Crime

There's a high school just a few minutes away from my house. Yesterday a ninth grade student was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting on his way home from school. Sad to say, crime is definitely not a stranger to Las Vegas. However, I didn't think something like that would happen by my house. I guess it's kind of how no one thought all of the senseless school and university shootings across the country could happen.

When I was in 6th grade there was a drive-by shooting across the street of my school. I remember being on lock down that day. When we went home I was told to lay on the floor of the bus if bullets went flying.  It's not a fun feeling to be uncertain of your safety when you're a scared, 12 year-old kid.  Of course in my days at Booker, we were bused across town into the ghetto for school that year.  Fortunately, they don't do that anymore.

I am so concerned about how frequently school shootings are happening nowadays. Even in a quiet part of town on a street I drive by every day an innocent kid was randomly shot.  It leaves little comfort for a parent raising children in times of increasing violence. I guess that's why I feel that parenthood is such a great responsibility.  It's up to parents to teach children right from wrong in a world of so much confusion.  I recently read a quote from Pres. Hinckley that I found inspiring and true of teenagers today: “My heart reaches out to our youth, who in many cases must walk a very lonely road. … I hope they can share their burden with you, their fathers and mothers. I hope that you will listen, that you will be patient and understanding, that you will draw them to you and comfort and sustain them in their loneliness. Pray for direction. Pray for patience. Pray for the strength to love. … Pray for understanding and kindness and, above all, for wisdom and inspiration.” 

My Sous Chef

My little Macie...she is such a funny girl. She does something that makes me laugh everyday. Her personality is so distinct, and she hasn't even turned 2 yet! She is very particular (I wonder where she gets that) and kind of bossy (I have no idea where she gets that). I guess the apple doesn't fall from the tree!

Whenever I am in the kitchen it's not long until I hear the screeching of a kitchen chair across the tile floor. Macie pushes her chair up to where I'm working and announces "I tooking too." This has evolved into quite the process. First she wants not only to wear an apron herself, but to make sure I have one on too. She then likes to have utensils or measuring cups and spoons handy. He favorite thing to make is dough because she likes to "do rolling".

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As you can imagine, it now takes me a bit longer to cook than before so Macie can be involved. She likes to help pour, dump, scoop, stir, measure, etc. I have to try to get everything out on the island so I don't end up with multiple chairs at all the countertops, and of course I don't want to be near the stove. Now that she's getting to be quite the sous chef she's expanding out to wanting her own mixing bowl, stir herself, and clean the dishes. (Cleaning mostly consists of her putting spoonfuls of water into a bowl and continuing to stir it up.)

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She is quite darling about the whole thing and I love her desire to help. I really enjoy cooking myself and it's fun to do together eventhough it definitely makes more work for me. I am amazed at the attention span she has for it; that girl will be in the kitchen helping as long as it takes to get things prepared. It may just all be for her love of food because Macie is an excellent eater. She likes to try and sneak tastes as she goes. She's had some pretty nasty ones but it doesn't deter her much.

Welcome Home

Josh's sister, Carleen, returned from her mission in Armenia just over a week ago. Yesterday we heard her report her mission in church. She looks great, served a good mission, and we're glad she's home! Unfortunately we only have a couple pictures we snapped at the airport and they weren't that great. This was taken as she was walking towards us after she got off the plane. We're proud of you Carleen!

The Fat Lady Sang

I flipped on the news this morning just in time to find out Romney was pulling out of the race. I was shocked first, then sad, followed by angry, and finally left with disappointment. Not in Mitt himself, but in our country. It's just sad to me that there seem to be diminishing numbers of conservatives out there, leaving me feeling like there's a huge magnet attracting people farther and farther to the left.

The more I think about Romney's speech the more I understand what's happening here. I do support Mitt's decision because I see what he's getting at with preventing a Democratic candidate from getting into office. Now is the time to let McCain mount his support as much as possible to give him a fighting chance in November. Yes, Romney could've continued to campaign and spend, but if those numbers can't crunch in your favor stepping aside is wise. Romney is irrefutably very smart, and I know he'll be back. To do as well as he did gives me hope for the future, be it distant, but hope nonetheless.

