Last Post Before Going Private!!

The cute little round cheeks, the lips, the teeth, and the elfie ears. She's a spitting image of her Dad. 

I think Warner's definitely got more Hoopes in him. It's fun to see how our gene's combine to create these little munchkins.

Alright folks. This is my official last blog before going private. I can have up to 100 readers, not that I will, because I don't think I even know 100 people, but either way don't be shy and send me your email for an invite, or if your not comfortable posting your email just leave a comment and I'll email or call you for your email if I don't already have it.  

The Battle that Rages

On Sunday, Jaron and I attended a fireside at the Bellevue South Stake Center, titled "The Battle that Rages", with guest speakers Shawn Gillies and Dave Perry. Both men are marriage and family therapists who work with LifeStar.Washington in helping couples to battle against pornography addictions. I loved the fireside. Up until that point whenever the word pornography came up in conference, in church, at a fireside, or in a discussion, I have felt one thing and one thing only, FEAR. More specifically, fear for my children. The thought that often has crossed my mind, is how to raise my children in a world where there is so much exposure, and often accidental exposure, to such harmful and degrading things. I'm happy to say, that after attending this fireside, I no longer feel fear. I feel empowered and hopeful.

A great talk by Elder Bednar brought these scriptures to my attention and they also made me me feel like, there is hope.

“Jesus answered, and said unto them: Take heed that no man deceive you; …

“For in those days there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant. …

“And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived”

I love that promise at the end. It brings me hope. It makes me feel empowered. What a simple goal, to teach my children to treasure that word, yet what a powerful promise, that they "shall not be deceived".

If anyone is interested in some of notes I took from that night, along with some awesome resources they gave us, let me know and I will pass along the books, the talks, and the websites that they gave us.

On another note. After checking out one of the resources we were given on Sunday, www.enough.org, I have decided its best that I make Singin in the Rain a private blog. Don't worry, we'll keep on singing, just as loud as ever. Just send me your email and I will send you an invite.

Dress ups on a monday morning

Today I bought 6 children's books, (all for 69 cents each, accept for one which was free, because when you buy 4 books you get one free even when they are only 69 cents),
dress ups for Liv,
and a pair of shoes for Warner
all for a whopping $14 and change.
Yes I love Value Village. I really do.

Eh hem. And without further ado I would like to introduce you to. . .
drum roll please. . .

My very own
Princess
Mulon

and her side kick . . .

Mr. Smiley, aka the Night in a white onesie.

I Love This Place

Here is the truth about western Washington. It rains a lot, but
its totally worth it for days like this.

On Saturday we went for a little jog on a bike path down in the UW district. It just so happened to be during a Seahawks game, and we could see and HEAR all the roaring crowds in the stadium. There were tons of people hanging out on their boats in the water right below the stadium. It was a fun scene to behold.
What was even more fun was spotting these four turtles whose heads were all craned in the direction of the stadium.
Who knew turtles could be so interested in football? Not me, but they sure had some great seating.

This little sea hawk fan of a turtle couldn't take it any more I guess and he ducked out early, probably to go attack all of the boats with red Nebraska flags flying in the air.
I laughed so hard when I saw this picture of Warner. It was supposed to be a picture of me and Liv, and he just stepped right in front and said "CHEEEESE". He such a ham. I love it.

Speaking of hams, Liv's into posing lately as well. Gone are the days of catching her natural smile on camera. I'll keep trying though, but for now, even with her forced smiles, or pretends smiles, she's still a cutie. Taking pictures of lily pads and flowers is fun. It makes me want to blow them up huge, put them in a dim lit room with Enya playing in the background and hire someone to give me a facial or a massage. Any takers?

Funny kidisms lately

Warner's New Favorite Face:

The other day I heard Warner make a large gulping noise from the other room. When I walked around the corner to see what was going on, I found Warner walking out of the bathroom with a straw in his mouth. That can't be good.


Liv is constantly in a world of make believe lately. She flows from one princess story to the next. Sometimes I don't even know which princess she is, because there are so many dwarfs and witches and dragons I'm not sure which one she's roll playing in. Sometimes I hear her crying or whining or yelling something mean at Warner, and when I come into the scene either to intervene or to comfort I'm told promptly to leave and that she is just "pretending to yell" or just "pretending to be sad".

The other day in the car while playing the animal game with Liv she said this:

"I'm thinking of an animal that's big. And SCARY. And sometimes he, he knocks on doors, and sometimes he scares little red riding hoods. DO you know who it is Mom?"

Me: "I'm not sure yet, but does he sometimes blow down houses made of straw too?"

Liv: "Yes, actually he does."


Seen and Heard Today:

Liv- "Mom can I get my hair wet?"

Me- "Why?"

Liv- "Cause that's what all the ladies do."

Well if that's what all the ladies are doing these days, then you better do it too I suppose.

Where does she get this stuff? I have no idea.

Preparation for General Conference

General Conference Packets for Your Kiddos

Zions Camp Labor Day, Septmeber 2010

Within five minutes of arriving to the campground the kids were in their swim suits and ready to swim. While J and I set up camp, Warner's dirt radar immediately hit red, and he speedily walked over to a pile of dirt and gave him self a bath. Handful after handful of dirt was rubbed on his arms, and thrown over the top of his head. In true Warner style. This is what he does when he plays in our backyard too. I'm not sure why he feels like he has to throw dirt on himself. On second thought maybe its a survival tactic to camouflage himself and protect himself from any potentially lurking predators.

His hide out didn't last more than a moment. Because this little predator found him. Ah ha ha ha (witch cackle) .

My highlight of the camp out was when Olivia said "Daddy lets play princesses!" She grabbed his hand and led him to the tree house. "My castle", she said as she led him to the tree house. "Come on Dad we gotta get married". I stood at the bottom of the tree house and gazed up to the top floor of the tree house and spotted Liv and Jaron dancing. And somewhere in the distance I could hear Liv's faint little hum "So this is love hm hm hm hmmmmm".

Glow Lights

I bought some glow necklaces for our camp out last weekend.
And this was the result.
My favorite picture is the neon rose in the middle. That was Liv's creation. Isn't it cool?