It's Time

Friends and family,

First, the good news that many of you have already heard: The Arizona Marriage Amendment just got signed by the Senate and will be on the ballot in November. Most Arizonans believe in traditional marriage, but most of us are busy with our family and personal responsibilities and do not get involved in politics. But, now is the time to step up (even if it's a little step) and support the values we believe so strongly in. Here's what Mark and I are doing:

The deadline for submitting statements for the Publicity Pamphlet sent out by the Secretary of State is Friday, July 11th. We want to get as many people as we can to write, fund, and submit their own statement for the pamphlet. The idea is that the more people we can get in the pamphlet to talk about why they support the amendment and how they feel about protecting traditional marriage, it will reassure the public that there are a lot of regular people like me and you that are supporting this simply because it is the right thing to do.

Here's what you need to do:
*Come up with a short, concise statement for the amendment (less than 300 words)

*Come up with $75 to pay for the fee to the Secretary of State

*Print your statement on a sheet of paper and get it signed and notarized

*Make a copy of your statement to a CD

We will be happy to submit your money, paper statement, and CD to the Secretary of State for you. We will make a trip there on July 11th. We will also help you out with any part of this process that you need. Let us know if you need help with what to say in your statement, if you would like it proofread, if you need help finding a notary, etc.

There are a few ways you can go about doing this. You can submit a statement and pay for it by yourself, or you can organize a group (family, friends, business associates, etc) to pay for and sign your statement together. Just keep in mind that anyone that pays money needs to have their name disclosed on the statement.

Send the word out to anyone you know in Arizona that might be interested. It would be nice to get submissions from different cities and counties around the state if possible. The more people we can get on board the more powerful our efforts will be. Imagine flipping through the publicity pamphlet and seeing pages and pages of individuals who of their own accord wrote and funded separate statements about why they believe in protecting traditional marriage. And let me assure you, if you are interested in helping this cause, this is a way to really get a big bang for your buck--$75.00 will get your message to every registered voter in the state.

Here are the rules on the Secretary of State's website:

Let us know how we can help. Reply to this post or give us a call and we can help you get started.

Sincerely,
Mark and Marily Smith

CALL FOR ACTION!!

There is a crisis in our country concerning morality and marriage. Our country is battling over whether we will allow the centuries-old definition of marriage to be voted away by activist judges. In Arizona, voters struck down a marriage amendment that included banning civil unions two years ago. Fortunately, we have been given a chance to redeem ourselves. SCR 1042, the Marriage Amendment Referendum states: "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state."

This clarification is to prevent judges in Arizona from striking down our state marriage laws as being 'unconstitutional' and thus preventing our state from getting into the mess that Massachusetts and now California are in. Today evil is being called good and good evil. Now is the time to take a stand for decency and values. If you need to be more convinced, read this, or this, or if you really want to be afraid of what could happen in Arizona, check out this group from Massachusetts called Mass Resistance (discretion is advised). Their website documents some of the crazy things that have happened in Massachusetts following their legalization of same-sex marriage. THIS IS NOT ABOUT DENYING RIGHTS! Allowing same-sex marriage is only the first step, then comes the indoctrination of your children about homosexual lifestyles, different forms of sex, etc. It has happened way too many times:

In Lexington, MA; in Los Angeles, CA;

Can you imagine finding out your 7 year old was read this book in school without your permission? And what happens when parents complain? Their concerns are dismissed as discriminatory and outdated. In Massachusetts the slap in the face parents get is simply, "We can teach homosexuality in schools because homosexual marriage is legal here."

Do not let this happen in Arizona!

Celebrate DADDY!!

For the last two and a half years, Mark has been working on his Masters in Accountancy. Most of his classes have been on Wednesday nights. Generally he would leave for work around 7am then be gone until 10pm after his class was over. His last final was last week and this week was our first week of no school!! Yeah Mark!! Since yesterday was our first Wednesday night together we thought we'd better celebrate with Mark's favorite dessert:
This, my friends, is a cookies and cream shake from Chick-Fil-A. Mmmmm, tasty. We told Dallin we were going to go celebrate because Daddy was done with school and he kept repeating, "Celebrate Daddy!"


And by the way, he got straight A's....


You're awesome honey! We love you!!!

Things I Love About Having a House

After five years of marriage, we finally have:


Our own recycling bin
Finally I do not have to feel guilty about not recycling.


