blackmail pictures

FYI Taylor posted a cute response to his "was the video game ruined in the wash survey" if you would like to check it out.

Just click on the link to Boyer Boys to check it out.

Warning: he posted some blackmail pictures of Jeff and I as well.

Happy Halloween all!

Halloween preview

Thanks for everyone who participated in Taylor's survey. He was thrilled. He will post the results soon. I'll let you know when...

OK so are you ready for Halloween? We're getting there. Good thing since it's the day after tomorrow.

Gone are the days that I have everyone's handmade costumes ready the month before. No time or energy for that.

This is the pictures of our kids from last year.

Jacob had said all the way up to Halloween that he wanted to wear his old power ranger costume. When he put it on he wasn't liking that it look like "tights" on him so he decided he would not wear it. We pulled out this old costume which he aslo refused to wear the whole time we were at trunk or treat until the last 10 minutes when he finally decided he wanted to get some candy.



















Ashley was Elfaba from the musical wicked and I was supposed to be Glinda. Ashley was very mad at me...as you can see. I made her costume and painted her green just like Elfaba but when she looked in the mirror she was furious. "I DON'T LOOK LIKE ELFABA, I JUST LOOK LIKE ME ... PAINTED GREEN." Then she started in on "YOU look like Glinda, BUT I DON'T LOOK LIKE ELFABA." Well her mood fit her costume that night.























I think Taylor's costume took the cake for being completely lame. He was supposed to be a wizard. We had his hat and he was supposed to wear my gown from my high school graduation. I was sure I had it by try as I might I couldn't find it anywhere. He ended up wearing Jeff's black coat from his mission and a homemade beard made out of cotton balls that kept falling off. Sorry Taylor but you looked like the geeky wizard on Shrek.


















In my defense we were recovering from a family funeral and Jeff was out of town. Oh well.



So now a little sneak peak of the costumes for this year...



OK only one of these children is going as a nerd this year for Halloween.

So which one do you think it is....

Jacob








or Ashley.



Such cute children!

A 30 second favor

I have a favor to ask. 30 seconds tops. I promise :).

Taylor is trying out blogging, and he's trying to conduct a survey on his sidebar (don't even know how he set that up).

All you have to do is hit the link to Boyer Boys on my side bar and then answer his survey. It would be a great way to encourage a young budding blogger! And I know it would make his day!

Thanks!!!

Lizard Lover

Ashley has been home sick for the last couple of days. Her teacher sent her home from school on Wednesday because of her cough. It's a dry, annoying one (I wonder if she got tired of hearing it in class).

I decided I'd better get her checked out at the doctors. Sure enough it was dry but she was wheezing and a little croupy. They gave her a breathing treatment and then hooked her up with 3 different prescriptions, including an inhaler. So she's been home running around, putting on make-up and asking me for stuff every couple of minutes with only a cough for her complaint. I figure I'll send her to school on Monday when she's feeling better. I realize that it's kinda fun to have a buddy during the day, and I realize I get almost nothing done at the same time.

I was sitting down trying to answer an e-mail yesterday and Ashley called "Mom!" for the millionth time. I told her to hang on so I could finish my e-mail. When I got up to check on her she was holding this....



She had rescued a lizard from our cat Raisin. I wondered how she got it away from the cat because she's usually pretty intent on her prey. Supposedly she told Raisin to "back away" and she did. Then Ashley picked up the lizard and had a pet for the day. She had him in a box filled with things for him to climb on and play with. I probably let him back into the wild sooner than she would've liked but once he escaped in the house we were done for the day.

Today she has a pet caterpillar...

Jenise's Wedding

My niece Jenise got married this Saturday.

Congratulations Jenise and Sean!!!

Hope your having fun on your honeymoon right now!

