Happy Halloween!

Jazz Opener

It's basketball season again, and around our house that means an extra happy Brett.  Last night the Jazz had their home opener against the Nuggets.  We invited the Bytheways over for the game and some Papa Murphy's pizza.  You will be happy (or maybe not) to hear that even without Deron Williams the Jazz won.  Granted, the Nuggets didn't have a couple of their starters, but hey, every win counts.  It got close towards the end, but they pulled it off.  Per daddy's request Kennedy was sporting the Jazz t-shirt that I put in his stocking last year, complete with drool stains.

None of the pictures of me and Kennedy were good because one of us was making a goofy face in all of them.  I figure that she'll forgive me if I put up the one that makes me look better than her.  She's cuter than me anyway.  We're in our Jazz outfits.  The last time I wore this jersey I was at a Jazz game, 8 months pregnant, and had that little pink shirt on my belly.  For a picture, check out Kaisa's blog post.

We had a great time during the party and have way too much leftover food.  Pizza, cookies, Halloween candy, layer dip.  Please come eat some.  Otherwise I will eat it all and will never lose this baby weight.  Brett wanted to make sure that I got a picture of Kennedy's plumber crack as well.  Enjoy.

Lucy and the Wasp

I was going to try a Wordless Wednesday post with this picture, but I decided not to.  Lucy has been doing some very naughty/funny things around here lately.  At this very moment she is standing on top of the refrigerator and knocking magnets off.  She does this often.  She has been making all kinds of noise at night by breaking our blinds, knocking dishes over, and meowing at us.  She has been crying non-stop to go outside, even after he 5-hour escapade that she came back from terrified.  And then there was this.

We had let her run around outside (on her leash of course) and in the process....sorry, I just had to get up and yell at her for being on the piano.  Anyway, while the door was open a wasp flew in the house.  It was staying on the window and she was chasing it, so we didn't get it right away.  Big mistake.  It proceeded to walk on the wall towards the door, which I thought was the smart thing to do - until it walked right into my purse.  Lucy, of course, followed and tried to get into my purse herself.  She never did find the wasp.  And thankfully we found it a little bit later in Kennedy's room and Brett took care of it.  Lucy is very naughty, but she can be helpful when there is a bug around!

"Put on your Sunday clothes when you feel down and out"

Now that we have church at 1:00 we have been able to spend some leisurely mornings getting ready, which makes us way less stressed now that we have a baby.  I put Kennedy in a dress that I bought her in Hawaii almost a year ago.  I have been waiting a long time to see her in it, and I wasn't disappointed.  Here are some pictures from our family morning.

I love this picture.  I think it is just darling.  She has the cutest faces and the cutest cheeks!  It's hard not to kiss her face when I'm around her.

Here she is enjoying Music and the Spoken Word which we watch every Sunday morning.  Today she took a really big interest in it.  She's watching the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing.  She loved it and watched for a good 10 minutes.

The last couple of Sundays Kennedy and I have had unintentionally matching outfits at church.  It was red and black plaid last week, and here we are in dark pink and white.  I have to say that Kennedy resembles her mom quite a bit!

After church and choir we came home to some butternut squash soup that was cooking in the slow cooker.  At the moment Kennedy is getting ready for bed while I'm finishing up a batch of pumpkin cranberry cookies for our friends who are coming over to play games.  We love Sundays!

PS - 10 points to anyone who can tell me what movie the title is from.  (Hint: It's not Wall-E)

3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

For the third year in a row we got together with the Waddoups to carve pumpkins and watch a scary movie.  We watched Signs (which is one of my favorites).  Kim told me that she went on a date once where the boys put a projector up in front of a corn field and watched that movie!  Creepy!  We also had a Dijon Chicken Stew that I made as well as Kaye's famous apple cider that she so graciously gave me the recipe for.  It was awesome and we had a great time.  I didn't get to carve my pumpkin (I'm going to do a Lucy pumpkin tonight) but Brett carved a cute ghost family!  Kennedy is in the middle and I have hair.  You'll be able to see it a little bit better in the later pictures.

Nate carved a goal post with a football going through it (BYU could use a few more of those at the moment) and Kim carved a pumpkin for Boston.  The pumpkin is a football helmet and she carved the face into it.

Our night camera wouldn't steady, so they're kind of blurry, but here they are all lit up!

I thought this picture turned out kind of cool.  It looks like the ghosts are on fire or something.

