Sunday, November 30, 2008

Hawks

We've noticed how hawks like to sit on these saguaros near where we live. When Lance got home from work on Friday he was all excited because he had seen two of them on one cactus on his way home. He wanted me to go take a picture, but Skye was napping and and I was tired and wanted to sleep as well. Then, sometime after she woke up (an hour or two later), we had somewhere to go and decided to see if the hawks were still there. Amazingly enough, they were! So I took these pictures of them. We always find it amazing to see things like this. Nature is always inspiring!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Our Thanksgiving

We had a pretty mellow Thanksgiving this year--the second one by ourselves. Since it was just the three of us, I didn't really go all out or anything. It was a pretty simple meal--turkey, potatoes and gravy, beans, and of course... a chocolate pie! I know you're supposed to have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but I don't like pumpkin pie. I like chocolate!
After the meal was over, we headed out into the desert. It was very beautiful out there.
Lance wanted to scope out this bouldering area. So he climbed...
Skye climbed...
she played with rocks...
and she made funny faces for the camera! So all in all, it was a good Thanksgiving.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Smiling Girl

I had to share these cute pictures of Skye. She was looking at the kitties on my brother and sister-in-law's blog. It made her so happy, she couldn't stop smiling! She loves looking at the kitties and at "Na-Na and Mi-Mi."

The Rainbow

If I thought the rainbow yesterday morning was pretty cool, the one yesterday afternoon was even more spectacular. Skye was outside playing with her friends and suddenly I looked up and saw this amazing double rainbow going all the way acrossed the sky! I do miss the mountains in Utah a lot, but I now see that one good thing about not having mountains blocking the sky is that you can see the whole rainbow, end to end--as long as there aren't clouds to block it!

Too bad my camera couldn't get the whole thing, but I got what I could. Pretty spectacular!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Sunrise, Sunset

One of the things that I love about Phoenix more than Salt Lake (and surrounding area) are the sunsets. Each night the whole sky fills with vibrant, glowing colors (that aren't caused by polution). I've now discovered that sunrise can be pretty spectacular as well. This rainbow was in the western sky this morning.
And this was looking to the east. My camera couldn't totally capture the bright, intense colors, but you sort of get an idea.
I finally had to come in because it started to rain. Poor Lance, he woke up late and wanted a ride to the bus stop, but Skye wasn't awake yet, so I made him ride his bike and I'm sure he got soaked and freezing. Sorry Lance! But thanks for calling to tell me about the beautiful sunrise! And the rain does smell wonderful!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Movie Time

There were some videos I took from out trip to Utah that I wanted to put on the blog, but I couldn't because I forgot the darn cord that hooked the camcorder up to the computer. Now that I'm home, I can put them on. One of Skye's favorite things to do at my mom and dad's was to feed Tobie. And Tobie like to be fed! I thought it was cute. Another tradition that started back in the summer was waving to Pa (and clapping) as he mowed the lawn. To this day, anytime she sees a lawn mower, she claps and says, "Pa Pa."

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Lance's 5 Things Tag

Lance did this on my comments page, but I thought I'd put it on the blog, just in case people don't look at the comments.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:

going to SLCC
working at web audio visual
sleeping a lot
climbing in climbing gyms
started to jog

5 things on my to-do list for today:

20 pull ups
play with skye
see if there is a basketball game on
make a comments section for ADEQ OWN administrator edits
be a level headed worker in a crazy place

5 snacks I eat:

bagels
graham crackers
grape fruit
sniglinshki ho-hiho snacks
100 calorie snack packs

5 Things I'd do if I were a millionaire:

buy a house
plant citrus trees
vacation with the family
find some way to help a lessor
sleep a bit more

5 places I've lived:

lahina, maui
salt lake city, ut
cedar city, ut
farmington, ut
augusta, ga

5 jobs I have had:

car washer
pizza cook
theater ticket taker
pet store helper
grocery bagger

5 people I tag:

travis, traveje, jim, greg, and kimika

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

5 Things Tag

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. Going to school at good old Davis High
2. Meeting lots of new people
3. Getting into Led Zeppelin and just rock 'n' roll in general
4. Playing my flute (haven't done that for a long time)
5. Writing a lot (usually only do journal writing now)

