Matt, Jen, & Abby & Lily

Happy New Years Eve!

2012-01-30T15:53:00.005-07:00

Friday, December 30th we started driving from the beach after BYU won their bowl game! Go Cougars! In our new van it was a much easier drive and we ended up going all the way. We left at 12:30 p.m. and arrived at 5:30 a.m. to a freezing cold house because we turned the heat off to save money. Even Matt was cold!

We slept for a few hours and then checked our large stack of mail. In the mail we found a gift from Abby's birth Dad's family and she was so excited to open the box and the presents. It was so kind of them to think of her. They also thought of Lily and sent her a beautiful blanket.
prepared for Matt's family to come and party for New Year's Eve. We cleaned and ran to the store and made some food and then it was party time. We exchanged gifts that night too. Abby was ecstatic at her gifts--especially a talking Woody from Grandma and Grandpa! Barbara found us a really nice clock for our house that says "Families are Forever."
Dexter and Abby always having fun
Blankets made by Heather
We then ate yummy food and stayed up past midnight even though we were exhausted from the drive. We are so blessed to have Matt's family within 2 hours of us. We love spending time with them whenever we get a chance and wish they would all just move to Bakersfield! We love you all!
What a year this has been! We are blessed to have 2 amazing girls, jobs, a beautiful home, friends, family and so much more. I hope 2012 is even more wonderful!!!

After Christmas Adventures!

2012-01-28T21:25:00.016-07:00

The adventures did not stop after Christmas--not in my family! The entire family drove to Ocean Shores, WA where we stayed at a place called the Beachcomber. Each family had their own kind of "suite" complete with kitchen, living room, bedrooms and bathroom. It was a nice place and we loved being together and being able to relax and spread out a little.

The Beachcomber
We ate meals together except breakfast and so that made for fun times for sure!
Cousins wrestling right after dinner one night.
Even though the weather was less than desirable, we still managed to go out to the beach one day. I kept Lily and baby Jack at the hotel because it was pretty cold. The rest bundled up and went outside. They found a big stick and the kids were throwing it as far as they could until Kylee tried to throw it and let go too late. It hit her in the face and she had quite the sore on her lip--poor girl.
Hot chocolate bar....yum.
Caleb and Abby
One day we went to an indoor pool and everyone had fun splashing, swimming and wrestling.
Grandma and Grandpa had a special breakfast with just the grandkids.
We did eat at one little cafe together in Seabrook where my brother-in-law Jeremiah use to work. They seemed a little overwhelmed by our big group and so we had to split up.
The boys always play a ritual game or two of spades and Settlers late at night after everyone else goes to bed.
Friday morning the kids made pretzels while the rest watched the BYU football game on TV.
It finally started to clear up the day we left!
Even though we had a few days to be together, the time went too quickly. Before we knew it we were packing up and saying farewell. I'm not fond of good-byes. I prefer "see you soon." Unfortunately, we are not sure when the next time we are ALL together will be. At least we have Brent's baby blessing in March and many of us will go to that. I hope my family knows how much I love them and how much I wish we could spend even more time together. This was a wonderful Christmas holiday and I look forward to many, many more. Love you all!

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-28T16:10:00.014-07:00

I just adore Christmas--my favorite part is all of the excitement leading up to Christmas day and most especially Christmas Eve. Our Christmas events really began on December 19th when we drove to my brothers in Vacaville to stay the night. We unfortunately arrived quite late because we had to wait until Lily's visit finished, but we were happy to see them anyways. Abby immediately wanted to play with all of their toys and I frequently had to get up to tell her to put their toys down and get back in bed.

Who can say no to cars, trucks and trains?
The next morning we left bright and early and drove as quickly as we could to get to Nicole's baby shower (my youngest brothers wife) in Washington. I really wanted to make it and we barely did. I met the rest of my family at a store and they hopped in their car while Matt drove to my parents. I was pretty exhausted, but so happy to have made it to celebrate their first baby!
Nicole opening gifts
Grandma Karen and Wendie
Tiff and Caleb
Aunt Christie and Uncle Jerry gave us some wonderful gifts and Abby sleeps with hers every night. You cannot go wrong with Mickey when it comes to Abby!
There is a great Children's Museum in Olympia. Abby and her cousins, Kylee and Kennedy had a great time exploring all it had to offer.
We of course needed Costco stuff one day,
so Tiff did the shopping and I got the kids hot dogs!
Can't have the holidays without some yummy baking.
The kids had a blast doing the spritz cookies.
Christmas Eve! Daddy and his girls-
The cousins exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve
Tradition--new pajamas on Christmas Eve
Trying to go to sleep with all of the cousins--they even heard Santa and his reindeer!
Christmas Day!
Abby and Lily's Santa gifts
Waiting to come downstairs
Opening gifts....
Ready for Church....baby Jack and Lily
It was so nice to go to Church on Christmas day. A little hectic to get ready, but what better place could we be? I was able to play piano with my Dad on organ for prelude and opening song, which we love to do. Then I played for some musical numbers and sang and played with my sister Tiff. It was one of the highlights of my holiday season.
After Church pictures
Lily's first time eating rice cereal--she liked it a lot more than Abby did!
What an amazing Christmas with almost all of the family on my side there! Thanks Tiff and Mia for hosting such a big group and being so generous and accommodating. Can we do it again?! I am so grateful to celebrate the birth of our Savior and especially to teach my girls about the true meaning of Christmas. I can't wait until next Christmas.

December--Before Christmas

2012-01-27T15:13:00.009-07:00

The month of December seemed to fly by in a whirlwind and we were not home for most of it! It began with Matt at home and Abby, Lily and I in Washington. We drove back with my sister and parents from Thanksgiving in Cali.
The visit was too short, but better than nothing!

Grandma Karen and Lily at my parents home in Washington.
One of my Mom's favorite things to do is attend the temple (even though that is a difficult thing for her to do now). So in celebration of her birthday, a bunch of her close friends all went to the temple together on December 2nd. It was really special and afterwards we ate some yummy food we brought in the cafeteria.
Before the girls and I flew out at SeaTac, we all stopped and ate at Claim Jumper....fried zucchini--yum!
Abby and I made a quick trip to Arizona in December and we stayed at Natalie's house again--I hope they don't get tired of our quick visits! Since Matt was finished with the semester he got the opportunity to spend good Daddy-daughter time with Lily. We all had a great time. Below Natalie dressed Abby up as a pirate one night!
December 7th the Young Women went to a nursing home and caroled to the people who lived there. They had a wonderful time and brightened up the lives of all they encountered.
I love working with them.
Cute picture of Lily in her Bumbo seat.
We did a crazy thing on Friday and Saturday, December 9th and 1oth.....we shopped for and bought a van--yikes! We finally decided on one we'd seen at the beginning that wasn't even on our list. We bought a 2010 Honda Odyssey. We read up, asked people, and drove in many vans and felt this was by far the best deal. The DVD player, leather seats and heated front seats are amazing. We are so happy with our purchase.
December 14th dance--Abby rocking out to a song called "Chicken Chow Mein."
Abby loves to entertain Lily. Abby is Lily's favorite person as you can clearly see.
One more fun event had to get crammed into the little time we were home--hence a December piano recital! My students were fantastic and showed so much progress.
I am so proud to be their teacher. More progress to come!
Now on to a Christmas post!

Most & Least Literate People

2012-01-27T09:43:00.003-07:00

Central Connecticut State University just released a new study of the most & least literate populations in the United States. They looked at all cities with a population over 250,000, and by examining journal & newspaper subscriptions, self-reported use of internet news, booksales, library data, and whatever else, they produced ranking of literacy.

The most literate:

5. Boston

4. Atlanta (I'm very surprised by this one)

3. Minneapolis, MN (I'm a bit surprised on this one)

2. Seatle, WA

1. Washington, DC (the most literate people in America)

The study found (to my surprise) that wealth and literacy are not related. Just because your city has money does not mean that people can read. The author wrote, "Cleveland ranks second lowest for median family income . . . and yet, thanks to its great library system (ranked #1 . . .) and strong newspaper (#6) and magazine (#5) circulations, it is ranked 13th most literate in the survey. On the other hand, Anchorage, AK is ranked 5th in median family income and only 61st in literacy."

Now the fun part. Who are the most illiterate people in America?

73. El Paso, TX

74. Corpus Christi, TX

And the highest rate of illiterate people live in . . .

75. Bakersfield, CA

You can find the entire report and ranking for this year and previous years at: http://www.ccsu.edu/page.cfm?p=11096

November Memories

2012-01-22T22:39:00.023-07:00

What an exciting and unforgettable month! I'll start with a few dance pictures and cute pics of the girls and then move on to Thanksgiving!