We're looking forward to lighting our pumpkins on Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday was an eventful day for us.  We ran lots of errands, played a lot with Kennedy, and went on a hayride to a pumpkin patch!  We did this last year as a ward activity down at the Red Barn in Santaquin, and it was so much fun that they decided to do it again.  We got Kennedy decked out in her pumpkin outfit that Grandpa Pitt sent to her.  Her onesie says "little pumpkin" on it.

Here is Boston sporting a pink hat that he borrowed from the Guest girls.  His daddy wasn't so happy about this, but as Kim was putting it on, Boston was smiling away.

Kennedy loves her hat, and it started getting cold right about now, so we had to bundle her up before we got to the pumpkins.

Here we are in front of the wagon that took us over there.  Kennedy was having a great time watching the other kids on the ride that were sitting next to us.

When we got to the patch, Brett very quickly found some perfect carving pumpkins.  We got one for us to share and one small one for Kennedy.  Of course they made sure to have some fun stuff there other than just the pumpkins, so here we are as pumpkins and ghosts.

Poor Kennedy was exhausted after this, and she hardly slept at all last night because her first tooth poked out yesterday!  It is way sharper than I was expecting.  We can't see it yet, but it is most definitely there when we put our fingers in her mouth.  Does anyone have any helps for teething pain?  A repeat of last night would probably kill me or Brett.  Or both.

Yes on Proposition 8!

I know that most of the people who read my blog are not registered to vote in California, but I am going to post this anyway.

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 non-traditional 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 homosexuals.  In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships.  Propsition 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 twin kindergartners were 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 boys 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 the Catholic adoption agencies be exempted from the rules.  Click here for more info.

Earlier this month judges in Connecticut overturned the state law (just as the judges in California did) to legalize 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 the vote, and we need to fight back.  That is what this proposition is all 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.  Please, even if you don't live in California, put this on your blog or e-mail this on.  The internet knows no state line.  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 and our 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: 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 8:00 pm.  Vote by mail must be received by this time and can be hand delivered if necessary.

Hopefully this information will be helpful.  Even if you don't live in California you can make a difference by e-mailing this to all your contacts and getting the word out.  Whether you are into politics or not this issue is incredibly important.  VOTE YES ON PROP 8!

"A Very Merry Un-Birthday To You!"

Happy half birthday to Kennedy!  She is 6 months old today and getting so big!  She's experiencing cold for the first time and she's getting to wear new clothes.  Her hair is getting so long that it's in her eyes, and I'm going to have to learn how to put it up.  She's sleeping through the night without being wrapped up and she smiles, wiggles, and talks all day long.  We have loved the last 6 months and are looking forward to the next!

Welcome Asher!

The newest member of the Lee family was born Tuesday morning!  Asher Benjamin Lee, our new nephew and Kennedy's new cousin, came into the world at 6 lbs 4 oz and 19 inches!  He is tall and skinny compared to Kennedy's short and fat even though they were the same length.  When I picked him up I though he would break because he was so small!

He's a sweety.  He just slept the whole time, but he made some cute little noises while I was holding him.

Here we are!  Aunt Ashley, uncle Brett and cousin Kennedy with little Asher.

Kennedy had a great time with Jonah (Asher's older brother) while he tried to feed her.  Then he sang her the Halloween song that he learned in preschool and that scared her!  She kind of freaked out.  We got to be there while Jonah held his brother for the first time.  He is very proud and announced that he wanted to teach Asher how to walk.  I'm sure he will.  We will have more pictures this weekend because we are taking dinner up to Elk Ridge on Sunday.  Congratulations Jesse, Kaisa and Jonah!

Best of Friends

For the first couple of months of Kennedy's life, she did not even know that Lucy existed.  She didn't care much about the little black furry thing sniffing at her feet.  But as of late they have been getting a little bit more acquainted.  Kennedy watches Lucy's every move when she's anywhere near by, and Lucy has always been fascinated by Kennedy.  Lately though she has been coming and laying near her when she's on her blanket on the floor.  Here are some pictures that I took of the two of them.

Kennedy is figuring out how to pet Lucy and has been doing it every chance she gets.  Thankfully, Lucy is very tolerant with little kids.  She doesn't mind being hit in the face every once in a while or losing some of her fur to a little fist.  And Kennedy seems to love her already, as well as all of the other animals she comes in contact with.

And as promised, here is the link to President Eyring's talk on unity, titled Our Hearts Knit as One.  It is definitely worth reading.

