Migration of the Monarcha Mariposas - Photos

Our Ballard Bunch in the foothills of the Sierra Gorda Mountains in Mexico, Mexico.  These horses were truly 'work horses' as they climbed steep trails in the mountains.  No horse worked harder than Jimmy's horse - Jimmy was about the same size as his horse.  Our littlest man loved riding and was heard saying "YeeHaw" all the way up the mountain - in between petting his horse, Lolita, and telling her that she was dong a good job.  If visiting this beautiful site be sure to bring bandannas to breathe as parts of the trail are extremely dusty.

Before we even arrived at the Piedra Herrada Sanctuary we began  having cars bright light us and we slowed to turn a corner and found clouds of butterflies flocking the road.  All of the cars were driving at a snail pace in order to allow the butterflies the right of way on the road.  The sight was amazing and brought a smile to our faces.

The horses took us three quarters up the mountain.  The final journey was on foot as the actual butterfly migration location was to be kept as silent as possible (we did have a two and four year old) and we were hopeful not to disturb the natural habitat of the butterflies.  As we entered the area I began to see butterflies on the tree trunks and flying through the air.  The guide pointed out to our family that every cluster on the trees were also resting butterflies or butterflies mating.  As the sun lit the area the butterflies take to the air and the resulting display is breathtaking.

Butterflies decorating a beautiful pine tree in the Sierra Gorda Mountains of Mexico, Mexico.

Butterflies would begin to take to the sky as the sun lit and warmed the trees.  As this pine was lit by the sun the butterflies began to take to flight.  

These clusters of trees had not been warmed but the sun yet and you can see the large black clusters of butterflies.  The limbs of the trees were bending with the weight of the butterflies.  As the butterflies took to wing it was amazing to hear the soft beats of their wings - the sheer number of them allowed for us to hear the movement of their wings!

Here, near the forest floor I photographed the flight of the butterflies, nearby were butterflies mating and others (like those pictured on the tree trunk) had died after fulfilling the purpose for their migration.

Our birthday girl (the littlest princess) loved her time riding her horse and seeing the butterflies for her "Butterfly Birthday".  

For our oldest daughter this may well be her 'last ride' in the mountains of Mexico with our family for a time. She is preparing to start her own chapters in life and this picture I took from behind her on the trail captured the upcoming departure of our girl!  She will blaze trails of her own and take her adventures by the reign - we hope she will realize the beauty that she is and the beauty that surrounds her as she heads off on her own.

Overall, our Ballard Bunch enjoyed being outdoors together, loved the beautiful weather in Mexico, the welcoming of the people and the natural elegance and beauty of these amazing creatures.  This is a memory that will not be forgotten.  If you have the opportunity this experience is one that our Bunch highly recommends!

The Beauty of the Monarch Butterfly

Stunning, beautiful, fragile, naturally elegant and graceful.  Once again our family was blessed to witness the culmination of the inexplicable Monarch Butterfly Migration in the Sierra Gorda Mountains of Mexico.

We, along with others silently gathered in the dusty, cool, pine woods setting high in the mountains of Mexico.  There as we watched as Monarch Butterflies filled the skies we were witnesses of the majestic beauty of even the simplest of creatures.  What a tremendous creation and an awe inspiring experience.  As the silence of the area penetrated the air we could hear the faint flap of butterfly wings.  Even though we were accompanied by a four year old and her two year old little brother we were able to enjoy the silence and the beauty of the moment.  (Although, in true honesty, with these two little ones it was shorter lived than I would have enjoyed.)

The sky was absolutely filled with Monarch butterflies and the tree branches are drooping with clusters of butterflies in the trees.  After the butterflies mated the males often fell to the ground and died leaving the females to rest then begin their flight back to the plains of Texas, U.S.A. and the preferred milkweed plant to lay their eggs.

As stated, after mating in the mountains of the Sierra Gordas the male species will die and often there are many butterflies littering the ground that have reached the measure of their creation and have died thereafter.  Any and all butterflies you see in these photos either landed on us or were gathered from the ground by our guide - those butterflies that had mated and were dying.

Our littlest princess was celebrating her birthday weekend and enjoyed riding horses up the mountains and seeing all the beautiful butterflies.  She was able to hold a couple of the male species as they were passing away.  It was beautiful to see the gentle touch of a child as they held a fragile creature.

