I love this graphic, I just found it on pinterest. I probably spend too much time on there...

So, I came across some old photo's of the girls (6months ago ;) and I got a little sombre. They are growing up so quickly I don't even know what to do with myself anymore because they are so big and can basically take care of themselves! The other day they had a blast coloring and cutting out paper dolls. They actually did a good job cutting them out too.  It is time to start soaking in the wonder of childhood, because it slips through your fingers. Before I know it they are going to be adults! That will be weird. It's weird that I am an adult.
Anyway, just a random thought.

Catching UP.

 We went to the balloon festival for the first time since we moved to Utah three years ago. We got up and got ready, and when daddy got home from work we took off down to Provo. It was awesome. I wasn't sure how I would like it, but i really did, and so did the girls. WE got there at 6:30 am. All the hot air balloons filled up and took off and they did some competitions. We stayed for a while and saw some of our friends, Cindy, and the Glaus family. Pretty fun. Now I can say that I did it. Oh, and those bows, my neighbor Haley made them for me. She was teaching me how to do it, but basically, she made them for me! Cute huh? I want to make some more, I just need to invest in some good bows!

 We spend a LOT of time at the pool during the summer. They love it. Our favorite spot is still the Lindon pool. We went there yesterday and loved it. It was around 87 degrees, and there was no crowd. I loved it! We have passes to Seven Peaks, but I DO NOT like it. I go there at least weekly, but everytime I am so exhausted and do not enjoy any of it while I am there. There is just tooo many people there. I do not like big crowds. Plus I am yelling at Olivia all day because she is always running off. Not that I blame her. It is fun for kids and there are lots of distractions. It is just really scary when I lose her in a crowd of a million people in the wave pool. Next time we go I am going to force her to wear a life jacket.

 A couple weeks ago we were so happy to visit with Aunt Shannon and the cousins, (Shaun too) But mostly the girls were happy to play with Claire! They swam forever with her at their Grandpa and Grandma Peterson's. They had fun the day before at Ray and Sara's in Provo too. We just wish that they lived closer. We loved living so close to them in Hanford;) Good memories.

Olivia's new time out spot!


Just Kidding, but very tempted..... Provo put on the Colonial Days as part of the Freedom Festival. They set up a little colony just like in old Massachussates, and they had weaving, games, town hall re-enactments, school, dress ups, and food. It was very cool, and so informative. I am so lucky to be able to take my kids to things like this, where they can learn about our history.

That pretty much sums it up. We keep busy now that the campaign is over. Maybe I will blog more, to fill the void that the Dan Liljenquist Campaign left. Sometimes I just don't know what to do with my time. Although, I could help out on the Mia Love campaign. She is getting national recognition right now. I am coaching basketball at Mountain View High School now. It is fun to play ball again.I will try and be more consistent on this blog.

The End of the Campaign Trail with Dan Liljenquist

So, since January I have been working on the Dan Liljenquist campaign for US Senate. It is all over now, and Dan lost. he got around 73,000 votes. Hatch got 130,000 votes. I was really hoping he would win of course. But I am so glad that I got involved on this campaign. I discovered more about the political world, met some really awesome people. I think everyone should get involved on a campaign, so they can see what really goes on.

This is a quote that Dan Shared with all of us. I  love it.

Here is one final thought from Theodore Roosevelt:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

If I Could Go Back In Time

I helped fold t-shirts at a volunteer party for Dan Liljenquist for US Senate last night. Volunteering for this campaign has been a wonerfull opportunity and I have met some really awesome people. I met one lady last night that just moved here from Washington. She has 10 kids. We somehow got on the subject of childbirth. It seems to me that childbirth in the hospital is highly politicized. It seems like everything is...But I digress. Anyway we all swapped stories about our kids and she urged me to blog about mine. So here it is.
So I had been married a bout three months and thought I was pregnant. I was finishing up my last semester for my teaching credential at Sac State. So I went to the student clinic on campus for a pregnancy test. As you can imagine I was feeling pretty nervous and unsure about everything. Anyway the doctor comes in to the room with the results and says, "Congratulations! You're pregnant!"  And then she asks, "Are you going to keep it?"
I was in shock at the moment. My first pregnancy, newly married, a moment that should have been wonderful and happy and memorable. But instead this woman asks me if I am going to abort my baby????
      So, here I am 4 and a half years later, and hopefully a little wiser. This is what I would have said. Uh hem....
First, I would have repeated the question back to here, "Am I going to keep it?" "Do you mean, am I going to kill my baby?"

