Dodging Snails

Thanksgiving eve I decided to walk to the grocery store. I miss the seasons and it was lightly sprinkling outside. Not to mention - I didn't have a car. I got there in no time, and bought Kent's favorite pecan pie, but on my way home, the rain had called out an army of snails and slugs. Though I would not consider my self a snail lover, I'd rather not step on them. It took me twice as long to get home as I was dodging all the snails. About half way I got curious and started to count. 187 snails and slugs not to mention however many were on the first half of my trek home. Just as I was saying to my self. Whew! I only stepped on one snail I slipped on something slimy that made a squeaky noise as it squished. I turned around to see a disgusting slug oozing out the back end. My shoe will never be the same.

For Thanksgiving Kent and I went to the Herbert's house, another law school couple. The food was great, and we got to play karaoke on the Wii. Kent got the highest score singing Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Of course, it was on the easy setting. What? I have to defend my self somehow. I'd only heard the song I sang a total of 4 times in my life. Some say I'm a sore looser, I'd say aggressively competitive. I think I'll change the subject now. Kent and I went shopping on black Friday - what a crazy idea! I've never done it before and I think I never will again. We got up at 4:15 am and were to Wal Mart by 4:50 only to be greeted by a line with no end and people yelling, "move to the back of the line". It was worse inside. I got hit by about four big screen TV's and fell into a bean bag chair trying to avoid being run over by a lady's cart - all while trying to keep up with Kent. All we wanted were two 8 GB flash drives at a discounted price. I don't think it was worth it. Then we went to Best Buy. It was better than Wal Mart, but not by much. Kent is happy to have the new Zune 120 though. He has spent all weekend loading movies and music onto it. He has been disjointed ever since his iPod broke. Okay - that is an overstatement. Well that was our Thanksgiving weekend. Oh, I almost forgot, last night I got food poisoning from the theater popcorn after seeing Twilight. I'm hoping to feel better SOON. Blah.

Go Waves!

I went to the UCLA/Pepperdine women's basketball game with some friends. Why, when the men's team was playing BYU at home? Not sure, but it was fun anyway. So here is our small but mighty Pepperdine cheer section. We did our best and I think we were even louder than the UCLA pep band. Fun stuff.

Hold up...

Graphics & Myspace layouts

Great informational video stating facts only.

Here is a great video about the plain facts about Prop 8. It provides direct sections in the CA family code and case studies. It is great for those who want to hear both sides and provides additional information to look up.

Latest News and My Stance on Prop 8

Boy, it has been a while! Hmm - that's how I start every entry in my journal. That is a bad sign. Any ways, I had some pictures I wanted to add tonight, but I couldn't find the cord to download the pic's from my camera which was in the bedroom with Kent sleeping. So after much searching with a mini mag light I finally found it. I only have a couple of small things to update. I thought it might be time to re-evaluate my life when I went to a work retreat where we did a game to get to know everyone at your table. We were asked to come up with as many words that start with the first letter of our name that we felt would describe us, then ask the others at the table which one fits us best. I ended up as Assertive Amy. Not Amiable, Admirable, Amazing, Angelic, Adventurous or even slightly Attractive - just Assertive. Aggressive did come up once or twice. eeek! Well, as useful as assertiveness is, I am now trying to me more tender, faithful, understanding, forgiving, and sensitive. We'll see how that goes - I let you know unless it doesn't go well. :)

