This and That...Derek

Dax and Derek both are into Indiana Jones. Derek got this red velvet hat last Christmas as a white elephant gift. He loved it. It has been put up in the closet for a while, then a few weeks ago he asked to get it down. He was also plaing with his belt a lot. We were getting ready to go to the park and he wanted both props, It was then that realized then that he was dressing up as Indiana Jones with this "pimp" hat and the belt as his whip. I was kind of embarrased to take him to the park like that, but I let him do it anyway. I'm glad he was so creative to come up with this rather than asking me to buy these props.



Temple Lights....

A few days before Christmas we took the kids to see the Temple Christmas lights. As we were walking up to the Temple Dax was reading the words on the Temple about it being a "House of the Lord" Dax said this is Heavenly Fathers House then we got to the reflection pond and Derek said "look he even has a swimming pool".



Star Student

Derek got to be the Star Student last week in school before they went on break. The get to fill out a poster and talk about themselves. Dax did one last year and derek also did one in preschool. Derek still wants to be Spiderman when he grows up.

More about Treyson

Pappa with his Grandboys, I hear through the grapevine, he is excited and proud to have his 5th grandson.

Trey lost his umbilical cord after about 4 days, so we were able to bath him pretty soon. He didn't like it much.

Treyson started rolling over when he was 11 days old. Curtis laid him on his front for Tummy time. He fussed and he didn't like it much so he rolled onto his back. He does it every time. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it myself.

Picture Day

The other day I took the kids to get their pictures done. I usually wait to do baby pictures until they smile and at least have some expression. I had put off doing the pictures for Dax and Derek until the baby came. I didn't want to wait too much longer because we would be into the holidays and I didn't want to get in the mad rush of family photos. It was kind of a fiasco to get them to smile, and not look to silly etc. They took a ton of pictures, and we got a lot of really good ones, but these are some of my favorites. For some reason I can't rotate the picture of Dax and Trey. We will just have to look at it sideways. Trey is 6 days old in these pictures. These are some proud big brothers.

Treyson is here (aka Dixon)

Our new baby Treyson Jake arrived Wednesday November 12th at 6:45 a.m. 7lbs 8 oz. about a pound bigger than the other two.

I had a Dr. appt. Tuesday and I told my Dr. I didn't want to be pregnant past Friday (my Birthday) He checked me and assured me I wouldn't be pregnant past the end of the week. Soon after I left I started having contractions and we went to the hospital about 9:00 p.m. I had a good labor and delivery. I love epidurals. I slept most the night ( except for the nurses coming in every few hours to take my blood pressure, temp etc ). At 6:45 a.m. Wednesday Treyson showed up. Just in time for Dr. Kells to do a surgery at 7:00 and then catch a plane to San Diego after that. I don't know how anyone can do that job. Dr. Kells even came in a few times during the night to check me. I guess you get used to naps rather than a good nights sleep.

For the past few months when we have been trying to decide on a name. At one point the name Dixon came up. Derek decided he liked that name. We didn't love the name, but everytime we brought up a name Derek would always insist on the name Dixon. The past few weeks Derek would get upset if we had any other name beisde Dixon. We started telling him that he could call the baby Dixon, but we would also give him another name instead. We considered using Dixon as a middle name, since Derek insisted on calling him that anyway. We didn't love Treyson Dixon Johnson together, so we dumped Dixon for Jake, a name that had been in the running since the beginning. Derek always calls him Dixon, and corrects us when we call him Trey. Dixon may end up sticking for a while. We liked Treyson, not too common and it could shorten to Trey.

Dax and Derek love having a new brother although they are a little disappointed that he doesn't smile, and they can't really play with him yet. Derek looked at his belly button, soon after the embilical cord came off. There was still a small scab and he said "He's Broken". Treyson is still covered in the baby hair all over his body and Dax thought they were wiskers. I forgot how soft and smooth baby skin and hair feel. Just like silk.

A few Changes

Here is the living/dining room. It was a little too plain and white before we added the drapes and tile.

These are not the best pictures but this is the play room before and after we added doors and tile.

