newspaper article

Last night I was reading a great article that was in the local Redlands paper about my sweet friend Gina, but then got quickly sidetracked by a different one about prop 8. It was the point of view of a retired school teacher in that area and I thought it would be a good read...was I ever wrong. By the end of it I was seeing red,I was so mad. Honestly I couldn't even believe that they had published his hateful interview. Makes me think a little differently about that paper now!

He made his opinion known on the issue for a split second and then attacked a local school board member for the remainder of his interview. You can tell that this man has a lot of underlying issues going on. I think that anyone who can't discuss their opinion on an issue without getting SO upset has some serious issues of their own. That's the great thing about this country, that we all can have whatever opinion we want. I'm so glad that this man is retired!

He also made a point that he had a lot of former LDS friends as he went on to completely attack the church in his interview. As he went on to talk about the torture and different methods that the LDS church uses on gay members I almost fell out of my chair. Is this guy serious?? Right there I knew this guy was a lost cause and anyone who would spout off at the mouth about such false things so publicly had to have some serious issues, probably mentally. So he has former LDS friends huh, well thats really saying something for your cause. If you want to know about the Mormon church maybe you should ask a practicing member...idiot!!

Anyways...it was an interesting read and I was going to comment on the article, but there were already many that said what I would have anyway so I just left it alone. The focus on prop 8 may have to do with our kids in school being taught same sex marriage, but that's the smaller picture. It has to do with the fact of SAME SEX MARRIAGE. If this becomes an accepted norm then where do things stop...seriously. This country was founded this way for a reason. As this world becomes more and more modern we want to change everything, well if it ain't broke don't try and fix it.

Things are set for the majority right now across this country in most cases and that is how it should be!! If we as parents feel a certain way about ANY issue then it's up to us to teach our kids about it in OUR home.

On a side note...I was so excited to wake up and see the previous post on "the family" that Dustin did before he left for work this morning. Funny thing is he was asleep when I read that article last night and has no idea about it. So, you can see what the hot topics are around our house these days. :)

The Family

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

"We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed."

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah. 13 years later we are finally seeing the reality of the warning that our prophet was giving us. Please vote YES on Prop 8 (or 102 if you live in Arizona.) Lets keep our families strong.

new favorites

Christian has two new favorites and has to watch them multiple times a day, Dora the explorer and go Diego go. So funny how things change so fast and then in a few weeks he will probably want nothing to do with these shows again. Got to love childhood...I sure do!!

AZ workshop

What a great weekend this was for information. I had the opportunity to meet up with my awesome friend Jen F in Mesa and we attended the photography workshop together. It was a great chance to learn some new things and pick up some tips of the trade. It was a LONG day (like 12 hours long), but well worth it. I feel energized and ready to press forward with my hope for a successful business of my own.

While I was there Dustin and the kids ventured out to the Phoenix zoo and took in some sites of the city. I was so glad that they came along for the trip!

If you want to see a few pictures that I shot at the workshop you can check out my other blog. :)

off we go again

We are off to Mesa, AZ tomorrow for the weekend. This is the last planned trip that we know of at this point for the rest of this year. It seems like we have been gone so much lately, but it's been a blast.

I am going to attend a photography workshop and I am lucky enough that Dustin and the kids are able to go with me because he has a new position and schedule at work now. While I attend the workshop on Saturday I think that he and the kids will head to the zoo, but it's still up in the air what they are going to do. So, I found this workshop through blog surfing and am so excited. It's put on by Holly and Amanda and if it can teach me any of what they know then it will be well worth it. I am also meeting back up with Jennifer (my wedding shoot partner from last month)who will be attending with me. Am I lucky of what?!

So I'll be sure to tell you all about it when I get back. I better go finish up the prepacking stuff. Have a great weekend!

daddy son date

Saturday was Christian and Dustin's first official date night. I'm not sure how we got on the subject last week, but Dustin jumped all over the idea. He was so excited to plan their night and I had to keep reminding him to keep it simple, he's only 3. :)

He decided to take Christian to the Ontario Mills mall to Gameworks to play games and then go to the movies. Well the only cartoon playing was Igor. This was not a top pick, but was the only choice. They had a great time and our little man came home all tuckered out and daddy was loving their time together.

