The Princess Posse REVIVED!

As I picked Kya up from preschool last week, the teacher made a comment about Kya talking with a group of little girls in class. I was SO excited to hear that she FINALLY started to engage with her schoolmates (it's been 6 weeks). Well, I got in the car and Kya told me she got in trouble and had to sit away because she was talking to some girls. My heart just sank because Kya isn't really a bad kid and she cried the rest of the day and into the night about it with no success of distraction.

Then on Sunday we met Tristan and her 4 yr old daughter, Maddy, who just moved into the ward. SO excited for another girl! We all met up at SuperFranks for the girls to play around in the gym. Kerry and her adorable girls came and, you guys, I'm such a cheese ball, but I was so thrilled to see Kya run and smile and play again. These girls are so cute together.

They have a princess room (with a castle, table settings, dress-up clothes, the works) and so we're going to have to have a little girl party soon. Too fun--this is right up Kya's alley!

I didn't realize how tired I looked today-- haven't slept in two nights (wetting the bed and nightmares have returned) so Hal gets my lovely texts at 3am just basically saying, "hi, acknowledge me, work hard and come home!" BUT THAT'S OKAY BECAUSE SHE NOW HAS FRIENDS!!!!!!

Round Two

Good lookin' group!

How many bumps can you fit on a rock?

Went up to Mt. Diablo again this weekend and had a great time hiking around. Kya cried AGAIN when it was time to go. Good times!

Honest Dan Mitchell

Hal's been working a lot this week and the last few weekends so we managed to sneak out for a quick dinner and some LONG-overdue alone time. "Honest Hal Johnson" (from our "honest Dan Mitchell" story) laughed when he saw our bill come to $8.40 and told them he'd love to only pay that much, but they probably needed to switch back the bill.

Apparently "Honest Dan Mitchell" went to a Falcons game and half-way through the game sat down in the empty, lower seats. He subsequently wrote a letter to the Falcons and included a check for the price of the better seat and wanted to be forthright. They sent it to the newspapers and began the hunt for the "Honest Dan Mitchell" (or something like Dan--we couldn't remember very well but Dad knew the Mitchells) and finally a friend found him up in Calgary. They flew him down 1st class, sat him in the executive box seats, wined and dined him for a weekend...

To Hail or not to hail

I stole Stephanie's photo of from the hail that hit our house this weekend while, at the same time, we were out here playing at the park in our t-shirts. Hoping there's no damage...really hoping...but not missing Texas this week! (Although, we did stop to look at some townhomes and nothing in one neighborhood was less than $660). *Another sigh*

Program Puzzles...

I posted a little counter on my blog and saw that I had over 35 hits the first 24 hours. So I'm going to call you all my little "lurkers."

Now, I need your help, lurkers. Here is the question: Is it obnoxious to have a puzzle or church game on your Ward Program/Bulletin every once and a while? Or maybe something to have the kids color during Sacrament Mtg? Or is that just plain tacky? Let me know!

The Happiest Place on EARTH!

The window at the computer here faces our neighbors and they are awesome. The first time we met them they all came over with matching DisneyLand sweatshirts. They go down to DisneyLand every month and I just noticed these two Disney Flags (yes, with Mickey) hanging on their house. You'll have to GUESS what they named their little boy!!! Ok - MICKEY - NO JOKE!! He's a cute little 4 yr old.
Kya saw me snapping a photo through the window (I know, a little creepy) and wanted to jump in. There she is with the awesome flag behind her.

Sick of bein' Sick!

The theme this week is bike riding because the weather has been SO great. Hal hooked up the bike trailer for me on Saturday and we took off for a ride. Kya LOVED it -- Special thanks to Brad and Teri! Kya has been sick almost all month and I was wearing very very thin come the last few days. After surviving the last few weeks, I finally woke up with the sinus problems and body aches - urgh.

I think I reached the cracking point this week. Kya wakes up most mornings crying for Texas and that starts the theme for the day! She's been too sick to play with kids or go to school so instead of curling up for a nap like I was secretly wishing I could do, I ended up laying on the driveway in tears after realizing Hal had detached my tires and I didn't have enough energy to even put them back on! Kya saw that I was sad and built me these lego towers to "make me happy." Really cute - Ok, they seriously got me laughing - where did she find an Indian to drive her "truck"? ha!

