The Fraughton Family

Stationery card

2011-12-04T13:54:00.001-06:00

Very Merry Moments Christmas Card

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2011-02-02T05:48:00.003-06:00

Well, I haven't been on here lately, so I haven't had a new post for a while. But since I went to bed before 8 last night and I'm up with only Claire at 5, it makes it a good time to update the blog, starting with the kids.

Brooke

Brooke is doing very well in school, reading more words everyday and it never ceases to amaze me when we are reading scriptures and it is her turn to read, the words that she can read by herself! She loves to write, and had very good penmanship and is getting better at spelling. She loves to draw, color, and paint. I have so many cute little drawings or letters from her. She got a new bike for Christmas (that JD was amazing and got it loaded into the van to bring home from AZ)! She loves it and rides it as much as she can. Yesterday and today are our first "snow days." So no school because we had an ice storm and it is so cold. Brooke is pretty disappointed about that because she LOVES school and hates not going. So we are going to work on her project for 100th day of school, she is so excited about that!

Nixon

Nixon is getting so big and it makes me sad to think he's not my baby boy anymore. He is a fun little boy. Just the other day I was on the laptop and he said, "Oh mom you on the computer? I go play too." So he ran to his room and got his "laptop" that he got for Christmas and sat next to me on the couch and started playing on his right next to me! He's too cute! He loves to play and run and rough house with daddy. He loves Claire! He is very protective of her, but as she gets bigger and is able to do more things I think he forgets that she still is a little baby and needs to be soft. There are times he I see him laying on her trying to give her loves and I have to tell him he needs to get of her, but they are both laughing and smiling! He is such a good brother and a good helper to mom.

Claire

She is growing so fast!! She is already 6 months old. She is rolling over and turning herself all over so she is never in the same spot I last put her. Just last week she got her first two bottom teeth! She has started eating solid food and loves carrots, slowly we will be adding other foods, but I'm sure she'll love it all. She loves to eat, but is not a rolly polly baby. I have friends say all the time how little she is all the time, but to me I think she is getting so big! What can I say my kids start of sort of little. Claire loves to smile and especially loves to play with Dad. She is just a happy baby. We've been blessed to have very happy, sweet babies!

JD and Sarah

We've been busy keeping up with three kids, work, school, and our callings. JD started school several months ago, and is doing great. He always gave me a hard time about me and my "obsession" with getting good grades, but now that he's going through school, he's the same. :) Depending on the time of the year he plays softball, volleyball, or basketball. Right now it is basketball, and we've been able to go see a few of the games, which is a lot of fun! I'm keeping buys with the kids and with cub scouts. I had the calling of Bear Den Leader for the past five months and have a lot of fun with the boys! I find myself working a lot on scouting stuff, planning den meetings and trying to figure out what the boys need to have done. But mostly JD and I like when we get to spend time with the family playing or when we get to go on our dates!

For Thanksgiving we had JD's parents come out to Texas. It was fun to have them here and it was fun for JD and I to do our first Thanksgiving dinner. I made my first pies, which turned out pretty good, as did our turkey! Then that night, late, JD and I went out to the stores and did our black Friday shopping! It was so fun to spend the time with him, and we were so tired by the time we were done that almost anything was funny to us!

A few days before Christmas we drove to Arizona to spend it with our family! We had a nice Christmas and had a great time spending it with our family! We loved being able to see everyone and see how big the kids are getting. I love that my nieces and nephew get so excited to see me so that they can measure to see how tall they are! :) It was fun to be able to take Brooke and Nixon down to the temple to see the Christmas lights down there. And thanks to our bishop who is from the Globe area, we were able to cut an hour off our drive time by driving through Globe, instead of going up through Tucson. One of the funnier things about the trip was that JD brought some Filibertos back to Texas! Not just for him, but for some of the guys he works with too! That's how desperate we are for Mexican food here, that is not TexMex.

Sorry I don't have pictures to post. I'll have to work on that. And I'll have to try to be better about posting.

