The princess pirate of the Utah seas.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Conversations with a pirate during homework
Pirate: Hello
Me: Hi there. How was your day?
Pirate: It was such a lovely day. Not a stitch of rain.
Me: um, ok
Pirate: Don't you think that is true?
Mom: Why yes I do.
Pirate: me too.
Me: Hi there. How was your day?
Pirate: It was such a lovely day. Not a stitch of rain.
Me: um, ok
Pirate: Don't you think that is true?
Mom: Why yes I do.
Pirate: me too.
Monday homework
snack after church.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
What Kind of Friend Are You?
The finest of friends must
sometimes be stern sentinels, who
will insist that we become what
we have the power to become.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Insights to My Life, p. 199
Monday, October 8, 2012
Missionary Announcement on Saturday Morning at General Conference
Saturday morning at General Conference, President Monson announced that young men can now leave on missions at 18 and young women at 19. I felt the same way as these kids (a mixture of astonished delight and absolute fear). I don't know how I feel about sending Brax out early. I need more faith. :) I'm sure he will hit the road running, Book of Mormon and Bible in hand, sending lost souls to Christ. At the moment, I feel that he is the age of the third photo. Pray for faith and save, save, save!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Why I LOVE homework and How Much I Don't Know about the Amendments.
Most of this week has been catching up on homework. There has been mutiny in the home. School work has not been done at school and so there have been consequences. Very sad, lamenting and gnashing of teeth consequences...for instance, three to four hours of 'make-up' work every night this week. Ugh... I've got to say, that sometimes punishments are harder on moms.
Since I have all but ignored the other child due to the others lack of interest in doing school work. I decided to help him (AFTER he asked) with learning the 27 amendments.
Before I am critiqued on my spelling and grammar, may I just say, in my own defense, it was really late, I was really tired, and I had just done Sudoku with a very UNHAPPY child.
So here it is. My take on learning the 27 amendments.
From: J
To: b
Subject: amendments study sheet
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2012 Time: VERY late
The first 10 are known as the Bill of Rights
1. free speech! No ONE can tell me how to worship
2. I have TWO guns because I have the right to bear arms
3. There are THREE people already living in my house so NO soldiers can be quartered here
4. There are FOUR doors in my house and you can't enter any of them without a warrant.
5. I can have FIVE attorneys if I want them because I get the right to a fair trial and if you mess up, you can't send me to trial again.
6. I'd like the SIX minute trial please because I have the right to a speedy and fair trial
7. I can't lose my SEVEN dollars so I have the right to a jury in a civil case if I could lose money.
8. The government can't make me pay EIGHT billion dollars for bail. Fines must be fair and there can be no cruel or unusual punishments inflicted.
9. Sorry, but the government can't claim that I only have the "NINE" rights listed in the Bill of Rights, ok, it's not just the "nine", but the government still can't claim that no matter the number.
10. I can tell you in TEN seconds why it is better for the States to have more power than the federal government. Too bad Obama doesn't think that.
11. ELEVEN people from California wanted to sue the State of UTAH in a federal court. Guess what? They can't. Has to be a State court.
12. On November 6 each electoral officer has two separate votes. One for the President and one for the Vice President. They cannot be on the same ballot. By the way, 2 ballots x the 6th of November = TWELVE :)
13. THIRTEEN million slaves are freed by this amendment, because it abolishes slavery. Go Lincoln!!!
14. The FOURTEENTH amendments gives me rights as an American Citizen. I have FOURTEEN ways to purse life, liberty and property.. ok there are probably more, but FOURTEEN is good for now.
15. The FIFTEEN people behind me have a right to vote, even if they aren't white.
16. Congress has the right to tax me for SIXTEEN percent of my income... ha ha ha ha. more like Thirty percent, but SIXTEEN percent of taxes made me feel better.
17. I don't care if your man has SEVENTEEN ways to be a great senator. The state legislature can't elect him. Only the people of the state get to elect him. and he can't be SEVENTEEN.