Just a cute pic on November 1st.
On November 9th Grandma and Grandpa were up for a visit and saw Abby's dance and gymnastics classes. She loves when they come.
November 12th
November 16 dance
November 18 asleep on Daddy
My whole family came to our home for Thanksgiving and my sister and her family arrived on the Saturday night before Thanksgiving! We had so much fun. The house was a bit packed with people sleeping everywhere but we tried to make everyone as comfortable as we possibly could. There is nothing like spending the holidays with the ones you love.
Kylee playing the piano
Kennedy holding Lily
Abby and cousin Caleb on the train
Lily enjoyed hanging out with Uncle Jeremiah
Mia and Tiff before we played some games
Grandma Karen holding Lily
Eating dinner--both Abby and Caleb want Grandpa Mark
Celebrating Grandma Barbara's birthday
Both Grandpa's--lucky girl!
The kids thought Grandma Karen's wheelchair was the ultimate toy!
Uncle Brenty arrives!
Brent & Grandma Karen
Time to play at the park nearby--tennis, climbing around, digging in sand, etc.
Jen, Lily, Tiff & Nicole
Checking out the pond
Uncle Kevin is here!Cousins playing games
Dinner time
Lily loves Auntie Heather
Celebrating Grandma Karen's birthday with a fire and smores!
Cousins in the loft watching a movie
Thanksgiving Day! Of course it began with what Matt has looked forward to forever--football!
Grandma Karen feeding Lily
Eating food after the game
Relaxing after food!
A little ping-pong in the garage
Baby Jack
Jack & Lily in their swings
Preparing the turkey....just Tiff and I....it was pretty darn good!
Mandy, Jen, Nicole, Tiff & Alix before dinner
Thanksgiving dinner!
Brent, Nicole and Lincoln
Grandma and Grandpa
Kevin & Alix
Big kids table
Little kids table
A cute picture of Lily on Friday, the 25th
Friday night a few of the wonderful young women in my Ward came over to watch the kids and the adults escaped and went to a restaurant for some dessert. Only problem was that we were all so full, we couldn't really eat anything! We mainly just got hot chocolate or a smoothie and enjoyed talking to each other without talking over the kids!
Saturday we drove to Vacaville to attend Jack's baby blessing. I was so glad that so many of us could be there for it.
Matt drove back home on Sunday the 27th. Abby went with the Shakespeare's and Lily and I drove with my parents back to Washington for a quick visit. I organized the rest of the scrapbook stuff for my Mom so that my amazing cousin Cindy can finish my brother Brent's high school years and got to see everyone for a little longer. The flight home with the two girls was interesting, but they are such good travelers. I love my girls. Here is a picture of Lily seeing Uncle Jerry for the first time while we were in Washington! What an absolutely amazing month. I still can't believe that my whole family, plus my cousin Mandy & her husband Russell, and Matt's sister and her family all came to our home for Thanksgiving. I love having everyone in my home--although it probably will not look the same again! But that's okay. Dirt can be scrubbed off walls, but I will never forget the memories.

Catching up on October

2012-01-09T16:22:00.010-07:00

Yes, I know, my blog posts have been extremely lacking. Thank goodness for New Years goals!

So here are our memories from the rest of October (after Dexter's birthday).
Abby loves Peter Pan and decided to be Peter for Halloween. Here she is trying on her costume and watching "Peter Pan."
Another dance picture.....she's just so adorable.
Toy Story 3 on Ice! Yes the show came to town on October 20th and we thought Abby would love it. We were right down in front! But then a family of giants came and sat in front of us. I ended up with Abby in my lap, trying to hold her up so she could see. We had a blast. Every time Woody, Buzz or Jesse were not on the ice Abby said, "Where are they?"
Cute pictures of my girls.....they really are "wicked cute!"
I love working with the Young Women at Church and on October 26th they all came over to our house and baked some cookies to take to other young women in the Ward. They enjoyed baking, talking, playing indoor basketball and fighting Matt with foam swords.
On October 27th Abby got to wear her Peter Pan costume to dance and gymnastics. The funniest thing was that she did better that day than any other day. Aren't costumes supposed to distract kids?
My siblings and I grew up with our cousins Doug and Mandy. They were basically like our brother and sister. It is difficult to stay in such close contact anymore, but Mandy lives in California now! So the girls and I went to see her and my Aunt Christie was there too. Mandy is due to have a baby between Christmas and New Years so we are all really excited--a girl! Plus Christie brought wonderful gifts for Lily and Abby (and myself--man can she sew!).
I made Mandy a blanket for Mandy and she liked it!
Mandy and Russell's Halloween costumes--Mandy made them!
Happy Halloween! Since Abby decided to be Peter Pan we all went with the theme. Matt was Captain Hook, Lily the dog nurse "Nana" and me Tinkerbell. My costume ended up being quite an adventure. They sent the completely wrong size--just before Halloween and much of it was coming apart. It looked like a tacky green sack. So I took it to my friend Peggy and she fixed it. I should have gone to her in the first place and could have had an incredible costume--live and learn! We went to the Bishop's house for Halloween and ate good food, talked with good friends and the kids went trick or treating. I even made ghost strawberries! It was a great night. I only wish more adults would have dressed up!
Happy Halloween!

Dexter's Second Birthday

2011-11-13T16:36:00.005-07:00

While down in L.A. we celebrated cousin Dexter's second birthday. We went to a park on the 15th and had a great time watching Abby and Dexter play. We ate yummy sandwiches and the amazing cake Heather spent half the previous night making! It looked and tasted great.

If you look close in the picture, you can see a whole line of cheerleaders waiting to take pictures and then little Dexter standing there watching them!
Cousins!
Abby is the queen of making many funny faces and we think Lily is learning from her big sis!
We gave Dexter a little laptop for his birthday--Abby wanted to keep it.
We love Grandma's and Grandpa.
The whole family together to celebrate!
We love you Dex!

October 14: one more trip to Disneyland

2011-11-12T21:41:00.015-07:00

On October 14th we went to Disneyland as a family. Our passes were expiring and since we are really trying to save money, we decided not to renew--sad. We had so much fun!

It was Lily's first visit to Disneyland and she was amazingly good.

When we arrived we bought her a hat to keep her out of the sun. Even the smallest hat was way too big.
Disneyland looks so festive during Halloween time.
Lily's first time on a carousel--she slept.
Had to take a picture of the conductor!
Abby loved watching Mickey at the parade and gave her a Goofy I bought at the Disney Store.
Sisters!
After a fun day at Disneyland we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's recently refurbished pool. It was so warm--like a bath. Lily loved her first time in a big pool.
What a great backyard for us all to play in!

October 1-13

2011-11-12T16:46:00.011-07:00

The beginning of October took the girls and I to Arizona for a quick trip. As soon as we arrived Natalie dressed Abby up as a pirate--pretty cute, huh?!

It was Conference weekend--my favorite and we enjoyed watching with many friends.

First at Natalie's Grandma's house where Abby and Caely played.
Then to our friends the Smolnik's!
That night we met our friends the Jones' at Chick-fil-A.
Sunday morning found us at the Jackson's whom I use to teach piano lessons to.
We finished Conference back at Natalie's Grandma's.
That night I gave Lily her first bath in a real bath tub at the Taysom's house.
While in Arizona we also visited the mall where Abby climbed around on the rides and saw a train go right in front of us--Abby's favorite!
Sisters!
Lily sleeping
Abby at dance on the 6th
Lily and Dad watching Nebraska play on the 8th
Dad and Lily on the 12th in the Baby Bjorn--love these!
Abby and Lily at dance and gymnastics on the 12th.
Thanks Aunt Tiff for the really cute outfit! I love you too and can't wait to meet you!

Economic Theories: Keynes vs. Hayek

2011-10-26T10:19:00.002-07:00

A student recently pointed out these videos to me and I thought some folks might get a kick out it. It is a musical debate over the two main theories that economists use to manage our modern economy. John Maynard Keynes taught that economic crisis could be managed by government infusions of funding that could revitalize a stagnant economy. The lesser known theorist, Friedrich Hayek, argued a more classical liberalism approach. He believed if we left the economy alone it would balance and solve itself (essentially Adam Smith's "invisible hand" theory from centuries earlier). The two theorists face off in these two videos.

The original video:

And Round Two:

Reagan: Man vs. Myth

2011-10-17T20:25:00.013-07:00

As the GOP moves closer to the primary election we continue to hear praises of Ronald Reagan--the ultimate standard of a good Republican. He is credited with collapsing the the Evil Empire (Communist Soviet Union), with the economic boom of the 1980s (following an economic crisis under Carter), and all around hero of the party. He is a symbol against which all candidates are judged. But what did he actually do? I found myself unable to answer that question, so I did a little reading and thought I'd share it.

I found that Reagan was indeed a fabulous spokesman and the type of man that people want to believe in and definitely follow. A closer look at his presidency reveals that he did not do most of what he is credited with, and that his general lack of involvement permitted his cabinet and administrators to run wild and disturbing scandals followed. Lets look at each of these element of his presidency:

(1) Strong foreign policy, most commonly demonstrated by (a) Iran's release of hostages 20 minutes after Reagan was sworn in, and (b) the collapse of Soviet Russia.

Yes, Iran released hostages just as Reagan was sworn in, and Republicans credit him with scaring the Iranians with threatening language and a bold claim that he would not negotiate. The truth is that Carter is the only one who feared Reagan. He feared Reagan would irresponsibly thrust the US into war, and so one day before Reagan was sworn into office (Jan.19, 1981) Carter caved to the Iranian demands. In this meeting the U.S. agreed to release $7.9 billion in frozen Iranian assets, guaranteed immunity to the terrorists holding our citizens, and promised to stay out of Iranian affairs (just google Algiers Accords for the full text of the agreement). Twenty-four hours later the hostages were released. Reagan had nothing to do with their release.

As for defeating the communists, well, it is a similar situation. Reagan talked big, and he did spend tons of cash on growing the military and new tech, but that is not exactly what collapsed the USSR. At the same time Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbechev was lobbying for liberalization. He used Reagan's militant rhetoric (and unmatch-able military spending) as leverage to help liberalize the country. Reagan's bold statements like "Bring down that wall" helped Gorby to paint the US as an aggressive state and pressure his own party to change. Reagan absolutely helped--he provided Gorbechev the "bad cop" image so that Gorby could be the "good cop" when trying to reform his country. Reagan did help Gorbechev to liberalize the USSR. However, he did not unilaterally defeat the Russians; instead, he provided Gorbechev the insane threat of war that no previous American president was bold enough to threaten. The two men met frequently, as friends, and worked to cut back nuclear weapons while publicly posturing themselves as rivals.

(2) Saved the economy.

After the Johnson's domestic programs and Vietnam bankrupted the country, neither Nixon nor Ford nor Carter could get it back on track. A small but constant recession continued from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, and inflation grew out of control. When Reagan came into office he used his popular support to push through congress a republican sponsored bill that embodied "Reaganomics" or "Trickle-down economics." This idea states that if you cut taxes more people will spend, the economy will grow, and everybody will benefit.

This Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (authored by Jack Kemp of NY and William Roth of DE) was a MAJOR tax cut, and promised to cut taxes by 23% over 3 years. However, the bill did not provide the magic bullet solution that Reagan and Republicans promised; in fact, the economy got worse. Our Gross National Product dropped by 2.5%, unemployment rose above 10%, and the Congressional Budget office anticipated widespread budgetary shortfalls. The only good news was that the heightened economic crisis deflated the inflation that Carter never could control. Americans grew tired of the failed experiment in Reaganomics, and demanded a new approach.