Lack of Motivation

So, I hope that I'm not the only one out there who finds it hard to get motivated.  Between finishing school (by Thanksgiving), a messy house, a baby, errands, and many other things that make my weeks so busy, I often find myself taking time that could be spent being productive turning on the TV or browsing blogs.  Help!  I really need to get over this horrible laziness that seems to have consumed my life.  I had this problem to a certain extent before Kennedy arrived, but now, every time she is asleep I start relaxing.  I do this a little too much because every time I actually start to work she wakes up.  What do you do to juggle your lives and still find the time/motivation to do the things that need to be done?  I would really love some ideas.

Duck Creek

As you probably know we went up to Duck Creek this weekend to spend some time with Brett's aunt Dianne and uncle Wilton.  They came in from Maryland and were nice enough to offer to rent a cabin for us up in the mountain.  The weather was beautiful and cold and gave us a chance to try out some of Kennedy's new winter clothes.  I'm going to have to apologize in advance for not having any pictures of my own.  We did bring the camera but we forgot it on our little excursion and then didn't take any pictures after that.  We got up there late on Friday night and then had a rousing game of Settlers of Catan.  Unfortunately Kennedy didn't sleep all that well, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

On Saturday we all headed down to Kanab to visit the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and take a tour.  It's a great facility that houses 1,800 to 2,000 animals at a time.  Mostly they rescue animals from shelters that can't handle them or from the wild and then try to socialize them.  They then try to get them adopted or put them back in their natural habitat.

They have horses, birds, dogs, cats, bunnies, and some wild animals.  Here is a picture of the front gates of the cemetery.  They have about 4,000 animals in there.

We visited the dogs and the cats who were all thoroughly fascinated with Kennedy.  She tried to pet the cats when they sniffed her, and both of them liked each other.  They were all so sweet and seemed so happy.

On Sunday, while some of the family headed to Bryce Canyon, we decided that Kennedy had had way too much of the car for one week and we wanted to give her a break, so we stayed home.  While she napped we watched a session of General Conference.  I was particularly moved by President Henry B. Eyring's talk on unity.  The text won't be online until Thursday, so I will be sure to get a link to it on here then.  I wasn't able to see any more of conference, but I did watch the Relief Society broadcast and loved it.  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a beautiful talk on the worth of women and the things that we can do to build our feelings of self-worth.  It was a great weekend and a great week, but I think that Kennedy is happy she won't have to sit in the car seat for longer than 20 minutes for a couple of months, and I am really happy to be home again too.  I feel like I haven't seen Brett for a week and I'm happy to have him all to myself again!

PS - There appear to be some technical difficulties with the YouTube video I posted.  It worked just fine for me when I put it up here, but since then no one has been able to view it.  I will let you know when I get the kinks worked out.

Proof of Kennedy's Laugh

Ok, I don't know how to put YouTube videos on my blog, so until I can figure it out, please go to this link.  You won't be sorry.  It's a video that Irene posted of Kennedy and her son Lucas laughing together one day while she was babysitting.  She says that this isn't even the good video.  But it is dang cute anyway!  Enjoy!

St. George Trip

Monday afternoon we headed down to Santaquin to pick up Brett's sister Jamie and we all headed down to St. George to see Big River and Les Mis.  Brett's parents were nice enough to pay for our gas and tickets to Les Mis as a graduation present.  Of course, on the way down, Kennedy threw up so much that it seeped through her seat to the seat below, and then she had a total blowout that also got poop all over our car.  Needless to say we were happy when we got to Stefani's house.

Stefani (Brett's older sister), Brian and Kasia let us stay with them.  That night, after helping some older people change a flat tire on the side of the road, we went to see Big River.  There were some amazing special effects.  To create the river they actually flooded the stage using the waterfalls behind it.  It was really cool.  For those of you who have never heard of the Tuacahn theatre, it is a natural red rock outdoor theatre.

It is beautiful.  The next night we saw Les Mis which was absolutely fabulous.  Javert (of course) was my favorite.  He had an incredible voice and really did justice to the part.  After having a daughter of my own, Fantine made me cry twice before she had even died.  I recommend seeing it if you get the chance.

Other than the plays, we went and had lunch at In-N-Out on Tuesday which was wonderful.  We also shopped pretty much all day and got Kennedy a bunch of fun new stuff.  We had a wonderful stir-fry with Stef and Brian too.  We had a great time, and we're getting ready to make the long drive to Duck Creek this weekend too!  Kennedy is such a trooper and was so patient with us the whole time.  Even though we think she's teething.

PS - I went out and bought Giada de Laurentiis' new cookbook today, and it is fabulous.  Treat yourself to it.  You won't be sorry and neither will anyone that you live with.