The other thing that is happening around here is Prop 8. If you don't already know, Proposition 8 will amend the California constitution re-defining marriage as between a man and a woman , upholding the traditional definition of marriage. It has been an interesting and frustrating couple of months. For anyone who doesn't think we are in the last days...Come to California! My biggest frustration is that people are voting based on hearsay and have not studied or considered the ramifications of their vote no matter which side they are on. I have done a lot of research on this proposition in order to defend it properly and the information I have found was quite surprising. Here are the facts:
1. Domestic partners in California currently have a law that states that all other laws in which a marriage or husband and wife are referred to - that law also applies to their domestic partnership. Therefore, the passing of this proposition does not in any way take away any rights that same sex couples currently have and they already have all the same rights as married couples.
2. By the failure of this proposition, homosexual couples do not gain any additional rights other than the title of "Marriage"
3. If proposition 8 does not succeed, any bishop, minister, preacher, pastor who's faith does not permit them to perform the marriage of a same sex couple can be taken to court for refusing to do so - this implies that religious freedom is not equal to gay rights, but beneath it.
4. If the prop fails, all public school curriculum will incorporate teaching our children that same sex marriage is equal to traditional marriage, that each is acceptable and you are free to choose. I just heard a father in Massachusetts has already been arrested for demanding parental notification before this curriculum was taught to his children. Parents are not given a choice! Watch their story.
5. Many Christian orphanages will be forced to adopt children to same sex couples against their religious beliefs or close. I have heard the argument that wouldn't it be better to get the thousands of orphans in loving homes more quickly by adopting to same sex couples? Wouldn't it help get children off the street? I have pondered this; if adoption agencies are forced to close because they can not abandon their religious beliefs - how many more children will be homeless? A lot more than are adopted by same sex couples.... I think I would prefer the current situation - for the sake of the children.

In summary, if Prop 8 fails a weighty consequence will be on the shoulders or every parent, child, and religion whose faith does not support same sex marriage, but same sex couples will get their title - even if it does not provide any additional rights for them. If prop 8 passes - same sex couples will see no change from how they currently live and neither will any one else. It stays the same. No one looses anything. My hope is that people will study the facts and make an educated decision before voting - for anything! It is interesting that if one group pushes hard enough for equality it comes at the expense of others freedom. Where is the balance? How is that equal? I'm not trying to be discriminatory, just standing up for my own rights. Someone has to. PLEASE VOTE YES FOR PROP 8. Well now that I have exhausted myself... Sorry to get carried away, I just feel this is very important. Here are the pictures I wanted to put up. Kent in DC at the Christian Legal Society conference. Did you know there is a statue of Brigham Young in the nations capital?

In Memory of 9-11

I feel like I should express my gratitude for all the blessings I have received and especially for havening the privilege of living in America. Although some might debate this with the current stock market, the high gas prices that just aren't dropping fast enough, the attack on families (which we are really feeling here in CA), and the very competitive election, living in America is a wonderful thing. I am blessed to work at a Christian university where service, Christianity, purpose, and high achievements are on the forefront. I was greatly moved this last September when I pulled on campus and saw thousands of flags lined up for each and every person who lost their life in the 9-11 attacks. There was no division of race, religion, or any other type for the hundreds people who pulled over to the side of the street to silently view this memorial. All felt a sense of patriotism. I met a lady I think was from France who said, "This is amazing, truly amazing."We have had so many brave, humble, and noble people fight for our liberty. I have two cousins who have recently served in Irac, one of which is going back after Christmas. I know my grandfather, who fought in WII would be proud. When I find myself feeling picked on I remind myself that I can flush my toilet paper down the toilet, I have a 40 gallon hot water heater, I have a solid roof, a nice vehicle, a stable income, and I can call my family anytime I wish. We truly are blessed - and yet I still complain when our internet goes out for an hour. I guess I just needed that reality check. No matter what happens in this country, Americans still have it better than most. I can say I am proud to be an American.

I Want Your Memory!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together (Amy or Kent). It doesn't matter if you knew us 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 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.

Girls Camp

Well, it has been a while since I have blogged, but not much has happened other than tons of work and the start of Kent's last semester of law school. For the first time in seven years I returned to girls camp. It was a blast, but I forgot what it is like to stay up all night talking about, well, just stuff. A really awesome experience took place for one of the non-member girls in our ward boundaries. She has come to a few activities, but when we had our testimony meeting on the last night, she got up to bear her testimony and became really emotional. She commented later that she never got it before - she never understood why we felt so strongly about our religion, but now it makes sense. It was a great feeling to see someone truly recognize the spirit in their life for the first time. To think, all this happened because her best friend, only 12 years old was courageous enough to teach her gospel principals whenever the opportunity arose and invited her to camp. The gospel is wonderful. I also got some great pictures of our level, "the cheetahs" (right) . Shawna and I were the leaders. That is us below.

