattered. There are idiots out there and they are filled with hatred!

For the past few years I have been slowly introducing the subject of racism to Hannah because it is going to be something that she has to deal with. There are many really good books that help in this area. My favorite is "The Other Side", which teaches kids that "someday someone's gonna come along and tear down this fence" which separated the blacks and the whites. It's a really cute story and Hannah absolutely loves it! Now along with those kind of books I've been encouraging her to read about Black History and the brave individuals that have affected this country. She never seemed too interested in them until just recently. It began with Rosa Parks. I read her the story and I could see the pain in her eyes. It hit her! She finally understood that just because Rosa was darker skinned she was treated very unfairly. Something just clicked and it registered that that could have been her. We have talked a lot about it since then. She continues to bring home African American books from the school library. In fact the other day, she was saying something about "the white people" when she stopped quickly and turned to me and said, "No offense mom cuz I know you're kind-of white". To which I replied, "I'm not kind-of white, I'm extremely white!" It was a good moment to talk about the fact that many white people were fighting for the rights of black people and that not all white people feel the same way. We talked about the Civil War and I helped her understand that it's not a whole race that are haters, it's a group on individuals who are choosing to be haters and they happen to all be white. Hannah decided that if the black people would have just treated the white people the same way the white people were treating them, then the white people would've realized how much sadness and pain they were in and would then realize that they shouldn't make others feel that way. They would realize they were wrong. I thought to myself about how wonderful that would've been if that's all it would've taken but we know that some blacks did return the violence and it just created a bigger separation between the two colors. If only everyone could see each other through our Savior's eyes then we'd just see each other as brothers and sisters!

So anyway, to make a long story short, when Obama won, Hannah was sad because she was rooting for McCain (she came home from school rooting for McCain. I asked her why she chose McCain and she said that she supports his view on the war. She then brought out two fliers that the kids had been given with the views of both presidential nominees. She came to the decision by herself. I was proud of her). Anyway, I tried to smooth the loss over by explaining to her how historic this election was and even though Obama doesn't share our views, he would still keep in mind what he feels will be best for our nation and that he was still a great man, even though we disagree on the topics. It seemed to help her move on.

So then the next day, I brought in the newspaper and sat it on the coffee table in the entry room. When Hannah came home she started freaking out. I asked her why and she said, "I thought McCain didn't win?" Confused, I walked over to her to see what she was looking at. On the front of the newspaper was a picture of Obama. I clarified with her that McCain didn't win and that Obama did, then I pointed at his photo. She thought for a second and then said, "This is Obama?" and I said yes. She went on to say, "Oh, I thought this was McCain!" She thought that the white haired guy was Obama and that she liked the brown haired guy because he was brown like her. But then she said that she liked the guy who wanted to keep people safe in Iraq and not leave them. So, I'm not sure if she really like Obama all along or if she just got there photos mixed up but whatever it was, I'm glad that she had her first experience with voting and that she's realizing that she will have a say when she's old enough. When I was 8 yrs old, the only thing I knew about the President was the Oscar Meyer Wiener song that included the line, "Jimmy Carter has a way of screwing up the USA." Pathetic, I know!

So to bring this all together, I'm happy that we will soon have a black president but I'll be happier if our next black president is a conservative!!

Reflections of Christ

Last week for Family Home Evening, we went to go see the "Reflections of Christ" by Mark Mabry art display at the Joseph Smith Memorial building. It was really moving and I am so glad that we got to see these wonderful photographs in person.

I will include the link to the slideshow so that you can see it. I love the song used. I wish it wouldn't have been taken out of the hymn book :( Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

2nd Annual "Ball" Halloween Party

We went to a fun Halloween Party that the Ball's threw...it's always a good time at the Ball's house! It was tons of fun to see everyone's outfits. Here are the photos of the couples from that night...


Mr. & Mrs. George Washington-AKA: Aaron & Catey
If you ever wondered how Aaron looks with hair, there's no need to wonder any more!


The Hunter and Her Prey-AKA: Tiffany & Mike
Is this a reinactment of their wedding ceremony? Hmmmmm...I wonder! Jk :)


Nacho Libre & The Nun (Encarnasia?)-AKA: Cory & Amy
I can't believe you made that Nacho outfit Amy, that's amazing!! Thanks for introducing us to the "4 guys on a couch" game, that was a lot of fun!!


Highschool Athletes-AKA: Steve & Ashley
I'm glad that Steve decided to put on his spandex. I heard it was a bit scary prior to the costume alteration.


Wendy & Peter Pan-AKA: Rheanna & Justin
I didn't realize that Peter wore shorts? Hmmmmm???? Jk :)


The Greek Scholar & his Greek Goddess-AKA: Greg and Celeste
Nothing like seeing my man in a skirt! His legs looked so sexy with his wrap around shoes on! :)


The Gypsie & her Jedi ???? -AKA: Kammi & Kevin
Not sure how they go together but hey, whatever works!

Now if you are waiting to see videos from this most festive event, you will be waiting a really long time! The "video nazi" wouldn't allow me to take any videos, infact he took my camera and hid it so that I couldn't. I know, the fun is ruined!! You can thank your favorite High School Athlete for the lack of movement on this post!