2010 Christmas Card

2010-12-14T22:02:00.001-06:00

Sharing The Love Christmas

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Random Things

2010-11-20T07:11:00.005-06:00

The kids change so much so quickly, especially Claire, so I thought I would post some more pics. Our kids are so fun and energetic. And this next week Grandma and Papa are coming and they have been so excited for them!!! It is so much fun!

Also, they do school a little differently here in Texas and instead of having quarters, they have 5 six week increments. And for kindergarten they do not do the typical A,B,C..... so on, they do D for developing, M for mastery, C for concern, and one more I don't know what it is. Also, in Kindergarten you don't get a report card your first six weeks, but Brooke just finished her second and she got all D's and M's (who would have ever thought I'd be ok with a D, LOL)!

J.D. and I are so proud of Brooke! She works hard at school and does her very best! She is an amazing student and very smart and kind! So as a reward for her good grades she was able to get "Spirit Sleeves." I describe them as leg warmers for your arms. She came running of the bus with them on yesterday to show me. They are so cute! I'll have to take a picture of them!

Claire is probably the most smiley baby we've had! She is so happy and content and that is pretty important being number three and having all the things and JD and I are doing right now!

Nixon is a hoot! He makes me laugh so much and I love him for that! He is so much fun and LOVES the camera, if you couldn't tell. Anytime the camera comes out, he's smiling saying "CHEESE!" He is getting to big for my liking! I miss my baby boy, but it is fun to watch him grow from a baby to to little boy.

Maybe we are mean parents, but Claire lets us make her have funny faces! She's so cute.

Oh and... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to JD!! The big 2-9!! Love you sweetheart! I'm so glad you are a part of my life!

This is JD at the Sacred Grove earlier this year when he had to opportunity to go!

Claire's Blessing

2010-10-28T14:31:00.008-05:00

I can't believe Claire is already three months old!! How time flies by! We blessed her over Labor Day weekend and Keith and Jessie and their family and my mom were able to come out for it.

Miraculously, it cooled off that weekend so we had pleasant weather when they came. JD gave a wonder blessing to our sweet little girl and we are so happy to have her!! We got some pictures before church, which is amazing because we are rarely that early!

But we made sure we were ready pretty early because we wanted to be early to church and it takes between 20 and 30 minutes to get to our building, something we have gotten used to, but maybe not Mom and Keith and Jessie who live across the street from their building. :) And of course we didn't get any pictures of Claire with JD or even any as a family!!

I guess we weren't really thinking to much of that. But at one point before Claire was born I was looking for blessing dresses and Brooke asked if that was for the baby and I said yes. Then she said to me, "Why doesn't she just wear mine?" I asked would you want to share it and she was so excited that she could share something of her's with her baby sister. Brooke is a sweet girl and going to be a wonderful example to Claire!

Then there is my fun, wild and crazy Nixon, who loves Claire so much and is already so protective of her. He wants to hold her a lot, and doesn't want help. But he isn't quite careful enough to do that by himself yet!

JD and I have been blessed with three amazing children! And we love them so much!

Brooke's First Day of School!!

2010-10-28T14:18:00.003-05:00

I know I am so late with getting this posted, just like I have been for the past I don't know how long, but we have had a lot going on at our house! I'm not only trying to get used to a new baby and three kids, and Brooke starting school, but I have been called as the Bear den leader! :) So we sure know how to stay busy at our house!!!

BUT... We were so excited for Brooke to start school! The Friday before school started we went to Meet the Teacher. It was so fun to get to go see her school, which is brand new, and meet Mrs. Hoffpauir. She is super nice and has been teaching Kindergarten for 26 years!! Brooke was so excited!!

So the first day of school came, August 23, and Brooke is a bus rider, but we thought we would drive her to school that day. (we've only missed the bus once, which is another story in and of itself, but Brooke would much rather ride the bus than get a ride) She was a brave girl and didn't shed a tear. Me on the other hand, well lets just say it was a tough day for Mom. But she has made so many new friends and is doing so well in her class!! It's amazing to me all the things she has already learned!! We are so glad that she is LOVING school and hopes that continues!

Nixon actually tried to get on the bus with her one day. It was so cute and sad at the same time. He really wanted to and was so mad that he couldn't. He had his shoes and backpack on!! And of course Brooke always posing for the camera!