In 1982, CA Democrat Steve Stark authored the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA). It hiked taxes back up and after the bill passed in the democrat controlled house the republican controlled senate added a few more tax increases into the language of the bill. Reagan reluctantly agreed to the tax hikes in exchange for promise from Congress to cut back on future spending. Congress did not cut back, later Democrats and Republicans blamed each other for it (dems said Reagan spent too much on military; Republicans said they spent to much on entitlement programs). In the end, TEFRA constituted one of the largest tax increases in the history of the nation. Also in that year Reagan encouraged the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act, which deregulated Savings & Loans institutions. It shrunk government and cut bureaucratic oversight, which had a short term benefit of economic growth but ultimately led to financial collapse and a government stimulus of just under $100 billion.

In this environment--government deregulation, stimulus money, expanded military expenditures, and an out of control spending funded by unprecedented taxes--the economy bounced back and expanded. Yes, the economy grew immensely under Reagan, but we need to point out two importance qualifiers. First, while the GNP rose the percent of Americans living below the poverty level (12.75) remained constant from 1980 through the close of Reagan's administration in 1988. Everyday people did not see a significant change in economy, but those who had money did secure even more. Second, the recovery was not an example of Reaganomics/trickle down economics. That little experiential failed and was replaced by modern democrat fiscal policy, and that dominated Reagan's administration. That was the economic climate during which the economy grew--not Reaganomics. In fact, in 1996 a Congressional report found that from 1981-1993 (under the administrations of Reagan and Bush Sr.), the wealthiest 10% of Americans paid a growing percent of the taxes while the poorest 50% paid a shrinking segment.

(3) Poster boy who motivated people but didn't actually do anything, which allowed for utter mismanagement and scandals within his administration.

Reagan was a great speaker, motivator, and rally point. His confidence and absolute surety drew flocks of followers. But when it came to actually doing anything, he tended to just let his cabinet and other administrators do whatever they wanted. He made the big decisions on policy, and then let them carry it out however they wanted. As a result, he could honestly plea ignorant when scandal after scandal occurred during his presidency.

Scandals? Yes, Reagan's administration had more scandals than just about anybody. I don't think Reagan was rotten, just clueless. What do you expect when you hire an actor to be president? He knew he wasn't the smartest man in the room, and simply trusted advisers to run the show. Some made serious mistakes. Here are some of the scandals that occurred during his administration:

Iran-Contra - illegal sale of weapons by CIA to Iran; funded by CIA dealing with Contras in Nicaragua
Lobbying scandals - Reagan's chief of staff and press secretary convicted of lying to congress and courts about their illegal lobbying efforts
EPA Scandal - EPA director and one other administrator convicted of perjury & contempt for misuse of monies
HUD grant rigging - a half dozen assistant directors in dept. of Interior, as well as the Sec of Interior, convicted of graft & taking bribes
Inslaw Affair - Dept. of Justice accused of stealing people tracking software developed by Inslaw; Reagan's attorney general refused to prosecute; congress found several in contempt for refusing to testify
Savings & Loan - Reagan eliminated "passive loss" in tax code, which also undercut subsidies for rental housing & thus bankrupted real estate developments & thus bankrupted Savings and Loans institutions; charges of corruption as banking industry was bailed out by taxpayers
Debatgate - Reagan somehow acquired Carter's prep notes for the Oct 28, 1980 debate; not divulged until 1983 when expose book was printed; one member of Reagan's administration publicly testified that Reagan's campaign manager debriefed him on Carter's debate notes but campaign manager denied it

So with that my synopsis of Reagan's presidency is complete. Was Reagan a good president? Sure, he did a fine job. But his only real accomplishment was to project a confidence that won American support. In fact, in his re-election he won the presidency with the greatest landslide victory in US electoral history. People loved the guy. But popular support does not necessarily equate to quality accomplishments, and most of his accomplishments are historical creations that modern Republicans thrust upon him as they create a modern icon of what a good Republican should be. Today there is more myth than reality surrounding Reagan, but he remains a powerful symbol for modern Republicans to express their ideology.

September Memories Continued

2011-10-16T22:02:00.017-07:00

Recently someone made a comment on our blog asking where the family pictures went! Sorry! Time has been flying by and I am just behind. I will try to remedy that these next few days and get caught up. I have so many great pictures, so I better get them posted!

Let's begin with a visit from our friends Carly, Paul and Adelaide! They came to visit on September 16-17. We met them in Tempe and they moved away before we did. We love them so much and were so happy to have them visit. Come back soon!
I couldn't resist taking a picture of my girls in the car on the way to Stake Conference. Lily smiles all of the time, but usually right after I take the picture! Aren't they adorable?!
I had the pleasure of directing a Stake Choir on October 18th. About 60 people came and sang and it was such a wonderful experience. I wish I could show you pictures, but I always feel strange taking pictures in the chapel. So you will just have to take my word for it that the choir sounded amazing, the Spirit was really strong, and I can't wait to do it again! When I sat down after a beautiful rendition of "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" I looked over at Matt and he was a little teary-eyed. Trust me, that does not happen often--maybe ever. And he said, "That was amazing." No compliment could be better than coming from him because he is my most honest critic. Love you Mattie!
September 20th dance day pics--some of Abby's funny faces:
September 22:
I've been looking for ways to reinforce the positive things that Abby does and so we've been doing sticker charts. With her first sticker chart she earned a Toy Story tent and she was so excited.
I was really proud of her.
Saturday September 24th our friend Michelle came to visit us. We went to a Children's Museum and we all had a great time. Abby tried everything and constantly called each of us over to try whatever she wanted to do. She has the best imagination.
Abby's preschool had their first field trip and it was to the Kern County Fair. Parents were supposed to go, so I went and took lots of pictures. It was a pretty good fair and the kids were so cute. My favorite part was watching them get pulled in the little train. As they saw various animals they put a sticker on a chart their teacher made. Abby still has her chart.
What a fun day!
Matt and I both work with the youth at Church and I had the opportunity to work with the kids for this year's Standards Night. We did a program called, "We Believe" and the youth did the whole program--narration and songs. I love working with the youth and the program turned out really well. We not only did the program for a Sunday evening, they also did it for the entire ward for a Sacrament meeting. One of the young men came up after we did Standards Night and said, "Sister Garrett, I felt the Spirit." That alone made it all worth the time and energy it took to put it together. I hope I have other opportunities to work with the youth in regards to music. What better way to help them feel the Spirit and encourage them to develop testimonies of their own. Here are some of the youth one night as we practiced some of the music.
We have such fun and creative youth.

September Memories

2011-10-15T21:40:00.013-07:00

So September seems to have gone by without a blog post! Terrible! I've been working on a lot of projects--one being our Youth Standards Night. Last Sunday they performed in front of parents and leaders and today they presented the program in Sacrament meeting. They did an amazing job and I knew it was worth it when one of the young men came up and said, "Sister Garrett, I really felt the spirit today." That makes it worth every bit of energy!

So now I need to catch up on a few things--beginning with our September memories.
On September 1st we began at Abby's dance class and as you can see, she is learning tap (and ballet). I love watching her dance.

Later that night we had a fun party for some wonderful friends that moved to Florida, the Cola Family. We will miss them so much. Here are a bunch of girlfriends!
Amber Cola and Jen. Love you Amber!
Abby has a friend named Levi whom she loves to play with. Here they are at the Cola's party.
Everyone loves to hold Lily and Stephanie Randall and Jane Delgado are perfect examples.
Here is a cute picture of Abby and Lily sporting their "Big Sister" and "Little Sister" shirts.
Abby loves to go in her blow up pool and so on September 2nd I joined her for a splashing good time. We jumped in the pool I don't know how many times and one time I found myself sliding right onto my rear end. Abby enjoyed that very much. Then Lily even took her first swim in a little blow up pool.
Saturday September 3rd was a college football game day--I say "day" because we have 3 teams to cheer for. Here we are sporting our Nebraska attire. Later the girls both fell asleep on me. I'm so lucky!
After Church on Sunday, Abby fell asleep while eating her cheese roll at the table. She doesn't sleep much or often, but when she does it's pretty darn cute.
September 7th, Wednesday, was a pretty momentous day. Abby's first day of preschool! Can you believe it? I took this before we left. She was so excited about her new lunch box.
After preschool I took Lily and Abby to the movie Cars 2. It was Lily's first movie in the theater! She slept....
Thursday, September 8th was another day of dance and I can't stop taking pictures of
Abby at dance!
The youth in our Ward were in charge of a Stake dance and Matt helped them with the set up. The dance went great and I think they might have had the most fun setting up!
Saturday Lily was having a little tummy time and then fell asleep. So cute!
Our Ward had a fun barbecue and the our friends the Henrie's enjoyed holding Lily--everyone does!
On Sunday, the 11th Matt and I had the youth narrators for Standards Night over to practice their part and have Sundaes. Before we began they used our indoor basketball hoop. Abby also found the camera and started taking pictures. This one turned out pretty cute.
Abby loves to help give Lily a bath and fortunately Lily is very patient.
Ok, just another dance picture or two from the 15th!
Lily loves to watch Abby dance!

Approaches to the Economy: Keynesian vs. Trickle Down

2011-09-19T05:19:00.004-07:00

A good friend recently visited me and asked about my feelings about Obama. It led us to a discussion about the economy, labor, and lots of other topics. At one point I explained I believed in Keynesian Economics, to which he replied disbelief, "you're an educated person, and you believe this stuff?" Let me explain.

There are two major approaches to the economy that are embraced by the major American political parties. The Democrats advocate for more government involvement via regulation and taxation for the purpose of redistributing wealthy. Republicans prefer less government and believe that such a policy achieves greater economic prosperity for all. In a time of economic crisis, both parties tout their system as the path to recovery.