Happy Halloween!

This Halloween turned out to be a great one! The weather was really nice, except for the occasional raindrop. It felt like a Texas Halloween where you can go out without a coat & gloves & scarf & earmuffs & 3 layers of clothing and not be cold!! It was WONDERFUL!!

So, I had decided early on that Gabe was going to be a scarecrow. Infact, he was going to wear the same outfit that Hannah did when she was almost 2yrs. Now of course, Gabe is 2 1/2 but he's a bit smaller than Hannah was. When Hannah heard that Gabe was going to be a scarecrow she immediately insisted on being one also. She's so cute that way! She loves her little brother and it shows in everything she does with & for him :)

Here are the photos from the fun night. Enjoy!

These are the photos of Hannah and Gabe in the "scarecrow" outfit. It's so cute to see them next to each other. I remember making it for my little baby girl! I can't believe she's now almost 8 yrs old!! Just crazy! This might become a fun little tradition for our family. Every kid is a scarecrow when they're 2 yrs old, then I can make a cute scrapbook page of all of them. Of course, that does require more children, so maybe that won't happen. Do you think we'll celebrate Halloween in the Millenium?!?! :) jk!

My two little scarecrows!

Hannah being her cute little self. She has such a great fun personality. I wish I could say that she got that from me but we all know she didn't! I'm a little more.....serious :)

The wagon began as a wonderful idea but by the end of the night, we weren't sure if it was. It turned into a competition to see who could sit into it first and that was inbetween EVERY house!! It made for a long night with having to stop and wait for them to climb in then walk to the next house and have them climb out. Then the whole race to get to the wagon to be the first one in....COMPLETE NIGHTMARE!! But the kids seemed to enjoy it and isn't that what it's all about? ;)

Too Funny!

One of my friends emailed this to me. I thought it was hilarious! (No offence to those Dems. out there).

Those may be my same words when Nov 4th rolls around. "Oh crap! A Democrat!" It'll make for a long 4 years!! :)

"Twinkies"

So, I have been wanting to do this post for a long time. It's funny because as I kept procrastinating it, I kept capturing more moments that had to be added to it.

Steve and Greg are on their own wave-length and it's one that they seem to share...they often dress like each other. Ashley and I are beginning to wonder if it's a planned thing but they claim it's not. They also act like it's annoying to them but we see the underlying joy that they find from being "twinkies". But I must admit, they make a handsome package of Twinkies :)

Here are some photos that I have captured showing that maybe they were separated at birth or something....very strange!


Here are the "Twinkies" in their matchy-matchy work shirts. See the "joy" on their faces? They loved it!!


Then they decided to go play a little "Guitar Hero", which gave me another opportunity for a "twinkie shot".


Here they are sportin' their blue-stripy shirts. Come on now...this wasn't planned? Hmmmmmm? Not sure if I believe that!


So these next three photos are a storyline for their fascination of being like each other....enjoy!


Here they are just hanging out chit-chattin' about how awesome it is that they are wearing the same pants though Steve's buttons had fallen off, which he was devastated about. How can he be like Greg if his buttons have fallen off?!?! A tragedy!


Then they realize that I was taking photos of them so they have to put on the "I'm gonna fight ya cuz you're wearing my pants" act. Come on now! You can totally see through their facade!!


Then they just couldn't handle it anymore...holding up a false front can be exhausting!! So they had to strike their "we're cool cuz we're twinkies" pose for the camera. It was almost automatic for them, like second nature. I'm sure it's a tough habit to break!!


So, my final comment would be....If you we're a twinkie, what would you give your other half for their birthday? Well, let's just see....

A bone. Not what I would have expected but to each their own :) Enjoy the bone Greg!

Cornbelly's

For Family Night, we went with the Hanks family to "Cornbelly's" at Thanksgiving Pointe. It was such a nice evening. The weather was perfect. Here are some fun moments....


Gabe and Mommy


Gabe and Daddy


All the kids. Don't they look cute as barnyard animals?


In the "David Archuleta" corn maze, Which way should we go? It was fun because they had David Archuleta's music playing while we were trying to find our way out. Very cool....love him! :)


David Archuleta Pumpkin.


The guys acting like kids!


Buddy and his new friend, Mr. Ghost. He walked up and gave him a hug and a kiss. Too cute!!


"Get that corn out of my face!!"


The kids got to play in a swimming pool of corn kernals. They had a blast! Except for Gabe who had a kernal stuck inbetween his "cheeks" and we didn't find it until we were getting him ready for bed and was changing his diapers. That couldn't have been comfortable!!


Here is a pic of the sunset. I had hoped for a really colorful one like last year but this is what I got. But it's still beautiful!


Greg got a little tired of the "big boy" toys so he decided to play with the "kid toys" :)


Hannah and Gabe in the "Pumpkin Princess'" carriage.


This was my favorite! It's a real pumpkin (unlike the David pumpkin) carved with Pres. Hinckley on it. Some people have way too much talent and possibly a little too much time on their hands as well!! Unlike those of us who sit infront of the computer and blog all day! :)