The Value of a Gift

(picture courtesy of Deborah D.)

On the theme of birthdays and sibling relationships, I wanted to share a story about a thirteen year old boy who has a heart of gold. While present shopping for James, Steven insisted on buying his brother a new motion sensor remote for the Wii. Steven didn't hesitate as he opened his duck tape wallet to pull out $40 for the purchase. Later, in the car, I asked Steven if he was sure about the costly present. I suggested he buy something of a lesser amount and Dad and I could give James the remote. But, Steven was not about to budge on his decision. Surprised, I asked him, why? Why spend so much? Steven's response will forever be remembered by me. He explained to me his hope that upon receiving this nice gift, James would be nicer to Steven for a year. I hope it works Steven!

JZ iz Seventeen

Justin is strong, good looking, basketball, football, strong willed, intelligent, sharing, careful, fashionable, JZ, funny, unsure of his true potential, athletic, shy of girls, first born, Super Bowl baby, neck cracker (drives me crazy), homebody, music, night owl, late riser, anti-reading, Longhorns fan, private, tenor, Dave-o's buddy, friendly, kind, obnoxious noises (as are all teenage boys), big brother of 4, and SEVENTEEN years old.

 Grandma and Grandpa Zinn came over this evening to help us eat Justin's birthday dinner and cake. We had orange and teriyaki chicken, fried rice, and stir fry vegetables.

(Grandpa Zinn, James, Justin, and Grandma Zinn)

Metal Mouth

James is now the proud owner of his very own set of braces. The orthodontist even threw in an appliance for the roof of his mouth. James is thrilled-Not!

A Right to Life

CNSNews.com posted an article about a speech that President Barack Obama gave concerning abortion. He says the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade is the chance to recognize the “fundamental constitutional right” to abortion and to “continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.”

Yes, Mr. Obama. With legalized abortion, our daughters can fulfill their dreams. That is if their dream is to kill their own children. When our dreams include taking a life for a better opportunity at being successful, than our priorities are way beyond help-time to chose a different dream. It seems that our president has forgotten that the right to life is an American value (found in the Declaration of Independence).

In contrast, a quote by Elder Russell M. Nelson (Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles):
"Life is precious! No one can cuddle an innocent infant, look into those beautiful eyes, feel the little fingers, and kiss that baby’s cheek without a deepening reverence for life and for our Creator. Life comes from life. It is no accident. It is a gift from God. Innocent life is not sent by Him to be destroyed. It is given by Him and is naturally to be taken by Him alone."

To read Elder Nelson's talk in its entirety, click here.

Fifteen Years in the Making

James is curious, adventuresome, cute, smart, loud, squeaky (have you heard his voice?), creative, shy, serious yet funny, trustworthy, handsome, perfectionist (except with the cleanliness of his room), caring, loyal, blond, confident, religious, spasmodic, panicky of bees or wasps, accepting, a bit moody (hormones are raging right now), helpful, lanky, fit, clever, BYU football fan, caring, and FIFTEEN years old.

Happy birthday James! I love you!

Disneyland-Day Two

Look who greeted us at Disneyland on Friday! Yep! The Queen of Hearts.

She knows how to deal with unruly thirteen year old boys.

(Kirsten, Dave-o, and Steven)

The whole gang in front of the Castle.

While waiting for California Adventure to open up, we all went on a few rides in Fantasyland, like Dumbo, Peter Pan, the Carousel, etc.

California Adventure was undergoing construction. Walls blocked off much of the park with signs that read, "Please excuse our Pixie dust."

(Goofy is always a lot of fun. Notice him strumming Sean's guitar in the first picture?)

The Ferris Wheel was fun, yet scary for some of the kids.

Dave-o and Leeah were stroller buddies.

After watching "Aladdin", it was time to go. We hugged and kissed each other good-bye. Deborah and her gang headed south and my crew and I drove north. It was a sad farewell. But, each of us has one more day left on our hopper passes that doesn't expire until the end of September. We are already planning to meet up sometime between now and then.

Kirsten felt car sick for the first couple of hours of the drive. So, we hung out at Jack-in-the-Box for an hour and had our dinner there. With full tummies and a full gas tank, we drove the rest of the way home without any other problems, except for a bad rain storm just before reaching Gilroy. I was so relieved when we pulled into our driveway and into the arms of our missing family.

Disneyland-Day One

Originally, Deborah and I had planned on me taking Kirsten, Sean, and Steven to Disneyland. Deborah's military discount allowed us to purchase three-day hopper passes cheaper than a one day would've cost. Because of this deal, we decided to bring the whole crew along. Deborah and I also decided last minute to stay in a hotel by the park. Neither one of us wanted to drive back after spending an tiring day at the happiest place on Earth. Plus, I would be an hour and a half closer to home when I left on Friday. Finding a vacant hotel was harder than we had thought. A large music convention was going on this same time. Just when we were about to throw in the towel, I found a vacancy at the Castle Inn. We were able to purchase a family room (with two separate living areas) at an unbelievable price with Deborah's military discount (again). When Dave-o saw the hotel, he yelled, "Look! There's the temple!)

(Aaron, Sean, Steven, Kirsten, Kamea, and Deborah)

We all had so much fun. With seven children between us, you would think it would have been stressful. But it wasn't! A few of the kids had a couple of meltdowns, but overall it was a wonderful yet exhausting day. We didn't have to wait long for any of the rides and the weather was a perfect 63 degrees.

(Me, Dave-o, and Kamea...Sean, Aaron, Steven, and Kirsten on the Tea Cups)

(Deborah's double stroller was a lifesaver...Kamea and Leeah were afraid in Pirates of the Caribbean ride.)

(Leeah, Deborah, and Sean....Aaron, Steven, Kirsten, and Sean in line for the Big Mountain Thunder Railroad)

(Sean and Kirsten....Steven)

(Leeah and Dave-o on the Astro Orbitor...Aaron and I on Space Mountain)

(Sean, Steven, Kirsten, Aaron, Dave-o, and Kamea with a Storm Trooper)

(Kamea and Dave-o...Leeah playing at Tarzan's Treehouse)

Kamea, Dave-o and I on the car ride...Sean and Kirsten and Steven and Aaron)

(Sean on Thunder Mountain ... Leeah conked out in her mother's arms)

By six we were all tired. So we took our little monkeys back to the hotel and had fun hanging out together. Deborah even made a chocolate cheesecake, which we enjoyed when the kids were asleep.