Jenise told Ashley that the colors for the wedding were pink and white and yellow. I had a pink and white dress for her but she insisted she needed yellow too. The yellow earings and hair thing weren't enough. Ashley was stressing and we had to go. All the sudden I spotted a fake flower lei hanging on her door that was pink white and bright yellow.

"How about this?" I asked her. She took it and draped it around her arms and was good to go. As we walked down the stairs to leave her cousin asked her if she wanted help Ashley said "No, I don't want to mess up my style."

At the wedding it only took awhile to realize that pretty much everyone was only wearing pink and white. Ashley handed me her lei and guess who got to hold it the rest of the time.

The temple was beautiful and the sun was bright. It was quite a feat to keep our eyes open for the pictures. I don't know if her sisters were happier that she was getting married or that they were going to have their room to themselves now. After the wedding we went across the street for a quick lunch and then to celebrate at the reception.

Instead of a guest book we all signed the matte on a picture of Jenise and Sean.

Our favorite part was the help yourself candy bar... and of course the dancing. Who can have a wedding without the dancing.

Thank You Press Enterprise!

I mentioned that I called the Press Enterprise to see if they were doing any articles about the problems with the "yes on Prop 8" signs and reported what happened to me.

Sure enough I was reading the paper this morning and what do you know, they did an article about it. I was pretty pleased with the job they did and I feel like the sentiments that I feel were expressed pretty well. How can we have an open discussion when one side is being intimidated to silence?

We have a family member who is gay. We love her and support her and her partner. I had a discussion with her this weekend about the prop 8 issue. I know where she stands on it and respect that, she knows where we stand and respects us as well. She knows it has to do with our beliefs and what we think is right for our children, it's not that we are against her at all. Tolerance to me means loving someone even if I don't agree with what they are doing in their life. It doesn't mean to me that I have to accept and condone the things they do to accept them as a person.

I commend the press enterprise for reporting on this point of view when much of the media typically seems to be skewed to the left.


Here's the article...


'No on 8' advocates stir intolerance


10:00 PM PDT on Sunday, October 19, 2008

By SHARON KAYE FISHER

I am trying to figure out what tolerance means with regard to Prop. 8.

My good friend has a cousin who is a lesbian. The cousin continues to be an active part of the family, invited to all the family activities.

Another friend's father is gay. This friend visited with his father growing up and his father often hangs out at the son's own family's house now. My husband hires and employs gay and lesbian people who also serve in some of the highest management positions in the company. These actions exemplify tolerance to me.

But all I seem to read in the newspaper and hear on television from those opposed to Prop. 8 is that its supporters are intolerant, hateful and discriminatory.

Yet those same three words describe recent experiences: A friend's car was spray-painted because she had a "Yes on Prop. 8" bumper sticker, and "Yes on Prop. 8" signs have been stolen from yards.

Because of the opposition to Prop. 8 in their workplace, some of my friends are fearful of discussing the initiative or putting "Yes on 8" bumper stickers on their cars.

Why is the opposition intolerant of an open discussion? Why is the opposition intolerant of visible support by an huge number of Californians who favor Prop.8? Why would the opposition create an environment of intolerance, fear and intimidation?

I can't help but think that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom gave us the answer to all of these questions when he said, "It's gonna happen, whether you like it or not," regarding same-gender marriage. There doesn't appear to be any tolerance by the opposition for a discussion.

Even though 61 percent of Californians voted to support traditional marriage in 2000, there seems to be an intolerant attitude toward having an open and democratic debate as well as a democratic vote. Instead, there appears to be much effort to suppress both.

To me, that doesn't sound like the tolerance necessary in a democracy.

Tolerance is a two-way street. Let's stop the intolerance toward those who are trying to inform voters about Prop. 8. Let's not jump to unfair conclusions about how Prop. 8 supporters treat those who chose a same-gender lifestyle.

Prop. 8 is not anti-gay. Prop. 8 is protective of children and supportive of traditional marriage and family -- which is the fundamental unit of every society. Let's be tolerant enough to at least discuss the perspective of Prop. 8 supporters.