A backyard
We have property of our very own, all nicely fenced in and COMPLETELY free of dog poop. I do not have to worry any more about my toddler grabbing a "rock" and sticking it into his mouth!


No shared walls
If my kids are screaming no one will hear them but me. That takes some of the stress out of it anyway.


Parking
We just got a new garage door and an opener installed. Instead of walking fifty yards to my front door, it is now about five steps away. This makes a HUGE difference when both of your children have managed to fall asleep on a warm summer day. Gone are the days when I have to make this decision: "Okay, who gets to stay in the car with the doors locked while I try to quickly (and gently) race the other one across the parking lot, into the house, up the stairs and in his room while the other one sweats it out in his sleep?"


My precious kitchen counters
Is there really any more to say? I have at least TEN times the counter space. I can actually leave the toaster on the counter when it's not in use. Wow.


Separate bedrooms for the little guys
We all sleep much better now.


Two bathrooms
If you've ever found yourself brushing your teeth while someone else was sitting on the pot, you'll understand why this is such a big deal.


Watching grass grow


Outdoor toys can stay outdoors when they're not being used


We can gather more than six people around the dinner table at one time
Now we have only ourselves to blame if we aren't social.

Trash-Talking Giraffes

So, a while back when Adam was first learning animal sounds we would quiz him often because it is so darn cute to hear him meow, moo, and neigh. Dallin wanted to get in on the attention so he began quizzing Adam also. Eventually, things went in another direction as they often do when Dallin is involved--a direction that, if Dallin has anything to say about it, is much funnier than the original direction. If you watch the video from this post you will understand what I mean. In the video it shows the first time Dallin asked Adam, "What does a giraffe say?" Dallin of course knows that a giraffe does not make a sound. But Adam answers, "giraffe," which sounds more like "JRAFF," which Dallin heard as "TRASH." Afterwards, Dallin would ask Adam, "What does a giraffe say?" Then Dallin would answer his own question with, "TRASH!" So now Adam DOES actually think that a giraffe says "trash!"

A Few Photos

Here are some pictures of the boys. Because that's why you're really here, isn't it?

Uncle Ryan just got back from a vacation to Peru. Here are the boys sporting their new soccer shirts Ryan got them. Thanks Ryan!

Here are pictures outlining an activity we did the other day.

Step ONE...
Step TWO...Step THREE...

Here are the boys ready for their first swimming lesson.

Dallin has been having a lot of fun and really enjoys his lessons. Adam, well, he likes playing Humpty Dumpty and falling into the water. If we are doing anything else he whines the whole time. He is not too excited about water in general and let's face it, he is a scrawny little kid so he has trouble keeping warm.

We will miss you Amanda and Iris!!

Over the last weekend my sister Amanda, one of my best friends, moved to Texas with her daughter Iris. And I wasn't expecting this to happen but as soon as I start typing this post, tears are falling down my face. I already miss them so much and it hasn't even been a week. These last few years that Amanda has lived here we have finally had that relationship that every person wants to have with a sibling. I am so grateful to have her as a sister and as a friend. Amanda is so kind. Somehow whether it was her lack of words or quiet response I could catch myself when I was talking unkindly about someone else. She seemed to inspire kindness in me, simply by not encouraging unkindness. I love too that Amanda is sentimental. I don't know if everyone would see that in her, but I love how she gets so excited about seemingly small things or intensely analyzes a situation. I think we need more people in this world who are open about how they feel instead of worried about making too much of things. I think we all would be happier if we allowed ourselves to get excited more often.

And of course we love Iris. Dallin and Iris have been such great friends although Iris is four years older. She is such a great cousin and so patient and nurturing with Dallin. Dallin adores her!! Whenever I told Dallin Iris was coming over he would literally jump for joy.

Earlier that week some of my sibs got together at Bethany's to have a car-washing fest. The kids played in the water and the mud and Bethany, Amanda, and I vacuumed and washed our cars. I need to get copies of pictures of them in the mud, all I took with my camera are the after-shots. Here are the four cousins enjoying OtterPops after they'd been bathed: Dallin, Iris, Adam, Daniel

Iris reading to Dallin:

(This bay window, by the way, is where Adam had his little accident, as described below...)
Iris got to spend the night our house the day before they moved. We made a big deal out of it: popped popcorn, had ice cream cones, and we all slept in the backyard. Well, Adam slept in his bed, and he was pretty sad about it, but Dallin, Iris, Mark, and I slept outside. We have had some great times with more to come I am sure, just sadly, farther between.

We love you both!