Incredibly Graceful

I'm sure that's how everyone I know would first describe me...incredibly graceful. Ha!

We went ice skating last night for Family Home Evening. Lila was too scared to let go of the wall for the first lap (which took us 20 minutes...). Right as we finally made it around, she let go and THUMP. She was done for the night. Here she is being sad with Daddy.



But could I be content with leaving?? Nope, I wanted my monies worth. I had to make a fool of myself by being an ice skater wearing hockey skates. I was just trying to make Lila feel better... I'm sure I was entertaining to those around me as well.

Musical Monday - Alicia Keys Ft Adam Levine

I will be seeing Alicia live on Thursday - hooray! I love that she collaborated with Adam Levine on this song. 2 of my fave artists together.

It has begun...

Max has started "The Scoot". Time to break out the stair gate.

Sent from my sweet, pink Blackberry Pearl

Flashback Friday - So Many Photo Booths, So Little Time

Welcome Back Hubby

Marc went to Seattle this weekend for the BYU game...even though he left on Thursday and didn't return until today! Hmmm ;) But he had a blast hanging with his brothers and friends. It looks like they had a great boys weekend. Thank you Paige for taking care of all those grown men in your house!! I'm sure glad I didn't have to go to the Air Museum (twice)! I'm also glad to have Marc back. I can finally quit sleeping with the bat next to the bed.

Chloe was especially happy to receive a Minnie Mouse doll upon Marc's arrival!



I realize Marc isn't in any of these pictures. Jocelyn, Rhianna, or Paige - any of you have pictures from your husband with my husband in them????

Musical Monday - You'll See from RENT

Steamers Are A Girls Best Friend

Diamonds...nah. They just look pretty. But steamers... I wish I could wear one on my finger so I could have it all the time! Meet my new best friend, Sharky.



He makes the inside of my microwave look like this:



How long did it take? 1 minute and 12 seconds. That's right! All I had to do - spray the inside with the steamer and wipe it out with a rag. And I sprayed it twice for good measure. There are so many other tricks Sharky can do too - windows, showers, tubs, tile... Sparkling clean house, here I come!!

Making the Leap

Hi Everyone! I've been working on a new blog for all the random posts I make that are not related to my family news. It's almost ready so I'm going to make this blog private on September 15th. If you would like me to add you to the list of viewers, please email me at hoku31ATgmailDOTcom. (Please note - you should enter the @ sign and a . where the words are in my email address. I'm trying to ward off spam!) You are also welcome to leave a comment with your email address. This blog will be dedicated to my personal and Blaser family news.

If you are one of my new SocialSpark or Mommy Community Blogging friends or you just want to continue reading about all of my other life ramblings, I'll be posting the URL of my new website shortly so you can check it out and add it to your blogroll!

Yes To Proposition 8

The California Supreme Court recently ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in California. Recognizing the importance of marriage to society, the LDS Church accepted an invitation to participate in ProtectMarriage, a coalition of churches, organizations, and individuals sponsoring a November ballot measure, Proposition 8, that would amend the California state constitution to ensure that only a marriage between a man and a woman would be legally recognized. (Information about the coalition can be found at http://www.protectmarriage.com/).

What are the six consequences if Proposition 8 Fails?

1. Children in public schools will be taught that both traditional marriage and same-sex marriage are okay. The California Education Code already requires that health education classes instruct children about marriage. (§51890) Therefore, if the definition of marriage is changed, children will be taught that marriage is a relation between any two adults. There will be serious clashes between the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children their own values and beliefs.

2. Churches will be sued if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings that are open to the public. Ask whether your pastor, priest, minister, bishop, or rabbi is ready to perform such marriages in your chapels and sanctuaries.

3. Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston has put an end to its adoption work, deciding to abandon its founding mission, rather than comply with state law requiring that gays be allowed to adopt children. (Boston.com)

4. Religions that sponsor private schools and which provide housing for married students will be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if it runs counter to church doctrine or lose tax exemptions and benefits.

5. Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages will be sued for hate speech and could be fined by the government. It has already happened in Canada, one of six countries that have legalized gay marriage.

6. It will cost you money. A change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits. Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today’s activist judges), think of the money – your money, your church contributions – that will have to be spent on legal fees. And think of all the unintended consequences that we cannot even foresee at this time. Where will it end? It’s your children, your grandchildren, your money, and your liberties. Lets work together to protect them.

I believe this was written by Elder Larry Lawrence (currently serving as an Area Seventy in California). You can also read the LDS church article The Divine Institution of Marriage on the Newsroom website, the official resource for news media for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Help get the word out. Copy and paste this info and post it on your blog and/or email it to your contacts.

Happy Week Long Birthday To Me

We started the birthday celebration on Friday the 29th. Marc kidnapped me and took me to SLC for the night. It was great! Dinner at my favorite Mac Grill downtown, with dessert. Followed by My Best Friend's Wedding on TBS, uninterrupted by screaming children. Oh yeah.

Saturday morning, we had our Fantasy Football draft. I had the 6th pick...blah. I hate being right in the middle. It all starts tonight - WAS@ NYG. Go Chris Cooley. My team looks ok. Actually, my team looks great! I mean, c'mon:

Reggie, make it a good year Baby. And if you don't have a great year, just take off your shirt please. Here we are on our date Saturday night:

Sunday was the big day and it was the busiest birthday I've ever had. I went visiting teaching at 10 (yes, I realize I didn't have to wait until the last day of the month...), and then my visiting teachers came over at 11. I received a double birthday present from the church at 12 - Marc was called as the Young Men's President and I was called as the Assistant Primary Secretary. Hooray! :) Church from 1-4, followed by birthday dinner at my Mom's house. Whew!! It was a crazy day. Everyone also let me play Rock Band until I was tired of it. Which takes a really long time.

I got a sweet present from Marc - a 8G memory card for my BlackBerry. So now I can shoot video, store over 200 pictures and have all the music my little heart desires on my phone all the time. I LOVE IT!! Look at how small it is:

Monday I went to lunch with my Mom and Bros. It's been a long time since we've been able to go out with just the kids.

It was so fun. Ryan does NOT like sushi. Just check out this face.

I, however, love it! Which would be why we went to Happy Sumo again last night. Thanks Amy for getting us all together!

It was a great birthday everyone. Thanks for sharing it with me!

Tagged by Kika!

The Rules:
Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them.
Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1. I'm terrified of bees. TERRIFIED

2. I like to do "projects". Don't ask me what sparks it, but I often find myself at Roberts buying things I never thought I would. Some of the projects turn out great, some of them I hide at the bottom of the garbage can so Marc doesn't see them.

3. I have a terrible memory unless it has to do with music, lyrics and/or happened when a song was playing. Then I could give you a detailed play by play and sing the song for you, along with all the background vocals. (But I won't!)

4. I'm a crier, which is weird for me because it just happened in the last couple of years. Maybe I just didn't cry for so long that my eyes are taking revenge. So now I cry all the time. Sometimes because I'm happy, sometimes because I'm sad. Or maybe because someone I don't know is sad and I saw a story about them on the news. Or a Johnson's baby commercial was on the TV. Or I hear a really great song on the radio....

5. I don't laugh out loud when I'm watching something funny like a movie or tv show. I don't know why - I just don't! But it doesn't mean I don't think it's funny!

6. I have double jointed fingers.




I tag:


Jo - Angie - Nesa - Jamie - Kristi - Rhianna

Flashback Friday x Dos

I didn't do a Flashback Friday last week. So this week I'm going to do two!

#1 - My Friend Ra

5 years ago tomorrow I was in Cincinnati with my friend Reathanak, watching her marry the love of her life, LaMarque. We had such a fun week together getting ready. When August 30th finally came, she looked beautiful, the ceremony was wonderful and the reception went without a hitch. I'm so glad I was able to share their special day with them. So in honor of Ra, here are some pics.