We had to make a few minor changes to get ready for the new baby. First we are moving Derek into Dax's room and we got bunk beds. They were very excited about the bunk beds. We had moved Derek's mattress into Daxton's bedroom about a 18 months ago, because they liked to sleep in the same room. As soon as the room is complete moving all the clothes etc. I will post a picture. Then we had to enclose the playroom. It is just way too loud when they start playing in there and it would be a disaster with a baby trying to sleep next to that. As long as we were doing things and the carpet had to be lifted cut etc. to add the doors. We ripped out the nasty stained/germ infested carpet and added tile. While we were adding tile, we also added tile to the front room and the master bath. I never wanted to eat in the formal dining on white carpet, and why there was carpet in the Master bath to begin with I don't know. I love love love how everything turned out. I wish we would have done this at least 2 years ago when we started talking about it. I bought the tile back in January when I found out it had been discontinuted. We finally had it installed. One of the benefits of all this moving around is it forces you to clean out and declutter. It feels so good.

Halloween

For the third straight year, one or both of the boys was a Star Wars Character. Dax was Anakin Skywalker (same as last year) and Derek was Jango Fett. We went to Trunk or Treat at the church one weekend and then the next weekend we had Halloween. I think my kids think it is more fun to pass out the candy than to actually work for the candy and go trick or treating. It seems they go to a few houses and then want to go home. They love to sit in the front yard and wait for "customers" so they can give them candy.

Religion & Politics don't mix

 I'm the enrichment counselor in  the RS. Someone suggested that it would be a good idea to have a Politics night for an Enrichment Activity. We would discuss the propositions and presidential Candidates so people could be informed about the upcoming election. I asked someone in our Ward who follows politics and is also an attorney if he could present information on the Propositions and discuss John McCain's platform, issues, etc. He was glad to do it. We decided to have it in his home because we didn't want to interfere with the Church's guidelines on supporting a particular candidate or political party. We also asked another man in our ward who is a Democrat and sides with the left to discuss Barack Obama's platform and issues on the more liberal side. We explained to both that this was supposed to be informational and neutral not a debate or picking sides. Everyone seemed to think this was a good idea. We had this meeting Thursday and we had a good turnout. The discussion started out great going over the propositions etc. It was interesting to hear both arguments for each proposition. 

 Then we got into the Presidential Candidates. The McCain side went first and I felt they did start out Bashing Obama a bit rather than just discussing McCain and his issues. He did make a great argument for McCain. Then the Obama side went and he started out by saying he wasn't going to bash McCain's Character etc. He corrected some of the misinformation that was given on Obama by the McCain side etc. He kept it very tame but didn't near put up the argument for Obama as the McCain side did. To make a long story short the McCain side started bashing democrats and saying that if you are a Democrat you are following Satan's plan. I felt like it was a bit much to say that, but he can have his own opinions and blow it off. 

The next day I talked to the Wife of the Obama side, who is also the Enrichment Leader. She said her husband enjoyed the evening and wasn't at all offended at anything that was said, but she did say she got a phone call from someone who was there and they were so offended that all this false info was given on Obama and their were impressionable people there who were probably swayed to the other side yada yada. It was inappropriate for a former member of the Bishopric to say those things blah blah blah. She wanted us to mention this in RS and straighten everything out. The Enrichment leader was smart and said there were only a few people there this does not need to become an RS issue and involve others and stir everyone up. Just go to the people that were there and tell them you thought there were inappropriate comments and let them know to do a little more of their own research.

 A few hours later I get an e-mail along with everyone else who was there from the upset person. The e-mail stated everything that was wrong about the other night with a bunch of links to check the facts on what was said etc. I was a little frustrated that it was going in this direction. I figured most of the people that were there were smart educated people or they wouldn't have shown up to a political discussion anyway, but I thought it would all be blown over now that she said her peace. 