Beginning with Roosevelt, the Democrats turned to British economist John Maynard Keynes who believed in a mixed economy--some private & some government enterprise. He recommended that an economic slump could be combated most effectively by dumping tons of money into the system. To accomplish this task, the government should take out loans and hopefully make good investments that stimulate the economy and make enough profit to payoff the debt later. When taken to the extreme this seemed to work and save America from the Great Depression. Conservatives will say, "no, FDR's spending did not save us; World War II saved us!" I agree. And who paid for the massive industrialization of WWII? It was the federal government. "But Obama's stimulus failed!" Yes it did, and I can give you two reasons for that. First, he did not spend enough to make a difference. He got no where near the adjusted spending of WWII (and we can blame both parties for that). Second, he invested it in stupid things. You can't dump money into tax relief and unemployment benefits. That is what people want, but it is not a good investment. You've got to invest in things like infrastructure, new industries, and education in order to make enough money later to pay off the debt. It is not worth taking out a loan to pay for day-to-day expenses because you'll never get out from under it, but it is worth taking out a loan to get more education and increase your earning capacity.

Conversely, Republicans believe in "trickle down economics," an economic theory that says if you deregulate and cut taxes for big business and rich people, they will invest it and hire more employees and the money will all trickle down to everyone. The entire economy and population will benefit. If you ask me, this is a thinly veiled effort to screw the poor and enrich the wealthy, and many Americans who don't know any better jump on board because the conservative propaganda media tells them it works. There is no historical evidence of success--none. America in the 1870s-1890s is the best example of what happens when you deregulate and don't tax the wealthy. The result is a high GNP and strong economy where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. On paper the nation looks wealthy, but you have millions living in squalor--families packed into unsanitary studios pooling their money from low wage labor just to survive. Republicans typically turn to Pres. Ronald Reagan's administration for their positive example. Well, that is a cute thought but there are several problems with that which they ignore. First off, it was under Reagan that the economy slumped first, before rising. When it did rise (and it certainly did), more jobs were created and GNP rose. It was great for the wealthy and even middle classes. But the jobs that were created, termed "McJobs" by one historian, were minimum paying low wage jobs like McDonalds--not the sort of income needed to raise a family. Real wages dropped across the nation. Yes, national production and wealth grew, but it did not trickle down.

So what does our country need today? I think we needed a massive stimulus package that went to new industries, infrastructure, and education. We did not get that, and now the nation is poisoned against any new stimulus and I'm not sure the economy could survive another one anyhow. We now have no choice but to go the other way--screw the poor with conservative trickle-down economics that will not actually trickle down, but it will save the economy as it polarizes wealth into the hands of a few. That is the only way to rake up enough cash to save the economy. It is unfortunate, but I don't see another route at the moment. Once the economy is stable, we can get back to a more balanced system that taxes the wealthy to re-distribute the labor and wealthy that they extract from the poor. After all, a person who puts in 40+ hours, works hard, and generates wealth for the company deserves enough to rent a cheap apartment and eat food, don't you think? But that is a discussion for another day.

An Unforgettable Day

2011-09-17T15:54:00.017-07:00

I last posted about some of Abby's struggles adjusting to a new little sister and sharing Mommy and Daddy's attention (she is wonderful to Lily). I thought it might help if she had a fun day with just Mom and Abby. So on August 31st, Abby, Lily and I got up in the wee hours of the morning to drive down to Grandma's and Grandpa's. Then we got ready, left Lily in the wonderful care of Grandma Barbara and Great Granny Ruth and went to Disneyland! What an amazing day!

Lily all cuddled up to Grandma Barbara.
Abby loves to point out things that match and so we wore out matching Tinkerbell shirts. Below is a picture taken as we were headed out the door.
Our Disneyland adventures:
Minnie's Dishwasher
On the Casey Junior Train
The carousel
It's a Small World--she's been singing the song ever since we left!
The Toy Story ride in California Adventure
The new Little Mermaid ride
More characters
Waiting for the Aladdin show. A nice California Adventure employee gave Abby a button!
Abby finally fell asleep for about 30 minutes right before the parade.
Abby likes Captain Hook
We like the new movie "Tangled"
Abby and Mommy making faces
Abby ended up getting a Pluto and she loves him to pieces. When we arrived at Grandma's she tried to give him a bath!
The castle as we left. . . .
Back to Grandma's house--Lily and Great Granny Ruth
Lily and Grandma Barbara
Lily and Auntie Heather
Hooray for cousin Dexter!
Grandma and Grandpa have been working on their backyard and it is looking so good! We cannot wait until it is all done and we can play and swim in the backyard.
What a wonderful day! Disneyland and family--what could be better? We were exhausted when we finally made it home after 11 p.m., but it was worth it.
We will definitely do it again!!!

Last of August Fun

2011-09-10T04:27:00.006-07:00

I thought I should finish up the last of the August fun since it is already September!

On August 18th we invited Ron Kean and his Wife Peggy and daughter Sara over for dinner. I met Ron when he came to ASU and the ASU Chamber Singers performed one of his pieces (he is a conductor and composer). I was the assistant director at the time and so I got to work with him and get to know him. Then when we moved to Bakersfield I realized that he teaches at Bakersfield College! I've had the wonderful opportunity to go in and work with his choirs. His wife teaches voice at Cal State Bakersfield and I play for some of her students. So we have been trying to have them over for some time. We really enjoyed a great dinner and hope to have them over again soon.
I've learned that getting ready for Church with two children takes a little more time than one! It's always a race to get ready before we get picked up to direct the Ward Choir. Here is another day of being ready--Lily was hungry!
Abby is so good with Lily. She wants to help change her diaper, feed, her, make her laugh, etc. But we've also had some interesting times since Lily came! Abby has acted out a lot in negative ways and I found myself wondering how to help her be a good girl. I tried rewarding her for good things, such as building this fun fort and watching a movie together.
But then an hour later I found her bedroom like this!
She emptied her drawers and her dirty clothes all over the floor. I had to wash all of it because I was not sure what was dirty and what was clean! She has also been wetting her bed at night, doing the exact opposite of whatever we say, trying to hit us, etc. One day she bit me and she's never done that before, she also crawled into Lily's crib and as she climbed out, went to the bathroom everywhere, found baby powder and you can only guess where that went--all over everything and her! What a mess!
Now, thanks to an idea from my sister, Tiff, we are working on a sticker chart where she earns stickers for doing something the first time she is asked, helping with Lily, and any other positive thing she does. She's earning a Toy story tent that comes with a sleeping bag and pillow for a long time (found it at Christmas and have been saving it!). She is so excited about the tent and is ecstatic about each sticker. I believe it is making a difference!

Celebration of Lily

2011-09-06T20:52:00.010-07:00

On August 16th, our friends from Church held a party to celebrate Lily! It was such a wonderful party with delicious food, thoughtful gifts, and the nicest people. Matt's Mom and Dad drove up from LA just for the party and commented about how everyone was so sweet and genuine. A lot of people also thought of Abby which made it extra special for her. Thanks everyone!

We grabbed a quick bite to eat with Grandma and Grandpa before the party. Thank you for driving all of that way for Lily!
Check out the yummy food.
Diaper cake made by Amanda--adorable and useful!
Many Lily fans! Amanda, Heather and Sheryl
Shelley Yagers
Susan Dunn
Jill and Connie Randall
Everyone chattingGift from Grandma and Grandpa
Matching outfits!
Jill organized all of the gifts and Tricia wrote everything down
Wonderful gifts
Tricia, Jen, Lily, Stephanie (Stephanie and Amanda organized the party)
Abby and I
My girls!
Most of the group that came to celebrate (some had already left)
Thank you to everyone!

Two Adorable Girls

2011-09-06T20:33:00.005-07:00

Check out our beautiful girls! I took them to JCPenney's to get their pictures taken because they were having a great sale and I wanted to get a 6 week picture of Lily like we did with Abby. The funny thing was that Abby and Lily almost changed personalities at the photo shoot. Usually Lily is pretty calm and easy and Abby can be more difficult to get to sit still and do what you want her to do. Abby was an angel at the photo shoot. She did everything the photographer said and was very patient with Lily. Lily kept crying and would not stay in any of the positions the photographer put her in. I had to give her a bottle and then take it out for the picture and stick it back in. We even let someone else go so that I could feed her some formula.

But we still made it and have some cute pictures to show for it.
Big sister. . . .little sister.

Oh how time flies!

2011-09-03T17:07:00.018-07:00

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted. Can you tell I've had some other things going on?! Two kids definitely keeps me busier--especially since we did not have any preparation time for the second! Lily is absolutely wonderful and Abby is such a great big sister.

I thought I'd catch up on some pictures so enjoy!
Sunday, August 7th after Church:
Monday, August 8th Lily experienced her first Family Home Evening. We made it a special one and invited over our friends the Whitfield's and Aleman's. We had a good barbecue and a great lesson. All of the kids had a great time and everyone took turns holding and loving Lily.
Tuesday, August 9th we went to Abby's dance and gymnastics and everyone was very excited about Lily. Abby was proud to tell her teachers she is a big sister.
After dance we went over to our friend's house where we met up with other kids and had lunch. Then I ran Lily to her visit with her birth parents while Abby stayed and played. Thanks Marisa!
Since the day wasn't fun enough, we also got to see my cousin Mandy and her husband Russell. He is going to dental school at UCLA and they drove up to eat hang out, play with Abby and meet Lily! We were so excited they could come up and only wish they could have stayed longer. They are going to have a little girl after Christmas and we are so excited for them.
We've really enjoyed being outside in the backyard this summer and Abby loves her lion pool we found at Target. Best $15 I've spent in a long time!
On August 10th we had combined pool party for the young men and young women's activity. I worked with them on two songs they will sing for their upcoming Standards Night and then they enjoyed the pool. My friend Stephanie Holladay loved holding Lily and Abby found the cutest dog to hold. She would not put it down and we had to make her leave when it was time. Abby loves animals.
On the 14th Lily looked so cute that I had to take a picture!
This is one of Abby's favorite shirts. She calls it her Sparky shirt because it has Sparky the ASU mascot on it. I have to hide it when it is dirty or she will wear it again and again.
The morning of the 15th found us at dance and gymnastics once again. Everyone loved Abby's skirt which was given to her by Grandma Barbara. Abby is getting more comfortable with dance now and still loves gymnastics. We are always working on waiting our turn and listening!
A dancer in the making. . . .

