Happy Halloween

To celebrate All Hallow's Eve '08, we first went to our community's costume party. I didn't know what to expect, but they actually went all out....D.J., photographers, drinks, awesome decorations, a haunted maze for the kids.

Kyle was a bit of a party pooper. He refused to be put down. (I think he was a bit overwhelmed by the loud music, darkness, and crazy people in costumes, dancing and running around.) He just looked around the room with a sour look on his face, almost like a zombie:

He was spooked out by the haunted maze, and I don't think he cared too much for the witch, either.

Once out of the party, Kyle returned to his normal self. While we were on the way home, a neighbor noticed us walking down the street. He called out, "you're supposed to knock on the door!" So, Kyle had his first trick-or-treating experience. We went to one house! (We also had 2 groups come by ours. Our first 2 trick-or-treaters ever! In all our years of marriage, we've never had anyone knock on our door on Halloween. Good thing I actually bought some candy today!)

Happy Halloween from a monkey, his banana, and the trusty zoo keeper!

We Did It!

This Halloween morning we made our way through the dark and spooky halls of the Miramar Town Center and into the auditorium. Despite the scary-looking line at City Hall this morning, we were determined to do our civic duty and vote. The line curved around the entire outside of the building. After waiting outside for an hour and 30 minutes, we finally reached the door. What a relief it was to get to the inside to get our ballots. Or, so we thought.

Once inside the auditorium, we then had to go through the second "line." That's right. Every seat was full of people still waiting to get their ballots! The officiators led people from one row at a time, one section at a time, to the next waiting place. We waited and watched as our turn got closer and closer. Kyle was restless. I tried everything to keep him contained, but then he had more fun exploring. He climbed the stairs, walked down the ramp, made some friends, gave some guy 'high-fives,' and kept us the center of attention for the entire room.

Finally, we were called up. The next step was to have our driver's licenses scanned and sign a receipt. After that, we waited in the line for our ballots to print. Then, we waited for open booths and filled out our ballots. Next, we went to the line for the scanners and inserted our ballots, one page at a time. With that, our voting adventure was complete!

We got in the first line at 8:35 and left the last one at 11:25! We suffered through blinding sun and walked through rain. We spent the morning corralling an inquisitive and active toddler. Stephen was late (and pretty much missed) his morning class. BUT...we voted and made our voices heard, especially in this swing state. Each of us is only one vote, but we cannot refuse to do the something we can do, remember? And, do you know what made this sacrifice of time all worth it? These amazing "I voted" stickers!

The Whole Park to Ourselves

We went to the park today for our "regularly-scheduled" play date. Once again, we were the only ones there...and I've got a picture of our car as the only car in the parking lot to prove it! Last week it was rainy; this week it was only 62 degrees outside. I guess both of these conditions are too treacherous for others to brave the outdoors, but Kyle and I didn't let the cold front stand in the way of our fun!


Kyle had a fun time running around after birds, swinging, riding the dinosaur, and digging in the sand. It's nice to be able to get out in some fresh, cool air.

And, after about 30 minutes of playing alone, another friend actually showed up! Just when Kyle seemed about ready to leave, he was able to get in another 30 minutes of play time with a buddy, Carson.

I also had a chance to have an intelligent adult conversation. Heidi, Carson's mom, started asking me about my thoughts on politics and education, and I have many opinions to share! We attempted to unravel the ways to solve the world while at the playground!

Carving Pumpkins

Last night was the night to carve our pumpkins! This is one of my favorite Halloween traditions, causing me to reflect on the many Jack-O-Lanterns I've made over the years. It's fun to continue this activity now that Kyle can participate.

After we laid out plastic bags and prepared the floor, we had to decide what kind of face to carve. (Kyle enjoyed having control of the Sharpie!)


Then, we cut off the top and looked inside.


We had to pull out the seeds and pulp. (Kyle, of course, had to see what it tasted like....yuck!)


Finally, Mom and Dad had to use the carving tools to cut out our designs . Voilà! Our Jack-O-Lanterns were finally finished!

One Week

We have one week until election day. Kyle and I decided we needed to find a why to achieve calmness , mental acuity, and physical strength during these stressful times. What about taking up yoga? Here's Kyle, demonstrating how to do the "upward-facing dog" pose. Maybe yoga will be just the thing to keep me going through the next week....and beyond!


In other news, we've had a cold front come through "Sunny South Florida." The only explanation (as Rush would say) is that Al Gore must be coming to town to give a speech on "Global Warming."

Only One

If you don't like politics or are offended by my opinions surrounding current political events, I suggest you not read this post. Just click back through whatever means you happened to find yourself here.

Just because I write something on my blog does not mean you have to agree with it or even like it. In fact, as Ann Coulter would say, "to those of you out there who have yet to be offended by something I have written or said: Please be patient. I am working as fast as I can."

