U.S. Congressman Candidate

I have been researching the candidates for the United States Congress the last few days. I did not know anything about a single one of the candidates beforehand. I have found through reading the candidate's statements that Sydney Hay's values, beliefs about the role of government in the lives of citizens, and her love and respect for the Founders of our great Country and Constitution most closely alignes with my beliefs. I support SYDNEY HAY for U.S. CONGRESS. Check out her website to see her views on the issues.

http://sydneyhayforcongress.com/Home.aspx

Elections are Coming - Who are You Voting For?

This election is a very sad thing for me. I do not have a candidate for President of the United States that I feel will do the right thing on every issue for this WONDERFUL country. I just want everyone to know that I LOVE this country. I love the opportunity that it provides. I love the freedom that we enjoy. I love being responsible for myself and helping others because I want to and I can. I believe that America continues to shine as a beacon of freedom and hope for millions around the world. I also believe that it can all be changed.

The change has already started. People do not understand that the same opportunities that were there for their grandparents and parents still exist. It is there for the taking. Many in the rising generation have been on welfare too long to work hard to improve their lot in life. I have many hard feelings for Franklin D. Roosevelt for ever starting a welfare and Social Security System in the first place.

People do not love and fight for their country as they once did. The media and the politicians are on a continual pessimisstic streak about how terrible everything is. I admit that everthing is not perfect, but how can anything ever get better with everyone being down on it all the time? Change does not happen on its own. People have slowly allowed these and many other changes creep up on them.

With that said, I still love this country and believe that we can make it greater. We need less people on welfare and more people responsible for themselves. People should be allowed to help others on thier own instead of the government forcing them to help others (aka taxes and social programs). That is called SOCIALISM!!!! We need less taxes and more money in our pockets. More money in our pockets means more jobs for those currently on welfare that can work. Taxing the "rich" just means that less people will be employed because the "rich" won't be offering as many jobs - especially good paying ones!

I can go on and on, but I'll try to restrain myself. Since I cannot fully stand behind either candidate, I have to make a choice. I can either support John McCain who loves and has fought for our country, whose wife actively tries to help others and alleviate pain, has made tough decisions on many policies and stood behind them, and has the strength necessary to make sure that America stays strong militarily. Check out this link about John McCain's wife, Cindy, and her work to make life better for many people around the world.
http://www.johnmccain.com/about/Cindy.htm

My other choice is Barack Obama. This socialist/marxist does not even like our country, wants the government to run as much as possible, and wants to raise taxes. I believe that we will rue the day we ever heard of Barack Obama if he is elected. Check out this link to see more about Barack Obama.
http://www.eyeblast.tv/Public/Video.aspx?rsrcID=2036

My choice is actually very easy. I vote for America. I vote for John McCain.

Michigan - last time, I promise!

Wednesday: Raining on and off. We still got in a lighthouse, the Colonial Michilimackinac Fort, and a historic working sawmill/nature preserve! I didn't go in the lantern room because you had to be able to walk up the stairs - one thing Katie can't do yet! I stayed down below with her. Becca and Anson dressed up like Lighthouse Keepers and showed their tickets to see the lighthouse.

Lighthouse Keepers! Inside the lantern room.

Outside the Lighthouse. Outside the Fort.

We are a 1700s family! Not even enough room for 2 kids!

In front of the working Sawmill.

Thursday: Mackinac Island! If you've ever seen Somewhere In Time (starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour), you have seen Mackinac Island. The beautiful Grand Hotel is on the island, along with 2 Butterfly conservatories, dozens of fudge shops, and Fort Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw). One interesting thing about the island is that no cars are allowed. Only horses and bicycles. It was very lovely.

We of course went to one of the butterfly conservatories, because if anyone knows Rebecca, they know she loves Butterflies!

Look at the beautiful Butterflies! This blue one is real!

Rebecca the Butterfly Lover!

The Grand Hotel. Outside Margaret's Garden.

(Aaron's mom's name is Margaret.)

Friday: Fourth of July! BBQ for lunch, family dance in the evening, and our own fireworks on the dock. Lots of people shot off their own fireworks on the lake. You can't do that in AZ, so it was really fun.

Anson- the leader of the pack!

Anson's "talent" of scaring people w/ his dinosaur!

Becca and cousin Sheridan and cousin Neve.

Amy and Katie. Anson getting his groove on!

Michigan Again

Monday: Fun at the lake and Cabin. Right outside of the cabin was a gorgeous lake! There was also a paddle boat, a row boat, and 2 canoes for us to use. Our family went out across the lake in one of the canoes (actually, we left Katie behind). It was a very relaxing, beautiful day. We got to visit with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents too.

Lets go canoeing! Arghhhhh!

We love the water! And the sand!

Playing on the sandy beach and playing with a turtle!

Tuesday: Sault Ste. Marie Locks (pronounced Soo Saint Marie). Aaron, Rebecca, Anson, Katie and I went up to the Michigan/Canadian border to see the Sault Ste. Marie Locks. The St. Mary river flows between Lake Huron and Lake Superior, but Lake Superior is 21 ft. above Lake Huron. So some genious built the locks. A ship coming from Lake Huron goes in this narrow passage way that is blocked ahead of them by a big wall. Then they anchor themselves, the door is closed behind them, and water is pumped into the "lock". Then the "wall" ahead of them opens and they sail out at the level of Lake Superior! We got to take a boat ride on the river and actually go in the lock. To make it even sweeter, a cute couple gave us 2 tickets for free! They had prepaid for their tickets and the other couple was unable to make it, so they offered them to us for free.