Claire Jane

2010-08-31T13:43:00.007-05:00

Well, I've been slacking on the blogging a lot lately and we've had a lot to post. First I need to post pictures from Nixon's birthday!

Then 11 days later we welcomed a new member into our family, Claire Jane! She was born July 25th at about 8:55 in the morning. I say about because no one bothered to look at the clock to take the time of birth, except for JD who says it was 8:52, but nonetheless she is her! She was 7lbs. 11oz. 20.5 inches long and I remember thinking she was so big, she was the biggest of our three. Claire is a beautiful healthy baby, that LOVES to sleep! I can't complain because she lets me get a lot of sleep.bored out of their mind at the hospital

She is happy and big sister and big brother love having her here!! They are the best big helpers a mom could ask for! We are still adjusting to having three, and going to the store by myself with all three is quite an experience. The first time I went to Walmart with all three, I had all the groceries in all the kids in and before I got all the doors shut a bee flew into the car. I had to get all the kids out while I got the bee out. Let's just hope that never happens again!! We are so happy that Claire is part of our family and in the words of Brooke we are now a five family! :)

Nixon's Birthday

2010-07-20T08:07:00.002-05:00

I know I'm late, but what is new!?! Nixon's birthday was last week and we had so much fun celebrating it as a family. JD was up and out of the house early that day, so when the kids woke up we went to get donuts for breakfast. We came home lit some candles and sang happy birthday to Nixon. Then we played all day and Dad was able to come home early so we got to play with him too!

Then that night we went to McDonald's for dinner, good for the kids and me! :) After dinner we came home and opened Nixon's presents. AND of course... The camera was having some issues so we didn't get a whole lot of pictures, but Nixon loved his presents! He got little plastic golf clubs, which he is still learning the art of using them, but for now swings them like they are a baseball bats. He got a Woody and a Buzz toy or action figure, one from Brooke. Finally he got a little T-ball set, that we played for FHE last night and a baseball glove and ball! We then moved on to birthday cake, which he liked the singing and blowing out the candle the best. He took maybe two bites of cake and then was off to play with his toys! He was so cute! He is so fun and getting so big!

I can't believe how time flies! My baby boy is already 2!! And he's not so little anymore! He has grown like a weed, probably because he's eaten like a horse, over the past two years! It's so fun to watch him grow up and hear him begin to talk more! He's adorable! One of my favorite things he says is "Oh yeah." He asks what I'm doing and I'll tell him and then he says, "Oh yeah." Like he knew all along that was what I was doing. He has a cute little personality that makes JD and me laugh everyday! We are so grateful to have our little Nixon be a part of our family! He is so much fun and good little brother for Brooke, and he'll be a great big brother in a few days! We love you buddy!

Ok, now I am ridiculously late!! I know I have a lot to post and especially pictures, I will get to that soon!! Life has been very busy and chaotic trying to adjust to three and getting Brooke in school! I have pictures of Claire and Nixon's birthday and Brooke's first day of school posted soon.

Brooke's First Lost Tooth

2010-05-15T15:42:00.002-05:00

I've been bad about adding new posts, so this was a while ago.

Brooke came to me one day and showed me she had a loose tooth! That was very exciting, JD was going to be out of town for a few more days so I figured we'd have plenty of time for him to get home before her tooth actually came out. The very next day she came crying to me while I was in the middle of my prayers and I couldn't get her to calm down until I realized she had lost her tooth! She was holding it in her hand trying to show me! I told her it wasn't anything to be sad about, but that it was so exciting, the tooth fairy would be coming, it was good. Then she told me, "but it's bleeding!" It made me chuckle, I guess I forgot how traumatic it can be. So we immediately went to the sink so she could get her mouth all washed up. The worst part was I didn't have my camera! I was with JD on his trip. All I had was my cell phone, which won't let me upload anything to the computer. And of course while JD was home I didn't think to take pictures of Brooke. But she lost her first tooth on April 23rd! She was so excited to put it under her pillow and wait for the tooth fairy to come. She came and left some money and a note along with her tooth explaining that she left the tooth this time so she could show her daddy since he wasn't home.