5 things on my to-do list for today:

1. Get some milk
2. Find our hammer
3. Get a new hammer if I can't find the one we already have
4. Get Skye to take a nap this afternoon
5. Clean the kitchen up

5 snacks I eat:

1. Chocolate
2. Chocolate
3. More chocolate
4. Anything chocolate
5. String Cheese

5 Things I'd do if I were a millionaire:

1. Buy a nice house here in Ahwatukee (because I'd really like to stay in this area, but most of the houses are quite expensive)
2. Travel
3. Rent an RV for my parents so they could go on a trip
4. Give some to my church
5. Save some

5 places I've lived:
1. Provo, Utah
2. Kaysville, Utah
3. Ephraim, Utah
4. Cedar City, Utah
5. Phoenix, Arizona

5 jobs I have had:

1. Sandwich maker and assistant manager at Quizno's
2. Editor of "Weeds"--the literary magazine at Snow College
3. T.A. for Professor Christensen at SUU
4. Special Needs Teaching Assistant at Cedar Middle School
5. Oh yeah, and my first real job was working for the Recreation Department for Kaysville City

5 people I tag:

1. Lance
2. Travis
3. Jessica
4. Elise
5. Since there are barely five other bloggers on my blog, I think I'll just leave it at that

Sunday, November 16, 2008

"Friendship is like a prism through which the many variations of beauty are revealed in our lives." --Anonymous

One of the things that I love about living in a big city is the diversity that I encounter. I've met people from Jamaica, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and Northern Ireland. And then there are Skye's friends--some of our neighbors. Yung is from South Korea and Astrid and Christian are from Mexico. I'm glad Skye will get the chance to be friends with people from so many different backgrounds. It sure makes life a lot more interesting!

The Moon

I took these pictures of the moon the other night and thought they turned out pretty cool so I thought I would share them.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Playing Fetch

Here's the video from Columbus Day. There is another video and I had combined the two and edited them into one cute, little movie, but for some dumb reason it would work. So instead, here's the raw, unedited footage which probably isn't quite as good, but oh well.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

We went to visit my Grandpa in Tremonton yesterday. On previous trips there, Skye hasn't been too fond of her great-grandpa Worley. But she finally warmed up to him this time and let him hold her and give her a kiss! It was so precious!
And I found my old marching band uniform stashed in his basement. Of course, Skye liked the hat!
What do you think? Will she make a good drum major some day?

I Believe in God's Work and Democracy

"The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (History of the Church, 4:540).

It seems that Joseph Smith's words were not meant only for his own time. Persecutions are raging and mobs are combining again today. After hearing about the churches the have been vandalized, I couldn't go any longer without writing my feelings on everything that has been going on with the protesting of Proposition 8. I saw a sign of one of the protesters at Temple Square that read, "Proposition 8=hate." I would say that protesting, holding angry signs and yelling angry words, not letting people into their places of worship and defaming their places of worship is what equals hate. I don't believe in same sex marriage, but I would never stand outside of a place where they are being married and hold signs, yell angry things, or vandalize anything sacred or special to them.

The scary thing about the protesting is that it isn't just about protesting the LDS church, it is a protest of democracy and the men who founded this nation as a place of freedom--men inspired by God. How does democracy work? Issues are brought before the people, the people vote, and the majority rules. It may not always seem fair or end up the way you want, but that is what America and democracy is. It is the best form of government there is. The issue (Proposition 8) was brought up, people voted, and the majority ruled. I can't stand Barack Obama and don't believe that he should be our next president, but as an American and someone who believes in democracy, I accept it. I don't have to like him, I don't have to believe in him, I don't have to support him, and I can be afraid of where he and other leaders of this nation are going to take us, but I will accept because that is what the majority ruled. I may fear the worst, but I will hope for the best. (Oh, and just as a side-note, on the news they told how 71% of African Americans in California that voted for Barack Obama also voted Yes on Prop. 8. That shows that it isn't just LDS people and the ultra conservative wing that believe in it. Even liberals who voted for the most liberal president this nation will ever have had believe in Prop. 8.)