 Today we go to Church and the Obama man is speaking in Sacrament. His topic is "Follow the Prophet" he said he had his talk prepared but after an experience, he had during the week he scrapped that talk and wrote a new one. He starts out by reading the recent letter from the first presidency about the Church's policy on politics and not promoting a particular candidate or party but does encourage members to be involved in politics yada yada. Then he goes on and finds quotes from General Authorities who are Democrats and how the church needs to have members from both sides etc. He mentioned the part about it being brought up the other night that Democrats are Satanic. He stated his message well, but I didn't quite get the part about "Following the Prophet" in any of his talk. I think he just wanted to get across that you can still be a good church member and be a Democrat. Curtis was loving it. He loves politics, and he also knew all the drama leading up to this, he also loves a good debate. I couldn't wait for it to end, as I feel like I started this whole mess being in charge of this Politics discussion. I will be glad when this election is OVER. I don't think this will be laid to rest until then. I have a feeling the McCain side is going to retaliate. I know they were still keeping the discussion going with the Obama side after Thursday night ended.

Pony Rides

Last weekend my neighbor, Elizabeth, called and said they were having pony rides that day. A while ago they had won these at a silent auction for the Hospital where he works. She said she wasn't going to use them for her kid's birthday just a fun day for the kids in the neighborhood. They loved it. The ponies were fancy. Their tails and manes were colored and had flowers and decorations on them. The white horse with a blue mane and tail even had purple hooves. One of the boys there was so disgusted to ride on such a girly pony. They rode around in the greenbelt right behind their house. I hope they don't get a nasty letter from the HOA!

Not our best Trip to Disneyland

The kids had their 2 week fall break and we decided to take them to Disneyland for one last hurrah before we have this new baby.

We watched the sunset as we drove west, we thought this looked cool how the cloud had a silver lining. It was foreshadowing the trip to come (HAHA).

As we were driving to California we got a flat tire. This is the boys playing on the side of the road throwing rocks into some ditch as we waited for Roadside assistance. Which we didn't actually end up using because Curtis changed the tire himself.

After the tire frustration, we got to the hotel a lot later than we planned and the hotel didn't have our reservation. After being on the phone for an hour and driving to other hotels we stayed at the hotel that was supposed to have our reservation, but we were not in a very big room, it was supposed to be a suite and we started out with 1 queen bed, finally, we were moved to a room with 2 queen beds. It was kind of a disaster. The place we booked the hotel through said the hotel said we were a no-show. How could that be when we ended up staying there on a new reservation anyway? We ended up moving to a different hotel after the first night and got a full refund. The first day we were at Disneyland happened to be "Gay Day" All the gays were there in full force. It wouldn't have been a big deal except they were all wearing their T-shirts and pushing their agenda for Gay Marriage and everything else they wanted us to be aware of. It was also Mylie Cyrus' 16th Birthday so they kicked everyone out of Disneyland at 5:00 so she could have her Birthday Party.

This is Dax and Derek's Favorite Ride at California Adventure. I think it is called Grizzly Bear River Run. Derek was tall enough to go on most of the rides now. He went on Splash Mountain and was mad he got wet. Then he went on this ride and he would get off and say "I didn't get wet enough" They rode it again and again and again. You can't really tell in the picture (oops it just disappeared), but they are pretty wet. They couldn't get enough.

Here we are waiting in line to go on the new Toy Story ride at California Adventure. Adding this ride is a big improvement to the Midway area of California Adventure. I always thought Disney could do so much better than an ordinary Midway.

I was a little too pregnant to be at Disneyland. We rented a wheelchair, which I thought was a little embarrassing since we always make fun of the people that use them out of laziness rather than a disability. By the end of the second day, I was done. On the third day, I stayed home and slept while everyone else went to Disneyland. I had no problem with that.

Disneyland was hot for this time of year 98 degrees and also a little too crowded for us. We still had a great time despite all the setbacks.

Pirates of the Campbearibean

Derek went to his best buddy Britton's Birthday Party the other day. It was a Pirate theme, and a big hit. Derek loves this Pirate hat they gave him. Before this he and Dax were already into Pirates of the Carribean (Derek calls it Campbearibean) Now he has a Pirate hat. Britton's Mom called me after the party to find out what Derek gave as a gift, in all the commotion she didn't see his gift. I told her it was some books. Aparently Derek told Britton his gift was Capri Suns, and she thought it was odd, nor did she see any.