Back from Costa Rica Alive

We had a blast in Costa Rica although I have to say I should have gone down at the beginning of Kent's trip rather than the end. He was kind of pooped out and a little less enthusiastic than me. We went to Arenal - the third most active volcano in the world. We stayed at a resort with a perfect view of the volcano over looking the lake. You can hear the volcano erupting continually and even see some lava running down at night. It was so beautiful. We then took a van to Manuel Antonio. Here we had cute geckos in our hotel room which thankfully kept the mosquitoes out. I called them my friends. We went to the National park there which is a real jungle (no pun intended). The video below is of some of the white faced monkeys stealing one of the tourists lunches right out of her backpack. The are cute, but they are thieves and they bite.

We also saw huge iguanas, crabs, sloths, deer, large spiders, lizards of all kinds including one that ran on its hind legs like on Rescuers Down Under, and large beautiful blue butterflies. There was a waterfall that we found a trail to - we had to climb through rivers, vines, bugs, and mud to get there. I really felt like I had stepped into an Indiana Jones movie with the monkeys, birds and bugs so loud in the background of our adventurous hike. We then went ocean kayaking. it was a blast! I loved it. I think Kent and I are going to invest in a couple of Kayaks now as a new hobby. The beaches there are so beautiful and the water is about 82 degrees. We then took a bus back to San Jose where we spent a couple more days among the ticos. We went to see Dark Night for $3.50 each. All our friends are jealous. We about died on numerous occasions in the taxi's, either that or our driver almost killed someone else crossing the street while we were in their car. The traffic there makes me grateful for the traffic in Los Angeles if you can believe that! We also got to walk around in down town San Jose where they have about 200 giant cows that companies decorate and donate. They then auction them off and give the money to charity. Some of these cows were hilarious. One last thing, Every one asks about the food, well - it was really good, but one experience was my favorite. We were at a little "soda" at I glanced up while we were waiting for our food and noticed that the sign on the wall was moving. I kept watching his phenomenon until I saw four cockroaches peek from behind the sign and then quickly run around and sneek back behind the sign. This happened for the duration of our stay at that restaurant. It was delicious. As was this last cow. If anyone wants to see more pictures, just let me know and I can email some to you. All in all, Costa Rica is highly recommended in my book.

San Francisco Trip

I was just telling someone to go to my blog to see our San Fran pictures before realizing - I haven't posted them. Oops! We went to San Francisco for our 5th Anniversary last March. I didn't realize how cold and windy it gets there. The first day I froze. It was a blast, but I don't think I have done that much walking in the last two years! We would leave the hotel around 9 or 10 and come back around 10 or so. We walked all the piers (Pier 39 two or three times), went to China town which was a little scary and not recommended after dark, little Italy, Market square, Alcatraz, and the botanical gardens in Golden Gate park. We road the cable cars and if you haven't been, a lot of the buses are from different eras and named after the states that I believe they came from. I could be way off on that point. Oh! We of course had to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge too. The best was the homeless guy who was sitting on the street hiding behind these branches that he picked waiting for unsuspecting pedestrians to pass before jumping out while shaking the leafy greens and growling like a bear. The whole street was filled with laughter. Here is a picture...

Waiting to go... Not very patiently.

Kent is in Costa Rica studying abroad and I will be joining him for the last week so we can vacation. He left June 6 and I get to go July 12. Of course I am here, alone for a month, but I am so excited to go enjoy the warm water and tropical beaches. This will be the first time I have been outdise of the US with the exception of a trip to Mexico for our Honeymoon. Kent is convinced he is going to hike from one side of Costa Rica to the other in one day! We'll see. ;) Because of this summer program Kent will be finishing law school a semester early. Yeah! So he will finish this December and take the bar in February. Then we will have to decide where we want to end up - of course we will be following the job offers. Oh, and sorry to break the news - we are not moving back to Utah, but we will be visiting often.

Two years in Cali and finally made it to Disneyland last April

I finally got to go to Disneyland with Kent. It only took his brother David and his family of 11 to drive out here and convince him it would be fun. We got some great photos and I am still left wondering why all my cute nieces and nephews have an obsession with hitting the metal garbage can doors every time we walked by one.