Ra - Sorry I missed your call the other day. Maybe we can talk on Monday when you have some time away from work? And no, you aren't a bad friend because you are a dedicated mother of 3, a full time employee, a supportive wife, a faithful member of your church and much much more. I love you because you are all those things!


Prom!


Going to the club...


Almost time for the wedding!


Ra is so beautiful and LaMarque is....LaMarque!! :)


#2 - August 31st is also a great day because it's my BIRTHDAY!! Go Cammi, it's my birthday...I'm gonna party like it's my birthday...


#1 - Mmmmmm, cake....


#3 - so dramatic!


#4 - A mom in the making...


#8 - Joe, get your finger out of my cake!


#13 - Nice scrunchie - ow!


#15 - what a little brat I am..


#18 - in Florida! Thanks for the beautiful cake Mama!


#23 - Roses and a blanket...2 of my favorite things!


#24 - Pregnant with Chloe!

#25 - I was pregnant with Max...and #26 - ???


Just kidding!! I'm so not pregnant!!!

Yum...Desitin....

Clinton For President?

Hmmm. I thought Democrats officially nominated Obama for President, not Clinton. Looks like someone at CNN is in trouble! As I was browsing the top news stories, I noticed a small typo. Check out the column on the right under Most Popular. The number 2 story says Clinton Nominated For President. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding what they mean??? Oh well, either way the choice is crappy...

Max Likes The Grass

Sent from my sweet, pink Blackberry Pearl

Lila's First Day of Kindergarten

She was so excited to go to school today and meet new friends! Doesn't she look beautiful? :)

I'm Going On A Blog Trip

There are lots of reasons why I like to blog. My top 3 are:

1 - I like to rant about stuff and pretend that other people care
2 - I like getting my creative juices flowing
3 - It's been fun finding old friends/meeting new people

So I'm going to participate in a fun event that Marie from mommycommunity.com is putting on and do all 3! Basically, it's a road trip with a twist. The twist being that you don't leave your house or actually go on the road.... The week of September 1-5, Marie has made an itinerary of things to blog about so other Moms can get to know you. Then you can get online to see who else has posted and read about them! I'm guess I'm just kind of nosy like that and want to see what other people are up to.

If this sounds like something you want to do too, click on the graphic below and get more info.

Tagged by Carola!

OK Carola - you put me to shame with your immaculate house!! But I'm just keeping it real, so don't judge me by these pictures! My house is usually clean from 11 PM - 7 AM. So... unless anyone out there is planning on sleeping over anytime soon, you won't see it clean! But that's ok, this is my life. We're busy and I wouldn't have it any other way! By the way, I checked the blogs of those of you who had this challenge and you all have clean houses. I hope none of you cheated.... :)

Here are the rules:

NO cleaning

NO straightening

NO wiping kids noses...

Take these pictures RIGHT NOW!

Laundry Room

This is a good day....

Downstairs Bathroom

Upstairs Bathroom (Kids)

Master Bathroom

Kitchen Sink

Fridge

Ummmm....yeah.....

Closet(s)

Yikes!!!

Self Portrait

MySpace anyone?? :)

Favorite Room

OK, OK, I realize this isn't actually a room, but it is the ceiling fan in my bedroom. When I see it, it means I'm going to bed. Hooray!

Favorite Shoes

At least for the moment. See closet picture.

Where Are Your Kids?

Lila - At her first day of Kindergarten! But I took this picture of her (and her newly painted purple fingernails) before she left.

Chloe - Getting into trouble."What Mom? I'm just rubbing this cookie into the carpet...no big deal..."

Max - Runny nose and shirt covered with throw up. As usual. But still really cute!

Dream Vacation

Italy

or...

Greece

But I still really, really want to go to NYC. That's probably my "reality" vacation.

I tag.... Jen, Amy and Ra!