18. You may be EIGHTEEN years old, but the sale, production and transportation of liquor is still illegal.
19. Women have the right to Vote! NINETEEN women will be ahead of you in line when you go to vote because they got up earlier, at NINETEEN hundred hours (1900) which is equivalent to 7:00 p.m.,, which doesn't really work here, but whatever, now you have WOMAN+VOTE+NINETEEN in your head FOREVER. :)
20. There will be at least TWENTY lame ducks in office dude - which is why you are being ousted on January 20th. Goodbye OBAMA! (We hope) - otherwise we will be TWENTY days and FOUR more years of ...
21. Guess what? TWENTY ONE year olds get to drink again because this amendment repelled the 18th. Now we have TWENTY ONE million alcoholics. Way to go government. Good move.
22. This amendment limits the president to TWO-TWO terms. Oops, I stuttered. Sorry, just TWO-two terms. That is 8 years in case you are thinking about OBAMA again, so if you used math: half of eight is four and it takes 2+2 to get to four, which is all Obama has left if he is reelected...THAT amendment is TWENTY TWO in case that was confusing...
23. You know those TWENTY THREE million people that live in the TWENTY THREE counties in the District of Columbia? They get to vote. Whoever said they couldn't in the first place is TWENTY THREE kinds of stupid. :)
24. This amendment prohibits the Poll Tax in federal elections. If you only made TWENTY FOUR dollars a week, you couldn't pay for a Poll Tax so you couldn't vote. The smart people in this country cried foul and said even those who only have TWENTY FOUR cents should still be able to vote, so you can't charge them! Not even TWENTY FOUR cents.
25. In 1973 Nixon and his VP Spiro Agnew made a mess of the office of the Pres and VP. Did you even know about the guy named Spiro? Me neither. Anyway because of the 25th amendment, the VP takes over when the president is unable... this is a stretch, but the 2+5 of the TWENTY FIFTH amendment = 7 of 1973 when perhaps the two worst people in America were the VP and President of the country (except for 2012, but that's another blog post). By they way, 5-2=3, of 1973... okay, this is just bad.. By the way, Spiro resigned a year BEFORE Nixon resigned (charged with accepting bribes), then the President resigned... so who was left you ask? Well, Nixon named Ford as the VP and when Nixon left Ford became president. And that my friend is why we love the TWENTY FIFTH amendment.
26. The voting age is now 18. (2+6=8) - get it? :) - add in a one and you get 18 which is the new voting age... okay... it's late!!!! cut me some slack.
27. I am your senator (representative, etc.) I want a $27,000 raise while I'm in office. Too bad! you can't have a raise while in office. NOT EVEN TWENTY SEVEN cents! Raises can be put into effect after your term is OVER!
Thus you have your 27 amendments. :)
I am VERY sleepy. It is 11:57 p.m. By the way, do you remember the 5th amendment???... I can have five attorneys if I want them, because.... the 7th amendment??? - You can't take my $7 dollars without a jury...the 11th amendment?... I'll give you a hint... 11 people from CA tried to sue Utah in a federal...
Love,
Mom
p.s. YES a lot of the numbers are made up. Get over it! Except the amendment numbers. Those are right :)
Since I have all but ignored the other child due to the others lack of interest in doing school work. I decided to help him (AFTER he asked) with learning the 27 amendments.
Before I am critiqued on my spelling and grammar, may I just say, in my own defense, it was really late, I was really tired, and I had just done Sudoku with a very UNHAPPY child.
So here it is. My take on learning the 27 amendments.
To: b
Subject: amendments study sheet
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2012 Time: VERY late
The first 10 are known as the Bill of Rights
1. free speech! No ONE can tell me how to worship
2. I have TWO guns because I have the right to bear arms
3. There are THREE people already living in my house so NO soldiers can be quartered here
4. There are FOUR doors in my house and you can't enter any of them without a warrant.
5. I can have FIVE attorneys if I want them because I get the right to a fair trial and if you mess up, you can't send me to trial again.