Lily Elizabeth

2011-08-05T19:28:00.010-07:00

Our first few days with Lily have been truly amazing. She is such a good baby and we love her to pieces. She simply must be ours forever!
Here are a few pictures so that you can see how cute she is!

Tuesday, August 2nd (1 month old)
Her first bath with us
Cute in purple
Wednesday, August 3rd
Her debut at Young Men's and Young Women's (everyone wanted to hold her)
Thursday, August 4th
Grandma, Heather, Dexter and Great Granny Ruth came and brought Abby back from playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Abby had the greatest time and still had more fun with them at our house.
Granny Ruth meets Lily. We decided to name her Lily Elizabeth and that is Ruth's middle name. She seemed overwhelmed when we told her and is very excited about it!
My girls and I!
Dexter and Abby in Lily's crib and playing in Abby's new blow up lion pool.
Tickled by Matt.
New fence went up around the pond! It's actually more clear than this--it looks so good in direct sunlight. You hardly know it is there.
My friend, Amanda Pitts brought us a wonderful dinner and dessert.
Thank you Amanda it was so delicious!
Friday, August 5th
Abby feeds Lily twice.
Lily ready for her visit with her birth parents (I don't like this part). Matt went to the temple with the youth, so it was just us girls the rest of the day.
During the visit Abby and I ran and errand and went to the park. First she scales the
wall and then says, "I did it!"
After we got home the girls we swam in the pool. Well, Lily let me put her feet in, but only for a moment--need to let the water warm up a bit!
This is how Lily often looks when she sleeps.
Oh how I love my girls!

A Comment on Race . . . and Lily

2011-08-04T06:02:00.007-07:00

So for those who don't know, I'm white. I'm not caucasian because I have no ancestry from the caucus mountains of present-day Armenia and Georgia, but I understand that it is the box I'm supposed to check on forms. My problem with racial categorizations, and particularly the caucasian (or white) category, is that they presume all sorts of false generalities that are used to discriminate.

In 2001 sociologist Allan Johnson published his book, Privilege, Power, and Difference. I disagree with parts of the book, but Johnson does correctly identify many subtle social benefits of being white. On average, white people pay less than blacks for cars and per square foot of home, are less likely to be convicted with similar evidence, and as our new case worker explained to me this week, whites are less likely to have children taken from their home by social workers. White children are more likely to have positive role models of their own race, and, Allan notes, less likely to be shadowed by store clerks while shopping.

In an effort to combat this racism, many Americans support affirmative action type programs that turn the tables and favor non-whites for government contracts, educational admission, and other opportunities. Similar efforts are made to correct gender inequality as well. As a white male, I've faced quite a bit of institutional reverse discrimination. At times I've felt society overcompensated too much. I looked over Johnson's extensive lists of subtle benifits and found few that served me, but time and time again I saw where my identification as "white" limited my access and equality.

As a teen I grew up in an ethnically diverse suburb of Los Angeles. I was always "the white guy" and often suffered the exclusion that is typical of minorities in an a larger group, but made worse by the false assumption that I represented "the man". In fact, in graduate school some of my colleagues jokingly called me "the man" because I was the token white male (there was actually two of us) in a cohort of several dozen graduate students, and yet I somehow embodied the power structure (according to standard protest models).

As I completed my studies it also became obvious that as a white male I would simply be overlooked for most positions teaching Native American history. At conferences I attended many pseudo-academics asserted that by virtue of Indian ancestry they had access to some essential knowledge that could not be accessed by a white guy. This common racial essentialization is at direct odds with the very premise of academic inquiry (the notion that we can actually learn something), but that does not stop the growing ranks of pseudo-academics from endorsing racially exclusionary tactics that openly disadvantaged me.

This brings me to Lily. When the caseworkers offered us Lily they said we were selected because we were a good match. I was confused. Does Lily like college football? Has she longed for an older sister? How are we a good match? Surely there are other would-be foster parents in the system who would love a newborn baby, and they were probably already certified. We, on the other hand, had not done anything but fingerprints and still needed a home inspection (which is not up to code--a fence around our pond will be installed later today) and 12 hours of "training". Why did we get Lily? The answer surprised me - because we're white.

Apparently, there are lots of Mexican-American foster families but not many white families, and we were the only white folks (working with this particular agency) who could take in an infant right now. If we were not available they would have placed her with a Mexican-American family (in fact, the emergency foster home she briefly stayed with only spoke Spanish), but since were were available we jumped to the top of the list. Of course, this works both ways. They have very few white children--most are Mexican American--and so most of the time we'll be at the bottom of the list. It just happened that the caseworker's efforts to match race benefited us this time; most of the time it will be a disadvantage.

So, Allan Johnson, I have now seen a privilege that whiteness brings; however, don't be so foolish to think it whiteness brings only positive affects. I can still point to more discriminatory experiences based on my racial designation. Indeed, I can remember store clerks following me and I know what its like to be the odd man out, and to suffer an employment blockade because of my skin color. Perhaps one day we will actually achieve a "post-racial" American, but I don't know when.

Great Blessings

2011-08-01T21:52:00.018-07:00

I am not caught up on with our past fun adventures, but we have news that needs to be shared! Yes--fantastic news!!!! Can you guess? A baby! We have a new beautiful baby. . . .

Recently we've had a few close calls with newborn babies and things just haven't worked out. But it has encouraged us to go in a different direction. We decided to look into a foster care agency called Legacy. We met with them and felt good about things. They are an independent agency, but also work through the county.
Thursday we headed to Vacaville to see my brother Kevin for his 30th birthday. We had a great time with them and I will post those pictures later. Friday in the later morning we received a call from the agency and they said they thought they had a baby for us. We could not believe it. We thought we might have to go straight back home, but then we found out that she would be placed with us on Monday at 2 p.m. To make a long story short, we came home Saturday evening and hit Wal-Mart and Target before coming home for some supplies we knew we did not have. Sunday we went to Church and afterwards did something we don't normally do on Sunday--lots of tiny laundry! We knew it was not possible to get everything done before Monday. While we got things ready Abby found her bug costume and obviously had fun chasing us around.
We also rearranged Abby's room so that both girls can sleep together. I will have to take one with the bedding all done--it's much cuter. This way we can still keep the playroom and guest room. We will see how it goes--although the new baby will sleep in our room for now.
That brings us to today! I found Abby a "big sister" shirt so she proudly put that on before the baby came.
Our home got certified at noon and two caseworkers were here when they first brought the baby in.
There are a lot of things we do not yet know and nothing is for sure in these situations, but we have already fallen in love with her. Here's what we know:
Born: July 2, 2011
Weight: 6 pounds something ounces
Birth parents want to name her Lillianna (spelling?) and we would like to honor that, but we think we will name her Lily. We have a few middle names and will decide soon.
Brown hair, blue eyes, currently weighs about 7 pounds
She is such a good baby--content, smiles, happy to have someone hold her or lay on her back and look around.
Just to clarify--Lily is a foster care child that we are praying, hoping, wishing to adopt.
First family picture
Both girls fell asleep on me--treasure the moment!
Lily's new car seat (she slept while we ate dinner)
Abby trying to be a baby again
Grandma and Grandpa Garrett, Heather and Dexter came up to see the new baby. Then they took Abby home with them so that they could put her and Dexter's hands in the cement being poured in their backyard tomorrow. That way Abby gets special attention while we help Lily feel comfortable in her new home. Problem is, I miss my Abby already!
All the grandkids!
Aunt Heather
Abby and Dexter playing
Sisters!We are so blessed. I have to pinch myself when I look at both girls to know that I am not dreaming. We've waited so very long for both of them and pray that everything will work out so that we can keep Lily. We are absolutely in love with her. Heavenly Father definitely has a plan and I must always remember to trust in Him. We can't wait for you all to meet Lily.

Arizona In Fast Forward

2011-07-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

This post is called "Arizona in fast forward" because that's exactly how it felt. Abby and I were supposed to leave Sunday the 17th, but Saturday night we heard about a baby that had just been born in the hospital and there was a chance we might be able to see her and possibly adopt her. So we waited. . . .and waited. . . .by the phone. Finally Monday afternoon things did not look very good and Abby and I left for an appointment Tuesday morning. We arrive after 10:30 p.m. and then left early Wednesday morning. Too much driving for such a short visit!

But we did manage to see a few people while we were there.
My friend Lorraine and I.
Smolnik's and their new home.
I adore frozen yogurt and we managed to get some the night before we left with Tod, Illeva, Natalie, and Abby.
We really enjoy California but we still miss Tempe!

Family Memories

2011-07-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

We love having Matt's family close to us and try to see them as often as we can. Thursday, July 14th I had some appointments at UCLA, so Grandma and Grandpa met us afterwards for lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen. None of us had been there before and we enjoyed our lunch.

That following weekend Heather, Brandon and Dexter came to our house for a visit. We had so much fun with them and hope they come back very soon.
Saturday morning we left Dexter and Abby with our friend and the rest of us went and saw the last Harry Potter. I've read all of the books and enjoyed it very much. It's nice to see something you envision in your mind, put on a big screen. Although, things are different than in the book, but I knew that going in and just enjoyed what I saw. It was sort of a sad feeling to see it end. We really enjoyed our double date!
Heather and Brandon.
Here is a picture of the shed Matt built while we were in Washington. He poured the foundation himself! Quite the handy man.
Abby and Dex.
Playing at the park.
Dog piling Uncle Matt.
Campfire in the backyard. . . .smores. . . .yum. (We did burn a yellow circle in our grass though!)
There's nothing like family memories.

Preschool Swim Party

2011-07-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

Can you believe my baby is going to be going to preschool this fall? Crazy. I remember when she was 4 pounds! A wonderful woman in our ward does a playschool/preschool and it seems perfect for Abby. She will learn from someone besides me, and play and eat with other kids her age. She is soooooooooooooo excited about school. Maybe that's because she's seen us do so much school! On July 13th she went to her preschool swim party and had so much fun. She wants to start school now. Too bad it does not begin until September 7th.