I talked to a friend the other day about how I felt these protesters were protesting democracy and she agreed--she put it in a very simple and truthful way, but a way I had never thought of before. She said that it is silencing the voice of the people. The people have spoken--we still believe in "traditional" marriage. Taking this away is taking away the voice of the people. When the voice of the people is taken away, democracy stops working. Some of you may think that Prop. 8 silences the people who don't believe in it. Nope--believe me, we hear their voices--their voices of anger and hypocracy. They want us to accept them and their way of life, but as they have made so clear, they protest us and our way of life. How can they be so blind? But then, I suppose that is what anger does--it blinds you.

I have felt so saddened by what has been going on. But I take comfort in the words of the prophet, Joseph Smith. Despite the rage and persecutions, no matter how many mobs try to hurt us, we won't go away. God's work will continue.

Friday, November 7, 2008

These are a few pictures from when Lance and I went to Little Cottonwood Canyon just before he went back to Phoenix last week. A lot of the leaves were already gone, but there were still some hanging around. It was so beautiful there with the vibrant leaves and the silent granite.

This is a picture Lance took when he went to Sedona last weekend. He said it was sort of like a combination between Zion and Monument Valley. It looks incredible. Yay for red rock country!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

This is what the weather has been like in Kaysville lately-- That was on Sunday and this snow is from today.
But do you think it has kept the little one from enjoying the outdoors?
No way! Come rain or shine, sun or snow, Skye is going to have her fun playtime outside no matter what!
I don't think she even noticed the cold this morning. She did look cute in her little hood!
And she had lots of fun like she always does.
One of her favorite things these days is to play with a badminton racquet. Who knew that pushing a racquet along the driveway could be so much fun?

Skye Likes Stools

I think I've figured out how to get Skye to be happy and smile (or at least stick out her tongue) for pictures--give her a stool to sit on! She loves this stool. She'll take it out and happily sit on it for no good reason. It just makes her happy!



Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween Fun

We had a fun Halloween yesterday here in Utah. I think Skye's favorite part was playing with the pumpkin guts from the pumpkins my mom carved. The incredibly nice, warm weather made it even better!
Here's our little witch! I know she looks like a mean witch in this picture, but really, she's the good kind!
She just didn't like her dress at first because it was too long and she kept tripping on it.
Add to the fact that she was quite tired all afternoon because she decided to only take a very short nap, and it became quite difficult to get a good, cute, smiling picture of her.
But I still tried! She really did look adorable in her witch's costume.
Here she is with her pumpkin gettng ready to go trick-or-treating. Luckily, my mom was able to hem up the bottom of the dress so Skye wouldn't trip anymore. After that, she liked it a lot more.
We took her over to the mall to do most of her trick-or-treating. We stopped to get a quick picture of her with Grandma and Grandpa.
There were a million other kids at the mall, too. Okay, not that many, but there were a lot and Skye didn't quite know what to think. But she did her best.
It did make her happy to discover all of the fun things in her pumpkin that she could pull out!
And she had to go on a quick ride up and down the escalator.
After we got back from the mall, both Skye and Chiang (the kitty) had to check out the glowing jack-o-lanterns.
Pretty spooky!!!
Despite being tired and confused much of the night, she was happy to go see Laura, my parent's next door neighbor. Skye loves Laura and they both looked so great in their costumes!
One more thing that finally got Skye to smile was Bobby, my grandma's dog. Grandma's house was the last stop of the night.
Here's the poor, sleepy girl sitting on Grandpa's lap.
She mustered another smile, though, for Bobby.
Here she is with Great Grandma Cook. I was sure she would go to bed as soon as we got home, but somehow, she got a second wind and went totally wild and crazy later that night and didn't go to bed until after 10:00. I have some great footage of her dancing on the bed, but stupid me, I forgot to bring the cord that hooks the camcorder into the computer. So I'll have to put that on later and leave you all in suspense!