Tax Policy

Thought you guys might like this one:

Names for Christmas!

We drew names for Christmas!

Samie- Domi
Jake- Owen
Domi- Samie
Keegan- Skylar
Caroline- Gwennie
Skylar- Jake
Gwennie- Keegan
Owen- Caroline

Here is a picture of the kids first day of school, thrown in just for good measure.

Good Times!!

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I will never understand politics

*****************************
Nedra Pickler, Associated Press
Lipstick quip causing a stir:

Then either in response to Palin, or not in response to Palin, [O]bama told an audience Tuesday that GOP presidential nominee John McCain says he'll change Washington, but he's just like President Bush.

"You can put lipstick on a pig," he said to an outbreak of laughter, shouts and raucous applause from his audience, clearly drawing a connection to Palin's joke even if it's not what Obama meant. "It's still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still going to stink after eight years."

McCain's campaign called the comments "offensive and disgraceful" and said Obama owes Palin an apology. Obama's campaign said he wasn't referring to Palin and said the GOP camp was engaging in a "pathetic attempt to play the gender card."


***********************************

I know Obama and other politicians, including McCain himself, have used this phrase long before Palin's joke in her speech. But at the same time, for someone as intelligent as Obama is and given the timing of this comment, I have a very hard time believing he didn't mean it the way it sounded. That being said, since when are fish, pigs, and lipstick issues at the heart of the campaign?

I wish both candidates would focus on issues and steer clear of the smear.

Maui

Lunch Menu for Mama's Fish house

Appetizers

Sashimi – Sliced premium quality Ahi with real wasabi root.

Seared Ahi Sashimi with pineapple‐tamarind sauce.

Ahi Poke ‐ Marinated in soy sauce, Maui onion & roasted Kukui nut. A local favorite.

Coconut Kampachi – Tahitian style Kona Kampachi marinated with cilantro, cucumber, Maui onion, tomato, lime and coconut milk. Served in a fresh coconut, with Hana breadfruit crisps.

Shrimp Won Tons with macadamia nut dipping sauce.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom with sun‐dried tomato and Maui’s Surfing Dairy goat cheese.

Mama’s Macadamia Nut Crab Cakes with fire & ice relish.

Seared Beef Polynesian – Marinated and seared with tomato, Maui onion, garlic and cilantro. Served in a grilled ripe papaya with olive oil and Kula lime juice.

Soups, Salads, Sandwich

Chilled Cucumber Soup with cilantro and mint.

Polynesian Lobster Soup with coconut, spinach and breadfruit crisp.

Maui Onion Soup with Vermont cheddar cheese.

Waipoli Greens and Big Island Heart of Palm Salad with Panini‐tarragon vinaigrette.

Haiku Tomato, Maui Onion and Point Reyes Blue Cheese Salad with pine nuts, virgin olive oil and eighteen year old balsamic vinegar.

Ahi Sashimi Salad with Kula vegetables, Hana pohole fern, wasabi goat cheese and crispy won ton strips in roasted sesame dressing.

Grilled Mahimahi and Shrimp Salad with avocado, cherry tomatoes and baby Romaine. Served with Parmesan crisps.

Grilled Wild Ahi and Nueske’s Smoked Bacon Sandwich with Grafton Village Cheddar Cheese Focaccia bread. Served with Molokai sweet potato fries.

An 18% Service charge will be added for parties of seven or more
Island Fish
December 3, 2007

Opah caught in local waters aboard the “Manaloa”, Upcountry style with caramelized Maui onion, tomato, avocado and jasmine rice.

Deep water Ahi caught aboard the fishing vessel “Princess K”, Seared in ginger and panko crust with kalua pig rice pilaf.

Ono caught by Leonard Huddy trolling offshore from Keanae, Sautéed with Haiku tomatoes, garlic, capers and white wine.

Mahimahi caught by Jeff Holland along the north shore of Maui, Stuffed with lobster, crab, Maui onion and baked in a macadamia nut crust.

Fresh King Salmon from the pristine ocean waters off New Zealand’s South Island, Grilled in a Ti Leaf with macadamia nuts, cilantro, lemongrass and coconut milk.

Ahi, Ono and Mahimahi sautéed in Panang Curry and coconut milk, With Mama’s mango chutney, diced banana, macadamia nuts and jasmine rice.

Pua Me Hua Hana – In the style of Old Hawaii
Ono and Opah sautéed in coconut milk, with slow‐cooked Kalua pig,
grilled banana, Molokai sweet potato, Island fruit and a fresh coconut.

Papaya Seed Grilled Shrimp and Macadamia nut crusted Pork Tenderloin.
Passion fruit sauce, Kula vegetables and coconut rice.

Painted Hills Ribeye Steak – all natural beef with garlic and fingerling potatoes.

link to Mama's Fish house

Click this link, skip intro, go to restaurant and watch video

Reservations are highly recommended!

http://www.mamasfishhouse.com

Today's Special

11 Days!

11 Days until we go to Hawaii.

But now our newest concern, Dad's surgery. Dad is in surgery right now to clean his infected foot from his previous surgery. We aren't sure if he will be able to go to Hawaii with us, so we are all praying for him.

I wanted to put his name in the temple, but apparently you can't do that after noon on Mondays, so it will have to wait until tomorrow morning bright and early.

I love you daddy. Happy Father's Day yesterday!

Kayak & Snorkel

Click on this link:

http://www.hawaiiactivityworld.com/maui/kayaking/e8c32435e955.htm?source=mauinet

Gwennie's haircut

I kept trying to talk her out of it, but her mind was made up. It took a while for me to get over my issues and let her do what she wanted, but after all it is her hair.

