Vacation Stations - California, Oregon, & Washington

Day 1 [July 7] drive to Phoenix [14 hr] 10pm
Day 2 Kristy, play poolside
Day 3 drive to San Diego [6 hr] get in 5pm
Day 4 san diego
Day 5 Christie[2 hrs] 8am
[  ] Disney 10-6pm $400
Day 6 drive to LA [2 hr]
[  ] Downtown tour
[  ] Griffith observatory
[  ] Hollywood hike
[  ] walk of fame 
Day 6 drive to San Fran [7 hrs] Friday July 13
[  ] Big Sur
Day 7 San Francisco
[  ] Golden gate bridge bike
[  ] Trolley
Day 8 San Francisco [July 15]
[  ] Fisherman's Wharf/Alcatraz - $200
[  ] Redwood National Forest - $10? [6 hr]
Day 9 Medford [5 hr]
[  ] See Redwood park 8am- 11am
[  ] 5 hr to Crater lake - $25 4pm visitors center, video, drive around lake, pinnacles
[  ] Bend [2 hr] 7-9pm hotel
Day 10
[  ] Drive 3 hours 8-11
[  ] Multnomah Falls 2 hr 11-1
[  ] Tillamook 2 hr 1-3
[  ] Rockaway 2 hr 3-5
[  ] Portland 1 hr 5-6 dinner
[  ] Drive to BM 3 hr 7-10
Day 11 Mt Rainier $30 - July 18
Day 12 Seattle - gum wall, pike place, haunted coke machine July 19
Day 13 B&M chill day July 20th
Day 14 drive to new Plymouth Id 6 hr [July 21] 8-4pm Lymans
Day 15 drive to Crocketts 6 hr travis airport 22th
Day 16-17 Crocketts
Day 18 drive Albuquerque July 25
Day 19 drive to Texas July 26

Gas - 600
Hotels - 500
Food - 650
Activities - 800
Total - $1800

Look to the Scriptures

Study everything Jesus said and did as recorded in the Old Testament.

Study His laws as recorded in the New Testament.

Study His doctrine as recorded in the Book of Mormon.

Study His words and recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants.

Crazy News Stories

Each day, I do a quick check of the news.  Lately, I keep reading the weirdest stories.  You can't make this stuff up.  So I'm going to keep a month long crazy news blip log:

• Rude French waiter files complaint against employer in Canada after being fired citing "discrimination against my culture" his culture being rude???
• In Florida, a woman marries a 100 year old tree in hopes of saving it from being cut down
• Target is settling out of court against a suit accusing them of racial discrimination.  The long and the short is that Target does a background check and rejects applicants for employment with a criminal history.  Because black and Hispanic applicants have more criminal history they are being racially discriminated. 
• GQ put the Bible on a list of books you don't have to read saying, "Repetitive, self-contradictory, sententious, foolish"
• The EPA is proposing a new rule that would prevent the EPA from using scientific studies where the underlying data is not available to the public. That's because in many of those studies, researchers had confidentiality agreements with their subjects. Meaning the underlying data is not available to the public.  People are in an uproar.  Seems logical to me.
• "Cry closet" - An actual place at the University of Utah's library for students to release their stress. What happens in the cry closet, stays in the cry closet.  It was a provocative art exhibit that got people all in an uproar.  Do I think colleges should have cry closets, probably not, but do I think if they do, people should get real angry on the internet.  Probably not!
• Threatening to fine people who cheer at their kids graduation in South Carolina
• Live animals at prom, namely a tiger, sparked outrage.  How this is any different than a zoo, I have no idea. 
• "Woman discovers her dog that never barks or eats dog food is actually a fox" What???
• In an effort to more fully teach a culture of consent, we are supposed to ask a baby if it is okay before we change it's diaper.

Seriously, can't make this stuff up.  People are more outrageous than ever.  Even more public outcry is at an all time high.  What's this all mean?  The world has gone mad! 