Watch out preschool, here comes Abby Garrett!

Returning to Cali

2011-07-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

Late on July 11th, Abby and I returned from our Washington trip. We were very excited to see Matt (Daddy) again and the next morning we were thrown back into our regular routine. Abby had gymnastics and her first dance class! Matt purchased her ballet and tap shoes and she tried them on Abby before we left.

Let's go guys!
Abby dances all of the time--sometimes I can't get her to stay where I can see her in stories because she wants to be out in the middle of wherever she is, dancing. Many a crowd has watched her--especially at the grocery store. But this was different. She seems to get more nervous in a controlled situation like a dance class and she stood still for much of the class, watching the teachers and the other kids. She did not cry, but she did not dance unless the teachers helped her individually. By the end of the class she was more comfortable and I had to remind myself that gymnastics started out more that way and now she bounds through the gym door without even looking back. So I think this will just take a little time.
Here are some pictures of her first day.
Our garden also took off while I was gone. Check out the tomatoes and strawberries!
I love gardens!

Last From Washington

2011-07-11T23:55:00.000-07:00

On our final day in Washington we spent time with my sister and her incredible kids. I say incredible because they really are. Brynley, Kylee, Kennedy and Caleb are so much fun and Abby gets so excited to see them.
Abby first got a hair trim from the best stylist in the world--Tiff.

Then we went to a cupcake factory and the girls ate some gourmet cupcakes.

Finally we had to make our way to the airport and Abby loves to fly. She even got to talk to the pilot when we stopped and push a few buttons. That was her favorite part of the flight.
We are so grateful we spent 3 weeks in Washington and look forward to going back.

STP Adventure

2011-07-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

On July 9th and 10th Abby and I was fortunate to see my Dad (he's going to be 62 on August 5th) ride his bike in the Seattle to Portland (STP)--over 200 mile bike ride! I am so proud of him and so happy I was able to see him do it. What an accomplishment! Way to go Dad!

But it did begin a little rough. . . .
On the 8th he was testing out his bike and went up part of the hill in front of their house to see if everything was working smoothly. He then watched as a firetruck came down the hill and was not watching as his front tire went into a large hole and kicked him off his bike onto his shoulder on the pavement. I rarely see my Dad think anything is painful and as he laid on the living room floor I could tell he was in serious pain. Some worried that he would not be able to ride, but I didn't think he was going to let anything stop him.
Picture of dinner--Wendie and her kids (Kylee and Kevin).
That night we went up to Shakespeare's so that we could leave early in the morning the next day for the race.
Grandma and Kylee.
My Dad's brother, Jon came from Idaho to do the race. It was also his birthday!
Jeremiah helping Caleb to some yummy cake.
July 9: First day of the race! Beginning with breakfast.
Bikes in the van.
Meeting up with everyone and getting ready.
I got to take Jeremiah, Dad and Jon up to the race.
All 5 are ready: Jon, Jerry, ?, Dad, Jeremiah
Off they go!
First pit stop.
We met up with the riders for lunch at a park.
Shakespeare's after Jeremiah finished part of the first day.
Tiff took the kids back to Grandma and Grandpa's house and Mom and I followed the riders to their pit stop in Winlock.

Then we drove back to Grandma's and Grandpa's for some lasagna dinner. The riders were tired but feeling good.
The next morning the riders met at Winlock to finish the race.
We met them at the finish line in Portland. I worked really hard to find a place where my Mom could see my Dad cross the finish line. She was in her wheelchair, so that was a bit tricky. We waited quite a while to see them cross the finish line, but eventually we did. One of my favorite parts was when my Dad saw my Mom at the finish line. I won't forget that.
On the ride home Abby took Uncle Jon's helmet and loved wearing it. What a great adventure! I'm so proud of you Dad.

On another topic--my amazingly wonderful sister, Tiffany took me to get a pedicure and lunch on my last day in Washington. A girl came and watched all of the kids and we just escaped for a while. We don't get to do that very often and even though I wanted it to be longer, it was amazing. She is the best person to talk to and I only wish we did not live so far away. She is the best friend and sister I could ever hope to have. Love you Tiff! We must do this again.

July 4th

2011-07-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

I just cannot seem to get caught up, so here are more pictures from Washington! We had a great fourth of July, but let's have a few from July 3rd. We took some pictures after Church.

Wendie and her two great kids live with my parents and Abby had so much fun with them.
Wendie's kids have these stuffed dogs and Abby absolutely loved them. She took good care of them while the kids were staying with their Dad.
July 4th we flew Grandpa's plane down at Black Lake.
I just happened to see my high school choral director, Jack Arend while at the lake. It was so nice to see him again.
Then we went to our friends the Dobson's house and celebrated with good food, a slip and slide, great company and fireworks. It was a wonderful fourth of July and we even had gorgeous weather!

Jeremiah threw the kids down the slide and slide--it was Abby's first time!
Then he of course had to go down himself.
Grandma Karen and Nikki.
Abby was afraid of the fireworks, but Uncle Jerry calmed her down and held her while we watched.
What a great day!

New Law Requiring Homosexuality Taught to Children

2011-07-06T15:30:00.003-07:00

On 5 July 2011, the CA senate passed senate bill 48 ("the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act"). This law will require that educators (and textbooks) include the various gender and ethnic groups in America. This legislation, written/proposed by openly gay CA Senator Mark Leno, also includes passages that will require schools to teach the "role and contributions" of "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans" as part of the social studies curriculum.

Jerry Brown has just over ten days to sign or veto the bill (and he tends to support gay activists). If he chooses to veto the bill then I don't think Leno has the support to override--it would be dead (it initially passed by a vote of 23-14--well short of the 2/3 it would need). But if Gov. Brown signs the bill then our children will be taught about homosexuality in the classroom, and those who practice it will likely be elevated as examples of positive contributions to America.

California would be the first state to pass such a law, but others will likely follow suit. Furthermore, California and Texas historically determine the content of textbook nationwide; if California wants gay history woven into textbooks the rest of the country will be reading those same books. Consequently, this is an issue for all Americans who are concerned about the curriculum taught to their children. For more on the law see the CA Senate's notes webpage: http://info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_48&sess=CUR&house=B&site=sen

I find this bill disturbing on several fronts. First, it seems to me that this bill is an effort to normalize homosexuality as just another ethnic/gender/class group that is equally valid and brings good diversity. I don't agree, but I can accept that some feel that way. What I don't accept is that they want to pull an end-around. They can't get my vote so they want to change the curriculum so they can raise my child with their values and then win the votes. Our children should not be pawns for political squabbling. I can accept losing a vote, but I don't accept having my children indoctrinated by somebody else so that they can win the next vote. To Mark Leno and others I say, "Leave our children alone!"

On a second note, it bothers me that legislators who don't know squat about history are dictating what will be taught. The truth is that there are not many people who professed a homosexual lifestyle throughout history; they blended in and did not have a unique identity and experience until quite recently. To recreate a historical narrative where they stand out is to manipulate and revise history for current political needs--not authenticity's sake. With the possible exception of the Stonewall Riots, there is not really any gay history that belongs in the mainstream narrative. If we include the few obscure events that would qualify then why not include every other obscure historical event and turn our historical narrative into a chaotic all-inclusive mess that values events not for genuine cause/effect significance but rather for present-day political gain. This bill is a mistake.

I hope you will join me in sending Gov. Brown a message that conveys your feelings about this law. You can submit messages at his webpage: http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php

If you are going to send him a message, do it fast. He could be deciding on the bill right now. And if you don't live in California, you don't need to volunteer that information in the message you send him.

So behind

2011-07-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

Wow how time flies. Traveling makes for lots of pictures and not much time to put them on the blog. This post will be mainly catching up which means lots of pics and not much for words. Probably just as you would like!

I will begin with the rest of our wonderful Washington trip.
My Mom and I took Abby to a Children's Museum in downtown Olympia and she loved every room.
Abby the farmer:
Look Daddy, I can water just like you!
Abby the cashier:
Abby said, "I'm workin' Mom."
Abby the foreman:
Abby the sailor:
Abby the medic:
Abby the doctor:
Abby the musician:
What a fun place--she wants to go back!
My Dad builds and flies model airplanes and so he took Abby to the lake by their house and let her drive the plane on the water and showed her how it flies. She was very excited.
Tumwater Falls Park is one of my favorite places back home so I took Abby one afternoon. We walked around and saw all of the waterfalls and played on the boats I played on as a kid.
On July 2nd, Abby, Grandma, Grandpa, and I went up to my sister Tiffany's. The kids played outside and Uncle Jeremiah threw some of the kids down the slip and slide. They had popsicles, played with water guns and just had fun being outside.
My first popsicle Mom! (Mom looks on in the background.)
Well this is a start in catching up! More to come!

More Washington Adventures

2011-07-01T22:54:00.016-07:00

On Monday, June 27th, My Dad and Mom, Abby, Aunt Christie, Uncle Jerry and I went over to our friend's the Sampson's for a really fun, somewhat rainy barbecue. They have the most beautiful house and yard and we all had a great time. Abby was able to play with new toys--especially a train and an enormous stuffed dog, and we all sat outside, roasted hot dogs and made smores. Jerry even decided to my 'berry smores' which included fresh cut up strawberries. It actually looked really good.