This is not gospel; it is, after all, my blog, a collection of my opinions. I write what happens in our family and what I believe to be relevant in my life. I don't expect everyone to agree with me or even like what I have to say. I am not professing to know everything or to preach black-and-white truth. I just agree with the thought that "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil if for good men to do nothing."

Right now I cannot do much, but I can do something. I can write what I want on my blog. As Helen Keller said, quoting a poem by Edward Everett Hale,

"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I that can do."

The something I can do is update my blog everyday for those who want to read about what I have to say, as well as those who may be offended by it.

As a break, let me throw in a couple of pictures for the day. Kyle is busy reading, as usual. Soon, he'll have mastered the alphabet and will be on to more challenging topics.


Okay, now on to current events. It has recently come to my attention that several of my relatives have found a new faith: Obamamania. They have been sucked in by his liberal "smoke and mirrors" and his socialist ideas of "spreading the wealth around." Or, maybe they're just voting because it's their "civic duty." Obama is not the author of "hope" and "change." He is not "The Messiah" or "The One." Dr. Jack Wheeler, the author of Reagan's strategy to break the back of the Soviet Union, gives an interesting perspective on the man who could possibly be our next president in an article written on June 5, 2008, called "O = Zero." (click here "To the Point." )

I don't think we have a perfect candidate in this election. To me, it simply boils down to picking which person supports the majority of issues that I have come to find the most important. Sure, some people think the election should be about the economic crisis or war or which candidate can present a better image of America to the world. To me, as a Christian, it boils down to morals. I have to stand on the side of the most truth; the side that supports marriage between one man and one woman, keeping babies/not killing them, and a candidate who can actually place a hand on the Bible and honestly swear to support the constitution and pledge allegiance to "one nation, under God."

If you happen to think that the economy is the number one issue and feel Obama truly is the prophesied 'savior' of our pocket-books, here's a little story for you. (I received it in an email today.) It's kind-of like a parable, written in a simple language that even liberals should be able to understand!

Suppose that every day ten men go out for a beer and the bill for all ten men comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

That's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until one day the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the overall cost of your drinks by $20." Drinks for the ten men now just cost $80!

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes, so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But, what about the other six men-the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, the fifth and sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out what each man would pay.

So:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing. (100% savings)
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3. (33% savings)
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7. (28% savings)
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12. (25% savings)
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings)
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59. (16% savings)

Each of the six was better off than before and the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. "I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man, "but he got $20!" (pointing to the tenth man.) "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man, "I only saved a dollar, too! It's unfair that he got ten times more than I." "That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a minute!" yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all! The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half the bill!

And that, boys and girls, is how our tax system works, in an easy-to understand format! (and that's coming from someone whose list of "top-two worst classes I took at A&M" includes economics. I hated it!) It doesn't take a economics degree to understand the fact that the people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction.

Liberals, including Obama, love to focus on the dollar amounts of tax cuts and what the "filthy rich" are taking out of the system, but not on how that amount compares to what is being paid into the system! It's another "smoke and mirror" trick to get people to feel sorry for themselves and blame it on the rich. It reminds me almost of a "bizzaro-world," backwards story of "The Widow's Mite." Instead of the rich looking down on the poor woman for only offering 2 small coins (which was ALL she had,) liberals want the poor to get angry with the rich for receiving "more" money in tax cuts (which is just a small portion of all they have already contributed!)

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible. I am not going to convince everyone, but maybe I will convince someone. If it is only one, I am happy. If you are offended or don't agree with me, you are now free to vote for Obama.

And, if Obama, "The One," does happen to win this election, it's okay. As my dad says, "hey, it took a Jimmy Carter to get a Reagan. Maybe it will take an Obama to get a Romney!"

*I am Melodee Cooper, and I approve this message!*

Happy Sunday

We had to leave church early again. Kyle woke up early this morning and ate and played, but was not a happy camper about church being scheduled during his nap time. He only calmed down a little for enough time to devour a sugar cookie, then the fit was back on. At least we only missed the last hour, and Kyle was asleep by the time the car was in drive!

Here's a few pictures taken before we went to church:

Early Voting

What is with Florida and their voting disasters? I don't understand why it's so difficult for this state to get things right! (Maybe it has something to do with it being swarming with liberals!) Conveniently, there is an early voting site directly across the street from where we live. We thought, "great! We'll get in there and vote early and not have to worry about the long lines on election day." WRONG!