Cub Scouts

Last week was Pack Meeting for Cubs and they did the annual

"Rain Gutter Regalia" the cubs made the boats and then they blow on their sails with a straw and race in a Rain Gutter. Dax didn't win, but in his first race it was a very close second. He was having troubles with his sail, and it wanted to capsize. At the previous Pack meeting he earned his Bobcat. He was pretty proud of himself.

Empty Pool

Our pool has been sick ever since Memorial Day. We have still used it this summer, but one thing after another has not been working. Part of the problem was the people fixing it, or I should say not fixing it. We switched to a different Pool company and they tell us we need to drain our water because it hasn't been mainted properly. No surprise to me since it was green for a month. We drained it and cleaned it, and filled it back up and now the hot tub doesn't work. That motor was already replaced the beginning of the summer. We are still trying to get the original company to fix it because it should be under warranty. Hopefully we can enjoy the full benefits of our pool before it is too cold. We will be so happy when we have no more pool troubles.

Labor Day Weekend

Dax, Curtis, and Derek having a hotdog Curtis with his sister, Alisa, at the Diamondbacks game.

I edited myself out of the pic. I'm too

pregnant to post. Last weekend, one of the Magazines Curtis advertises in gave him a suite at the Diamondbacks game. We took the boys and went with other people from the office. We all had a great time. The Diamondbacks were playing the Dodgers. When we walked in and gave them our tickets they handed us signs that said "Beat LA" and also a box with a travel mug with the Diamondbacks logo on it. When they handed this stuff to Derek you would have thought he won the lottery. The look on his face when they were just giving him all this stuff. He couldn't believe it. I personally thought it was just more clutter and junk and left my stuff there, but it made his night.

After a few innings, the kids needed to walk around so I took them to the play area where they have playsets with slides and batting cages. While we were there I saw Dan Majerle (retired Phoenix Sun) at the play area with his kids. People were going up to him and getting his autograph and getting their pictures taken with him. He was very friendly to everyone.

"Thunder Dan" Majerle  when he was on the Pheonix Suns

We were also given tickets to "Phoenix Cooks" it was like a food expo at the Arizona Biltmore. Curtis and I went and left the kids at their friend's house. There was a lot of yummy unique gourmet food to sample. I was stuffed way too soon. Some people were selling commercial kitchen products and some were caterers and restaurants. Besides tasting all that yummy food my favorite part was some of the booths even gave out the recipe. We were both a little disappointed in the Biltmore. We thought it was kind of old and not that fancy for how much recognition it gets. I guess it has a lot of history.

Flagstaff

Two weeks ago, My cousin Amy and her three kids came out from Maryland. They Started in Salt Lake and moved south so they could see all the family. I think they saw every extended relative on both sides. We took a trip up to Flagstaff to see the rest of my family and to see her Uncle Ken from her Dad's side. Ken Frost has some horses so we spent an afternoon at his barn. While we were there a baby horse, 7 weeks old came to board at his barn. It's mother had died a few days earlier from colic and needed a little extra care. I forgot my camera that weekend, so I do have some cute pictures on my cell phone, if I can figure out how to get them off I'll upload them. The kids were going to ride the horses, but there was an incident with the horses getting a little excited and Ken didn't want the kids riding them. Amy's girls were devestated, but my boys were having a great time running around and jumping on the trampoline. They also had a good time at my Dad's house. They love to walk the dogs and play outside. It is so nice and cool this time of year.

P Stinkin U

Saturday afternoon, I decided to make some pinto beans. The problem was that I usually start those in the morning and let them cook all day in the Crock pot. I didn't have that kind of time so I just put them in a pot of boiling water on the stove. I did that one other time and it was a disaster, but this time I was going to cook them slower and constantly add water. Which I did until I didn't add water soon enough, and I started to smell a burnt smell. I ran into the kitchen and it was filled with smoke. I was afraid the smoke alarm would go off any second. I got the burned beans out of the house, and opened all the doors and turned the AC off. I called Curtis at his office and told him not to come home for a long time. After an hour of the doors being opened and No AC the house was getting pretty warm, and then Curtis came home, choking from the smell. I warned him, but he had no idea how bad the smell was. Anyway we had to go out to eat because the house was too hot and too smelly, we left with the doors and windows still open. When we got the the restaurant Derek told the host we had to go there to eat because our house was stinky. She just started laughing. It is Monday around 12:30 p.m. and the house still smells like something burned. I will NEVER cook beans that way again. Curtis and Dax have extra sensitive noses and I have to hear about it constantly.

