Trick or Treat!

Halloween is always such a stressful day... maybe not the whole day, but anytime you need to go anywhere where costumes are worn, it always seems to be a bit crazed!  We took these photos while we should have been in the car traveling to "trunk or treat" at the church.  Whatev. we still made it to the church in time, got loads of candy, saw cute people with cute costumes; and now here I sit in my jammies, in front of my computer, at 8:32pm, whilst all my kids are still off partying and stuffing their sticky, little faces with more sugar than should be allowed by any responsible mother.  Ahhh, the joys of Halloween with teens or preteens.  You can send them to someone else's house and pretend they are currently asking their host if there are any celery sticks in the fridge they can munch on.  Oh yes... the joys!!

98 Degrees

No, this isn't the band... this is the temperature it was at the pumpkin patch last Thurs. when we went hunting for pumpkins. (it always seems we can't visit a pumpkin patch unless it's over 90 degrees) Needless to say, everyone was mighty quick to pick out the pumpkin they wanted, none of this going back and forth, "Do I want this one or do I want that one...or hey! how about that one over there???"  Yep, pretty much they would have liked it if I just picked one out for them while they waited in the air conditioned car.  We brought Macy with us and she was most interested in the dead, rotten pumpkin she found off to the side.  But, heat wave aside, we still got some cute photos.  I love the green and the orange together.  Fall colors are fabulous even if it is Sahara Dessert weather.  Someday maybe I'll post some pictures of the other years we've spent in the pumpkin patch in the blazing heat.

Be Still My Heart

Need I say more?

Opportunities

As most of you probably know, Brad is a Canadian.  Although he has been in the US for about 20 years it wasn't until about 2 years ago that he became naturalized.  He'd been intending to become such, for a long time, but it's funny how these things get away from you.  Plus, hearing horror stories from his brothers made it seem like an overwhelming, nigh unto impossible, task (he can now tell you it's really not).  This year he has the opportunity to participate in his first US election.  And what a doozy!  This crazy Presidential Election, and of course Prop. 8 here in CA.  What a perfect time to get in on the action.  We vote by mail around here so here are a couple of pics. I snapped of him in his first real US election.  Doesn't he look smart?  Our kids just laugh when they see him peering over the top of his glasses like this, but I think it's just cute.

Another opportunity Brad has now, as of Sunday, is to be a member of our ward's Bishopric at church.  It is a lot of responsibility and means some sacrifice on his (and his family's) part.  But you know what they say,  "Sacrifice brings blessings!"  I say bring 'em on ;-)  Brad will do a great job.  He is very diligent, he's a doer, everyone likes him and he has some serious skills in networking and computer know-how.  Not to mention he has an iphone - this has to aid in his qualifications, don't you think?

Speaking of the iphone... Since members of the Bishopric sit up front on the stand on Sundays, Brady's biggest concern is that he will no longer be able to play with Brad's iphone during church.  (Brad has some very cool applications on his phone, everything from etch-a-sketch, to photo-morph. to puzzles - ask him about it, I feel quite certain that he would be happy to show you)  Anyway, it sounds like Brady is going to have a new opportunity as well, to actually listen to what the speakers are saying.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Afton also has a new opportunity, which also started on Sunday.  She was called as the new president of her Beehive Class.  You know, the 12-13 year old girls at church.  There are about 12-15 girls in the class, she'll do great, what with being able to text and IM and email many of them (she must get her networking skills from her dad)  Not to mention, she'll get to be in charge (another fortae of hers).  Her Young Women leader is none other than her mom, Me.  I hope it will be a good thing.  I did feel inspired submitting her name... I'm just gonna keep reminding myself of that. She is a good girl and has tremendous leadership ability.  Did I mention she is one of the 2 team captains of her 8th grade volleyball team?  The coach picked her after 1 practice.  When she was wondering why, I told her it's not hard to see that she takes it seriously but still knows how to have fun.  I have a feeling this is how she is going to lead the Beehive class.

Go family!!!  You Rock!!

Old Friends...

Then

Today

I got a text this afternoon from a number I didn't recognize - when I opened it it was from Adam Whitefield, my brother, Derek's best friend from high school.  He is currently living Utah. His text said he said he and his family were at the San Juan Bautista Mission and wondered if I was home.  

A little while later he, his wife, their daughters and her mother all showed up.  How fun (at least for Adam and me -- totally boring for his family, and mine who high-tailed it upstairs for the remainder of their visit.)  I haven't seen Adam in a good 17-18 years.  He looks exactly the same!  You look at the pictures and you be the judge.  It was hilarious to catch up on all the old people we knew as teenagers.  Adam has always been super friendly and he is no different now.  

