Happy Halloweenie!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!! This year the kids went trick or treating with our neighborhood friends as we do every year!!

Fischer and Campbell with Lauren VanNyhuis.

Cami and "Lo-Lo".

Merrick and her BFF Natalie!!

They hate this part...all of the mom's are always holding them up from going to the first door because we are taking soo many pictures before they all go crazy!! They actually look good for being the 50th pix taken!! haha

Our Spooky Nights...in 2008!

This year we had The Hula Dancer, a crazy Alien who's rockin the 70's afro (random) and the sweet angel who is dressed up as Tinkerbell's friend... Then there is their SPOOKY Parents...Who are we again????

Campbell was soo funny at our ward parties, she wanted to take pix with all of the other Tinkerbells in the house!!

Here if Fischer (Alien Boy) with his friend Caden.

Merrick and Ella

Fischer with Owen Draeger.

Julie and I at the ward party.

Ally and I with her sweet little Lion...Zach!! We love him.

Here him ROAR!!!! It's what he does best!! haha

Pumkin Carving Party!!!

Every year my good friend Julie Draeger and I have hosted a "Pumpkin Carving in the Park" party. We always have it on the Monday before Halloween so that all of the families can make that their FHE and carve their pumpkins all in one night!! We are SO good...haha. This year was our 4th year doing it and it always ends up being such a hit!! People are starting to ask us now in September if and when we will be hosting it again!! Thanks for the love!!

Here is Kristian who always pulls through for our family by carving the cutest pumpkins ever!! (Notice he threw out his carving utencils and went straight for the "drummel"!!) Is that "cheating"??I mean who actually makes ears???? How cute is he??? (Oh...and Kristian is pretty cute also!)My friend Erica was turning the big 30 also, so this was a perfect time for me to make a cute Halloween cake and surprise her with it at the party where we all sang and wished her Happy Days...Love you Erica!!By the way...just in case you wanted to get a closer look at my most awesome cake that I probably have ever made, here it is!!! I had so much fun doing this for her!! Love it!!

Thanks to everyone again for coming and making this year another great one!!

Merrick's "5 Minutes" of fame....

Merrick was asked by our good friends cute daughter, Ally Scott, to participate in a "kiddie cheer camp" fundraiser, where she would go to a few practices and then perform a cheer and dance at the Half Time show at the Chaparral High football game!! Merrick was very reluctant at first to do this in front of soo many people, but ended up doing such a great job!!!

Ally Scott with Merrick....Thanks for asking her to take part in this fun night Ally!!
Kristian and I watched from the stands of hundreds of people and were soo proud of her!! Great Job Mer-Mer!! I see a future "Head Cheerleader" here!! Maybe you will take after your Grandma Diane!!

Sorry this video is a little shaky....(stupid camera). haha

"Workin' The Corner"...

I was seriously soo nervous to stand on one of the major intersections of Temecula to help promote this very serious proposition that we need to pass here in the state of California!! But after the first 5 minutes of standing there waving my sign in front of everyone that drove by, I didn't want to leave!! It was honestly the best feeling, knowing that I was sticking up for what I believe in...which is protecting our families and marriage!! I can't wait to do it all over again next week!! We got soo many more honks and thumbs up than the "finger" it was great!!
VOTE YES ON PROP 8!!!

VOTE YES on PROP 8!!!!

You've been tagged. PLEASE READ THIS no matter what state you live in.Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt children. If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.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. Over time, greater acceptance of nontraditional marriage will be demanded of all people. This could impact the ability of any religion to teach and practice its beliefs. Including adoption agencies.

A YES vote 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.For your information:On Friday, October 10th, 2008 a first-grade class took a field trip to witness a lesbian wedding in California.

Click Here for the article from the San Francisco Chronicle.A father in Massachusetts was frustrated when his kindergartner was taught about homosexuality at school by the teachers. He insisted he be notified in the future before such things were discussed so he could pull his boy out of school.He was taken to jail.

Click Here for the story.A Catholic adoption agency In the UK closed their doors because of the Government's new homosexual equality laws. The Equality Act forbids discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the basis of sexual orientation. The law was forced through Parliament last year despite past Prime Minister Tony Blair's recommendation that Catholic adoption agencies be exempted from the rules.

Click Here for more info.Earlier this month judges in Conneticut overturned the state law (just as the judges in California did) to legalized gay marriage. This is not just an issue in California. We voted years ago to keep traditional marriage as the only marriage recognized in the state of California, 4 judges overturned our vote…and we need to fight back. That is what this Proposition is about.

This is happening everywhere and the leaders of the church and others have warned that the outcome of California’s vote will affect the way the other states vote.

So PLEASE…even if you don’t live in California, put this on your blog or email this on. The internet knows no state line. You know contacts in California that I don’t…and so do your friends.