On Wednesday, Stephen got out of school and we tried to run over there and vote at 4:00. The line was INSANE! There was no way we could wait 2-3 hours to vote and keep Kyle entertained in the meantime. On Thursday morning (9:15) I drove past to check it out and there was still an extremely long line.....the place didn't even open until 10:00! Originally, early voting was only going to be open on Monday through Friday, but they opened it on the weekends, too, because the waits have been astronomical. We checked this morning and the wait was SIX HOURS!!!! To vote! We looked at 11:00 and the site closed at 4:00. That means if we would have gone down to wait in line, the line wouldn't even have reached the door by the time the polls closed! RIDICULOUS!

First, it was "hanging chads." Now, the new and improved (?) machines are causing hold-ups. Why can't they just switch to touch-screens like we have in little 'ole Midland, Texas? Nope. Here they still print out a paper ballot, which you fill out and then have to scan in to this machine for it to be counted. Just count up all the extra steps this involves. There's no wonder you have to wait so long. Since people from numerous districts are at the early voting sites, it takes longer to locate the voter registration. There have been reports of problems with the printers that print the ballots AND the scanners that scan and record the ballots. No wonder we're having to wait an eternity to vote!

What scares me most is not all the potential problems. It's the people I see in the unreasonably long lines. Just think about it: what kind of person has the time to hang out ALL DAY LONG, in the heat, in a line to vote? Do these people have jobs? Probably not. Do they depend on welfare and big government and the idea of "spreading the wealth around." I'd bet on it. Are they more-than-likely basing their vote on race? You betcha. So, who do you think they're all voting for? It's a scary thing, not requiring some type of intelligence test or a citizenship check or even a simple English quiz before allowing a person to help decide our future commander-in-chief.

Trunk-or-Treat

Last night we went to the "Trunk-or-Treat," an activity at church. Kyle was a monkey and I was a banana. (Good guess, Katie!)

While we were waiting for everyone to get there, I pushed Kyle around in the stroller. The bigger kids were playing a game of indoor soccer/football/rugby in the gym. We went in for awhile, but Kyle kept nearly getting run over!


Then, it was time for candy! Kyle did a pretty good job of carrying his trick-or-treat bucket at first, but quickly lost interest. (These pictures are on our way outside, since the "Trunk-or-Treat" is done by going car-to-car in the parking lot.)

He ended up hanging out in the back of Tina's husband's truck, passing out candy, while I went in to help Tina get the chili dogs, home made root beer, and cookie-decorating stations set up. It turns out Kyle REALLY likes Skittles!!!!


When I saw this picture of Kyle, especially the tail, I couldn't help but be reminded of a picture of his Halloween costume from last year?


After dinner and cookies, there were more games set up for the kids in the gym. However, Kyle was an ANGRY monkey by that time and probably too young to play, anyway. Thank goodness Stephen got out of class, met us at the activity, played with Kyle while I was helping with the dinner, and took him home to bathe him and put him to bed.

Overall, it was a fun activity. I love Halloween and am glad that Kyle will get to wear his monkey suit again next week!

Here's a video I took while we were waiting inside the church, before all the activities began. He was walking all over the place and found the drinking fountains. You can tell he's thirsty by the "Ahhhhhh!" sound he makes every time he wants something to drink.

No New Pictures

Just when I thought I wasn't going to have anything to post today because I didn't take any new pictures, an idea was presented to me from a friend. (Thanks, Judy!)

So, here's something everyone can do! It doesn't matter if you think you haven't done anything blog worthy for the day/week or if, like me, you haven't taken any new pictures. Everything you need for a new post is already on your computer!

First, go to "my pictures" (or where ever you keep all of your pictures.) Then, open the 6th folder and find the 6th picture. Voilà! You now have the makings of a new post!!! You can tell a story about the photo or remind those of us who may have already seen it!

(This actually is a perfect post for me because I have been working on organizing photos this week and was already in a mood to reminisce.)


Here's the picture I found. It was taken a few days before Thanksgiving, last year, in the days when Kyle would just roll around on the floor and laugh, all while trying to shove his hands in his mouth. My, how things have changed! (Except the amount of hair....that's pretty much the same!)


See how easy that was? Now, I expect to see some of you working your way up the "totem pole" of my recently updated blogs list!

Busy Day

We woke up this morning, and it was raining. Why is it that it's dry all week long and then on the day we're supposed to meet our friends at the park, it rains? Well, I decided to go ahead and go to the park anyway. Kyle and I had a fun time, running around in the sand, swinging, and having the whole playground to ourselves!


Then, we went to Tina's house (a friend from church) to help her out. She needed to make some sugar cookies for the Trunk-or-Treat, and asked if I had a good recipe. I do, of course, and offered to help, since she's the only one on the activities committee. It's been a long time since I've made sugar cookies and NEVER have I made that many!!! (Plus, I'm a little handicapped because I nearly cut the tip off my right-hand ring finger last night!!!) We ended up either mixing or rolling out dough and cutting or baking cookies for almost 5 hours, but made almost 16 dozen of them! (Thank goodness Kyle took a 3 hour nap and then playing with Tina's son.) I know people will have so much fun decorating the cookies tomorrow night!