As we were leaving church yesterday Derek's Primary teacher told me that Derek told the glass that "obedience" was a bad word at his house and his mom didn't like it when he helped. Yea Right. The funny thing is that he is actually my best helper and he likes to help me. I guess he didn't want anyone to know that.

Glasses

Dax gets to wear glasses now. We picked them up Tuesday afternoon. I had suspected for a while that he needed them. I had asked the school nurse to do a vision screening last year and she said his vision wasn't 20/20, but he didn't need glasses at that time. Things have changed. He didn't seem too upset or concerned about getting them. When he tried them on for the first time he said "Wow, I can see far" After he came home from school yesterday, he also said things were not as blurry. Before he got his glasses I asked him if things were blurry and he said no, but now that he can see better, there is a big difference.

Temple and Snakes

Yesterday was a busy day for the kids. First we went to the temple visitor center for a Primary activity, fortunately there were only 6 kids that showed up. It could have been a disaster if any more showed up. They were running around and being kids. After the visitor center the Primary President took them over to Dairy Queen for a little ice cream. It was about 110 yesterday, so it tasted good.


After the temple we went to the Reptile Store. Last school year Dax was learning about snakes and he kept asking me all these questions about reptiles etc. I remembered there was this reptile store in Mesa when I used to drive past it going to work. The first time I took him there was back in January. When he first walked in he was a little creeped out and wanted to leave. After he started looking around, he thought it was neat to see all the snakes he had been learning about. The man in the store even let them feed a boa constricter a mouse. Dax and Derek ended up loving it, and it was as entertaining as the zoo. Dax has been asking to go back, it wasn't far from the temple so we went there with two other boys that were at the temple with us. They loved it again. Dax wants a snake, but I don't think that will be happening. The favorite reptile yesterday was this Monitor Lizard the boys were calling it the "dancing lizard" it was actually a very mad lizard that wanted out of the cage. Last time we were at the reptile store, I asked the man if Monitor Lizards were mean and he showed me his arms and they were all scratched up from when he was feeding it. I'm glad it was in the cage, it was about 3 ft. long. Not a cute cudly thing.

Today I got put in the R.S. Presidency as the second counselor. How did that happen? I was ready to leave primary. I had been in Primary for over 4 yrs, and the Secretary for 2. I was shocked when they asked me to be in the RS Presidnecy, I thought for sure they were going to make me the Librarian. A few weeks ago Curtis got released from Nursery, there were no tears shed about leaving that calling. He had been in there over a year and between the two of us that was 5 Nursery Tours of Duty, with about 5 years of time as well. For now he is still the Stake Athletic Director, a seasonal calling.

First Day of School

School Started Yesterday, we do year round school here. Which we all love because it is too hot to do anything but stay indoors, so they may as well be in school. Dax is in 3rd grade and his teacher is Mrs. Martin. My friend who worked at the school last year told me Mrs. Martin was the best for 3rd grade. We are happy he got in her class . There are also has several kids from previous years in his class, so he was happy about that.

Derek started Kindersteps at Hamilton High School (yes it is actually at a High School). It is like Pre-k for the kids who turn 5 after the Kindergarten cut off, then they can either go into 1st grade or Kindergarten after this year. I'm planning on Derek going into Kindergarten. His Birthday is so late in the year, I see no rush to send him to 1st grade, I think it will help him be even more prepared for Kindergarten. He is in the same class as his good buddy Britton. His teacher said he did well. When I picked him I asked him how school was and he said "we just learned everything today" Actually he broke that down to the hand sign for toilet.

