Prop 8: My Opinion

With the Supreme Court making their ruling on Prop 8 this week, it has really had me thinking. For those that don't know, I have spent the past year intensely studying the Constitution and Bill of Rights and the entire gay marriage ordeal has caught my attention because I LOVE modern day law. I'm on of the few very LUCKY people to have met and talked with the Judge of the Circuit Court that made the decision on Prop 8 that the Supreme Court just upheld. Crazy, right? I even talked with him on this very issue! You know what is crazier? Judge Smith is an LDS member, yet he made the decision on gay marriage. Seems ironic, right? Well, actually, no. It's not ironic. This is my opinion on the entire situation.... From two viewpoints. I hope this makes sense! 

Before I give my two opinions, I need to explain that I have spent the last year training myself to separate law from my morals. As much as I wish all the laws lined up with my morals, it won't happen. Laws can't be based on morals for a couple of reasons. First, most people's morals are different. How can you make a single law that encompasses everyone's morals? You can't. You just can't. Also, in my opinion, my morals are directly intertwined with my religion and beliefs. The first amendment guarantees separation of church and state. With that said, the reason Prop 8 is so controversial is because it is an issue that infringes upon many people's morals... Including mine. However, the courts in our nation are given the job to uphold the Constitution, not to uphold everyone's morals. Thus the Supreme Court has interpreted the law and how they feel it is applied to gay marriage. 

Now, first from a constitutional background, I will admit that I agree with the Supreme Court decision 100%. Trust me, I am against gay marriage. But how can I agree with the decision? Well, our nation stresses freedoms, and who we choose to marry is one of those freedoms. I truly believe that the Constitution supports this claim enough to allow gay marriage, but this is strictly from a constitutional view of mine. There is nothing that restricts marriage to a man and woman, and if people want to do it, then fine. Go ahead. I don't have to like the lifestyle choice of them, but I do respect the rights that we both have. 

Secondly, this opinion is based strictly off my morals. I am against gay marriage. I truly am. I KNOW that God intended marriage to be between a man and a woman. He has told us that multiple times. It even states it in our 'The Family: A Proclamation to the World'. I do also know that many LDS people live their lives with the feelings of being attracted to the same gender, but I also know that every person is given different trials. This is just one of theirs. There is nothing wrong with that, but acting on those attractions is where the wrong begins, but that is why we have the Atonement and the ability to repent and grow closer with our Heavenly Father. The church even has a website that addresses this issue at mormonsandgays.org. Go check it out! I will always stand by my morals, and I will always know that gay marriage is wrong regardless of what our nations laws are, but so many other things that go against our beliefs are legal, and look at us doing fine! 

With this said, just because the Supreme Court made this decision doesn't mean that I will change my lifestyle. I don't have to all of a sudden support gay marriage because it is constitutional. I mean, honestly, people were going to change their lifestyles because of this new law. Gay marriages were already happening and will continue on regardless of the decision! This week at Aspen Grove, we have two general authorities and their families staying here, and tonight we were pleased to hear from Elder Cardon, who also touched on this subject. He compared it to Lehi's dream and the great and spacious building. This has happened before with laws being changed, and we as Latter-Day Saints and mocked, made fun of, and pointed at with fingers of scorn. For instance, when alcohol became legal, the same thing happened, but the standards of the church stayed the same. The world around us keeps changing, but the principles of our Gospel won't. God is the same today, yesterday, and forever. Yes, this is only another sign that the Second Coming is getting closer and closer, and we as Latter-Day Saints MUST be on the Lord's side and each have a testimony of our own. That will get us through. Just trust in The Lord, and hold tight to the rod! 

Mega Water Slide

My family is headed off to Glenns Ferry in a few days for our Williams Family Reunion, and I am super bummed I can't go with them. I always look forward to that reunion, and some of my favorite memories originate there. When I originally contemplated applying for the job at Aspen Grove, there were two major things that I was wondering if it was worth missing in order to work here... one being the Williams Family Reunion. Last time we had the reunion, it was loads of fun, but I had just had my surgery and couldn't do much. I missed out on the giant water slide, too. Well, this year, I am missing out on the water slide again.... only not the ASPEN GROVE WATER SLIDE!

So, yesterday, Kathy and I had just finished holding the babies in the Rompers Room when I saw this giant water slide going on in the ball field. I was super tempted to jump on it, but I was in my clothes, and I didn't want to get soaked, nor did I want to walk all the way back to my cabin to change. We were on the swings for a minute while I watched all the fun the children were having before I said, "Ahhh, what the heck?!? Kathy. I am going." So, I did it.

Funny thing is, to the kids, I was first 'the Lady'. They would say, "Hey Eric, look! The Lady is going!" Then, the kids were threatening to spray me, so I said, "Hey, don't spray me, and if you do, just remember that I cook your food." Then, I turned into 'The Lunch Lady"

So, here it is. The Lunch Lady and Kathy doing the Water Slide

The Kite

With the exception of Nate, all of my friends and I have schedules throughout the day that make it so we see each other a couple hours randomly here and there. Karen and I usually switch off working morning and night shifts, then Kathy, Matt, and McKay all switch off working breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This past week, Matt and Kathy worked breakfast, then when they got off, we had about an hour before Matt had to be back to work. We walked outside wondering what to do, and it was super windy. Matt mentioned how cool it would be to make a kite, so we decided to give it a go! Haha we got a garbage sack, cut it out, taped the edges, attached some straws, then used fishing line for the string. This is trial kite número UNO!