It's fun to watch Brooke grow up and have lots of new experiences! I'll have to remember when JD gets home next week to take pictures so I can post them!

And yes Kevin the tooth fairy told her to brush her teeth really well so she wouldn't lose her permanent teeth.

Brooke's Hair Cut

2010-03-29T16:02:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago Brooke asked me to cut her hair and I have been forgetting that I needed to do that. This morning she reminded me once again, so we did it before JD went to work. I had her sit on a stool in the bathroom and I was brushing through her hair when she said, "Mom, I want you to cut it short, like yours." I could not believe it! First, she never wants me to trim her hair. Second, every time I do she freaks out that I'm going to cut more than an inch off!! So I had to call JD into the bathroom so she could tell him that herself, he wouldn't believe it coming from me. She told him and he told her not today, but on another day. We did cut her hair, about 2-3 inches off. I was worried for a bit that I may have cut all the curls out, but she is JD's daughter. I don't think she will ever go without curls! It's hard to get used to seeing her hair be so much shorter than it was, but it's cute. Brooke gets worried that when she wakes up her hair won't be the same length as it is now. I've told her several times that her hair will be fine, and that it take a while for it to grow back. It's so fun to watch Brooke grow up and she her brain working and her personality coming out more and more. I'll have to post pictures soon of her hair!

Spring is here, sort of...

2010-03-22T17:01:00.002-05:00

We've been waiting for a while for nice warm spring weather. This is my first official winter, where it has lasted more than what seemed like only a month. So last week we were enjoying weather in the 60s and 70s, in fact the temperature on Friday was a pleasant 75 degrees. Then on Saturday, the day Spring arrives, the weather turns bitterly cold and we have rain on and off all day. By nightfall it was snowing very lightly, but still sticking. We were expecting a light dusting to an inch. To my surprise and my children's joy we woke up to 6 inches of snow and more still falling!!! Luckily for me, with my first experience driving in snow... (JD's out of town, and we had to go to church) the streets were clear or just slushy, so we made there and back alive. To my surprise as we were leaving church the snow was already melting and quite quickly!! So we got home and out of our church clothes bundled up in our warm ones and went to play for a little bit in what snow was left. Today we are again enjoying spring weather! You never know what you'll get in good ol' Texas!

Snow Days

2010-02-24T19:44:00.004-06:00

A couple weeks ago we had a big snow storm blow through. This made our third one of the season, which I guess is highly unusual for this area, I didn't think that much would amount from it because the past two we had a total of maybe a 1/2 inch to an inch of snow combined! But this time it snowed A LOT for two days!! And by the time we were done we had at least 6 inches of snow at our house!! We had so much fun!! On Thursday before JD got home the kids and I started playing out in the snow. We went out a couple times and tried to make a snow man, using a baby carrot for the nose and blueberries for the eyes. He wasn't that big and we knocked him down! When JD got home from work he built a larger one with the kids because we had even more snow to play in when he got home!! Luckily, JD had Friday off work and we had a ton of fun that day!!!! We had to run some errands and then after that we had a huge snowball fight where Brooke and I surprised attacked JD and then Brooke became a traitor to me and fought against me on JD's side. We all got little colds from playing out in snow without proper snow gear, but what else could I expect for living somewhere that I thought it never snowed!

Brooke and Nixon out playing for the first time in the snow. Nixon was so funny when he'd through a snowball he'd say, "Ow!"

Brooke worked a lot on perfecting her snowball!

Nixon loved the snow! He tromped all over in it! And loved picking it up and throwing it at whatever he could.

This is the pitiful little snowman that I helped Brooke make while JD was at work that fell apart after more snow came, so that none of it was left by the time JD got home.

The kids helping JD build their snowman.

The finished product. We didn't have enough branches on your tree to break off and use as arms so we used black hangers.

The view from our front door on Friday morning.
(I know this might not seem like much to those who have lived or live in places where it snows, but it was pretty amazing to me!)

The view of our house.

Looking east from our house. This picture does not do it justice!! It was so incredibly beautiful!

And our poor snowman lost his arms during the night. Good thing they were just buried under the snow.

It is the kind of snow that JD and I like, comes for a few days and then is gone! We had so much fun and made so many fun memories!