Please pass this on as it could eventually have an effect on everyone!"Occasionally discouragement may darken our pathway; frustration may be a constant companion. In our ears there may sound the sophistry of Satan as he whispers, "You cannot save the world; your small efforts are meaningless. You haven't time to be concerned for others." Trusting in the Lord, let us turn our heads from such falsehoods and make certain our feet are firmly planted in the path of service andour hearts and souls dedicated to follow the example of the Lord." --Thomas S. Monson

Click Here for excerpts from the Broadcast given by Elders M. Russell Ballard, Quentin L. Cook and L. Whitney Clayton.A good resource mentioned in the broadcast: http://www.preservingmarriage.org/October 20th: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot if voting out of state.

Click Here to get one.October 27th: Last day to apply for “Vote by Mail”

Click Here for info.November 4th: Election day. Polls close at 8:00pm. Vote by mail must be received by this time and can be hand delivered if necessary.

YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED...Here's what you do:In the broadcast we were asked to "go viral on our blogs, etc" by Elder Ballard. This is my way of going viral. If you feel this is an important issue I ask that you copy and paste this post...and post it on your blog. PLEASE keep it at the top of your blog through November 4th. which you can adjust each time you post under the "edit post" option. The internet knows NO STATE LINE. You know contacts in California that I do not...as do your friends and their friends...and so on. Please do this. If not for your own children and the effect it could have on them some day...for mine! After you have posted this...email this to your contacts and TAG all your blogging buddies to do the same. THANK YOU!

WE HEART PUMPKIN PATCHES!!!

WARNING: You are about to view a gazillion Pumpkin Patch Pics!!....Sorry, I couldn't choose just one.

We love the fall becuz it brings with it all the great holidays and cool weather!! But we especially love exploring new Pumkin Patches every year and picking out the perfect pumkins to adorn our front porch! So this year we went out to Valley Center to visit Bates Nut Farm! It was amazing and so beautiful, they had hundreds of very large and small pumkins to choose from...

We could not get over how huge these pumkins were...The pictures don't really do it justice, but these suckers were almost all over 100 pounds!!

We let them run through the straw maze where they kinda "lost" for a bit...heehee, so we were able to sit down and take a break!! Maybe I could have Kristian make one of these in our backyard, so I can send them out back every once in awhile!! hahaMe and my handsome "scarecrow" just chillin' in the hay...


Daddy taking them for a wheel barrel ride as we go to the patches to pick our pumpkins...

They each ran and sat on the pumkins they wanted to bring home....too bad they were about $100 each....sorry guys.So then they decided to settle for these...


But actually by the end of the day we let them pick out those small pumkins, so that mommy could get her favorite "Fairytale" and "White Princess" pumpkins...I mean, I am "The Queen Bee" around here...So what are you gonna do??

Surprise...Amee's Here!!

So today Merrick woke up to a few surprises for her Birthday!! After she opened her gifts, I gave her the last one which was the start of her B-Day Treasure Hunt (which BTW she had actually requested I do) and after I had all of them running up and down the stairs following all of her clues they ended up on the last one which was our guest room.... And Surprise!!! "Amee" (their grandma & my Mother-in-law) was there with birthday bows and all!!! She flew in all the way from Boston the night before to surprise Merrick for her Birthday!! What an awesome gift she was for Mer-Mer, she was literally speechless, well actually they all were!!


We are soo lucky to have her staying with us for 6 weeks!!! They just love it when Amee is here!! Thanks so much Judy for being Merrick's Great Birthday Surprise!! WE LOVE YOU!! Merrick's other Grandma (G-diane), also showed up today and brought many B-day and Halloween goodies for the kids and then we all went Bowling which Merrick killed all of us with her high score!! Great Job Mer!! We ended our fun B-day day by going to one of her favorite restaraunts; Soup Plantation!! She had such a GREAT DAY with both of her Grandma's...

Happy DOUBLE DIGITS Merrick!!!

Happy Birthday
My Sweet Mer-Mer!!





I really can NOT believe that my first born has just turned 10 Years Old!!! I am so sad at how fast the time is flying by us, it really is crazy to think that I have a 10 year old!! But I couldn't be more proud of her and all that she has become in her short little life...She is the BEST DAUGHTER, always has been soo sweet and caring. She is funny and bright and has the greatest smile that is so contagious!! She is a great friend to many and has always been very sensitive towards others. She loves music, White Lime frozen yogurt, white chocolate, milk duds, coloring amazing pictures, playing with her BFF Natalie, (who conveniently lives right across the street), shopping, pedicures, "date nights" with her Good Ol' Dad, baking with her Mom and being a great Older "Sissy" to her brother and sister! She is also very creative and has actually started her own business this year called Flower Power Notebooks & Journals, she started selling them on Ebay and was very successful, Now she has her very own storefront where she sells them on Etsy!! She is an amazing, beautiful girl whom we love so much!!

We hope you have an Awesome Birthday Mer-Mer...