Mattie, a picture of the glass fence at the Sampson's. . . .(we would like to do the same around our pond if possible).
Tuesday (28th) Abby went up and played with Jerry for a little while and I took my Dad in to have a spot on his skin removed at the doctor. I of course watched and took pictures.
On the drive home we even saw some elk in the field. We tried to get Abby and show her too, but they were gone when we came back.
Jerry and Abby after a fun play date.
I learned something interesting on Tuesday: do not give a child a hostess cupcake while driving in a car. As you can see, Abby liked it, but boy did we clean up a mess! I think that was her first hostess cupcake ever. Maybe her last!
We also went and saw all of the boats in Puget Sound while my Mom had a massage therapy appointment. It was a little chilly, but Abby even got to get up close to one of the boats.
Wednesday, June 29 we went back up to Puyallup to my sister's to help with the kids while she ran to an appointment in Seattle. We had a great time and I even got a hair cut! It's completely different and I love it! Matt will be happier because it is much shorter.
Grandma Karen with the grandkids: Kylee, Abby, Kennedy, Brynley
Lunch time and dinner time
New hair!
On July 1st I had a grand adventure at the ophthalmologist. I thought I'd been battling some allergies but Friday morning I realized that my eyes were rather jelly and almost "fish-eye-like." Tricky to explain, but they did not look good. The family doctor said I should have a specialist look at them just to make sure, so we ventured over to the specialist and ended up with some eye drops that sting my eyes and an unsure diagnosis. But they are getting much better. You just never know what a day will bring.
There are more pics to share, but I think this is enough to post tonight and my eyes are telling me to go to bed! So more pics soon!

Washington Fun

2011-06-25T23:27:00.021-07:00

I feel terrible. Abby and I did make it to Washington and we've had a wonderful time, but I have not posted anything since we got here. Matt is probably so lonely and he hasn't even been able to see a picture of Abby. So I will make amends with less words and more pics. Here goes:

June 19 (Sunday): First, a few pics when we were at Matt's parents in California.
Abby chatting with Great Granny Ruth in her bedroom
Grandpa Roger with both grand kids eating ice cream.
Matt torturing his sister Heather--notice that her spouse does not mind at all!
June 20: Abby and Dex playing in the kitchen.
Abby is the best traveler and this time she had her own backpack to carry on the plane. She was very excited.
Eating pizza with Daddy before the flight.
On the flight in her own seat.
We arrived in WA on Monday the 20th and were able to quickly see my sister, Tiff and her family. Abby was so excited to see them and I even let her stay up late because they were having so much fun. My sister and brother-in-law Jeremiah have four wonderful kids: Brynley, Kylee, Kennedy and Caleb. The girls all slept underneath the basketball game in the playroom. Abby was keeping all of the girls awake with her endless energy and laughter. Her cousins are so much fun and she was sad when they left to go to a family reunion in Utah.
Brynley bathed Abby and brought her down the stairs in the towel.
June 21: Abby, Kennedy and Kylee
Lunch outside on the deck
Reading books
Jen feeding Caleb
Tiff ran errands and I helped the kids accomplish their list of chores. They did a great job and ended up with a surprise treat: slurpies!
Sleeping kids on the way to Grandma and Grandpa's.
When they arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's it was straight to the sprinkler.
Grandpa trying to figure out what Abby is doing--she hops on one foot all of the time.
Yummy barbecue
Tiff with Abby and Jen
After the cousins left Abby played with Kevin and Kylee--they live with my parents right now with their Mom, Wendie and are the greatest blessing.
June 22: taking Grandma to her infusion.
Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and Happy Teriyaki: yum!
June 23: Nature Trail
Cuddling with Grandma
My sister-in-law Alix made a really cool quilt for my parents with the grandkids pictures on it.
They loved it.
June 24: helping Grandma with errands
Watching Grandpa bike home from work.
Jen's Chinese food (only egg rolls and fried rice)
June 25: met up with Grandpa and Uncle Jerry during their 90 mile bike ride training for the STP (Seattle to Portland bike ride)
Playing on playground after seeing Grandpa
Wrestling with Grandpa
June 26: My Dad and I played the organ for prelude and then performed our own arrangement of "How Great Thou Art." We took a piano solo and then made it into a duet. I love to play with my Dad and I think the congregation really enjoyed the music.

Sunday night we went up to my Aunt Christie and Uncle Jerry's for really yummy dinner.
Jerry ate with Abby up at the bar.
Christie and Abby and Jen.
Jen and Grandma Karen.
Super yummy homemade apple pie.
Well, that takes my through Sunday! I will catch up on the rest later--now it's way past time for bed and Abby will be up before I know it.
Your girls miss you and love you Mattie/Daddy!

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T15:34:00.011-07:00

Well Abby and I were supposed to be in Washington already, but we hit a few snags along the way. So not we are flying to Washington tomorrow (Monday) and we are currently at the Garrett's enjoying Grandma, Grandpa and Granny Ruth. We are excited to fly out tomorrow! Abby is such an amazing traveler.

Happy Father's Day! I love Father's Day--a day to celebrate wonderful men that make such a difference in our lives. Today after Church Abby took a picture with two of her favorite men: Grandpa Roger (choo-choo Grandpa) and her Daddy. We appreciate all that Grandpa Roger does for us and Abby gets so excited to see him, especially when he takes her to see and ride trains.
We love you Grandpa Roger.
Here is picture of my amazing Dad. Did you know he is training to ride the Seattle to Portland, 200-mile bike ride! He is one of my heroes! My Dad has taught me and given me so much. My love for music began with watching him play the piano. He plays with such passion and is so good at passing that passion for music to all he encounters. He has over 12 private students right now and they aren't just piano! He can play so many instruments and I know he has blessed countless lives. None more than mine. I love you Daddy. Here is one of our very first pictures!
And another when Dad first met Abby!
Matt is the best father and husband. I could make a list of his many unbelievable characteristics, but I don't think anyone wants to read that long list. Let's just list a few highlights: he takes such good care of us, is so organized, gives his all to his calling, tackles any project he says he will do (the backyard is a perfect example), makes us all laugh, and so much more. I know more and more everyday that I married the very best man and cannot even begin to imagine my life without him. He is my greatest support and my very best friend. We love you Mattie (Daddy).
Last Sunday I snapped a few quick pics of Abby. She just always looks so cute and we had matching hair.
Sunday evening we invited our friends, the Henrie's over and had a wonderful time chatting with them over dinner. They are such wonderful people. Abby was in heaven playing with their youngest daughters. She got to eat at the kid table with them and them had a blast in the playroom. Abby did not want them to leave. Steve Henrie helped put in an electrical outlet above our kitchen cupboards and now we have a soft light to illuminate the nice things that will someday be up there. It will also make it wonderful during holidays when I can put up the Christmas lights and be able to easily turn them on and off. Thanks Steve!
Monday morning Abby and I had dentist appointments. It should be obvious from the picture below that Abby got a little upset and we decided to take her to a pediatric dentist later that will be much more comfortable and familiar with frightened children. She did watch me get my teeth cleaned and thought that was pretty cool, so I think it will go better when she tries again.
Abby did her last swimming class for a little while at least. We can now sign her up for dance classes and I think that is a better investment of time and money. Besides, we just cannot afford 3 classes! She dances all the time, so I think she will love it. We will keep her in gymnastics and dance when we return from Washington.
Abby doing push-ups at gymnastics--she was the only kid that could do them.
Tuesday night when Matt was teaching his night class I took Abby out to feed the fish that only eat late at night.
I noticed a large toad across the pond and took a picture so that Abby could find it and we could put it on the blog. We still need to name him!
I was also able to capture a picture of some of the fish!
One of our tomatoes and some jalapenos are actually ripe!
I finished another blanket and this time it is for my friend from high school, Lorien that just had a baby. She lives in Provo so I sent it to her this week. I love new babies!
Matt and Roger took Abby to something called Travel Town in L.A. on Saturday while I took care of some medical stuff. She had such a blast with all of the train stuff.
She cannot wait to go back.
This Sunday morning Abby helped Grandma Barbara put away silverware, wash dishes, and load dishes in the dishwasher. She is such a big help.
I want to express my gratitude for our friends and family. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful people in our lives. Especially in time of trial they are so full of encouragement and love. I appreciate all of the prayers that are uttered in our behalf and know that those prayers bring about great miracles in our lives.

Girls Night

2011-06-13T16:26:00.011-07:00

This week began with playing the piano at Cal State University Bakersfield. I play the piano for five of the voice students and they had a recital Monday evening and their vocal juries on Tuesday. Everything went well and Abby enjoyed playing with Matt on Monday and with her friend SoJung on Tuesday. It also gave my hands and brain a pretty good work out too! The five kind students I played for ended up going together and getting me a gift card which was so kind of them.

I had an experience while at CSUB--it's interesting how you can be reminded that the Spirit speaks to us about even small and simple things. I changed my clothes for the recital on Monday night at CSUB. I changed in a bathroom stall and then used the mirror for a few minutes. As I left to go to the recital I looked around and gathered up my things. Something very clearly told me to go back to the stall, but I had already looked in there earlier out so I began to walk out. Then I was prompted again. So I opened the door and stared right at my car keys sitting on top of the toilet paper thing on the wall. It sounds like an insignificant thing, but I can just imagine myself after the recital, searching through my bag, dumping everything out looking for my keys and not knowing where they were. I probably would have found them eventually, but how wonderful that I did not have to go through all of that. I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father watches out for me--even for the little things.
Tuesday and Thursday mornings we went to gymnastics and swimming. Matt came with us on Tuesday and that made it even more fun. Abby likes to do flips on Matt:
Abby wanted to show her Grandma's her new swimming suit.
Abby jumping in all by herself on Thursday!
This Friday night Matt had a camp out with the Young Men which meant a really fun Girls Night for Abby and I. After I finished teaching piano Abby wrote letter to her cousins Preston and Noah. They sent Abby a letter and so we sent one back. Then we walked to the mailbox to mail the letter.
After our walk we made some dinner and ate outside.
Abby showing off her Orange Julius mustache!
After a quick bath Abby picked out a movie--Kung Fu Panda and while we watched we painted our toe nails which even included little white flowers.
To finish off our movie we made popcorn and little chocolate milkshakes and sat cuddled up on the couch together.
To end our night we fed the fish (who only come out and eat at night), read the Book of Mormon, brushed teeth, prayed, sang our songs and went to sleep. Well, Abby went to sleep--I stayed up doing county adoption paperwork! What an amazing Girls Night!
Saturday morning I cleaned our house top to bottom since we had friends coming over on Sunday and I want to leave Matt with a really clean house before we head up to Washington this coming Saturday. While I cleaned I brought out a painting project for Abby and you can see just how much fun she had doing it!
Garden update:
We have a Roma tomato that is turning red....how exciting!
Here is another tomato plant that now has tomatoes growing
I brought this Roma tomato plant back from Arizona. Look Megan--it's growing!
Clementine tree
Look closely--Clementine's? Not sure yet, but hopefully!
Lastly, I should provide an update on my wonderful mother. Abby and I originally planned to go up to Washington during my Mom's stem cell transplant so that I could help take care of her. Thursday my Mom found out that the doctors did not recommend doing the transplant as they knew it would do more harm than good. This was a little disappointing for my Mom, but she is doing well and we are looking forward to spending a couple weeks with her. She will now get to enjoy all the bundle of energy that is Abby and I can help her finish projects that are hanging over her head. We are really excited to spend time with my parents and my sister and her family.