I'm not sure who I will vote for now. Time will tell. I do have strong feelings about the war and I can't see myself voting for someone who is against it. I've gotten too tired tossing it all around all day, so all I can do right now is accept what I have to accept and move on.

Political Venting

Until now I have refrained from commenting about the politics, but that's going to end. What a disappointing day yesterday was. I am still in shock at the huge lead McCain now has among the Republican delegates. How did this happen? Are there that many liberal republicans out there? And where did Huckabee come from?

My personal opinion is that Huckabee's victories came from folks not wanting to vote for McCain or Romney. How sad. It really is unfortunate that the southern "Bible belt" mostly wrote off Romney for religious reasons. Can't you just picture them saying (in a southern accent),"I'd be damned if I ever voted for a Mormon." I sure can. I really have a low tolerance for bigotry. And the sad part is that is a conservative portion of the country that really could've helped Romney.

So obviously I'm a Romney supporter and cringe at the thought of McCain getting the GOP nomination. We all know he will lose in the final election to a democrat anyway, so why give him the chance now? I'm not going to go on and on about why I don't like McCain, but it really isn't that hard to figure out if you do a little research. I've really agreed with and enjoyed reading the comments on Cristin's blog f0llowing the election, and I do have something to add. If you are a conservative republican in California and did not vote, then shame on you and don't tell me, because I will hold it against you. (Ok, not really, but I do feel strongly about voting). Hopefully in the near future we will see an exciting development in a positive direction. Keep your fingers crossed!

Ward Co-op

I joined a co-op group in my ward after a little persuasion from other mothers. About twice a month I have the co-op at my house for 3 hours in the morning. The maximum number of kids allowed is 6 per day, so each parent does have to call in advance if they're planning on having their child attend. Everyone "pays" for the time of their child with time coupons. It has really turned out to be a great thing since it rotates every day. If I have an appointment or something I need to do, it it very convenient to be able to send Macie over to play at someone else's home for a couple hours. She is one of the youngest in the co-op group, but definitely holds her own and thinks she is just as old as everyone else. She gets right into playing dress-up, dolls, princesses, you name it.

This picture above is a couple of her friends that came over last month during snack time. Today Macie had 2 girls over and it was so cute watching them play together. I found a recipie I had for homemade playdough that was so easy and very popular. We spent most of our time sculpting with pink dough.

Beloved Prophet

I just heard the news of President Gordon B. Hinckley's passing this evening.  I am so grateful that we had such a wonderful prophet to lead our church and love its members.  I feel very fortunate to have been in his presence in both the conference center and at a few BYU events to feel of his spirit and joy for life.  What he left behind is remarkable.  You can check out the article released by church news here. 

New Year, New Car!

Josh and I spent the last few months researching cars and looking for a great deal on an excellent car. Well folks, I'm happy to announce that we made our purchase. Take a good look at the 2008 Lexus GX. Here it is in our driveway:

Now here it is with the man who bought it behind the wheel: my Dad. While in town for New Years he headed down to the dealership and bought himself a new car. Way to go Dad! We loved cruising around in it until he drove it back to Genoa.

And yes, Josh and I really did buy a car. We call it our new, used car. It's an 03 Infiniti I35. We weren't looking for something quite this nice, but we found a deal that we couldn't pass it up!

Speaking of the New Year holiday, we did spend some fun time with my family in town. Here is a shot of everyone (except Miranda) in front of the Bellagio. With such a big family and so much traveling now can you see why it takes me so long to update my blog? We're always so busy!

Finally, a Christmas Update!

I guess it's time I get around to updating my blog. I added a few new posts since I haven't done it in a while. This slideshow is from our trip to Genoa to be with my family for Christmas. It was so fun and crazy getting everyone together. Enjoy!

Pimp My Ride

My family came to Vegas for my brother-in-law's graduation the weekend before Christmas. Since we were all heading back to Genoa for the holiday there were a few gifts we had to open that were just too big to travel with. One in particular was Macie's new bike, the Kettler air-happy kettrike. It features air tires, handbrake, steering lock options, and freewheel pedaling. Not to mention a removable handle in the back for parents. Apparently it also doubles as a passenger seat. I must admit that Macie's new bike is nicer than my own! She has already been spotted cruising the neighborhood in style.