Our Birthday Girl and Her Butterfly!

We're Back with Two More Little Ones...

Our first few weeks here we traveled to some familiar places and I took a picture or our Ballard Bunch in a similar pose to one taken around eight years ago(2009)!   It is beautiful to see how our children have grown and our family size has grown as well!  This beautiful gazebo is in the colonial town San Miguel de Allende - everywhere we walked we heard our older children pointing out landmarks and remembering. One comment made us smile, "I didn't realize how much Mexico is such a part of me." Our bunch enjoyed our favorite restaurant, walked the plaza and parque and enjoyed taking this second picture with our additional little ones!

Our entire Ballard Bunch - Chapters One and Two...

Our Ballard Bunch circa 2010

A Family of Tex-Mex

Our Ballard Bunch is again here in the beautiful country of Mexico for an extended stay! We are enjoying our time here - the beautiful country, the wonderful people and the welcoming culture. Our crew has been busy exploring again and introducing our two youngest to our friends here in Mexico. We will again begin posting our experiences to share with friends and family. We look forward to hearing from you!

Expansion of Gambling... You Gotta Know When To "Hold 'Em"

The Texas legislature is only in session for 6 months every two years - this session ends on May 30. In that short amount of time we have MUCH to do and watch over as citizens of this wonderful state!

For now, we must keep fighting! And the fight for today is regarding gambling in TX. You can read the whole sordid story here about how Joe Straus has a personal financial interest in TX gambling and how he is hiding the bill from public view. And after you're done reading, make sure to take action!

Who to call: your State Rep
Contact info: click here to find your representatives
Deadline: NOW! They are sneaking this in right now!
What to say: We do not want an expansion of gambling in Texas of any kind whatsoever - no race track derbies, no VLT’s, no racinos, no casinos!

Thank you for making your voice heard!

Taking Toll Taxes TOO Far...

Yes, In TEXAS everything (including the highway system) is BIGGER, BETTER... but do we really want to add MORE EXPENSIVE to that list? Take time to read this segment below and contact your representatives on the state level to share your thoughts.

Tomorrow, in Austin, TX the House bill HB 1112 by Texas State Rep. Larry Phillips (R - Sherman) is on the General State Calendar in the House for Wednesday, April 20. TURF (Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom) is urging lawmakers to VOTE NO on HB 1112, which amount to toll taxes in perpetuity.

"This bill makes 'system financing' permissible for Regional Mobility Authorities (or RMAs), which is stealing toll taxes from one corridor and giving it to another corridor (that those same users may not use) as well as to increase the toll on one segment to gain "surplus revenue" to pledge to another and so on, making it virtually impossible to take the tolls off the road."

Under HB 1112, there would no longer be a requirement that toll rates be based on the cost of building the road and retiring the debt nor strictly dedicated to paying the cost of construction and retiring the debt. Also, based on testimony during an exchange between RMA lobbyist Brian Cassidy and Senator Juan Hinojosa in the Senate Transportation Committee March 9, "system financing" indeed means tolls in perpetuity. The Texas Constitution prohibits perpetuities in Art I, Sec. 26. So under "system financing," tolls become a hidden, permanent tax, not a "user fee."

The bill also allows RMAs to borrow money using borrowed money, which are the same multi-leveraging schemes that caused the subprime mortgage crisis and global financial meltdown.

It's like building roads with credit cards," says Hall. "It's dangerous and very risky business, putting the taxpayers on the hook for any bailouts if the traffic doesn't show up. With gas nearing $4 a gallon, toll roads are bleeding traffic. So future bailouts of this multi-leveraged debt is more likely by the day."

HB 1112 also broadens the authority of RMAs to have all the powers of TxDOT, including eminent domain, and Comprehensive Development Agreements (selling off Texas roads to private toll operators) if that authority is granted to the Department. The bill also broadens its authority for toll collection, which has been problematic in every area of the state. HB 1112 allows RMAs to build parking structures and collect "fees" or tolls on parking and parking meters. Phillips argues it's for the Grayson Airport, but the bill doesn't limit it to airport parking.

It would allow the RMAs to raid property tax appraisal increases for its projects, and use toll revenues for "economic development" (which is eminent domain for private gain) and for just about anything it likes. It would also repeal Section 370.317(d), Transportation Code which requires the Department to approve any agreements between a local government and private entity.

