Halloween '08

Any guesses who we're dressed up as for Halloween? That's right Joseph and Emma Smith.

Please enjoy the video of some Thriller dance moves in our living room.

Pumpkinland

Today our ward playgroup went to Pumpkinland. It has become one our traditions to go to Pumpkinland every year with the kids in costume to take pictures. As you can see, Holden is an adorable Carebear and Marcus is Barney. Marcus was Barney last year but didn't mind one bit being Barney again (I bought him an elephant costume that was beyond cute but had to be returned because it was way too small for him). While at Pumpkinland, we also enjoyed a cornmaze, animals, and fun play areas.

Kjell's New Secretary

"Corndogs"

On Thursday we went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point, a virtual fall paradise for little kids. We were there for almost 3 hours enjoying a hayride, the cow train, the kiddie corral, jumping pillows, pig races, slides, corn mazes, and countless other activities. Now Marcus begs to go back to "Corndogs" (a food I recently...and reluctantly...introduced to him that he loves).

Photo 1 - Holden handing me a kernel he found in the wagon.

Photo 2 - Not quite getting the "corn maze" concept.

Photo 3 - Marcus' favorite activity - a cow train pulled by a tractor through a pumkin patch. Yes, we see you picking your nose.

Master Bath

We started using our master bathroom this week! It was quite the process to tile and once that was finished it took over 5 months for the vanity to arrive! Once the vanity was installed we quickly added the fixtures and toilet. Now I'm on the hunt for a mirror.

I had originally picked out ceramic tile for the bathroom but stumbled upon this gorgeous marble at Costco of all places and couldn't resist (especially since it cost less then the ceramic tile!) Still, hauling box after box after box from the shelf to the cart (which I could barely push) to the trunk and into the house (the marble had to be warm before being installed so it wouldn't crack as easily) was no easy task. Marcus and Holden were no help. Did I mention we ended up doing 3 bathrooms in this marble? Of course, looking back it was worth it and maybe I even built up some muscle along the way...

Photo 1 - We converted a bedroom into the master bathroom.

Photo 2 - How much of our house looked after we moved in. No fun.

Photo 3 - The master shower. This is now covered in marble from floor to ceiling.

Photo 4 - Our luxurious bathtub. I'm sure I'll enjoy in for years to come.

The BIG 65

Happy birthday Dad!

Photos - Dad (in the baseball cap) recently supervised/engineered a heavy lift in San Diego. They lifted a turban and generator (250 tons apiece) aboard the m/v Jean Anne.

Next year I'll be posting retirement pictures....

Proposition 8

You don’t think Proposition 8 will affect you? Here are six ways Christians will be effected if Proposition 8 does not pass:

1. Children in public schools will be taught that both traditional marriage and same-sex marriage are okay.
The California Education Code already requires that health education classes instruct children about marriage. (§51890)
Therefore, if the definition of marriage is changed, children will be taught that marriage is a relationship between any two adults. This will be very confusing for our children.

2. Churches will be sued if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings that are open to the public.
The civil rights activists could fight to keep our church from doing temple marriages since same-sex couples could not be married in our temple or in our churches.

3. Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father.
Children deserve to be in a home with a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston have already closed its doors because of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

4. Religions that sponsor private schools and provide housing for married students will be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if it runs counter to church doctrine, or the church will lose tax exemptions and benefits.

5. Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages will be sued for hate speech and could be fined by the government. It has already happened in Canada, one of six countries that have legalized gay marriage.
Bishops, stake presidents, and other clergy of other faiths would be liable for hate speech if they taught their congregation that same-sex marriage or same-sex relations are sinful. This is taking away our freedom of religion!

6. It will cost you money. A change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits. Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today’s activist judges), think of the money – your money, your church contributions – that will have to be spent on legal fees.
As you can see, our rights will be drastically effected by this election. If same sex marriage is legalized in California I worry that the new definition of marriage will spread like wildfire and our children will reap the consequences. We should have the right to worship as we please—this is why our ancestors came to America in the first place.
But what about equal rights you say? The Gays and Lesbians of California will not lose any rights or benefits for their families if this proposition passes. However, if it does not pass, we (Latter-Day-Saints) could lose everything, including the right to preform temple marriages or civil marriages in our churches. Civil activists could fight to take away the right to marry if we do not open it up equally for all marriage arrangements. No on prop 8 could also take away the right of LDS adoption agencies to place children with LDS mothers and fathers only. Children deserve to be in a home with a mother and a father. We owe it to those children and our own!

Evolution of our fireplace

Photo 1 - Original fireplace (b. 1971)
Photo 2 - We love Carlos. He built out the firplace so the TV would sit flush against the stone. Carlos also added some piping behind the stone for all of the TV wires to feed into the office.
Photo 3 - The tile is a little brighter than I first thought (it looked a lot duller in the store) .
Photo 4 - We had our first fire while watching General Conference today. We took many precautions to direct all heat away from the television. Ignore the wire...we had to order a longer one that hasn't arrived yet.

Look for exciting future additions of "evolution of our banister" and "evolution of our closets."