Fun Adventures

2011-06-05T15:18:00.014-07:00

This week's adventures included the usual--swimming and gymnastics, but also a fun Memorial Day barbecue, two new fish, a quick trip to LA and the Standing Bear Pow-Wow in Bakersfield.

Monday we were invited to our friends--the Petersen's for a Memorial Day feast.
We had great food and wonderful company.

Abby loved getting back to gymnastics and swimming since we missed last week.
Abby loves to use the rings.
On Thursday morning a friend from our Ward, Kate came over to play while her parents attended 8th grade graduation. She and Abby had so much fun and pretty much looked like sisters.
We went to a pet store and looked around and ended up picking up two more koi that already know how to eat the fish food we have. Our other fish will not eat yet and so we thought it would help. It had not helped until last night when I went out to feed them and some of them actually ate! We hope it will continue as we do not want our fishies to starve. Here are our two new fish: Herbie (the Cornhusker--bottom) and Nemo (top).
Thursday I had an appointment in LA, so Abby came along and we met Grandma and Grandpa at the temple. I wanted to do a session, but I did not make it in time. So I went with them to Santa Monica Pier for a quick visit to the beach. Grandma and Grandpa bought Abby some ice cream and we posed on the rather windy beach.
Then they dropped me off and had a lot of fun on the temple grounds and the visitor center.
Abby enjoyed playing on the computers.
Abby loves to explore and will do it all on her own!
Saturday we went to the Standing Bear Pow-Wow on Bakersfield College campus. Matt helped set up for it Friday morning and then we went Saturday evening. We walked around, got some fry bread, and watched the dancers. Abby was so fascinated with the dancing. She just stood there and watched. Standing in one place for more than a second is not something she does all that often.
Us with Matt's student and president of his Native American Club at Bakersfield College.
What a fun week!

Disneyland and Grandparents--what could be better?

2011-05-29T15:53:00.021-07:00

Sunday night we headed down to L.A. to be with Matt's parents. Monday we visited Disneyland and then Tuesday they got to come with us. Abby was on cloud 9--Disneyland and Grandma and Grandpa. She was pretty darn happy. Warning: there will be a lot of pictures! I know you probably do not want to see them all, but I turn the blog into a book and Abby will want to see all of these, so oh well! I love pictures--especially if they are of Abby.

First day of Disneyland:
CA Adventure has a great play area and Abby loves the slides and places to climb.
Second day of Disneyland with Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Roger:
Eating lunch (brought it to save money!)
Aladdin show
After two days in Disneyland we spent the next day helping Matt's parents find out information on the backyard patio they want to do. They want to have a place where we can all go outside and a patio is a great way to do that. We love ours.
Walking out of the patio place--Abby likes to flip over while holding on to two people as they walk!
Grandma and Grandpa treated us to lunch at a popular L.A. restaurant called Philippes. They are known for their french dip sandwiches and I must say they were darn good. As a matter of fact, I want to eat one right now!
Abby trying her first pickled egg--she's braver than I am!
After the restaurant we visited Union Station and saw the trains--Abby was excited and it was a pretty cool place.
After two long days of fun I found Matt and Roger crashed on a bed and Grandma singing songs to Abby after her bath--so cute.
When we returned home we went and bought some fish. We ended up with six koi to see how they do. So far Abby named two of them--the black one is "Midnight" and the biggest white and blue is "Cougar." She is working on the rest. Right now they seem traumatized by their new home and like to hide from us. They have not eaten the food we give them, but we hope they will adjust. Abby is so excited to go out and see them. What fun it is to have fish in the pond.
We also finally planted something in our back planter. Small palm trees were on sale at Home Depot, so we picked up a few. They look so good in the yard.
It seems that many of our friends are having children and so I thought I would make and send them a baby blanket. I will not say who as I am sending them this week and I do not want them to know. But here are two of the blankets. One for a girl and one for a boy.Matt mentioned the Kirby sales people in our last e-mail. Although we did not buy the vacuum it sure did pick up a lot of dirt out of a carpet that has only been used since September! Take a look:

Free Carpet Cleaning

2011-05-29T15:17:00.010-07:00

Yesterday Jen invited in a door-to-door salesman who promised a free carpet cleaning, apparently as part of an effort to sell his cleaning service. How could Jen say no to a free vacuuming and shampoo? As it turned out, he was not selling a service, but rather a vacuum. I pulled into the driveway just as two Kirby vacuum salesmen stepped into the house.

The two salesmen did a silly two man routine where one worked on us and the carpet while the other went to check on other agents and came back to schmooze us over every fifteen minutes. As the one vacuumed I searched the web for dirt on the Kirby company. Here is what I found:

Everyone loves the vacuums--they are legitimate. I don't believe that the vacuum was just on 1/3 power, as the salesman claimed, but it still did pull out a heck of a lot of dirt (maybe 5 cups or so from a 10ft. x 10 ft. patch of carpet that was just vacuumed by a newly purchased and Consumer Report celebrated vacuum). After he disassembled it it was obvious that he was not secretly importing dirt--it really came from my seemingly clean carpet.
The company is frequently criticized for two "scams":

"Scam" #1: They make empty promises to potential employees and ultimately don't pay them squat for their work. Our guy confirmed internet rumors that he was expected to do 60 demonstrations a month and that they have a high turnover rate.
"Scam" #2: They use high sales pitches to pressure buyers and charge highly fluctuating prices that leave some feeling burned. Our guys told us the vacuum cost $2,700! He then discounted us $200 for our vacuum in a trade-in, then knocked off $100 because he liked me so much (right). When I laughed at the $2,400 price it magically dropped to $1,830 or so. Too bad for the salesman I also checked ebay and found that online they sold for $300 and up. I refuse to pay more than $300 for a vacuum, even if it comes with a paint sprayer attachment (somehow I doubt that does a quality job spraying paint).

I'm not sure any of this qualifies as a scam, but they certainly misrepresented themselves and do charge exorbant prices; still, the product is pretty amazing.

Has anybody else had any Kirby experiences?

We Love Nice People

2011-05-22T22:12:00.009-07:00

This week we were so blessed to interact with some of the nicest people. Let's quickly go through the week and you will see what I mean. First, Abby had gymnastics and swimming--twice this week (Tuesday and Thursday). This was because we will miss it this next week since we are at Matt's parents house. All of Abby's coaches are outstanding. They do an excellent job of being firm but kind and constantly trying to motivate her to be a little better. She is getting braver at going under water and always willing to try new things in gymnastics. Here are a few pics from both days.

Tuesday Matt got to come with us since he has 2 weeks off before he teaches again.
Abby on the beam.
Abby flipping over the bar all by herself.
Look! She is even sitting down and sort of listening to the coach!
On Tuesday after gym and swim we went to a little Bugseum. It really was a store that advertises itself as a museum to get people to come. They had some cool bugs to see and it was free. Here are Matt and Abby outside the store and checking out the ants. The tarantulas were pretty cool--but too difficult to get a good picture of.
My best example of nice people occurred Thursday evening. One of my piano students trades for babysitting and so she stayed and played with Abby while Matt and I ran to Michael's to see if we could have our diplomas framed while there was a good sale. We met a wonderful women at the custom frame department who devoted a great deal of time to helping us. She priced the cost of custom frames--which we definitely could not afford and then helped us get frames and mats. She also helped us with a few other projects we were doing. We framed a waterfall picture for the bathroom and a BYU basketball program from my sister and her family that Matt received for Christmas. The woman ended up telling us to go to dinner and that everything would be put together when we returned at no cost. Isn't that amazing? So we shared a meal and even found a mirror for my music room for an awesome deal at Ross! When we returned she had everything put together (it would have taken me hours and she handled everything with gloves, special tape and backing, etc.) Plus she did some extra things for us in regards to the program and did not charge us! She was AMAZING. We told the manager that we had some of the best service we've ever received in a store. We went home quite happy.
Diplomas hung above the piano.
New mirror for my voice students.
Our new bathroom decoration: waterfall picture taken by Matt's department chair.
One other change to our home and more nice people!. . . .Tuesday on our way home we passed by the new homes in our area where the company that built our home was finishing laying sod. They looked finished and there was sod just sitting there. So Matt went and asked what they were going to do with the extra sod. The man ended up telling Matt he could have the sod! So Matt put it in our trunk (took a couple trips) and ended up getting over $200 worth of sod which we wanted for our front yard, but could not afford right now. We wanted there to be less mulch and more grass in our front yard. Matt spent the next few hours laying the sod and it looks great!
Saturday I held my first music recital in Bakersfield. Ten kids were supposed to perform and only one was unable to make it. They all played so well and I was so proud of them. Here we are after the recital--celebrating and eating good food. I cannot wait to hear what they will sound like in the Christmas recital. For 6 of the kids it was their first recital! The best part is that I am blessed to work with the best kids and parents--another example of nice people. They bless my home and my life and I am so happy to share with them something I love so much.
Finally--pond update. Matt planted the plants outside the pond and finished the mulch. We will have fish on Friday!
Now we are at Grandma's and Grandpa's and tonight (Sunday) we celebrated Great Granny Ruth's 86th birthday with a yummy dinner and dessert. She is such a wonderful person and we are so grateful that we can share in her life. We love you Granny!
Here is Abby giving Granny her birthday card after dinner.