It would also let RMAs participate in the State Travel Program. Why would a LOCAL entity to need travel? Perhaps for junkets to "conventions" in Austria as the NTTA did at a cost to taxpayers of $7,000 a ticket? All of this would be done by UN-elected bureaucrats, not elected officials.

"This bill is far from being fiscally responsible much less fiscally conservative," concludes Hall.

Two other organizations besides TURF testified against this bill, Texas Public Interest Research Group and Texans for Accountable Government. Only the RMA lobbyist testified in favor.

Texas TURF is a non-partisan, grassroots, all-volunteer group defending Texans’ concerns with toll road policy, Trans Texas Corridor-style projects like public private partnerships, and eminent domain abuses. TURF promotes non-toll transportation solutions.

Our National Anthem

I have always loved the simple beauty of The National Anthem of the United States of America. I had the chance to sing it before the Houston Astros played the Boston Red Sox (so appropos) at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas this past week. Here is a short video recorded by my wonderful husband!

www.mormon.org

I recently finished one of the many new opportunities that our church has provided us to share our testimony and faith with the world via the internet. Click here to see my profile! Then, add yours - or if you are not familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - click around and explore!

A Call to Action...

There is a movement that begun years ago with various academics stating that we should hold another Constitional Convention to change the inherent flaws in our U.S. Constitution. I have recently read that some of our current Senators are beginning to return to this conversation and I want to raise my voice in opposition to this idea. I urge you to educate yourselves, form and opinion and raise your one voice in the collective voice of "We, the people".

I have penned this letter to the Lt. Governor of Texas and I will send another copy to my state Senator and Representative. I invite you to read it and then write your own (or just copy and paste mine) to your state representatives. Please take the time to make sure your voice is heard.

Lt. Governor Dewhurst,

Recently I have read that you have called for a Constitutional Convention to add an amendment to our standing Constitution for balancing the national budget. I applaud and am grateful for your fervor to balance our national budget and forever limit the spending of government. I respectfully question your reasoning behind opening up a full Constitutional Convention in order to amend our U.S. Constitution.

My concerns with opening a full Constitutional Convention are primarily based in two issues. Foremost, a Constitutional Convention will allow the constitution itself to be reviewed and changed. I understand that there are no implicit guidelines that would govern such a convention and that each and every portion of the U.S. Constitution would be at the mercy of those voting delegates at the convention. I am opposed to the current document being opened up to broad, sweeping changes. The founders of this nation provided us with a manner in which to amend our Constitution and I suggest highly that we adhere to that wisdom and guidance that has preserved our democracy through the ages. Thus, I suggest using the recommended and historically successful pattern for amending our Constitution – it is a pattern that has been tried and has remained true to the vision of the United States of America and I do not see any reason to depart from it.

The remaining concern is that the general populous of Americans will like the sound of and the idea of returning through history and opening up a Constitutional Convention without understanding that by doing so the entire document that governs our nation would be at risk. I respectfully question if that is not the reason for suggesting this course of action – solely for a group of politicians to seem to be adhering to the traditions of our country when indeed they would be placing the country at great risk. I believe that the majority of Americans are grateful for our freedoms, we want our country to succeed and we desire the ability to pursue happiness in whatever way we deem correct for ourselves. I believe that those rights are protected by the Constitution of the United States of America. I believe you were chosen to protect the rights and protect the Constitution.

I am in favor of amending the U.S. Constitution to provide a requirement to balance the national budget and to reduce current and future spending. I am in favor of following the high standards and guidelines our Founders set to amend the Constitution. I am strongly opposed to creating a setting that would open the Constitution up for broad changes and thus creating for the first time in our history a setting in which the representatives of the people would allow our Constitution to become vulnerable to the whim of man.

If my understanding of this process is incorrect I would appreciate receiving a better understanding of what is being suggested to amend our Constitution.
Sincerely,

In a letter to G.L.Turberville in 1788 James Madison (Father of the U.S. Constitution) wrote this:

"If a General Convention were to take place for the avowed and sole purpose of revising the Constitution, it would naturally consider itself as having a greater latitude than the Congress appointed to administer and support as well as to amend the system; it would consequently give greater agitation to the public mind; an election into it would be courted by the most violent partisans on both sides; it would probably consist of the most heterogeneous characters; would be the very focus of that flame which has already too much heated men of all parties; would no doubt contain individuals of insidious views, who under the mask of seeking alterations popular in some parts but inadmissible in other parts of the Union might have a dangerous opportunity of sapping the very foundations of the fabric.