6. I'd like the SIX minute trial please because I have the right to a speedy and fair trial
7. I can't lose my SEVEN dollars so I have the right to a jury in a civil case if I could lose money.
8. The government can't make me pay EIGHT billion dollars for bail. Fines must be fair and there can be no cruel or unusual punishments inflicted.
9. Sorry, but the government can't claim that I only have the "NINE" rights listed in the Bill of Rights, ok, it's not just the "nine", but the government still can't claim that no matter the number.
10. I can tell you in TEN seconds why it is better for the States to have more power than the federal government. Too bad Obama doesn't think that.
11. ELEVEN people from California wanted to sue the State of UTAH in a federal court. Guess what? They can't. Has to be a State court.
12. On November 6 each electoral officer has two separate votes. One for the President and one for the Vice President. They cannot be on the same ballot. By the way, 2 ballots x the 6th of November = TWELVE :)
13. THIRTEEN million slaves are freed by this amendment, because it abolishes slavery. Go Lincoln!!!
14. The FOURTEENTH amendments gives me rights as an American Citizen. I have FOURTEEN ways to purse life, liberty and property.. ok there are probably more, but FOURTEEN is good for now.
15. The FIFTEEN people behind me have a right to vote, even if they aren't white.
16. Congress has the right to tax me for SIXTEEN percent of my income... ha ha ha ha. more like Thirty percent, but SIXTEEN percent of taxes made me feel better.
17. I don't care if your man has SEVENTEEN ways to be a great senator. The state legislature can't elect him. Only the people of the state get to elect him. and he can't be SEVENTEEN.
18. You may be EIGHTEEN years old, but the sale, production and transportation of liquor is still illegal.
19. Women have the right to Vote! NINETEEN women will be ahead of you in line when you go to vote because they got up earlier, at NINETEEN hundred hours (1900) which is equivalent to 7:00 p.m.,, which doesn't really work here, but whatever, now you have WOMAN+VOTE+NINETEEN in your head FOREVER. :)
20. There will be at least TWENTY lame ducks in office dude - which is why you are being ousted on January 20th. Goodbye OBAMA! (We hope) - otherwise we will be TWENTY days and FOUR more years of ...
21. Guess what? TWENTY ONE year olds get to drink again because this amendment repelled the 18th. Now we have TWENTY ONE million alcoholics. Way to go government. Good move.
22. This amendment limits the president to TWO-TWO terms. Oops, I stuttered. Sorry, just TWO-two terms. That is 8 years in case you are thinking about OBAMA again, so if you used math: half of eight is four and it takes 2+2 to get to four, which is all Obama has left if he is reelected...THAT amendment is TWENTY TWO in case that was confusing...
23. You know those TWENTY THREE million people that live in the TWENTY THREE counties in the District of Columbia? They get to vote. Whoever said they couldn't in the first place is TWENTY THREE kinds of stupid. :)
24. This amendment prohibits the Poll Tax in federal elections. If you only made TWENTY FOUR dollars a week, you couldn't pay for a Poll Tax so you couldn't vote. The smart people in this country cried foul and said even those who only have TWENTY FOUR cents should still be able to vote, so you can't charge them! Not even TWENTY FOUR cents.
25. In 1973 Nixon and his VP Spiro Agnew made a mess of the office of the Pres and VP. Did you even know about the guy named Spiro? Me neither. Anyway because of the 25th amendment, the VP takes over when the president is unable... this is a stretch, but the 2+5 of the TWENTY FIFTH amendment = 7 of 1973 when perhaps the two worst people in America were the VP and President of the country (except for 2012, but that's another blog post). By they way, 5-2=3, of 1973... okay, this is just bad.. By the way, Spiro resigned a year BEFORE Nixon resigned (charged with accepting bribes), then the President resigned... so who was left you ask? Well, Nixon named Ford as the VP and when Nixon left Ford became president. And that my friend is why we love the TWENTY FIFTH amendment.
26. The voting age is now 18. (2+6=8) - get it? :) - add in a one and you get 18 which is the new voting age... okay... it's late!!!! cut me some slack.