It looks beautiful, and I am so proud of Gwennie for being so brave and giving at such a young age.









P.S. You can see my new dark wall a bit in the first pic

Zag Bags!!

Got the Zag Bags and everyone totally loves them! Funny thing, at church on Sunday someone stopped me and mentioned that she totally forgot about the party until now, almost 2 months later. She had really wanted to go and wondered if I was going to have another one. That is like the 5th person to say that. But if they flaked out the first time, who is to say they wouldn't flake out again if I had another party sometime down the road.

Anyhow, my purses are especially cute, and April loved her makeup bag birthday present. Thanks for going out of your way for me, Er!

Hawaii here we come!!

I got the cosmetic bags!

Hello ladies!

I got the large cosmetic bags in the mail the other day. They are really cute and cannot wait to give them to you.

Erica

Howdy ya'll

Hi, it's Mom. Sorry about the late night phone call. We found the username and password! We got a guide book for Maui and decided that the best way to plan the activities is for each couple to mark the things they want to do/visit in a certain color. Then we can go thru and come up with somewhat of an itinerary. We have many brochures about places such as the Aquarium. It looks just like the one in the movie Jaws II, III, or IV. A lu'au is also something we can all agree on, I think. But no cannibalism, sorry Josh.

Hopefully we can agree on a few things that we all want to do. I don't plan to do the six hour hike with Stu and Erica, but the kyaking looks fun if I can only do it! They have a Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant and I plan to eat there...it's excellent!

Dad is having foot surgery on Thursday the 22nd and will be off his feet for two weeks. He can stay at Jessica's house so that they can recooperate together! Samie also made a double play in her softball game today, she is quite the athlete. Stuart, Samie and Jake came over tonight for pizza and I got all of the kids wound up by painting our faces with magic markers. Stuart was not pleased. We were happy to hear that Skylar and Gwennie are having fun playing ball!

We will try to keep our username and password in a safe place from now on! Safe as in a place we can remember!

I love you all very much! Bye for now.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! You are the greatest. I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive, and caring mother. Especially since I've seen how the other half lives. You are so wonderful and so deserving of a special day to commemorate your awesomeness! Hope it was just as wonderful as you! I love you so!

Happy Mother's Day Jess! You are super mom! You took such great care of your kids through all of your pain. I am so hopeful that you will be all better once you recover from surgery. More than hopeful. I am willing it to the universe! You are so much stronger than you know! I love you! You are a great mom and aunt!

Happy Mother's Day Erica! You are such a kool kat! I am so glad Stu found you. And I am so glad that you stuck around for him to realize what he had! You are megafantabulous and make a great addition to our family! Love ya girl!

Happy Mother's Day to a super awesome aunt, Aunt Jenny! You mean the world to each and every one of the kiddos in this family! And you take such good care of them too! They love you tremendously, and so do I!

Fun in St. George

We all had fun at the climbing rock!

Dad's last photograph in uniform

Now Dad is free to be the babysitter!!!

Teach Mama

Some one needs to teach Mama how to post a blog. Well, first I guess they need toteach her how to scan a picture, then how to post a blog. Because I want her to post the pics from her Cruise on here!! Who's with me? I'd teach her, but I live to far away. Maybe I'll teach her when she is down here for the wedding. P.S. Our little flower girl is getting excited!!Can't wait to see you!!

I want S-P-R-I-N-G!!

Hey there!

I heard about Skylar getting lost in Disneyland. That must have been very scary. Thank goodness he was not lost for long!

I am in the mood for Springtime. I am so through with snow. Usually I'm excited when it snows, but this year it was just too much.

I finally got my Visitors Guide to Maui in the mail. Caroline and I were looking thru it and we saw some pictures of weddings on the beach, so now she thinks that Bret and I are getting married in Hawaii-but she calls it Hawiette. It's very cute.

All the kids have also started asking me when they are going to get to go to Disneyland. Thanks guys! I just tell them next year.

Well, more later!

Disneyland!

I really liked the new spin on the Mickey Mouse ears. They had pirate Mickey and Princess Mickey and Bride and Groom Mickey ears. The kids had a lot of fun!! Maybe we should all do it together sometime!

Maui

Yes, I guess it's true. Either we are the only cool ones or we have too much time on our hands! I sent away for a visitors guide on Maui too, but I have not gotten it yet.

So, has anyone else noticed that World of Warcraft seems to be taking over the world? I can't seem to get away from it. At home and at work it seems to be all people want to talk about. I had a dream last night that my supervisor at work was basing our evaluations off of how well we did playing WOW on a huge projection screen. UGH!

See, I can say that on this forum because I know my husband doesn't read it!

What do you mean the pictures are in chronological order??

Book

Apparently Jess & I are the only cool ones in the family, cuz we are "team members" on this blog!! Wahoo!! I am cooking a roast right now for dinner! And tonight we are seeing As You Like It at the college, but before I start getting ready, I wanted to let you know that Josh got this awesome book for the trip "Maui Revealed" by Andrew Doughty.Also, Mom's photographs are all organized with the names and dates on the back an in chronological order. Ha! Just kidding, I'm not Marie. But they are organized enough for our family.

Honored

Wow, I am honored that you would invite me to be a contributor on your blog, oh wait, you invited everyone!

Well, I think it's a great idea...But how are we going to gossip about everyone else if they will be reading it too?

Family Fun

In anticipation of our exciting trip to Hawaii, and in the spirit of togetherness, I have decided to create a "team blog". Those of you whom have been invited are family members, and anything we post will be for us. It is a great way to share stories and pictures with each other minus the long distance phone calls. So join already! Come on....you know you want to....