I guess this is what I get for leaving my blog public...

Last week I wrote a post about how we celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary by walking the precincts in favor of Proposition 8. For those of you who aren't familiar with this proposition, it would amend the CA constitution to define marriage between a man and a woman. I am not ashamed of my efforts to support this proposition, but because I received some scathing commentary from anonymous people, I felt it best for the safety of my family to delete the posting. After considering the situation further, I made some changes to the settings on my blog that will filter out the anonymous comments and make it more safe. In this post, I want to respond to some of the comments I received and defend my position.

If you examined proposition 8 in further detail, you would learn that no rights are taken away from gay individuals or couples. Under CA law, "domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections and benefits" as married spouses (Family Code 297.5). Prop 8 does not affect those rights and benefits. It is not about rights, but the definition of an institution that has existed since the creation of man and woman and which is the fundamental unit of society. Do you dare to consider the ramifications to society as we know it if it is rendered meaningless? What comes next--marriage between dog and dog owner?

Aside from all that... do you believe in democratic legislation as set up in the US constitution or judicial legislation? The voice of CA residents have overwhelmingly declared their preference for marriage defined as a man and a woman when they passed prop 22 in 2000 with a 61% majority. Should 4 activist judges from San Francisco undo the voices of everyone in the state? You apparently don't realize that when you cry "separation of church and state" in defense of such judges, you are imposing your secular views on everyone else, revoking our freedom of religion. This freedom is guaranteed to us in the Constitution. Consider how religious freedom would be violated if Prop 8 fails:

1. Churches would be sued if religious leaders refused to perform marriages for same-sex couples in their public churches.
2. Religious adoption agencies would 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 already closed its doors because of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
3. Preachers could be sued for hate speech if they preached against same-sex marriage, as has already happened in Canada.

If those in favor of same-sex marriage feel so strongly about it, why won't they put it on the ballot rather than go behind the backs of voters and get it done through the courts? Probably the same reason why you leave anonymous comments rather than state your name. You are afraid. You are afraid that it wouldn't pass, and you are right.

As a member of the church who bears His name, I agree that Jesus Christ loved everyone, regardless of their choices. Yet he was not afraid to declare moral truth and was very candid in doing so. His stance on marriage is clear: "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh." (Matt 19:4-6)

In response to anonymous' comments about Ronald Reagan, thank you for giving me more reasons to esteem this great president. Policies such as affirmative action only prolong racial prejudices and call attention to color rather than turn a blind eye to it.

And last but not least, I have to brag that Tim called the Sarah Palin pick a week ago. A solid move by McCain and brilliantly executed!

Bathing (suit) Beauties

Bay Cruise

For the 80th anniversary of our stake, I got to go on a sunset cruise around San Francisco bay. I say "I" because even though both Tim and I bought tickets, I was unable to secure a babysitter (pickings are slim when you're competing with everyone else in the church for the same event)! Since Tim got to go to a Giants game with his buddies a couple weeks ago, we decided it was my turn to go have some fun while he stayed behind with the girls. Here are some pictures:

What we've been up to:

Riding choo choo trains


Exploring tide pools at Moss Beach

(Ambyr, I'm trying out the hairdo)

Visiting the aquarium

Don't you love London's face in this one??


Music in the Park


Savoring these delicious rolls...

Sitting up and playing with our toes

And continuing our appreciation for wildlife at the zoo

Return from Happy Valley

We just got back from a fabulous trip to everyone's favorite place, Provo, Utah! We visited family and friends, went swimming and jet-skiing, celebrated the 4th of July, introduced Eden to her great-grandparents, and of course, had a salad at Cafe Rio. We visited two of our favorite people from our BYU days, Jordan and Cousin Wes. Here's an example of what a small world Provo is: we came to find out Jordan is practically engaged to my old roommate's little sister! The order of photos got a little messed up, so let me caption them for you. The above picture shows me in my new Shade swimsuit, which I observed several variations of on fellow Mormon moms in the Beehive state.

This is Eden looking at or smelling a family member's armpit, who shall remain anonymous.

This is me perfecting the art of getting Eden to sleep in the Ergo carrier (much more comfy than the bjorn).

This is Tim and London riding the Alpine coaster, a step up from the Alpine slide in Park City. It was pretty cool--like a roller coaster going down the side of a mountain.

This is London modeling her swimsuit that is baggy in the bum.

This is Tim's sister, Megan, the aunt who adored her nieces so much that she managed to keep them up past their bedtimes every night. London became quite attached to Megan and her husband, Matt, and asked where they were whenever they weren't around and insisted on singing "Happy Birthday" to them during our car ride home! London slept in a bed in our room and I even heard her talking about Megan in her sleep!

This is London splashing in the pool with Grandpa John (Tim's dad).

These are my grandparents, Rose and Shirrel. Eden's middle name of Rose is after her.

This is me attempting to sew a nightgown for Eden to match London's. Tim's grandma Jacobson sewed these nightgowns for Tim's sisters when they were little and for the other granddaughters. I wanted to keep the tradition alive and sharpen my sewing skills.

Matching nighties

Don't you just want to eat that dimpled leg?

We had fun going out to eat several times.

This is me and Tim keeping the flame alive.

This is me with Tim's sisters, Jill and Megan.

This is the family watching the 4th of July parade on Provo Center Street. As you can see, Tim's side of the family is quite patriotic--note the flag shirt.

This is what Eden thought of the parade.

This is Eden meeting Great Grandma Jacobson. She couldn't get enough cuddles with her grandbaby!

The Break-Up

I was at the park the other day pushing the girls on the swings. School is out, so there are now older kids hanging out there. I got to witness an official pre-teen breakup. Allow me to share it with you.

There were three boys messing around on the swings next to me, and two girls 15 or so feet away. They looked about 12 years old, maybe 13. From the pieces of conversation I couldn't help overhearing, it seemed that one of the girls was breaking up with one of the guys, although neither the guy nor the girl ever spoke to each other. All of the communication was done through the friends. "So it's over?" the girl's friend asked. "I guess so," a boy replied. "Well, she's gonna go find another guy." And the two girls walked away, as the girlfriend flipped them off. Then I listened to the boys discuss their options. "You should get back together with her," one said. "Why?" said the ex-boyfriend. "Because she's rich, and I'm sick of buying your sodas." Wow. Let's hope this young man isn't an accurate sample of the male population at large. "Hey! He wants to get back together!" the tightwad friend shouted. The girls turned around and came back to negotiate, but the ex-girlfriend's spokeswoman declined the offer.

Later, as I walked downtown I spotted the girls outside the Jamba Juice, apparently drowning her sorrows in some sweet calories as women tend to do. As I passed, I told her, "You're too good for him." I felt it was my duty, as a fellow woman, to tell her how it is. "Thanks," she said. I only hope she remembers that when the dude and his posse come crawling--I mean biking--back.

Back from CT

Last week we returned from an awesome trip visiting my sister in Connecticut. It was great to spend some family time just chillin.

London got to play with her cousins...


Eden got to show off her chunky legs...

We got to see some cool animals at the zoo...

The Dads got a yummy candy poster for Father's Day and

an even more yummy breakfast!

Eden turned 6 months old and we celebrated with her first taste of rice cereal.

And I took her for a dip in the kiddie pool.

I realize this picture is in here twice but I couldn't figure out how to delete it! Oh well. Thanks for hosting us, Kier!