Chloe and I stayed home and spent some good quality time together. She is such a little character and seems to do something new everyday.

I think this is a tradition that we will keep up hopefully once a month. Maybe next month it will a date for Christian and I and as Chloe gets older she will also have date nights with us.

what the heck

So yesterday evening we put up a "yes on prop 8" sign in our yard. For those of you not in Cali this is the gay marriage prop. We live on a corner lot and have lots of traffic on the side street so we decided to put it on that side of the house. This afternoon I went outside and didn't see the sign in our yard anymore. I guess that someone didn't like the fact that we have the right to free speech and decided to rip our sign out, mangle it up and throw it across the street. I was so mad!! I went and got it straightened it out as best I could and put it right back up, but this time in the front of our house. It made me want to fill my yard with signs! How dare someone come into my yard and do that. We still can't decided on whether it was a kid just being destructive or if it was someone who really didn't like our view on things. The manner it which it was vandalized had us thinking it was someone who had a different opinion on the issue than us. Anyways, I just wanted to vent how irritated I was and that trespassers will be shot on site. Only kidding...well kind of!! :)~

do you know??

Does anyone know of places that already have there Halloween costumes on sale/clearance? I need a good deal this Halloween!! Thanks!

Chloe's birthday shoot

We finally got a chance to do Chloe's 1 year birthday shoot. The weather was nice and no one was too sick to go and have some fun. Dustin laughed at some of the things I made her wear and I'm sure that when she's older and looks back on them she will not be too happy with me, but I have to do these things while I can, right?!

wind = fun

Yesterday it was extremely windy all day. Our flag got blown down so later in the evening I went out to pick it up. Well Christian wanted to go with me and help and was he ever glad he did. He discovered how much fun the wind really could be!

yes, they still have the right stuff

So this was the weekend that has been a long time coming. I'm talking about the New Kids On The Block concert of course!! Saturday night really was all that I could have hoped for and more. Natasha Bedingfield was the opening performer and she was great...love her! As soon as NKOTB took the stage I swear I was 12 years old again. I was dancing and singing along to songs that I thought I had forgotten...it was great. They sang both new and old songs and totally played up the 80's vibe at times, so funny. It was fun to see all the age groups there. You had teenages to 50 somethings and eveything in between. And you had to love the girls that dressed totally 80's and still had the original shirts and jackets from back in the day. They really did give a GREAT performance and it was well worth the trip.

So here are the few negatives about the trip. Weird weather! It was actually cold and windy there so not really the best conditions for walking around with the kids in. At one point during the concert Jonathan came out wearing an Obama T-shirt, so that took him down a few notches on my list. Then I had to take a taxi back to our hotel because it was late and the kid were already asleep. I got the typical crazy looking, talking , driving taxi driver and was thankful to make it back to my hotel alive. And the tickets said NO cameras allowed so I didn't even attempt to bring one. Big mistake! Everyone in there had one so I was really mad that I decided to play by the rules that night. I did take a few pictures with my cell phone, or should I say tried to. They came out really bad! At least I have the memories right!! :)

And I have to give a BIG shout out to my awesome hubby. He made the quick trip with me and for me. Watched the kids and never complain about it and I know they were a bit crazy at times. Yes, I really do have the best hubby ever and I owe him BIG time!

Getting ready to go



bad cell phone pictures

new blog

Some of you have been asking and some of you may not even know about my new blog. Well I have been working on a blog for just my photography. This is the first step towards making this a "REAL" business. I have been encouraged by many to do this and I have a great mentor so I will give it my best. The blog is still under construction and will be changing soon, but it's a start and I wanted to share it with you. So stop by and say hi, tell me what you think and mostly just give me your support...I need it!

where have I been & where am I going?

