Open Minded

I was recently knocking on doors for the Yes on Prop 8 campaign in California and the answer I got from one lady was that she is "open minded." I left her door realizing that she was saying that I was not open minded and this was not meant as a positive thing. I have thought a lot about this simple statement. And in this case, I know what I believe and I know in my heart what is right. I will not be swayed with my environment and by what pop culture decides is right. I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I bleieve that marriage has been ordained of God and is between a man and a women. The family is the fundamental unit of society it has been since Adam and Eve. I love all peole and celebrate that we all have differences but this does not change how I feel about traditional marriage. So in the end I learned something important from that lady at the door and that is that my beliefs are set and in this case I'm not open minded but instead steadfast and immovable.

Vacation in Paradise

The Atlantis in the Bahamas was our home for a week. We had a blast there with my parents, siblings, spouses, and no one under the age of 21 was allowed. Or in other words we got to spend a week without the kids and it was a heavenly getaway.

When was the last time you got to ride in the back of a pick-up truck? It's totally illegal in California but apparently it doesn't matter in the Bahamas. We drove like this to pick up the scooters that we rented for a day. Riding scooters around the island was one of my favorite things that we were able to do. They drive on the left hand side of the road which made everyone a bit nervous. While riding scooters we got caught in a huge rain storm. It was so fun to just be standing outside getting totally soaked. We stopped in front a local church and they took us in and let us wait out the storm on their patio. The people there were so friendly and they went out of their way to be helpful and give directions to lost tourists. We ate at some amazing restaurants. And since there were no kids with us it didn't matter that our reservations weren't until 9pm.

Me, my sisters and my mom.We spent our time snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, going down some fun water slides at the Atlantis but most of our time during the day was spent at the mile long lazy river. It couldn't have been a more perfect week.
These are some of the beautiful flowers.

We all left with a conch shell and huge starfish. It was fun buying things from the locals. So long paradise and welcome back to real life. We got home late Saturday night and so I didn't check my email until 7am on Sunday. While checking my email I was thrown back into reality quickly...I was needed at the church at 8am for song practice, Haylie was to give a talk in Primary that day, Tanner the scripture and prayer, and then I was supposed to go to a special meeting at 12:30 after church. Suddenly the Bahamas were just a memory.

8-8-08 is Weston's big day!

Happy Birthday to our big 6 year old. Weston does have a super cool birth date especially this year being 2008. What was also amazing was that he weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces and was born on 8-8. This is one of my favorite pictures of Weston because it reminds me of how funny he is. One of the best things about Weston is his contagious laugh. Anyone who has heard it knows what I'm talking about. You can't help but smile and laugh along with him. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful boy in our life.

Summer Time = Family Time

Our first month of summer has been so much fun. We have been with our family non-stop and we have loved every minute of it. We are so grateful that we have such wonderful families. My sisters drove with their children from Chicago and Denver and we had a blast being together again. The first week of summer I spent at Girl's Camp and I had a blast. Thanks to all of the relatives that helped watch my kids while I was gone.
We spent a week at the beach with our extended family. This year was our 14th year at Newport and there were 62 of us and each year it just gets better.
They are so well behaved when they are buried!
Haylie celebrated her 11th birthday at the beach this year. Happy Birthday Haylie. We love you!
Haylie's birthday breakfast friends.
My super cool Grandma with her super cool glasses. I'm lucky to have such an awesome Grandma. She is the one responsible for all of this fun.
Haylie & Cade ran in the 4th of July 1K race.
4th of July family BBQ with the cousins.
All 12 of the Wayne Hart Grandchildren at the beach for family pictures. Remarkably they all did very well.
Sara & Kari are twins at family pictures.
Nothing is better than summer. Especially when you get to sleep over at Grandma's, eat popsicles, run through the sprinklers, and play with your cousins.
Haylie and I went to see Wicked in Hollywood for her birthday. Here she is standing in front of Michael Jackson's star on Hollywood Boulevard. I'm not a fan but no one is more famous than Michael Jackson. The funny thing is that Haylie didn't even know who Michael Jackson was.
The show was so amazing. The performances were incredible.

Just three more days!

We went to the beach yesterday and we can't wait until school is out so we can have more days like these.
Surfer girl Haylie. It is so much fun to watch her stand up on that board.Happy Father's Day to Matt! The kids have so much fun surfing with him. Even Weston can ride a wave all the way in. Weston loves the water and isn't afraid to keep on trying.
Mormon Night at the Angel Game.

Haylie had fun sitting next to her friend Madalyn at the game. She came up to say "HI" a few times and to get money for a treat but for the most part it was much more fun to sit next to a friend than her brothers.
I came downstairs last week to find Tanner like this. It must be exhausting eating chips and dip. (This picture is not staged.)
Weston at his final Kindergarten performance. We can't believe he is about to be a big first grader.
Happy Summer!

He's a Champion

Cade's team, the Notre Dame Fight'in Irish, took home the Championship last night. It was really fun to watch them play and the final score was 20-7. Cade had a couple of really great hits in the game along with some awesome defense on the field. Congratulations #44!
Grandma & Grandpa showed up to cheer Cade on.
All 6 of us in one photo. This must be a special occasion.

Go Cade!

Cade asked me to put this on my blog and of course I can't tell him no. Tomorrow night Cade plays in the Championship game for his division of our local Little League. We are so proud of him and have had so much fun watching him enjoy this season of baseball. This is the first time as parents that any of our kids have made it this far in any sport. Matt and I were both lucky enough to play in Championship games as kids and I remember being nervous before the game started but I think I feel the same now. I am the scorekeeper for Cade's team and on Saturday we had a real nail bitter. His team was down early, 0-7. And they made an amazing come back to win the game 9-8. By the end of the game I had a hard time writing straight lines in the book because I felt shaky. It's almost embarrassing to admit that I was that into it but it was just so exciting. Have fun playing tomorrow night Cade and I hope you can remember this for a long time! Go Irish!