Sharon Kaye Fisher is a resident of Corona.

Another One Bites the Dust

So my next Prop 8 sign lasted less than 24 hours.

I brought it in last night and put it out today and sometime between 2:00 and 5:00 it was defaced. I'd show you a picture but it's obscene and has cuss words on it.

So nice.

Perfect for my young children.

That's fine. I took it down and filed a police report over the internet and called the Press Enterprise. They are passing it to their political person. They wanted to know if it's happening to anyone else in this area.

So if you know of anyone else in our area that's had their signs or bumper stickers vandalized or stolen let me know and I'll give them a list.

I'm considering putting a new one taped inside my second story window but to tell you the truth I'm worried about what they'll do to my car and/or house.

Who knew it would get ugly so quick.

20th Arlington High School Reunion

Last Saturday we went to Jeff's 20th high school reunion right here in Riverside.

It was amazing how many people still lived in Riverside and we haven't seen them around town. Jeff had fun reminiscing with his former fellow classmates and catching up with their lives now.

Other than being overdressed and sitting at the "leftover" table it was a pretty nice night. We realized too late when it was time for dinner that we didn't have a place to sit. The hotel brought in one more table for us as everyone was starting dinner. We ate with all the guys that came stagg and people we didn't know but that's OK.

They played a slide show of pictures that people had sent in, very fun to see all the outfits and the big hair in 1988

Protect that Prop 8 sign!

OK after a day and a half our yes on prop sign was stolen!

I've heard some other people have had theirs taken or slashed!
I guess they are a pretty hot item though I have a feeling someone didn't take it to display it in their own yard...

I'm getting a replacement but I guess I'll have to guard it and bring it in at night. Jeez.

Has anyone else had any problems with thiers?

Supporting Prop 8

How much do you know about Prop 8?

I have my yard sign out, I have my bumper sticker on (put it on a peel and stick magnet if you don't want it permanently on your car) But when people want to know about prop 8 do you know what to say?

Do people realize that Californians already voted on this same proposition in 2002 and it was passed by a large majority! We voted and it won, so why are we voting again? It was overturned by 4 liberal judges. We are now adding it to our constitution so this can't happen again. If we allow 4 judges to overturn the will of millions of voters, what will happen next?!

I've heard some say that they don't want to interfere with what other people want to do with their lives. Let people do what they want.

Let them know that Proposition 8 will not hurt gays.
In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits.

We have family members that live a gay lifestyle, this does not affect our love and respect for them as a people. We can love someone while still maintaining and advocating our standards and beliefs. We can have love and tolerance without condoning behavior!

So what's the big deal if prop 8 doesn't pass?

Well unless Proposition 8 passes, California society will soon undergo a profound change in its basic understanding of marriage and family life. This will affect everyone!

Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches.

The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family and demand more and more acceptance of nontraditional marriage. Churches and individuals who support, teach and espouse traditional marriages will be targeted for discrimination and bigotry and the law will now be against them!


It will affect our children!

Schools are required to teach about marriage and family life. Failure to pass Proposition 8 will put gay marriage on equal footing with traditional marriage and our children will be taught about both at a young age.

The "no on 8" campaign has claimed that this is a lie. We only have to look at Massachusetts which is the only state in the union who has legalized same-sex marriage to know that this is true. There has already been children as young as 1st and 2nd grade being taught that same sex marriage is normal (have you heard about King and King). PARENTS ARE NOT BEING ALLOWED TO OBJECT, INTERFERE OR EVEN BE INFORMED TO BE ABLE TO PULL THEIR KIDS OUT OF SCHOOL.

If you think it won't happen here, IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING.