Restate the question back to her. Because that validates HER. And then show her that you really UNDERSTAND WHAT SHE MEANT. I would stay calm and smile ( although that is very hard to do). I would simply as her, "Would you rather that I murder my unborn child? Because babies are so indispensable to you people."
"No thanks. I am planning on having lots of children and staying home to raise them all. I believe in the family. I believe in traditional family values. I don't believe in killing unborn BABIES.

So next time I will be ready, if there is a next time. Because you really just have to repeat back them what they said to you. That's all it takes for them to see their own stupidity.

CTR Hero

For Primary, Maggie got to take home the CTR Hero. For one week, (actually two because we had Stake conference last week) She had the opportunity to serve, help out, and try to choose the right. When she did choose the right we took a picture with the Superhero. It was so fun. And it has really helped reinforce and teach how to choose the right. I just love my little girls. The LOVE to learn, and they LOVE to choose the right. And they LOVE to be praised for it. This has been a blessing for our family. They really understand the concept of choosing the right now. It's not rocket science, if you teach your kids, they will learn!
Oh and the last picture is of Maggie's face. We were swinging downstairs, and she accidentally leaned back and flipped over. She kept holding on though and scraped her face across the floor. It scabbed up pretty good too! Awesome.

Gak

The girls went to the middle school to see Ali's puppet show. They LOVE ali.










I have been wanting to try the homemade gak recipe since I have seen it on pinterest. I found a recipe in the cookbook from Kris, from her old ward in Shingle Springs. All it is is elmers glue, borax and water. So awesome. The girls love it. At first I thought it wasn't working because it was all runny, but after another 10 minutes the borax finally finished the job on tha telmers glue. The girls sit and play with it for hours, literally. These pictures are from the runny stage, so they don't do it justice. But what fun! Happiness is homemade;)

Just Ordinary Days

 (What's wrong with this picture?) Olivia sure is looking up to Joseph Smith.

 We went to Temple Square. We were there as soon as the lights turned on. Although it wasn't quite the same without snow. While taking this picture I sat in a puddle of water.

 We started off our day eating sushi at Tepanyaki. YUM!  I love sushi.

This temple is so beautiful and majestic. I haven't even gone there yet to do a session. Lame! But I will. I went for my cousin's sealing. So I have been inside once. I am so thankful for the pioneers, and the prophets who sacrificed so that we could enjoy all this. We got the movie 17 Miracles for christmas, and I was bawling my eyes out. why did they have it so hard and we have it so easy? It was physically hard for them. But maybe it is harder spiritually and emotionally now as much as it was physically for them. Anyway, I am in awe of Henderson and Jehu, who crossed the plains, the former in the Mo. Battalion and the later in a handcart co. Actually Kenny's ancestors crossed the plains too, and his relative was Parley p Pratt! So I am certain that our ancestors at least crossed paths. weird.

Maggie and Olvia's first real big birthday party

First the kids decorated their crowns.













Here they are "slaying the dragon" pinata! So fun!



















We had cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, chocolate dipped marshmallows dipped in sprinkles, and cake. The marshmallows were the hit of the party. I think anything on a stick, and anything with sprinkles is a winner for the kids.



























We had a party! It was a princess and knights party.




There is Jack in the back with his shield. The boys got shields. And the girls ended up with shields too:)




So the party was a success. I was happy that it went well. When the kids started showing up they decorated their crowns and shields. After all the kids finished we played some party games. We played pass the slipper, find the slipper, we had a royal ball with freeze dance. Then they played and danced to jack johnson music for a bit. Then we read the paper bag princess. The girls are in love with this book. So glad we got it. After we read the book I asked the kids if being a princess is really just about having nice clothes, and they shouted "yes". I ended the discussion shortly after that and we went downstairs to slay the dragon. Daddy and Uncle Trevor helped with the dragon.
After the dragon was beheaded we came upstairs for cake and presents! So fun. Thank you to all our friends and family who came and shared in our celebration. Thank you catherine for taking pictures and Alice for helping with the crowns and jewels. We had so much fun.

Santa and a horse carriage ride

It seems weird that it's Christmas because there is no snow. It's like a California christmas. We had fun tonight visiting Santa at the Riverwoods. There were tons of lights everywhere and we waited in line for an hour for a free carriage ride. Oh well. The girls told santa they wanted a "dolly" Well, Maggie said she wanted a dolly and then Olivia said she wanted a bigger giant dolly. Good times.