Cub Scouts

Now that Dax is eight he get's to go to cub scouts. Last Tuesday was his first meeting. I was a little nervous because they told me he was supposed to wear his uniform to cubs. I ordered it and it was supposed to get here on time. It showed up 20 minutes before his meeting. He started to get excited to go once his uniform arrived. As I was helping him put it on Derek kept asking "Is Dax going to Camp?" Dax had a good time, they played basketball, but I think he needs to work on those basketball skills with his Dad a little more.

Speaking of Baptism...

Recently this video was out and Derek looked at it and said " Jesus is getting hypnotized" We all started laughing because it kind of looks like it in this picture. I guess the words do kind of sound alike.

Daxton's 8th Birthday

Yesterday Was Daxton's 8th Birthday and he was also Baptized. It was a big day for him. These are the little announcements I sent out. I thought they turned out nice and covered both aspects of the day. We had his Baptism in the morning, then soon after we had a Birthday party with swimming and all the fun stuff you do at Birthday parties. He was so happy to have so many of his friends and cousins there. He said it was a wonderful day. He was a little nervous about the actual physical part of being dunked in the water to get baptized. I don't know why because he is a great swimmer. Right after he was Baptized he said to his Dad "That was really cool" I'm glad it turned out so nice for him.

I think one of the best parts about the weekend was their Cousin Stephen spent the night Friday night and hung out with us for the weekend. They had so much fun together. I heard something about a "midnight snack" with some cookies.

When Daxton had his Baptism interview with the Bishop, we were quite impressed with his answers. The Bishop showed him a picture of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. Dax kept asking "why is Jesus getting baptized when he is 22 not 8 yrs old?". The Bishop said Dax was very prepared for baptism.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

Sweet Summer

On Monday we went up to Flagstaff. It was so nice to get out of the heat, and we helped my dad clean out the Kitchen a bit. I always think Flagstaff the town is a bit odd, but I forget how nice the weather is in the summer. The weather is perfect, and everything is green.
The boys had a great time up there playing with the dogs and playing outside and in the rain. Derek was really into diggin in the dirt. I found them sleeping like this in the pull out couch. Derek crashed at 7:00p.m. with his clothes on. He slept until 7:00 a.m.

On Sunday it rained after church, it was so nice, the kids went out and played in it for a bit. Derek was loving it, and Dax went in after a bit. He didn't like the Thunder. Those Goggle were really protecting Derek from the flood.

Grandma Manwaring

This is a link I took from Curtis' cousins blog. It has a nice picture and write up about Curtis' Maternal Grandma that I wanted for our kids to read. Grandma Eva lives in Idaho and our kids have only met her once. I thought this nicely described this woman. She just turned 90 a few months ago and it going STRONG.



http://manwarings.blogspot.com/2008/07/isabel-evas-namesake.html

Lego Tooth

Dax loves to play with legos. He always uses his teeth to bite off legos that are connected. I always tell him to stop using his teeth as tools, and besides who knows what kind of germs are lurking on the legos. The other day he was yelling at me for help. I find him and he has this lego chain hanging out of his mouth. He was using his teeth to separate some legos. The lego was a round hollow little piece with a chain attached. The lego somehow went right over his tooth like a cap and was stuck on his tooth with the chain hanging off. We could not get it off. I was relieved that it was a baby tooth in case the entire tooth came out as we were trying to pull the lego off. Both of our home teachers are Dentists and I was about to call them when the lego finally came loose. He said he learned his lesson and he won't bite legos off anymore. I think it scared him.

Swimming Fun

This is Derek's new friend Alexander who came over for a swim on Sat. I think these pictures are so cute. While I was watching them swim, I just put on some baggy shorts and a t shirt. Non maternity clothes. I didn't really care what I looked like because nobody was going to see me, and I thought they covered my growing belly enough. Dax politely asked me if I outgrew my clothes. At least I have a good excuse for looking like that.

Rock Stars

A few weeks ago, Curtis' office gave him the video game "Rock Band" for his Birthday. When he told me that they gave him this generous gift, my first thought was what the heck are we going to do with that. It has turned out to be a lot of fun and we can all play together. It is the only video game I don't mind playing with the kids. Dax does really well on the guitar, I usually do drums, and Curtis does vocals. It is really funny. I can't imagine what we would sound like without the game helping us out.