The San Fransisco Chronicle reported "SAN FRANCISCO, October 11 – In the same week that the No on 8 campaign launched an ad that labeled as "lies" claims that same-sex marriage would be taught in schools to young children, a first grade class took a school-sponsored trip to a gay wedding. Eighteen first graders traveled to San Francisco City Hall Friday for the wedding of their teacher and her lesbian partner, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. The school sponsored the trip for the students, ages 5 and 6, taking them away from their studies for the same-sex wedding. According to the Yes on 8 campaign, the public school field trip demonstrates that the California Supreme Court's decision to legal same-sex marriage has real consequences."


How can you make a difference? Inform anyone you know about prop 8. Help people make informed decisions about the rights they will be jeopardizing to appease a few.

If you aren't' registered to vote, register. (It's time to stop avoiding jury duty ;)You have until October 20.

Display a yard sign or bumper sticker and share them with your friends.

Make sure to vote and encourage your friends to vote!

If you would like to add the widget on my sidebar to your blog, facebook or myspace account click on "get widget" then click on the green "more" button and then click on the application you want to add it to.

Churro the music lover

One day Taylor set up his music on top of Churro's cage and started to play his clarinet. To Taylor's suprise Churro started going crazy trying to get at the clarinet. We think it might be the vibrations or maybe he just loves music.

Mom lesson # 520

OK so you try and teach your children every lesson that you think that they’ll need to learn in life. So why do they always throw things in there that you don’t prepare for.

I was upstairs cleaning on Friday when Ashley asked me for a toothpick. I had the foresight to ask her what she was going to be using it for and she assured me it was because she had something in her teeth. I gave her her toothpick and then went back to cleaning. Not more than two minutes later Ashley is crying. I called to her from upstairs to try and get her to tell me what was wrong but she wouldn’t tell me.

I came downstairs to find her leaning over the trash can as blood is dripping from her nose. She was crying that her nose was bleeding. It’s not the first time it’s bled but I was shocked at how much it was bleeding and what had caused it. I asked her and she wouldn’t say anything. I looked down to see a toothpick with blood on one end. She had been picking her nose with the toothpick! No wonder it was bleeding.


So I had to give Ashley mom lesson #520 “Don’t ever pick your nose with a toothpick!”



By the way Ashley was not happy that I was taking pictures of her predicament for the blog. But I told her it was for educational purposes so nobody would do the same thing. I still don't think she was too happy.

Thanks to good friends...

This year I ended up having the best belated birthday ever! Sharla set up what was supposed to be a joint Family Home Evening at the park and what ended up being a suprise belated birthday party in the backyard with Sharla, Wanda and Wendi and their families. I was definately surprised, but in a good way.



Sharla was worried that I would stress about everyone decending upon my house but since I didn't know about it before hand there was really no stress involved. I usually never stress when people are at my house because I figure the house is what it is by that point and theres no changing it. There was some moving of piles and sweeping up of Ashley's sand experiments but thats OK.








The cake was very cute, very thoughtful in the sense that I knew it was sacrifice in numerical stickers as well:)



My favorite thing I got was the card/book that was secretly signed by 35 people! well I guess you know how old I am now if you didn't already.




The kids never got to experience the games that were prepared for them because they were having too much fun playing video games in the house while we visited outside. Fine by me.




Thanks!!! Thanks!!! and Thanks again!!!

Go and Do

My favorite quote from this Saturday's Relief Society Broadcast was from President Uchtdorf...

"In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance!"

I realized yesterday that to be able to be an answer to prayers we often have to "go" and "do" and not wait for the right time or even to be asked. I've learned it in the past but I had to learn it again.

I got a phone call in the middle of being visit taught with a push and pep talk to go and help a family that needed it. I had left a couple of messages with the family but they hadn't called me back. I was planning on visiting them later in the day but the phone call helped me realize I shouldn't wait any more, I just needed to go.

I ended the visiting teaching appointment and drove over. I ignored the initial awkwardness and just went and did and it turned out great.

I was reminded again that usually when the spirit prompts us to help someone it's for now and not later. I'll have to remember that.