Letters To My Children

Dear Kids,

Our world is changing.  It seems crazy the things I hear on the news.  Things that are unexpected and in unexpected places.  And I guess I'm not old enough to go around shouting, "When I was young...."  but that doesn't mean I don't think it sometimes.  So, currently there is a huge movement called Me Too and in a world of hashtags, it is a trending one.  It started with the downfall of Hollywood movie producers, it surfaced in our last Presidential Elections, although no movement had been officially organized yet.  Then today I saw an article referencing the same allegations of sexual assault, commonly the theme in this movement is men in power preying upon women subordinate, within our church - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  And although I realized that our religion is filled with imperfect people acting in imperfect ways, it still crushed me to realize that these predators are smart, they are hidden in plain sight, they are in positions of power everywhere.

Some time ago, I heard Ben Shapiro, conservative political commentator, talking about why this seems to be a pandemic currently and the circumstances that got us here.  He made some comment generally about how if you have to teach your son not to rape someone, you probably already know have bigger problems.  I listened agreeing.  But as this topic surfaces and surfaces, I realized maybe, just maybe, we do need to teach them that very thing.  We need to implicitly say this to not only boys but similar messages to girls. 

So just to cover my bases:  Kids, never rape or abuse someone!  But you know what, just like I parent for best case scenario and try to encourage you with positives instead of negatives, what I actually want you to do is this:

• "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" - Golden Rule
• Crazy how this Biblical Concept (Matthew) has been around for a couple millennia and we still aptly need it as much as ever.

Remember that everyone is a child of God.  You will some day be accountable to Him for how you treated his other children in this life.  That day can be a scary reckoning or one of joyful celebration.  Choose the party you want to attend when you stand before God again.  You've got this!  I love you.

Mom

Sweet Sixteen Never Looked So Lovely

What's your favorite thing to do?

• Hang out with friends, mostly because I have a car, so it's easier to do it

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

• Executive of Humanitarian Relations at an International Company

What is your favorite food?

• I don't know, I eat a lot of new stuff now, so I don't have a favorite food

Who do you like to hang out with?

• Ana Sofia, Shannon, Caitlain

What do you do really well? 

• Procrastinate and pull off decent grades

What makes you laugh?

• Portugal, the man - Feel it Still (the laughing part of that song) I just think of when they recorded it and what must it have been like

What is the best time of day?

• Morning, like 15 to 30 minutes after I wake up

What are you afraid of?

• How stressed I'll be next year

What do you like to do with your family?

• Cuddle, one on one time

What do you like to learn about?

• Different Languages and people's views on different social and political aspects of life

Where do you like to go?

• Everywhere, I have a list of places I want to visit

What is your favorite book?

• Little Women

If you could have one wish, what would it be?

• Infinite Wishes, but if not that...that I could be happy all the time, but not all the time, because then I wouldn't know what happy is, so a happy life, happy about my overall decisions

Wyatt's Birthday Update

What's your favorite thing to do?
Read, Play video games, yeah that's about it.

What do you want to be when you grow up? 
A Lawyer

What is your favorite food?
Hamburgers

Who do you like to hang out with?
DJ, Issac, Josh, and Ethan

What do you do really well? 
Read, {after a threat to write something ridiculous he conceded} Viola

What makes you laugh?
Jokes, Funny Jokes, and they have to be funny.  They can't be bad puns.

What is the best time of day?
Midnight, because I'm sleeping.

What are you afraid of?
Death, Heights, and that's about it.

What do you like to do with your family?
Listen to Harry Potter in the car, watch Netflix!

What do you like to learn about?
Science and Math and Reading

Where do you like to go?
My room, in front of the computer

What is your favorite book? Stormlight Archives - Brandon Sanderson

If you could have one wish, what would it be?
I can't really think of anything so 3 more wishes.  When forced:  I wish to be really, really, really, good at anything I do.

The New Me

So the other day my kids informed me that this past year I have been more laid back, "Way more chill."  They couldn't emphasize it enough.  Apparently since moving to Texas, I'm more like my husband.  We eliminated about 20 activities since moving here, and as part of my New Year's Resolutions, I am focusing on spending more uninterrupted time with the kids.

The move allowed me enough time and perspective to evaluate the direction of my life, to realize that our oldest will leave for college in less than 3 years, and I can't get this time back.   So meet the new Mary - super chill!

And can we just focus on the fact that our family has lived in Texas for 6 months now!!!  What?!?!?