Some of Janelle's Wedding Photo's.
We had a good time at Janelle's wedding yesterday. She looked beautiful. It was really fun and really pretty. Things were very well done and the reception was really nice. Her dress and cake matched very well. It was unique and fitting of Janelle. Here are some pictures to prove it.
What we have been up to...
So, Brian and I have entered the world of facebooking. Hence the reason we have been neglecting our blog. 'Facebooking' is really fun and we suggest you join us if you haven't already!
Here are some pictures we took yesterday of little McKinley. You can see more in the album if you click on one of the pictures.
Thanksgiving Review
I have felt full for three days straight now and I just want to be hungry again and then eat an apple. It is a good full and I wanted to offer my review of the meals we enjoyed by awarding a few of my favorites. First of all EVERYTHING at both dinners was amazing, but a few items stood out to my pregnancy influenced tastebuds this year:
Best Cranberry Sauce - Aunt Libby's homemade sauce
Best Potatoes - Tom made potatoes that tasted great without the gravy - impressive.
Best Turkey - This is a dangerous category...Brian smoked a turkey with hickory chips, Janelle and Brian roasted a turkey after injecting it with cajun seasoning, and Grandma Lou had a good old fashioned turkey. They were all great, but I am boring and for Thanksgiving I prefer old fashioned plain turkey.
Best Stuffing - Grandma Lou (I tried an internet recipe that turned out ok until I tasted hers and now mine seems pretty gross. I didn't think to look in my cookbook from Grandma, her recipe was sitting there wasted in my cupboard!!)
Best Homemade Pie - I win this by default because I was the only one who made a pie from scratch. I tried a Cream Cheese Caramel Apple pie that turned out pretty tasty. However pumpkin is my favorite so I lose in the best pie overall category.
We had a good time playing Rockband at Aunt Libby's with Janelle, Brian, Scott, Libby, Libbi, Brian the boys, McKinley and Brian W.'s friend Ben.
At Grandma Lou's we had a fun time visiting with Oswalds, Robert Doxey's, Schettlers, Bouds, Graham Doxey family minus Graham, and Max Doxey. If I missed naming you I apologize! Just as we were leaving Robert asked Grandma if she was tired out yet and she answered while bustling around, "No, but people are leaving without eating all this pie!" I hope I have that much energy when I hit my 30's let alone at 78!
The highlight of Lincoln's weekend was "winning" a pumpkin pie at Grandma Lou's when he guessed a number between 1 and 20 and was right on. He does not know Grandma was trying to pawn the pies off on everyone - he just thinks he was lucky!
After eating our feast and then playing at Aunt Libby's I left full, but sure enough once we buckled into the car all the kids said, "I am hungry!" I guess they were too busy playing to feast.
Truman enjoyed eating pumpkin pie by picking his piece up and not having to use a fork.
Jefferson ate one bite of turkey over both days and has subsisted on rolla and sugary food.
McKinley liked the sweet potatoes and rolls.
I have not officially noted anything I am grateful for, but the other day I thought how lucky I am that the purpose of my life work is driven by my kids. I would have a hard time working so hard for so long in many of the mundane things I have to do if I did not know the source of all my work was my most precious possessions. Nothing else would be worth this, yet they are and then some. I am grateful for a life driven by an invaluable purpose that constantly challenges me to live up to it. Happy Thanksgiving and bring on the Christmas season!!
Catching You Up On Nothing
I just want to draw your attention to the blog header Brian created today...
And since our pictures are downstairs on the other computer I will just spout some text for you to peruse.
We have not blogged for 11 days which I will blame on the flu epidemic that only McKinley escaped and the piled of laundry we have been trying to get through since the breakdown in "order" I had recently achieved.
The weather has been great so the boys spend most of their time outside on the neighbor's tramp or playing with friends. McKinley follows me around working on whatever is most important to her at the time - unrolling toilet paper, eating toothpaste, "organizing" the tupperware or fighting imaginary people with a light saber, sound effects included.
Brian replaced our toilet that was running nonstop giving us the ambiance you pay for when you buy those indoor fountains and rigged up some impressive Christmas lights. I have nearly finished the Christmas shopping and can't wait to watch old Christmas movies and wrap presents. I also finally splurged on the Little People Nativity set so the kids have one to play with and I LOVE it - as do they.
We are very excited to have Libbi with us for the rest of the week (we went walking this morning) and we just enjoyed a fun game night as prep to our Thanksgiving feasting tomorrow. I plan on trying to make stuffing from scratch and a cream cheese caramel apple pie for Murri's while Brian smokes a turkey outside and on Friday I get to provide Sweet Potato Souffle for Grandma Doxey's.
I hope all of you have a Happy Thanksgiving and know that we are thinking of all the feasts we have shared with you in the past. We are missing you now, but look forward to the Thanksgivings in the future that will surely bring us together at some time or another.
All I Want For Christmas
The tooth fairy made his first visit to our house (well actually he's been here many times but that's another story).