A couple of  things I remember about Adam.  He memorized all the names of the kids in our family by a pencil my parents had made up that had all our names on it.  He can still recite them very quickly STEFDEREKKRISKARENSUZIEJANETSHANNON. We took a college drafting course together (I was always sooooo grateful he was there.  I didn't understand geometry at all and he was my lifeline in that class.)  The Whitefields owned a Rhodesian Ridgeback. He and his family drove an old car that had the engine out of an old police car.  He took his drivers test in our old, red VW Squareback and got points marked off because the window wouldn't roll down. Random things I know, but, isn't that what being a teenager is all about.

I think it's time for some sort of reunion with all those old people (oops, did I imply that all those people are old?) ahhhh! those were the days.

And the winner is....MACY!!

MACY!!

She is our new puppy!!  Isn't she the cutest?  There's something about a new puppy that just melts your heart, even if you aren't particularly a dog person!  That face, those ears, sweet puppy breath, even the whining at the door is endearing.  She is so AWESOME!!!.  She arrived at the San Jose airport from Boise Monday morning where Brad and I picked her up.  Many of you have probably seen those photos.  We decided we were going to surprise the kids.  They knew we were getting the puppy soon, but weren't sure when.  It was so fun on Monday night when we all finally arrived home for them to freak out over the new bundle of joy.  Our cover was just about blown about 25 during the day (we don't get home until 7:45 Monday nights) times as Brad couldn't control his "send" button and emailed photos to almost everyone we knew the second we left the airport parking lot.  I played dumb (not hard for me to do) a lot that day as friends we saw kept asking about the puppy.  It was all worth it to see their faces and hear their "puppy" screams as she came wandering through the house when we finally got home.

NOW!  Came the hard part.  Since we have known about the impending arrival of a new dog in our household for many months, we have had TONS (way too much) time to think over possible names for her.  When it came right down to it, there were several that most of us liked, a few that a couple of us liked and NONE that we all totally agreed on as our number 1 choice.  We all had our favorites, and no 2 were the same.  Brad liked Belle, I liked Indigo (Indi, for short), Kelsi liked Maggie, Afton liked Boo, and Brady liked Marshmallow.  We have all been campaigning for our favorite name for several weeks now, to no avail.  In fact in pure Meyer stubbornness the more we liked a certain name, the less everyone else liked it.  And the less everyone else liked it the more determined we were for the puppy to have that particular name.  All that day in the back of my head I knew we would have to pick a name that we may or may not have thought of yet, but that we hadn't verbally beaten to a pulp during all our conversations (I secretly mourned the name Indigo).  Finally after trying a few different ideas (short of drawing it out of a hat) and all failing miserably (with each of us more determined than ever the "win" the name game) Brad suggested Macy.  We all stopped, looked around at each other and then conceded that "I can live with that."  So, Macy it was! It was so easy to start calling her that right away.  It fits her, she is adorable we know we made the right decision.

Some other possible names we had on our list were

Blue (we all liked it, just a little bit boring and cliche)

Lacy

Candy

Snickers

Pepsi

Cherry

Roxy

And my "out of the box" suggestion "Java Blue" ( I think I was trying to liven up plain ol' Blue -- just as a side note, NO ONE liked it :-( typical)

Yes on Prop. 8

Well if any of you know me very well, you know that the last thing I like to do is to discuss items that may cause controversy or confrontation.  And politics is something that I wouldn't normally post about on my blog. 

That being said, I, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, have been instructed by divinely inspired leaders to get the word out there.  They said to use Facebook, YouTube, Texting, Twittering, Websites, and yes... BLOGS.  Now don't misunderstand, just because I wouldn't normally post items like this, doesn't mean I am not glad for the challenge and the opportunity to make a difference in getting Prop. 8 to pass. If posting on my Blog helps, then I am happy to do so. 

As scary as it is for me to go door to door, to make phone calls, post a blurb on my blog, or to insert my political opinion, I am so grateful for the chance I have to CHOOSE how I think it should be, and to educate people on the ramifications of the defeat of Prop. 8.  Of course I hope that enough people will cast their vote in the affirmative, so this proposition will pass,  but what a great opportunity to be able to decide.  I'm glad we don't have someone (king, dictator, judges - did I just say judges?) deciding for us. (well, in this case we ALREADY decided in 2000, and then 4 judges took that decision away from us -- I'm grateful to have the chance to RE-decide)

Because this Proposition deals with sensitive, moral and mature issues, sometimes my position is seen as discriminatory or intolerant. Like I feel like I'm ELITE in supporting traditional marriage.  But at least this time, this issue that is on the CA ballot, isn't about rights, toleration or discrimination.  People might site the mistreatment of Blacks, Jews, Women and many other cultures, religions and beliefs in this case as being the same type of thing. And even though this initiative can be misconstrued as being discriminatory ( even like these other instances) it really isn't.  Last time I checked, gay people, can drink out of fountains, ride public transit, vote, and have laws in place that help them receive the same benefits as heterosexual people/couples, and I would not want to change that.  Unfortunately there are those that may not be tolerant or might hate gays or the gay community, but please don't think that I (and most others who support this proposition) fit into this category.  A Yes vote on Prop. 8 won't add or take away any rights of gay people. What this is about is, the Supreme Court in CA changing the law AFTER the voters already voted to keep marriage defined as, "between a man and a woman", several years ago.  What we are fighting for now is, to have this definition reestablished.  Personally, I like to know that my vote is powerful and when I (and the American public) vote something into law, I feel undermined to think that 4 --yes, only four-- judges could overturn the decision of 61% of the voters in CA - do you know how big California is?.)  