And The Verdict is....

2010-02-17T18:49:00.002-06:00

Today I had my ultrasound to find out whether we were having a girl or a boy. I have never had such a long ultrasound, and I've had my fair share of them, but we checked out just about every body part there is to check out without checking for the sex of the baby. Finally at the end the technician was looking to see, and it was a little difficult because the baby was laying on their tummy and had it's legs pretty tight together. But he said he was 80% sure that it is a girl!! So Brooke was super excited for a little baby sister, and I'm sure Nixon will think why have I been stuck with all these girls. I may have cursed him with the opposite of what I had. He'll survive! We are really excited though! Now it's time to decide on a name. :)

Brooke's tutu and Nixon's hair cut

2010-01-23T08:27:00.003-06:00

Last week at Hobby Lobby they had tulle on sale for 77 cents a yard, so I decided that to make a tutu for Brooke. She was so excited and wanted to help me. Yesterday we cut the tulle, sewed the elastic and tied the tulle onto the elastic.

She LOVES it! She put it on and ran to find her fairy wings that just happen to match and wanted to find her wand. She was so excited that she could be a fairy, and we decided that she could use that as her Halloween costume and it all cost less than $5!

Last Saturday JD and I gave Nixon a hair cut. I should have taken a before picture to compare, but I didn't. He hates getting his hair cut. Last time we did it his hair did not turn out so well, but this time we got it all even. We just you the clippers to cut his hair. He has to sit on JD's lap while I buzz. The poor little boy cried the entire time and he loves to suck on his fingers, so he would try to do that to soothe himself, but he couldn't even do that because he would get hair in his mouth. But he survived and his little curls in the back had to go. He looks so big when he gets his hair cut. He's turning into my little boy, so that I don't have a baby anymore.

Nixon loves to get his picture taken and all I have to do is get the camera out and he comes running. I tell him to say cheese and he does, it's so cute. He's pretty much yelling "CHEESE!" in this picture.

The Cardinals Win!!

2010-01-10T19:48:00.003-06:00

So, of course it's playoff time and for the second year in a row the Cardinals have made the playoffs. We watched to game today and it came down to the end of the game and overtime. JD and I were on the edge of our seats. Brooke went a put her cheerleader outfit on with her pom poms and was cheering for the Cardinals near the end of the game it was so cute. But all throughout the game any time there was a high five, Brooke and Nixon were right there to give one! At the end of the game when the Cardinals recovered a fumble and ran it into the end zone for a touchdown to end the game we were all up on our feet cheering. Nixon even had some pom poms and was cheering and hooting and hollering along with the rest of us. It was so fun to just see the kids dancing around and being loud! It made for a fun evening!

This is Brooke and Nixon sort of celebrating after the game. We couldn't find the camera really quick while the were being really loud, but it was so fun and cute!!

Christmastime

2010-01-01T08:13:00.007-06:00

Well we were busy this month, but we had a lot of fun and a wonderful Christmas. The kids had so much fun getting all the decorations out and decorating the house for Christmas. Brooke will be sad to see it all come down this weekend. I mostly am going to post a ton of pictures from over the past month (more like the past couple of weeks).

I love having the kids help decorate the Christmas tree because we wind up with bunches of the same ornament in the same spot! But it never fails every year Brooke gets the urge to add her own decorations to the tree. We never know when she's going to do it. One year it was after we had opened all the presents and we found hangers and stockings and anything that you could find. That year she even put the car keys in a hanging container and hung it on a tree, that was a problem when it was time to drive over to Grandma's! But this year we go ALL her wonderful play jewerly on the tree. She put on her necklaces and bracelets. And was very proud of how the tree looked in the end.

A couple days before Christmas, JD had the day off and so we took the kids down to the mall to see Santa. That was such a fun experience! It was Nixon's first time seeing Santa and he did great. He just sat there, but didn't cry. Brooke was so excited to see him and let him know what she wanted. One of the best parts of the experience was when we were waiting in line there were three other families around us with little kids. All three families had sweet little girls around Nixon's age and he made fast friends with two of them, definitely flirting with them. Another little girl saw this and came right up to Nixon and just started hugging him. Nixon wasn't to sure about her. It was fun for all of us in line and kept us a little entertained.