So what's with the lack of posts the past few days you might be wondering. We have hit flu season...that's what! Chloe and Christan have been trying to fight it since last week and didn't win the battle. We took Christian to the doc Wednesday evening because he had only got 3 hours sleep the night before(that means so did I)because he couldn't breath. I didn't want him to have another night like that. Turns out his asthma was also flared up so they gave him a treatment and that seemed to help. So the past 2 days I have been sick and now Dustin is also. :( Dustin also got a new position at work so we have been adjusting to a new schedule this week. Let's just say it's been a crazy week!

Tomorrow night is the NKOTB concert and sadly I am still too sick to be excited yet. All I keep thinking is "I sure hope I can see straight by then." We leave for Vegas bright and early in the morning so hopefully we ALL get a good nights sleep and feel better. WE decided to just stay the one night and got a really good deal and are staying at Caesar's Palace. I'm so excited because I've never stayed there before. So keep your fingers crossed that we feel better and have a good time!

tagged

I was tagged with this fun one...thanks Kristin. Go to your fourth picture file and pick the fourth picture.

This was Chloe and I this past 4Th of July after getting ready for the days festivities, how ironic. :)

I tag Jen C, Michelle, Letti, Shellie and whoever else wants a trip down memory lane. :)

another reason to love fall

So Dustin came home from the store with these last night.



This is one of my favorite colors and I love that during this time of year we get to see so much of it. Yea for fall!!

more of our AZ trip

So although we did go to Arizona specifically for a wedding we did have lots of fun along the way. It turned out to be a good little family trip.

My crazy rash from last summer came back. This was not a highlight of the trip! I guess it wasn't a pregnancy rash as I first thought, but at least it stayed on only my arms this time.


We decided to take a little detour and visit the Grand Canyon. It sure was amazing! We didn't stay very long or get to explore too much so we will return again someday to do that. I must admit that it was long enough for me this time because my issue with heights kicked in and I was a bit sick for a while after.


I got to visit with Jennifer and the kids got to play, play, play! Poor Jen's house!! :)


One of the stops on the way home was Winslow, AZ. We wanted to see what the Eagles were singing about, turned out to be nothing too exciting. They did have a Sonic though so we stopped.


We also stopped at this giant crater that Dustin wanted to see. He had been there as a kid and wanted us to see it as a family. He didn't think it was as cool as he did when he was a kid, but I thought it was pretty darn cool.


We were planning on driving straight home, but then again decided to detour and spend the night in Laughlin. We drove the strip to see where we wanted to stay and then called mom and she was nice enough to book us a room since we couldn't get our phone internet to work. The kids were being silly in their car seats while waiting.


Christian enjoyed the view of the river and the boats from our room and the cow along the walk.


We enjoyed room service and not dealing with over tired kids in a resturant.

October is also...

breast cancer awareness month. I know that many people don't like to think about this, but we have too. This is something that is very close to my heart as it has affected my family. As a woman make sure you have your yearly exams. Maybe do it the same time every year so you remember. Maybe the beginning of the year, October is an easy one to remember, or maybe your birthday month. 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and so I want those I care about most to do all they can to prevent it. Love you!!

our week in review

This last week has seemed like a long one. Maybe it's because we had a busy start to the week or maybe it's been the lack of sleep, who knows. After getting back from AZ on Monday we had to jump right into birthday party mode for Chloe on Tuesday. Dustin had jury duty Tuesday and Wednesday and he was really hoping to get picked, but no luck. Chloe had her 1 year check up on Wednesday and felt sick for about two days afterwards. Now she has a slight cold too, no fun! Christian also has been acting sick the past few days off and on so I'm not really sure whats going on there. Hopefully it just goes away! :) And sleep with Chloe has become an issue again. For about the past 3 weeks it takes about 3-4 times of putting her down for bed at night to finally stick. And for about the past week and a half she has been waking up several times during the night. It's frustrating to say the least, but I just hate waking up as tired as I was when I went to bed the night before! Hopefully this phase ends soon, I remember Christian going through something like this when he was her age.

Here are some of the happenings in our home this week.

Chrisitan decided to decorate the table and TV with his new crayons from Jennifer

We managed to get a few Fall decorations up

Then Jenny and cousin Alex stopped by and he and Christian had a debate about who was better...Goofy or Mickey Mouse. Christian was rooting for Mickey Mouse!