Lincoln's School Work
I need to take a picture of his assignment so you can see it, but I wanted to tell the story now, so here it is. The other day Lincoln came home with a math paper that had quite a few red circles on it for missed answers. The paper had numbers in sequence and asked him to fill in the first, second or third in the series. Here are a few examples with his answers in the parentheses, you can tell which are wrong:
1, (2), 3
5, (6), 7
(55), 5, 6
2, 3, (24)
4, (5), 6
7, 8, (79)
8, (9), 10
1, 2, (13)
2, (3), 4
8, 9, (90)
6, 7, (68)
His penmanship is not great, so that combined with the seeming randomness of his answers made me write the same problems down for him to try again so I could see what he was thinking. He wrote the same exact answers down. So much for irrational randomness. And then I noticed something, which maybe you did the moment you looked at his answers. Take out the commas and he has every answer right.
55, 56
23, 24
78, 79
12, 13
89, 90
67, 68
I explained that the numbers 23, 78, 67, etc. don't have commas, but the commas are to separate the numbers in the series and he asked, "So they are only asking about really small numbers?" like that was a waste of time and I said, yep, you are in kindergarten. He said, "So the bigger kids get to learn about bigger numbers?" I affirmed that and gave him something to look forward to in his endless school days ahead. I only hope I can follow his homework in first grade since I had a hard enough time figuring this one out!
Grandpa and Grandma's Farm
We apologize for the delay in posts and to make up for it you get me instead of Brian posting! Not that my posts are better, just that they are rare, so more of a treat:) We had a great time a few weeks ago visiting Grandma and Grandpa's farm in West Point. They have horses, chickens, goats, apple trees and cousin Joey to play with, so this is one of the kids' favorite places to visit.
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| From 10-26-08 |
Lincoln is sporting the new BYU shirt he got for his birthday. To Brian's chagrin it says soccer instead of football, but it is blue. His favorite part of the farm is harvesting chicken eggs.
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| From 10-26-08 |
Truman loves horses if you can't tell by his face. All of our pictures from his ride have this exact same expression - "I am the luckiest boy alive to be riding a horse right now". Along with the horses, his favorite part is playing with Joey.
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| From 10-26-08 |
We thought Truman would enjoy the horses the most, but this little guy refused to get off. He rode around and around and then we would offer to stop and he would ask for more. Grandpa and Dad led him around by himself and he also rode with Lincoln and then with Grandpa. I guess we have our cowboy. The horses and feeding anything that breathed were his favorite parts.
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| From 10-26-08 |
McKinley pointed and said "ooH!" to all the live animals running around. She wanted to get close to the chickens and roosters, but they are almost as big as she is so we held her back. Her favorite part was playing in all the dirt and riding in the wagon Grandma gave us. She now rides in the wagon every chance she gets.
We took her and Jefferson trick-or-treating in it and yesterday when I took them for a little walk Jefferson said he wanted to go trick-or-treating again. Already the little red wagon has valuable memories associated with it. Thanks for the wagon and for the fun visit to the farm Grandma and Grandpa!
If this interests you
You might find this interesting.
http://ldslivingonline.com/article.php?articleId=79643
I did. Elder Jensen Talking about about political parties.
I Could Be Another Lincoln
A fortuitous choice of costumes. We didn't hear the lyrics until later...
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| From 10-25-08 |
I could while away the hours, conferrin' with the flowers
Consultin' with the rain.
And my head I'd be scratchin' while
my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain.
I'd unravel every riddle for any individ'le,
In trouble or in pain.
With the thoughts I'd be thinkin'
I could be another Lincoln
If I only had a brain.
Oh, I could tell you why The ocean's near the shore.
I could think of things I never thunk before.
And then I'd sit, and think some more.
I would not be just a nothin' my head all full of stuffin'
My heart all full of pain.
I would dance and be merry, life would be a ding-a-derry,
If I only had a brain.
Beauty Pageant Picture Contest
You can vote for as many pictures as you would like (but it is illegal to vote for all of them). Please Vote for your favorite picture of McKinley in the Side Bar!
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UEA Break Vacation to . . . Wyoming!
Brian had business in Wyoming over Lincoln's two day break from school, so right after Lincoln's last soccer game we hopped in the car for a 6 hour drive to Laramie. We utilized all the regular road trip luxuries - Wendy's, gas station candy and Red Box. We were at the hotel by 1:00 and everyone was asleep by 1:30, even McKinley in her portacrib. Lincoln did not want to share a bed, so he opted for the chair in the corner and made his own bed. Truman slept with Brian (he usually ends up sideways) and Jefferson slept with me (he snores - guess he got Grandpa Page's genes).
In the morning Brian headed off to work and we took a walk (the boys ran)to the Carl's Jr down the street where a nice worker gave us balloons.
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| From 10-18-08 |
We headed back to the hotel and went straight for the pool. We had it all to ourselves and I would have gotten in if it had been a reasonable temperature. McKinley sat on the step or wrapped in her towel on my lap and the boys had a hey day. Lincoln's favorite was the hot tub, Truman liked swimming in the pool and Jefferson who is half fish enjoyed the fountain, pool and hot tub all equally. He was the last one out both days of swimming.
