A star is born (especially for Grandparents)

Madison is learning so many new things in her "Shinning Stars" pre-school. She loves going and playing with all the other kids. I was amazed that she knew the Pledge of Allegiance. I don't think I could recite it at three years old. She is our little star. Enjoy the show.

Be on the lookout

Well, it looks like the political discourse in America is alive and well. Voters are pondering the issues, and browsing up and down the aisles of the marketplace of ideas. We've tried to do our part. We've put out two "Yes on 102" signs in our yard and both have been eagerly snatched up presumably by opponents of the initiative who apparently didn't know where to get their own signs. Rather than express their own views they prefer to squelch ours. The first sign we put out was gone the very next day, and I assumed that it had just blown away because it had been a blustery day and the sign wasn't stapled to the stick. The next sign I put up, I made sure to staple it to the stick and hammer it in extra deep. A few days later it was gone too - stick and all. I've heard that a few other neighbors have had their signs taken or vandalized, so I guess I shouldn't feel too special. You'd think that instead of risking getting caught stealing a political sign out of someone's yard, it would just be easier to put out your own sign with the opposing view point.

It will be interesting to see how these three initiatives fare with the voters in each of their states this November. Prop 102 in Arizona, Prop 8 in California, and Prop 2 in Florida are basically similar state Constitutional amendments that attempt to prohibit gay marriage, and simply define marriage as between a man and a woman. In California, a Survey USA poll shows that as of October 17th, 48% of the people surveyed supported the initiative, 45% opposed it, and 7% were undecided. It's going to be a close battle. Some people think that if Obama begins to show early signs of winning in the east on Nov. 4th that it could suppress the No Voters on Prop 8 in California because of a sense that victory is in the bag for Obama, however the same could also happen to the Yes Voters because disgruntled McCain supporters might stay home wallowing in defeat. In Arizona, a recent Cronkite/Eight Poll showed that 49% of respondents planned to vote for Prop. 102, while 40% were against it, and 9% were undecided. We can't take any results for granted here in AZ, so please be sure to get out and vote early for Prop. 102.

A moment of silence, please . . .

I am officially in mourning over the BYU loss to TCU tonight. Dim the lights, lower the flag, silence the TV, and bow your heads. It was an awful game! Not only was it a complete butt-whoppin', and it ended their double digit winning streak, and it dashed all hope for a BCS bowl bid, and it does away with all the hasty Max-Hall-for-Heisman talk, but it reminds me again that in the eyes of the NCAA BYU will always be a second class citizen on the outside of the BCS bowl system looking in. The whole bowl structure is a farce and a scam. It needs to be changed so all schools have an equal opportunity to land the big bowl games. The current system of the "Haves" and the "Have Nots" does nothing but protect and perpetuate certain college brands based on opinion and fluctuating perception. It is a sham beauty contest with different hurdles for different schools trying to gain access to the same bowl game. I think it is high time for Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah), Senator Daniel Inouye (Hawaii) and Senator Larry Craig (Idaho) [okay, many not Sen. Craig, how about Sen. Mike Crapo] to launch a Congressional investigation into how the NCAA and the BCS choose bowl game contenders. Better yet, why doesn't some disgruntled Mid-Major university file an anti-trust lawsuit against the NCAA and dispute this false notion of open competition in college football. And as long as Barack Obama is going to be sitting in the Oval Office after his campaign of "CHANGE," maybe he can champion this cause of justice, equality and fairness in the form of NCAA reform as part of his new administration. I guess before we start lighting the torches to storm the castle, maybe it would just be better for BYU to win all of its games first. So, in anticipation of next week's game, let's all "Rise and shout, the Courgars are out. . . ."

To help with everyone's grieving, I have attached a link to a homemade video my nephew and his wife made for a family reunion video contest. It is very funny. All True Blue BYU fans will love it. You'll have to scroll down past the picture of the yellow Tonka truck, and if you get to the pictures of Cosmo, Max Hall and Austin Collie, then you've gone too far. Enjoy.

http://theglazierfamily.blogspot.com/

It's TRUE...

We are out of the Terrible Two's (or so the saying goes)! But quite honestly, I'm not really all that excited to have my baby grow up. I love this stage with her. I keep telling her she can't get any bigger and I want her to stay just how she is. Although she is fiesty, stubborn, oh so dramatic and has more determination than ever to keep up with her two big brothers, she is a ray of sunlight in our home with her energy, spunk and curiousity. Every morning for the last couple of weeks she asks me, "Who's birthday is it today?" I would have to tell her it was somebody's in the world, but not hers. Well, finally "her" big day arrived and she is now happily and officially THREE! And like all three year old girls she celebrated like a PRINCESS!

We love you little Madison! Happy Birthday!

Training Wheels Come Off

Alex passed a big milestone recently. He learned to ride his bike without his training wheels! We took the necessary precautions and decked him out in elbow and knee pads and strapped on his helmet, and went out to the street one evening after the weather had cooled down. He must have just been ready and ripe for this big step because he didn't take long to get the hang of it. I held the back of his bike seat and ran behind him a few steps and gave him a big push and off he went peddling and balancing down the road. He was a little nervous and kept looking over his shoulder to see if I was still there as back up, so I reminded him to keep looking forward to maintain his balance. I ran behind him a few trips up and down the street to make sure he didn't crash, and after a few times he didn't even need me to do that. He did great! He quickly learned how to turn around so he could came back toward home at the end of the street (and not be like Forrest Gump heading straight off to the horizon), but when it came time to stop, he did have a little trouble. Instead of braking until the bike stops and then putting your foot down, he went with the "abandon ship" method where the bike slows, and right before it stops, he jumps off or stands up as it collapses under him. Whatever works. We'll practice those details later, but for now, he is a riding and balancing machine. He loves it, and it is fun to see him enjoy it and feel like one of the big kids.

The Power of a Black Bat

Today was the day Alex has been waiting for ...the day he finally got to go to the dentist! Without going into all the details of previously failed visits, the number of dentists we have seen and the expenses we've incurred, we had told Alex that if he was brave and didn't get too crazy on us, we'd buy him his new favorite, "have to have" Black Bat webkinz. {I know, you've got to love bribery!} So needless to say, the past few weeks he has been all consumed with figuring out the number of days {he is a numbers kind of guy} until he could "earn" his next webkinz. The fact that he was going to have six more cavaties filled was purely secondary. Fortunately with the help of a little "sleepy juice" this time around, he did just fine and was a mighty brave and courageous little guy. We now have a Black Bat roaming our house and a happy boy that hopefully doesn't have to go back to the dentist for a long, long time! Who knew Webkinz could have such power?

Why, Oh Why???

After working my tail off for an hour doing this

do I come home and find and indulge in these

when my fridge is fully stocked with spinach, cantelope, strawberries, whole wheat bread...

Back to work I go! Ugh!!

and no I didn't eat 60 packs....just enough to satisfy that sweet and salty craving!