"Under all these circumstances it seems scarcely to be presumable that the deliberations of the body could be conducted in harmony, or terminate in the general good. Having witnessed the difficulties and dangers experienced by the first Convention which assembled under every propitious circumstance, I should tremble for the result of a Second, meeting in the present temper of America, and under all the disadvantages I have mentioned."

I don't believe his words hold less truth in our day than they did in his time.

Missing In Action...

Sorry I have been Missing In Action as of late. We have recently been involved in the First Lego League Robotic Competitions, 5th Grade Science Camp (where I was involved with caring for 9 girls and 3 parents that were either bilingual or solely Spanish speaking), our little man had a birthday and we celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family here in Texas.

I look forward to being back soon!

Take your stand as ONE VOICE in AMERICA!

Rush Limbaugh, Barack Obama, Carly Fiorina, Nancy Pelosi, Sarah Palin, Harry Reid - all these people have something in common with YOU! Yes, ALL of them. They have ONE vote. They stand for ONE voice in the collective 'VOICE OF THE PEOPLE'! Yes, their voices are loud and we all know far too much about what they say but they were once a voice that blended with the crowd. Their voices once were hardly heard above the collective voice of America. Years ago they were where you are now - part of the silent majority that could make a difference.

There are so many voices in America that at times we may feel that our one voice, our one vote could never make a difference. If our government is to be ruled by the people then we must at least cast our vote and do our part to be heard. We must do all we can. Integrity requires nothing more nor less.

Today, in Arizona, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a requirement that people show valid proof of citizenship to vote. The court felt that the requirement was an "obstacle" to getting citizens out to vote - yet, interestingly, the same court ruled that some form of photo ID was not too stringent a ruling. Could the court have felt that the actual requirement to be a U.S. Citizen must have been too stringent?

To read the article click here.

This is my part to urge EVERYONE who cares about protecting our "unalienable" or God given rights to please make sure you cast your vote. Please contact everyone you know and remind, even urge them to vote. It is of the utmost importance.

JOIN ME in taking your stand as ONE VOICE in the VOICE of the PEOPLE!

Quotable Quotes

Our little man's voice yelling from the restroom:

"MOM, I SENSE A DISTURBANCE IN THE UNIVERSE!"

Needless to say he wasn't feeling good and didn't make it to church... but what an absolutely adorable way to tell me he wasn't feeling good. (Maybe all my reminders that 'potty talk' is not welcome are finally getting through!)

What I've Been Up To...

OK! You may recall that a couple of months ago I looked into the mirror and saw the dreaded, proverbial BEFORE picture looking back at me. Thus, I embarked on learning to do my own hairstyle, eyebrows, went to the library and checked out books on reclaiming our outer beauty, etc. I am happy to say that the BEFORE picture is gone and here are some of the AFTER shots - after I remembered that I was worth taking care of too; after I remembered that it is OK to take time to shape your eyebrows; after I remembered to ask my amazing hair stylist to teach me to do it myself; and after I remembered that I can spend some time in front of a mirror without feeling guilty! So here is what happened after I remembered to enjoy who I am...



My wonderful husband gifted me some time with one extremely talented photographer and friend in the Utah area. My friend, Emily, and I had a blast together getting rid of the before image and putting together a basic head shot for either my real estate business cards, a jacket to a possibly published book or a promo shot for getting commercial print or film jobs. So basically, since I have no idea exactly what I am going to be doing with these pictures, we just had FUN!



Here is that sneak peek that my friends have been requesting. More can be found on Emily's photography blog or her websites - here (select her photo blog and scroll down to find yours truly).

Bedazzled Spider

Happy Halloween! Here is a jeweled spider that each of the children made. We had a great time making them and these little creepy crawlers are now hangin' out in our decorations.

Model Helicopter

My dear husband and our wonderful children have had more of a chance to spend time together over the last couple of months. One of their new endeavors is making a model helicopter. Our children are loving working with their Dad on this model (basically a 'manly' craft in my mind). On the same table I had glue guns out and was working on my crafts. We have had some tremendously enjoyable evening around the table crafting, laughing and talking.