All our moves have been hard. Who am I kidding? Moving to Texas was the worst because I packed the moving truck the same day as my finals and after being alone for 3 months with Kya. I was seriously burned out!! My sister-in-law saved my life--she's amazing. This move hasn't been exhausting, luckily, just...well, just pretty much lonely. We've moved 9 times and have never really experienced this!

Kya-ism for the day: We were talking about the Promised Land and she was describing to Hal how it was across the ocean for Nephi and far away. It had "lots of trees and houses everywhere and they used their boat." Hal asked her where the promised land is: "It's here - we live here!" Then, in true Hal form, he started talking to her about we must keep the commandments in order to maintain our freedom in the promised land (yes, exactly a 3 yr old level) and she blurted out, totally surprising both of us: "I WON'T keep the commandments. I will NOT!" Wo - why? "Because I don't want to always live here; I want to go back to Texas!" She was sad to hear that Texas was included in the Promised Land...

We have a SWIPER

Apparently my parent's Yukon was broken into last night (more like a rush-and-grab). I wasn't there when the policeman came but he could tell which cars were broken into by the "swiped" windows--cleaning to see what's inside. You could see several swipe marks on trucks and SUVs along the road.

Anyhow, it becomes a small world when my mom was saying what a nice guy the policeman was and showed me his card--Good old Dan Molleson! What a small world. I think I went to one of the high school dances with him once-upon-a-time. Now he's out protecting and even chased a guy down last night at 2am! ha! Here's to all the cops (or FBI, for Julie) out there!

From Mike Levin

I've been standing back watching this amazing spectator sport--politics--and have been fascinated by everything. I decided to put the bowl of popcorn down and joined campaign calling this week. We called a registered list of Republicans and I got the most bizarre responses of the evening!

THEN I realized someone handed me the "Berkeley" list of phone numbers - ah, that could explain it! ha!!! I got a 10 minute speech from a political anarchist and was lectured about Mormons by another (who at the end of the call, strongly recommended I attend this "great Mormon place up on the Oakland hills--it's worth it"). What a hoot!

If you don't mind, I'd like to share some excerpts from a letter off RealClearPolitics by Mike Levin. It begins:

By Mark R. Levin
I have spent nearly four decades in the conservative movement — from precinct worker to the Reagan White House. I campaigned for Reagan in 1976 and 1980. I served in several top positions during the Reagan administration, including chief of staff to Attorney General Edwin Meese. I have been an active conservative when conservatism was not in high favor...

...I don’t pretend to speak for President Reagan or all conservatives. I speak for myself. But I watched the Republican debate last night, which was held at the Reagan library, and I have to say that I fear a McCain candidacy. He would be an exceedingly poor choice as the Republican nominee for president...

I could see his personal contempt for Mitt Romney roiling under the surface. And why? Because Romney ran campaign ads that challenged McCain’s record? Is this the first campaign in which an opponent has run ads questioning another candidate’s record? That’s par for the course. To the best of my knowledge, Romney’s ads have not been personal. He has not even mentioned the Keating-Five to counter McCain's cheap shots. But the same cannot be said of McCain’s comments about Romney...

Last night McCain, who is the putative frontrunner, resorted to a barrage of personal assaults on Romney that reflect more on the man making them than the target of the attacks. McCain now has a habit of describing Romney as a “manager for profit” and someone who has “laid-off” people, implying that Romney is both unpatriotic and uncaring. Moreover, he complains that Romney is using his “millions” or “fortune” to underwrite his campaign. This is a crass appeal to class warfare. McCain is extremely wealthy through marriage. Romney has never denigrated McCain for his wealth or the manner in which he acquired it. Evidently Romney’s character doesn’t let him to cross certain boundaries of decorum and decency, but McCain’s does. And what of managing for profit? When did free enterprise become evil? This is liberal pablum which, once again, could have been uttered by Hillary Clinton..."

You should read the rest--great article and I've heard it's sentiments echoed by many who know McCain.

Ok, I'll post one short video and then I'll step off my soapbox! Thanks for the moment!!! ;-)