One very fun and unexpected surprise was that we got a snow storm on Christmas Eve! It was so beautiful to watch the snow fall. We all bundled up and played in the snow while it was falling. We are all kids at heart so we had a ton of fun!

Nixon after we were out in the snow.

This is what our car looked like on Christmas Eve night when we went out to give some goodies to our neighbors and grab a pizza for dinner. I don't have much experience with snow, so I had never had my car doors frozen together. I told JD that I couldn't get the doors open and one of them he had to push on the inside while I pulled on the outside! Oh the fun things you learn!

Christmas morning coming down the hall!! We had to wake Brooke up because Nixon woke up first and we were pretty sure he wouldn't wait for Brooke.

Nixon with his new beanie and banana from his stocking. He LOVES bananas. I think that is honestly an understatement!! He wouldn't wait for his banana so that was the first thing he did.

Nixon's backpack from Noah, that he loves!

Santa brought us a new Wii game and it has been so much fun! I think I'll have very strong arms in a couple of months, it's a good work out. JD gets frustrated because we can all (excluding Nixon) beat him in ping pong.

Brooke with one of her favorite presents, a barbie fairy from Grandma Burns. Her other favorite gift was a robe and slippers. I love when they are so easy to please!

When we went to Arizona for Thanksgiving, Nixon found Noah's Handy Manny toolbox and the tools bounce up and down in it and it plays music! He loved it and played with it a lot and would dance to it, so Santa brought him one of his own. It was been fun to watch him dance to it. Him and Brooke also love chasing his cars that you shake and then they go on their own.

We're all bundled up and ready to go play in our little amount of snow.

Brooke throwing her first snowball. She had to ask how to make one! It was so fun. The snow was so powdery that it had a hard time sticking together and would fall apart as we threw it.

Nixon watching Brooke and mom have a snow fight and not sure if he wants to join or not.

Running around the yard trying to avoid the snowballs. The sidewalk was icy so we had to be careful and after Nixon slipped twice on it we went inside to have hot chocolate and get warmed up. It was a wonderful month spending time together as a family, spending time with friends celebrating the season, and most importantly remembering the birth of our Savior.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a wonderful New year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S!!

SNOW!

2009-12-03T08:54:00.002-06:00

So I didn't know that it snowed in Texas. Yesterday morning we woke up and it was raining and very cold and about 30 minutes after the kids woke up it had started to snow! It didn't stick to the ground, but of course we ran out in our pajamas to see the snow! Then we came back in and go bundled up so we could stay outside for more than a minute. Brooke would stick her tongue out so she could eat the snowflakes. Nixon wasn't sure what to think about it. It was so pretty to watch the snow fall down. It snowed for a couple hours and Brooke was so disappointed when it was done. We are definitely desert people so any site of snow is exciting for us! Also, Brooke thought it must be Christmas since it was snowing!! I thought it was a great way to start December and the Christmas season.

I'll have to post the few pictures I took later.

Brooke's Princess Party

2009-10-25T21:03:00.005-05:00

This week is Brooke's 5th birthday, so we decided this year we would have a party with her friends. It was a Princess party and all her friends came dressed as a princess. The girls got a little pampering session, getting some makeup put on and their nails painted. They also colored pictures of princes so we could play a game called "Kiss the Prince." When we told the girls that we were going to play that game they all said "Ewww gross!!!" One of her friends said, "boys are stinky!" It was so funny! We had a blast with all the little princesses at our house. We danced to some of Brooke's favorite princess songs, but all the girls really love one of Taylor Swift's songs and wanted to dance to that. And a party wouldn't be complete without a pinata. So Brooke got a crown pinata that was filled with lots of things perfect for little princesses. My favorite part of the pinata was watching JD dodge some of the swings the girls had! We had so much fun and were really glad that so many of Brooke's friends could come and celebrate her birthday with us!

Brooke helping me with the frosting for her Barbie cake.

The finished cake.

Brooke was so excited about her party that she'd been hounding us to decorate the house all week. So she was more than helpful when dad started decorating Saturday morning.