Our little ones are especially loving the paint and particularly the metallic paints. They are enjoying their time with their father tremendously.

Up, Up and Away...

Our little crew went to our first ever Hot Air Balloon Festival. We had a lovely picnic dinner sitting in a field (in the shade for my cute husband) and watched Hot Air Balloons soar right over our heads. We could hear the blasts of hot air and often were able to see straight up into the balloon! Our children loved spending time together playing frisbee and enjoying time outdoors together. I enjoyed the music, the beautiful balloons and (of course) the adorable company.





As the sun went down the festival held what is called 'Balloon Glow' and 'Balloon Twinkle'; with all of the balloons firmly anchored to the ground the MC counted down and all pilots lit their fires in their balloons and caused a beautiful glow. They also did what was called a 'Balloon Twinkle' - each pilot lit the fire separately (to music) and caused the balloons to have a twinkle effect. It was beautiful. Riding in a Hot Air Balloon is definitely on my list of things to do!

Politics... (unfortunately) As Usual

On September 21, 2010 the Defense Authorization Bill will be voted on. Subversively hidden in between the lines is the 'DREAM Act'. The DREAM Act sponsors have long fought to sabotage a clearly worded provision in the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act that states:

"Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident."

From what I understand, this means that children of illegal immigrants that have become high school graduates are not allowed specialized treatment OVER children whose parents are national citizens of the United States of America. This law does NOT state that a student cannot apply and work their way through a college career. While living in Mexico we saw many youth who were applying to colleges in the United States of America. Some were accepted and others were not - all of these youth were from Mexico with parents residing in Mexico or with proper working papers in order for employment in the U.S.A. Their acceptance or denial thereof was based on MERIT! What more could honestly be asked?

We need to make sure that all nationalities, religions, races and genders realize that they must earn their privileges to attend post-secondary education. We MUST eradicate the mentality that all children are entitled to funding, etc. that would make education possible. We must return to the mentality that we must work for the betterment of ourselves, our cities, our states and our collective nation. This sense of entitlement that is the basis for the DREAM Act is at the root of many of the ills that plague our nation.

Ice Cold Lemonade!

Our little ones wanted to have the experience of running a Lemonade Stand this summer. So, I planned a family yard sale (to de-clutter our home) and out little munchkins advertised, marketed and made much more money than I ever did on a Lemonade stand!

The adorable little advertisers drew in people off the street. Our Little Jedi hired (yes, I said hired) two neighbors to run up and down the streets to attract buyers at both cross streets and paid them with a portion of the proceeds or the option to choose an item from the yard sale! When a family stopped at the yard sale our little advertisers would ask those left in the car if they would like Lemonade! We finally had to close the stand because we ran out of cups!



All our children had a great time, enjoyed making money and I was SO impressed with their ingenuity and management skills!

Quotable Quotes

First was heard the sound of breaking plastic and metal.

My cute husband: "Are you all right, dear?"
Me: "Yes, but I just broke the scale." (Our bathroom weight scale.)
My cute husband: "Um... that is one phrase I never hoped to hear my wife say!"

Unfortunately I stepped on the window of our weight scale - and I guess it isn't quite as sturdy as the places where your feet are supposed to go... who knew?

Politics - What we can do!

On September 8, 2010 House Republican Leader John Boehner called for immediate bipartisan action on a two-point plan to address the economy and excessive spending. Boehner’s plan calls on Congress to first pass a bill that would scale back government spending to FY 2008 levels – before the TARP and bailouts. Not only would this provide fiscal discipline (imagine that), but it would save an estimated $100 billion of taxpayer money this year alone. The second leg of the plan calls to enact a two-year freeze on all current tax rates. This would thwart the largest tax hike in our nation’s history and give families and small businesses certainty of what to expect next year.

Immediate and decisive action must be taken. Boehner’s “freeze and cut” proposal is a necessary step for Washington to resuscitate the fragile economy. Furthermore, this plan would prevent a lame-duck Congress from writing another bloated spending bill. House Republicans have heard your concerns this summer and will continue to fight for fiscal discipline and relief from an overbearing government.

If you would like to provide feedback on Leader Boehner’s new economic proposal, I encourage you visit his America Speaking Out submission by clicking here.