Trying to Jump

There's this commercial on lately that we like to make fun of. It's the High School Musical 3 Sara Lee Bread commercial where they dance around with "joy," all while holding bread. Stephen didn't even know it was a bread commercial because he always changed the channel when he saw those kids dancing around. Anyway, towards the end of the commercial, they jump up in the air and yell, "senior year!" I was playing around and jumped up like they do (kind of) and Kyle started laughing and trying to jump. It was hilarious, so we had to get it on film! (Pay no attention to me....I just got done working out and actually had to run upstairs and throw on some clothes so you wouldn't see me jumping around in shorts and my sports bra. My hair is bad and I have no makeup on, but Kyle sure thinks this jumping thing is funny, no matter what his mom looks like!)

Question

Hey, Kyle. I've got a little question for you.

Are you wearing "long shorts" or "short longs?"

Um.......that's a good one:

I don't know. Maybe my legs are just short. I don't really have the answer to that, but......

I CAN tell you where my tummy is:

Is that good enough for you?

Chef Kyle

Kyle has become very interested lately in what's going on up on the counter or stove top while I'm cooking, so I put him up there to help me with dinner last night.

First we made some yummy mashed potatoes. You always have to taste what you're making to make sure the seasoning is correct. And, once you've tasted it, you might as well dig in, straight from the bowl!


He also LOVES the oven. I'll turn on the oven light so he can watch things baking, and whenever the timer goes off, he runs to check on what's cooking. He'll also drop anything he's doing if he hears the creak of the door opening.

If you're going to cook, you have to learn some basic kitchen safety rules. First, and foremost, we're trying to teach Kyle what "hot" means. (He can almost say "hot," too! It actually comes out as a very breathy "HA," but it's a start.) Kyle knows you need to use an oven mitt when trying to remove food from the hot oven.

Future Missionary

My mom found this "Jr. Missionary" outfit for Kyle, and I dressed him in it today, thinking it might help him have a better day at church. (He's been very fussy and irreverent, so anything is worth a try!) He sure seemed happy to be wearing it before church!


Amazingly enough, he did have a better attitude once we were at church, too. We actually made it through all three hours of church...barely. Also, Kyle was super-excited to meet up with the actual missionaries. When he saw them down the hall, he started waving and smiling and wanted to go see them and give them high-fives. We had them over on Wednesday night for dinner, so maybe he remembered them, or maybe he just really wanted to show off his outfit!

Kyle made a lot of new friends today, and many of them just loved his missionary gear. Some young men said they needed to have their ties sewn into their shirts...it would make things so much easier. Whether it was the clothes themselves or the attention he got from wearing them, I'm grateful that Kyle had a good day at church. (That means I did, too!)


P.S. Stephen and I actually went out on a date last night....with a real babysitter! If you've watched Kyle for us before, don't get offended. When I say a "real" babysitter, I just mean someone who's not related to us or a teacher I used to work with. She was actually a teenager from church who got paid to come to our house and watch our child, not a friend or family member who so lovingly did us a favor. It's weird that I'm old enough to start paying teenagers to babysit. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was the one doing that for a job!

15 Months Old

Kyle is 15 months old today. Can you believe it? He's practically a grown-up.

In honor of his big milestone, we went to the library. It's brand-new and right across from where we live. I think we'll be going quite often, especially since I've added "reading 'grown-up' books" to my list of goals. (I may actually break down and read the "Twilight" series....that's right. I'm jumping on the band wagon.)


There were some birds in the parking lot and flying above that he had to point out to me:


Anyway, the library was nice and so new. Most of the books we looked at had never been checked out before, and the whole place is very clean. I think I may get Kyle signed up to do one of the story-time groups, even though we'll have to wait until he's 18 months. Maybe they'll let him in a little early, since he's so close!



P.S. Did you notice that Kyle is FINALLY wearing the Havaianas that Uncle Bando and Aunt Gummies got him for Christmas last year? He hasn't quite mastered how to walk in them, yet. It's funny to watch him teeter along, just like he's learning to walk all over again. He usually manages to step out of them after only a couple of steps and runs over to have me put back on. Needless to say, he won't be wearing them out again until he can either keep them on or learn how to put them back on his own feet.

Sweet Ride

This is the way to roll! Yesterday, Kyle and I went for a walk around the pond. Rather, I went for a walk and pulled Kyle along in his wagon. It was a great way to spend part of the afternoon, now that it seems to be cooling down a little.

Another fun thing about the pond is all the birds and lizards and other wildlife that can be seen. Kyle loves to point out the birds.

I love the fountains, too! They help make the pond a calming place to go for a walk OR a ride in a little, red wagon.