Coming towards the Lock. Entering the Lock.


Lock opening at Lake Superior level. Katie loves food!


Rebecca and Anson enjoying the boat ride.


After the boat ride, we went across the border to Canada and Rebecca traded some of ther money for Canada money. It also happened to be Canada Day (July 1). There was a celebration under way, so we went over to join in the fun. It wasn't really very fun though. There were a ton of people, a choir singing weird songs, and huge lines to buy balloons and face painting. We ate a couple of hot dogs and hamburgers, then left. It was a good day though.

Michigan

We had the most wonderful time at the Richmond Family Reunion (my mom's family) in Michigan. The weather was beautiful, the scenery was fabulous, and the company was delightful. Here are a few highlights from the trip.


Picking Strawberries and Riding on the Hay Ride.

More Strawberries. Yummy!

Saturday - Woke up at 3:45 AM to make it to the airport by 4:30 AM (and this after 2 VERY sleepless nights!). Arrived in Michigan after a short change of airplanes in St. Louis at 3:30 PM. We sent Rebecca on a different airline with my parents, and they landed in Indiana, so she was not with us until we arrived at the reunion. Aaron and Anson picked up the rental car while I picked up the baggage and hauled it to the curb with Katie. As we drove to the cabin, Aaron noticed a sign for a cider mill. He lived in Michigan one summer when he was going to BYU - he had an internship at Dow Chemical in Midland. He remembered the yummy apple cider that they sell all over the place in Michigan, so we stopped. It ended up being the CUTEST little farm ever. The strawberries and cherries were in season, so they let us take baskets and go pick to our hearts content. We even rode on a hay wagon with a tractor pulling it to get to the fields. The farm also had a lot of other types of fruit, but they were not in season at the time. They had a little play area that we decided we did not have time for, but Anson would have loved it. We bought some cider, the cherries, and strawberries, and were on our way again. But not for long! Aaron remembered a small town called Frankenmuth that was settled by Bavarians. They have the largest Christmas store ever called Bronners. We stopped and found a star tree topper for our Christmas tree. They also had a recreation of the church where Silent Night was first sung. We stopped at the Bavarian Inn for dinner which did not go very well due to everyone's lack of sleep. We were finally on our way again. We were due to arrive at the cabin at 11:16 PM according to the GPS, but it decided to take us some crazy way to the cabin. We ended up on a one lane muddy dirt road in the middle of the forest trying to find the cabin. It really was quite hillarious. We ended up turning around and just followed the mapquest directions that I had fortunately printed off. We arrived around 11:45 PM and went to bed as quickly as we could.





Sunday - We woke up WAY too early, and made it to church at 10 AM. We enjoyed visiting with everyone and taking a nap in the afternoon. We had a family meeting and planned for the next reunion in Utah in 2010 - to take place in conjunction with the Markham Family Reunion in Spanish Fork on July 24. I also learned that I need to do family history work and write in a journal.

Manning Family Restaurant

(Rebecca thought she was curtsying here.)


I found an old Family Fun Kit that I bought a few years ago on Monday morning, and thought it would be fun to use some of the stuff to have a family restaurant as part of our FHE activity. First, Becca and I made a hat to wear. Rebecca made a sign that said "Manning Family Restaurant". I cleaned off the chalkboard, and Aaron wrote the menu on it and we set it next to the entrance to the kitchen. I prepared most of the food, with a little help from Aaron. Rebecca and Anson mostly set the table by themselves. Aaron acted as host and sat us at the table, and I acted as the server and got everyone their food. We had a fun time pretending to be at a restaurant, and we even wrote on the tablecloth! It had fun games and ideas to talk about while you wait/eat. We played tic tac toe, drew faces, and told an add on story - where one person starts, and the next person adds on, and the next one adds on even more. The story that ended up being told was about a little girl whose mother died (Rebecca started this one!), but she had a rose from her mother. It went on from there. Check out the behind the scenes footage of the Manning Family Restaurant!

I love Dates!

On Friday, Aaron took me out on a very special date! He surprised me the day before by telling me we were going to see My Fair Lady at Gammage and that we were going to get all dressed up to go. I borrowed my little sister's formal dress (I wanted to wear something new, and I wasn't too interested in wearing anything I had), got a babysitter, and we were off! I couldn't figure out anything to do with my hair, so it just ended up straight. We went to the Chart House restaurant in Scottsdale for dinner first. It is on a lake, and we had the perfect view from the window. There were cute little cottontail rabbits, ducks, and other birds on the shore to watch. We were definitely the most dressed up, but that was half the fun! Aaron had the Chilean Sea Bass (or something like that), and I had the Marsala Chicken (I wasn't in a seafood mood, unfortunately since this was a seafood restaurant!). We finished off with their signature dessert, the molten lava chocolate cake. YUM! Then we headed off to the theater. We made it to ASU right as the show was starting, so we quickly picked up our tickets at Will Call and found our seats. We had a great time watching the show. I LOVE musicals!!! We had so much fun on this date talking, and eating, and watching a wonderful show. I have the best husband EVER!



We forgot to bring the camera, so we had the babysitter take pictures when we got home.

Memories

Story Time...So, my friends did this on their blogs and I thought it was cute... so here we go.Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2.Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. :) If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.