The "party room" before all the girls arrived.

Brooke with Shelby and Ella.

Brooke and Kaylynn

Brooke and Zara

Ella playing "Kiss the Prince". (GROSS, Ella's the one who said boys are stinky, she even said her dad was a stinky boy.)

JD dodging a swing from Kloah.

All the girls that came to the party!! Shelby, Kaylynn, Kloah, Zara, Brooke, Zoey, Ella

"Reflections of Christ"

2009-09-28T13:05:00.003-05:00

Candice sent me this e-mail that had a link to this slide show. It is really great, I love it. I'm sure that a lot of you have heard about these pictures. I'm pretty sure they had them on display down at the Mesa visitor center at one point. Anyway, at the bottom of my blog is a link to watch the slide show of it. You'll probably want to stop the music from our blog so you can listen to the beautiful music that goes along with the slide show and then I'm pretty sure you'll be able to feel the spirit more. Thanks so much Candice for sharing it with me. I hope you all like it!!

Nixon's Birthday Celebration

2009-09-16T10:35:00.004-05:00

I know that it's two months after Nixon's birthday, but we have had a busy couple months. We moved twice, lived with JD's boss for a month and are now getting settled into our new home. I'll have to post pictures of that later.

We had so much fun celebrating Nixon's birthday. It was different to just have our little family there and not the rest of the extended. But first birthdays are always so fun! He was so cute eating the cupcake. He didn't really know what to think at first, but then he got the gist of it. Brooke had more fun then him opening his presents, of course. We did presents first and then went on to the cake. Good plan as you can see, he LOVED his cupcake!

I had to put a lot of the messy cake pictures because that is what is the best!!

He's even willing to share!!

Bath time!! Have to get cleaned up before we can play with the toys.

Happy birthday one more time to our little man! We love you Nixon!

Happy Birthday Nixon!

2009-07-14T07:12:00.003-05:00

A year ago today Nixon was born into our family! We were so excited to have him be a part of our family. He came late, and probably would have come even later if I hadn't been induced. Thanks to Mom who I know secretly prayed that he wouldn't be born until she got back from her trip to San Diego.

Now we've had Nixon for a year, and he has been so fun! He is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen! He loves to smile at everyone. His favorite thing to do in church is flirt with anyone, but especially if there are any girls sitting behind us. He smiles at them, then buries his head into my shoulder, then looks to see if they are still looking at him, and starts it over. He LOVES Brooke!! They play and make each other laugh all the time. If they go to bed at the same time or within a half hour of each other they can stay up for hours jabbering back and forth to each other.

Just recently he's learned a few new tricks, the biggest one of all is walking! He loves to walk. When he first started he'd laugh the entire time he was doing it. He thought it was great! He's found a toy that Brooke likes to use as her vacuum that he can push around and walk with, he is having so much fun with that!! He's also learned "five." He loves to have Brooke give him "five" in the car and sometimes we worry that she's going to break his arm cause she does it so hard, but he laughs hard every time! Now he sticks his hand out and tries to say five, but it's more like "fah." He is so cute. We've also been trying to teach him to say more in sign language instead of screaming for more food, he's finally learned it, but it looks more like he's calling for a timeout.

Well, I guess as you can see, we love Nixon! He is always on the go. He is a little boy through and through, teasing his sister already, pulling her hair, loving to explore and be rough with Dad! We are so glad to have him! We love him so much!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIXON!!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T07:41:00.003-05:00

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there, but especially to JD!!

You are the best dad any little boy or little girl could ask for! He loves to play with Brooke and Nixon and they always want to be with him! When he comes home from a trip the kids only want to spend time with him! I don't really exist anymore. JD does a great job taking care of his family, making sure that we are provided for. When there's a big storm an we get scared he's there to make us feel safe! He helps the kids up the stairs, especially when Brooke's "knees hurt," and she just can't walk anymore. We have the best daddy who plays with us, reads to us, teaches us, and most of all loves us!