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| From 10-18-08 |
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Once Brian came back and everyone was napped and fed we headed out to explore the area around Laramie. First we visited the giant bust of Lincoln seen from I-80 on the way to Cheyenne. It was pretty windy and cold so we were out of the car long enough to put our sweatshirts on and take this picture. The kids were all wondering why there are statues and monuments and pictures of Lincoln everywhere and not of Jefferson, Truman or McKinley. Lincoln thought it was because he was killed.
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| From 10-18-08 |
Then we went over to Vedauwoo which is a park area with really interesting rock formations. The boys and McK loved hiking around and finding cool things to pick up for "collecting".
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| From 10-18-08 |
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After a fun day we watched an unfortunate football game and then cuddled up for bed in front of a movie. Friday we swam and packed up to head to Cheyenne for Brian's last appointment. We found a mall with a kid area for the kids to stretch their legs in and then the kids and I went to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua while Brian went to work. (Ok, I hoped I would never have to see that movie from the first glimpse of the preview because it looked beyond D-U-M-B as we say here, but it way surpassed my expectations. NOT a must see, but it was not torture like I thought it would be and the boys sat through it with their popcorn and drinks without moving. McK slept:))
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| From 10-18-08 |
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| From 10-18-08 |
We had a long drive home, but the kids did well. McK had some issues, but I brought suckers for her just in case - she is not great in the car since we turned her car seat around. The suckers did the trick and we survived. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of our fearless leader and photographer, but we are so glad he let us join him on his trip because we sure miss him when he is gone. He always leads us out on great adventures and makes life fun and memorable. Thanks Daddy! We love you!
Text
Here are a few words to go with all the pictures.
McKinley -
This tiny girl loves: baths, balls, cars, babies, binkies, bananas, food, milk, drinking from straws, running after her brothers and screaming at them, blankets, knowing where Mom is, wrestling with Dad, walks in the stroller, shoes, playing with dishes, animals, and is deathly afraid of the stairs.
Jefferson -
Brian has a major soft spot for this little guy. He is two, so I mostly hold a grudge against him until I see how cute Brian thinks he is. We recently switched sides of the bed so I can have the short cut to the restroom leaving Brian in the taking kids back to bed all night spot. Jefferson will come with his pillow and blanket and say, "I sleep with you, Daddy" in his soft high voice. Brian cannot resist this, so we have a little teddy bear to sleep with most nights.
Jefferson says "kickles" for tickles.
He was screaming in the car the other day and Brian asked, "Is that necessary?" Jefferson answered cheerfully, "No, it's just me"
Yesterday Brian announced that the Cougars were playing on Thursday in a loud very excited voice which must have startled Jefferson because he immediately scolded, "Dad! Calm down."
Truman -
Brian was at the computer and I was in the rocking chair of our room chatting when Truman came in and started ninja fighting on the bed. We were made aware of this as he jumped, kicked and said in his tough voice, "You wanna piece of me?"
Lincoln -
Every fall I try to pull the winter clothes out and put the summer ones away and every year Lincoln thinks he can wear short sleeves and shorts in the snow (wonder where he gets that idea Daddy:). He also refuses to wear anything remotely nice - like a polo, or anything with a collar, or khakis, etc. He has certain socks he would not wear until I convinced him his feet had grown enough for the socks to not be too loose. Lincoln even whines and flops when I suggest we brush his hair for school. Of course we still love him and appreciate all his help - especially cause he is a cleaning maniac when I get him started - but here are a few of his traits that wear away my patience.
Maegan -
I teach Relief Society now and after my lesson a sister said I did well and my Grandma (who lived in this ward for 40 years) was a great teacher and she was so funny, "but you are not as funny as she was." I do not aspire to anything so great as Grandma Page's humor.
Brian -
Brian is always leading us on new adventures. We love the bird place he discovered and trying new recipes and games. Most of all we love watching BYU football with him. Go Cougars, thanks for making Brian's day every weekend so far:)
Conference Weekend Pictures
 We went to get pictures at Brian's favorite place. It also happens to be a sanctuary for birds. One of the best things about it is that hardly anyone knows that it exists. So we enjoyed the quiet wilderness Sunday after conference. (Well, it was quite before we got there anyways). It was nice to go where the boys could run and jump and yell and throw rocks into a mud puddle without disturbing anyone else. It was such a peaceful place that Jefferson slept in his car seat the whole time we were there...hence his lack of pictures. |
 Lincoln found this great rock to take pictures on where you can see the Bountiful Temple to take pictures on and thus, theoretically, our house is below. What he really wanted to do was walk through the bushes and find all the birds that his Dad looks for when we come to the reserve. This kid loves a good nature hike. |
 Here is the little "Nini pants." Somehow we kept her out of the big mud puddle because she is wearing her authentic Chilean sweater brought back from Libbi's mission. McKinley also enjoyed sitting on the bench all by herself. |
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