In addition to keeping our voting privileges secure, keeping the definition of marriage as "between a man and a woman" keeps church and state separate.  If Prop. 8 does not pass, churches can loose their tax exemption status, religious adoption agencies will be forced to change their policies or close,  any teachings of exclusive heterosexual marriage (even in church) can be viewed and prosecuted as "hate speech", schools will HAVE to add certain things to their curriculum that my go against some family's moral teachings. There are also many more repercussions that as yet, may be known or unknown if marriage is redefined.  

This is not a slight on gay people.  I know many, and have had many as very good friends over the years.  I don't want to discriminate, I love them (REALLY, I do! I know, I seem naive and uneducated and that I'm not being sensitive to their wishes and desires, but I have lived in CA my whole life, there are many gay people to know and love) And there DOES need to be ALTERNATIVE ways of taking care of rights and privileges that doesn't, in the long, run discriminate against the rights and privileges of traditionalists and religious groups and  peoples.  This is what this Proposition is about.  

As we have talked to many people about this issue, Brad and I have found many out there who feel the same as some of you. That everyone is entitled to happiness, or who cares what "they" do, it's "their" business. But most people don't realize how it may likely affect them and their families if this proposition fails.  I hope this helps with a little perspective and I want you to know, I respect everyone's political views.  Sometimes we just have to agree to disagree, and other times people just need to know the results of such a drastic change, and THEN we can agree to agree.  That's what this blog post is all about.

Don't think I am against you or your friends (or my friends) who are gay.  I just have rights to protect too, please don't fault me for feeling strongly about it.

I know that marriage between a man and woman is ordained of God. I am glad to have God as a part of my marriage.  I just hope I can live up to the high standard.

Now, just to lighten the mood a little bit.  I am posting a picture of Brad and Me on our wedding day.  Don't laugh too hard.  What a great guy Brad is even if he used to have "BIG" hair. LOL!! 

(Sorry the quality of the photo is bad)

Tagged - Quirks

So I was reading Darrell, Natalie and Sarah's (my cousins) blogs... they have all posted 6 of their quirks and challenged anyone reading them to post their own.  So here goes!

1.  Vacuuming - I like to plug the vacuum in an outlet that isn't in the same room as the one I'm vacuuming.  The reason being, the cord gets in the way when I get close to the outlet.  Its much easier if it's just plugged in in the other room.

2.  Junk Collector - Call me crazy but I collect smashed and scratched bottle caps and rusty washers off the street.  I love the patina and the randomness of the scratches, rust and dents.  I keep them in a tray on my desk.  Just as a side note, I don't usually collect beer bottlecaps - they have to be unrecognizable as beer or the distressing has to be ultra cool!

3. Novel Idea - I sometimes imagine the happenings of my life are part of a novel.  It makes everything so much more interesting and exciting.  "As Stefani sat typing at her computer, the small itch on the back of her neck became almost unbearable." 

4.  Laundry - I have 3 laundry baskets and if any one of them ever become broken or unusable I have to buy 3 new ones.  It really bugs me if by laundry baskets don't stack - and some big wig over at the laundry basket company decided to rip off the American public by never keeping the same shape or color of laundry basket in stores for more than 3 months. (oh ya, did I mention they all have to be the same color too?)

5.  Dishwasher Madness - I almost always unload the top rack of the dishwasher first.  I think it is something stemming from my childhood.  Mom used to have one kid unload the top rack and one kid unload the bottom rack.  If I had my choice I always chose the bottom rack because it was the one with the silverware. I thought it was much easier to stand in one place and put the silverware away than run all over putting away cups, glasses, measuring cups etc. etc. etc.  So now I like to get everything else put away and then when I'm on the "easy" silverware basket that means I'm almost done.  Weird, I know... that's why they call them quirks.

6.  Over Analyzer - I can never decide on passwords, user names etc.  I want them to be creative, clever, reflect my personality, be something I can easily remember, something that fits in with what I'm creating, but not be too bizarre.  If it is just my name I can never decide, do I want it to just be my first name, my first and last name, initials, first name with last initial... well... you get the point.  And forget it if the name I finally choose has already been used, I don't know what to do with myself.

So there you have it, you always thought I was a little bit "off", but this just proves it. And I might have to do a PS.  I thought of a really good one (twice) and then it escaped my memory before I could write it down.  Maybe it's just as well you don't know.