But then, Kathy was holding it as we walked outside and the gust of wind bent the whole thing in half. So, we remodeled it. Hahaha Matt and I found some sticks and put them inside the straws....

....while Matt was creeping. 

Finally, we decided to take it out for the real trial.....

Here it goes!!!! 

Thankfully Matt saved it! This is our wind whipped kite! 

We have decided that this isn't the end. The kite lives on, and we will be giving it major plastic surgery and fly it again! :)

Hikes

I go hiking. A lot. We have so much free time that it's super convenient to take a hike! There are so many hikes that you can pick how far you want depending on how much time you have.

Yesterday, Kathy, Rachel, Rachel, and I all went for a hike early in the morning so that we could make it back in time for work at 11:30. We hiked to First Falls and Second Falls. Here are photos from the hike up there and the actual Falls. 

If you look really close in this next photo, you can see our camp. It's in the very center! It gives you a sense of how far First Falls is away from camp. 

Ummm... Kathy is crazy! Haha!

Here's Kathy and Rachel! :)

Church Callings

I received my SECOND CALLING yesterday! So, first, I am a CTR 7 teacher. It's so fun! I get a whole new class each week. The first two weeks I only had about 8 or 9 kids, and then yesterday, I had 19! Crazy, right?? 

Then, yesterday I got called and set apart as the 'official photographer'. How cool is that? I'm responsible for taking photos at all the church events each week so that they can document what goes on up here at Aspen Grove. When I was getting set apart, my blessing promised me that God would help me take beautiful pictures. Now, that's the coolest part. I'm really excited a out my calling! :)

Horse Riding

I did something today that I've never done before. AND I LOVED IT! 

I have the greatest friends in the entire world! I spent the night at Karen and Kathy's home last night! They live on a farm! It was so fun to see everything! Then, I RODE MY OWN HORSE! Say whaaaaaaa? 

Yup. I did. And I loved it! 

Don't Do This At Home Kids.

So, anyone that knows me knows how accident prone I am. Isn't it quite a shock that it took a whole two and a half weeks before I had my first injury? Well, I did.

Because of my Raynaud's Phenomenon, I don't have great feeling in my fingers. If I can't see them, I can't always feel anything. I was cutting some cilantro on Thursday when I twisted it around my finger, and I couldn't see my finger any longer. NOT VERY SMART TO KEEP CUTTING. 

 Anyways, I was cutting super fast when I hit something that didn't feel the same as the cilantro. I looked down to see the knife in my finger, and I thought, "Oh crap." For a moment, there wasn't blood. Then there was. 

I have a tendency to faint when I cut my fingers. I'm not sure why, but for me, my finger injuries are the worst. I knew that I had about ten seconds to sit down, or I was going to faint. 

I ran to the bathroom, and but the time I got there a few seconds later, both of my hands were full of blood. I was holding together extremely well, and the blood wouldn't stop. After two minutes, the bathroom was covered in blood, my finger wasn't clotting, and the room started spinning. I sat down real quick and things were going in and out, and I thought I was gonna be unconscious. It took about ten minutes to pull myself together and finally cut off the circulation from my finger so the bleeding would stop. It finally did, and I'm pretty sure I needed stitches. As I ran my finger under the water, it was catching my skin that was hanging off and it was making me sick. Hahaha.... But, I'm ok now. I refused to be taken to the doctor, but I'm taking good care of it. 

Here's what it looked like about five hours after it happened. You can't see it very well because I was able to take the skin and swing the skin back into place. 

And my lovely bandaid. 

The lovely coverage I had that cut off the circulation hahaha... 

Here is it yesterday right after we finished swimming at the rec center. 

And here it is today: 

Seeeeee... IM OKAY! :)

Fishies

Here at Aspen Grove, we have a fishing pond. It's for 12 years and younger, and the kids are limited to one fish a day. Well, when the kids get a fish, they bring it to the kitchen for us to gut and cook for them! We gut them, cook them, and the kids get the entire fish back. It grosses some of them out, but others actually eat the whole thing. The day before yesterday, we had 18 fish to gut! That's a lot. Karen and I did it, though!

High Ropes Course

Yes, I'm convinced that I have the best job in the world. You never get bored! There is so much to do when I'm not working!

Before I came, my dad told me all about the High Ropes Course. I was super stoked! He's been asking me constantly since I arrived whether or not I had done it, but it had always been closed when I had the chance to do it, but Kathy and I finally did it! 

It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.... It takes a lot to scare me. I'm pretty convinced that I'll never die, so because I was strapped in, and I knew I couldn't fall, I wasn't scared. The hardest part was climbing up the initial rock wall and tree because you had to twist all around to get the correct foot holes. 

Here is Kathy and I going through the course. She went first, but I caught up! Haha the best way to tell us apart is the shoes...I have big white ones. 

This is Kathy!

Look at how far up we were! It was so fun! 

Then, it was time to repel! 

And yes, we made it out alive! And to work on time....barely!