Finally!

OK, two things: Did you notice my new pic? I've got a new hairstyle again...it's a sickness. About a week ago, I got it cut and weaved. I got ready for work on Monday and had some time to kill before I needed to leave for work so I took some pictures.

Second, we got a new laptop. Our other one had to be fixed 3 times in about 6 weeks and on the fourth time (all for the same issue) they decided to junk it and give us a new one. Thank goodness we bought the warranty. I like this new one much better. I didn't realize I didn't like the other one until we started looking around at the new ones. And I finally got our desktop out of the box it's been packed in for two years (since we moved here) and set it up at our desk. I bought a network cable and hooked it up to our wireless connection. So now we have two computers that have internet access. I know I'm behind the times just getting two computers in the same house, but it's exciting for me!

We finally got our computer back yesterday. It's been in the shop 3 times in the last 5 weeks or so. Best Buy told us if it happens again, they will get us a new computer. It's been the same problem each time. It won't charge. They've changed the mother board twice. It's good to have it back!

Interesting to watch election night, huh? We started with CNN, switched to a recorded SNL Presidental Bash and then back to CNN. I didn't vote for Obama and I was a little worried at first, but after talking to David, I feel much better. I do think he will be good for the mood of the country. I think he will be good for our associations with other countries. I don't think he's going to make any huge changes. There is too much chaos right now for him to be able to do that. We have a government that is balanced. Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. All meant to work together and to make sure one branch doesn't have all of the power. I hope he is serious about reigning in the government spending (and I do believe he is). As for his questionable associations: he will not have them in his cabinet. We are going to have some rough years, but seriously, would they be less rough if McCain were in charge? I highly doubt it. The republicans have not done a good job in the white house recently and the people know it. The largest increase in government since Lyndon Johnson? Really? Anyway, I've talked to David and prayed about it and I feel fine! I think it's fantastic that we have a black president. I think it says a lot to the rest of the world. Enough about that!

I'm so excited! I'm finally going to spend an evening scrapbooking at the Red Bee! Yea! We have a design team meeting and then after that there is a crop until midnight. I need to get some recent photos printed. I need to get better about posting layouts.

David's brother Daren is coming to visit for a few days this week/weekend. That will be nice. Not sure what we have planned. I'm leaving that up to David.

Well I've got laundry and a dirty bathroom calling my name, so I'm off!

Grandma's visit

My mom came to visit us a couple of weekends ago. She drove down here (by herself) from Eastern Oregon. After she left us she drove to Las Vegas to visit her aunt/uncle/cousins and then on to Provo and Tooele to visit my brother Dave and his girlfriend and brother Dan and his family. I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted to. I just forget! Mom made apple butter with the girls and also brought them an ice shaver for snowcones (and about 4 different syrups). It was nice visiting with her. We didn't really do anything exciting...just hung out and relaxed. I hope she had a nice time. We are really enjoying the apple butter Mom! Thanks!

I'm thankful for: my Mom, my good childhood, rain

Update coming soon!

Sorry I haven't posted anything for almost a month. Our computer has been "in the shop" for 3 weeks! I've been able to check my email at work a few times. I'm hoping to get some new pictures up today. Stay tuned!

NOTE: These pictures are supposed to be at the bottom (that's where they fall in the story).

Yesterday David and I spent the morning spreading the word about Proposition 8, which will be on the ballot here in California in November. We knocked on a few doors, but people weren't home. We are working with the "Yes on Prop 8" campaign. Prop 8 is an amendment to the state constitution that says, "Only marriage etween a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." It's the same wording as Prop 22, which was passed in 2000 by a 61.4% majority. It was overturned by a 4-3 vote of the California Supreme Court and that's why it's on the ballot as a constitutional amendment. If the people vote yes, it will re-establish traditional marriage as the law. A no vote will allow the legalization of same-sex marriage. It's about preserving marriage; it's not an attack on the gay lifestyle. It wouldn't take away the legal rights of same-sex couples. Under California's domestic partner law, they already have (and would keep) all the rights that a state can grant to a married couple. If this amendment is not passed, teachers could be disciplined and dismissed if they do not teach that both are equally approved in society. (They are required by Education Code 51890 to instruct children about marriage in health education class.) Also, churches that are open to the public (almost all) would be required to perform marriages for same-sex couples if asked, whether it goes against their teachings or not. If they refuse to perform those marriages they will lose their tax-exempt status. If you are interested in reading more you can go to http://www.protectmarriage.org/. Anyway, we are just trying to figure out which voters are yes, no, or undecided. We were not trying to talk anyone into changing their minds. Since we didn't have much luck at the doors, we came home and called people. That was better, but we still had to leave quite a few messages. The responses were mostly positive. Between the two of us, we were only hung up on 3 times. Not bad. I'm not sure exactly how many phone numbers we called, but it was over 60 for sure. In case any of you are wondering: The members of the church in California have been encouraged by the First Presidency to donate our time and money to this cause. As most of you know, the church does not ever tell us (or even suggest) for whom we vote, but because this is a moral issue, the church has taken a stand. I hate to think what this might lead to if it is defeated. We have been asked by the man on the watchtower to really get involved. I am so grateful to have a prophet that we can look to for guidance and direction. I'm grateful for the scriptures and the lessons we learn from reading about people who fall away from the teachings of the Lord.

Back to the story:

So when we finished with that David started cleaning out the garage. How do we get so much stuff? He had a garbage/recycling pile, a give away pile and a keep pile. He hung more hooks for bikes, reorgainzed cycling gear, tools, nuts/bolts/screws, etc. He was out there for hours (and I helped some, too!). It was really hot. After he finished the garage we went to Target for a few things. Well, David has a driving game for the Playstation and for his birthday I gave him a steering wheel/pedals for it. He's been holding it on his lap which isn't ideal when you are trying to race a super car. At Target he found a black wooden TV tray and a black folding chair with a cushion. When he got the steering wheel attatched to the tray he realized that it was a little heavy on that side. So, (joking) I said, maybe you should put a big soda and a plate of nachos on the other side to weigh it down. Five minutes later, and his problem is solved. Notice how close this set up is to the TV.

Can anyone tell me how to get my photos in places other than the top of my post?

First day of school

Well, it's come and gone. Sara loves her teacher. She's tall...6'1", and is "super fun!". Lauren's favorite class is yearbook. Dallin likes high school. He refused to let me get a picture of him and I didn't have the camera ready so he escaped before I could get it out!

Our adventure with friends

Our very good friends, Chris and Michelle, flew down from Portland to visit us for Labor Day. We had a wonderful time and we picked up right where we left off! Sara loved doing word searches and crosswords puzzles with Michelle. On Saturday, we all got on bikes (thank goodness for our little "bike shop" in the garage) and rode 15 (yes, 15) miles to the beach. It took us an hour and 45 minutes to get there. Chris rode one of David's bikes, Michelle rode my bike, I rode Lauren's mountain bike, Lauren rode her cruiser, Dallin rode one of David's bikes (not sure why, as he has four of his own), and David rode the extracycle with Sara on the back. We had all of our baskets filled with sunscreen, snacks, water bottles, and towels. David had more of all of that and a beach blanket and beach umbrella. We rode on the Mountain-to-Sea Trail that passes right by our house. We played in the water, went to a pizza shop and an ice-cream shop, sat on the beach and read books and magazines and played in the ocean some more. Then it was time to get back on the bikes and ride home. It only took an hour and 15 minutes to get back. So we rode a total of 30 miles that day! It was so great! And no one crashed or had any bike trouble.

I'm thankful for great friends, a beach close by, and bicycles.