27. I am your senator (representative, etc.) I want a $27,000 raise while I'm in office. Too bad! you can't have a raise while in office. NOT EVEN TWENTY SEVEN cents! Raises can be put into effect after your term is OVER!
Thus you have your 27 amendments. :)
I am VERY sleepy. It is 11:57 p.m. By the way, do you remember the 5th amendment???... I can have five attorneys if I want them, because.... the 7th amendment??? - You can't take my $7 dollars without a jury...the 11th amendment?... I'll give you a hint... 11 people from CA tried to sue Utah in a federal...
Love,
Mom
p.s. YES a lot of the numbers are made up. Get over it! Except the amendment numbers. Those are right :)
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The younger brother: Hank Smith
This is my younger brother Hank. He's quite a popular guy with the LDS youth. He travels quite a bit and speaks all over Utah, AZ, CA, Alaska... My children think he is "awesome Uncle Hank" and they quote him on a regular basis. The women that I associate with through Women's Conference think he is "amazing, so funny, such a great speaker" and "he's your brother?" WOW!
hmmmm
He's okay I guess. I like him. I like his wife more though :)
She's expecting twins in a few weeks. Four boys under the age of 6. Fun times for my brother!
I tried to get him to smile. He was having a hard time with the newspaper's Saturday crossword puzzle, so I helped him out with my good friend 'google'. He said, "Jenn, that's cheating". Whatever Hank. I got you the answers...
hmmmm
He's okay I guess. I like him. I like his wife more though :)
She's expecting twins in a few weeks. Four boys under the age of 6. Fun times for my brother!
I tried to get him to smile. He was having a hard time with the newspaper's Saturday crossword puzzle, so I helped him out with my good friend 'google'. He said, "Jenn, that's cheating". Whatever Hank. I got you the answers...
p.s. He really is a fantastic uncle. He and Brax make a great team.
Monday, October 1, 2012
The "Relief Society General Meeting" Weekend
I spent Saturday evening at the church's Conference Center for the Relief Society General Meeting. Sister Linda Burton, Sister Carole Stephens, Sister Linda Reeves and President Eyring spoke. Each gave such inspiring messages.
I decided not to take notes that night, instead, I just focused on the feeling in the room and listening. Each one of these sisters are amazing. I got the chance to know them last year when they came to Women's Conference. Sister Burton is one of the nicest women I have ever had the opportunity to meet. Last spring, during a particularly trying moment (over the phone) at WC, I was in the reception room, leaning against a wall, with my back to the room. I had just hung up the phone when this arm went around me and this voice said, "You seem burdened, how can I help. Put me to work, I'll do anything you need". Yes, it was Sister Burton, the newly called Relief Society President who was now (only 3 weeks into her calling) - was asking how she could help me.
She and her counselors are kind, humble, inspired, smart, spiritual and funny. They are inspired and entrusted to guide the women of today. Their lives have been full of triumphs, heartache, sweet moments and tragedies. I highly suggest listening to their messages. You will grow. I did.
You can listen by clicking here.
(from left to right) Sister Stephens, Sister Burton, Sister Reeves
I decided not to take notes that night, instead, I just focused on the feeling in the room and listening. Each one of these sisters are amazing. I got the chance to know them last year when they came to Women's Conference. Sister Burton is one of the nicest women I have ever had the opportunity to meet. Last spring, during a particularly trying moment (over the phone) at WC, I was in the reception room, leaning against a wall, with my back to the room. I had just hung up the phone when this arm went around me and this voice said, "You seem burdened, how can I help. Put me to work, I'll do anything you need". Yes, it was Sister Burton, the newly called Relief Society President who was now (only 3 weeks into her calling) - was asking how she could help me.
She and her counselors are kind, humble, inspired, smart, spiritual and funny. They are inspired and entrusted to guide the women of today. Their lives have been full of triumphs, heartache, sweet moments and tragedies. I highly suggest listening to their messages. You will grow. I did.
You can listen by clicking here.
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