JD is not with us to celebrate Father's Day, he's on a trip in Boston! We miss him a lot, and wanted him to know that we are thinking of him, missing him, and loving him!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

A Day at the Zoo

2009-05-12T13:27:00.000-05:00

We've had a lot going on at our house for the past little while so I haven't been very good about posting. But a few weeks ago we spent the day at the Dallas Zoo with some friends. We had a lot of fun! Brooke loved seeing all the animals and running around with her friends and Nixon wasn't as interested in the animals, but he loves to be outside, so it was a good day for him!

We didn't see all the animals, it was just too much to go see in one day, but we got to see the tiger, the elephant, some giraffes, a ton of different monkeys, penguins, a white crocodile or alligator, I don't know the difference, other wild cats like a bobcat, an Asian fishing cat, ant eaters, and a lot more that I can't remember.

I felt bad for the elephant and giraffes because their exhibits were so small and had very little grass and no trees! I guess I'm just use to the Phoenix zoo.

It was cool how close we could be to see the animals though. Brooke thought this was a gorilla!

When we first got there we were waiting for some friends to get there as well, so they had a playground that Brooke loved to run around and play on. Then while we were still waiting we went to the petting zoo. Brooke didn't want to touch any of the animals, but she wanted to ride the ponies, which were put away, but at certain times of the day they are out and the kids can ride them. She loved looking at the donkeys, sheep, roosters, bunnies and guinea pigs, but don't ask her to touch them. Her friend Zara loves animals!! All sorts of animals and wants to hold them all the time and tried to get Brooke to at least pet one of the bunnies, but Brooke wouldn't have it. I don't think she likes to touch an animal unless it's a dog or cat!

This is in front of the otters. Brooke and Ella.

This was in front of the penguin exhibit. Brooke, Zara, Shelby.

Brooke's favorite was the penguins, she couldn't wait until we went to see them. And at the end of the day, the three older girls got to go for a ride on the carousel! It was a fun, but very long day!

Brooke's Dance Recital

2009-04-20T10:51:00.006-05:00

One day at church I found out that a woman in our ward taught dance, so I signed Brooke up for that and she has LOVED it!! The first weekend in April, Brooke had a dance recital and did a great job! It was so fun to go watch her dance and see what she had learned.

This is Brooke in her dance costume on our way out the door. She was pretty excited, but a little nervous!

Brooke's class did a partner dance, which her teacher told me is sort of hard to do, especially with them being so young, but I think they did pretty good. And it was so fun and cute to watch!

Brooke did such a great job and we were so proud of her that she was able to get up in front of everybody and not be scared. She actually even did the dance with a couple girls in the ward at the primary talent show the next weekend!

Funny Kids

2009-03-24T11:28:00.004-05:00

It seems everyday that my kids do something that I don't expect them to do. Sometimes it can be something so sweet and other times not such a good thing. Sunday Brooke got her big foam puzzle pieces out put them together so she could play hopscotch. Yesterday we hadn't put them away yet, so she dumped all the pieces out and made the box that we keep them in her little bed. To me it doesn't seem to be the most comfortable place, but she loved it.

Nixon is all over the place now and usually is gone out of sight if I have stopped watching him for even two seconds. He doesn't let anything get in his way. We have a chair that sits on the floor and he climbs and crawls right over it, even though getting down is usually done in a tumbling fashion. He loves his new independence. The other day I couldn't find him. He had crawled under his saucer and was trying to navigate his way off it, once again resulting in a tumble! I'm probably a mean mom, but I think it is so cute and fun to watch him try to figure all this "new stuff" out.

Trip to San Antonio and Arizona

2009-03-24T10:53:00.005-05:00

In February we took a trip to Arizona to visit family, but before we left for Mesa we met up with JD in San Antonio so he could drive over with us. I wasn't expecting on driving down to San Antonio until Saturday, but we left Friday, so that left all day Saturday for me and the kids to spend time out and about in San Antonio. So we decided to go to the Riverwalk they have in downtown San Antonio. It was so fun and really pretty!

When we were there we took a ride on one of these boats so we could see the entire riverwalk area. It was a great way to see it all without having to walk it all. But we did walk a lot!!

Brooke really liked the boat ride, but it was a little long for her. It lasted for a little over 30 minutes. There were plenty of times that I had to push the stroller and give Brooke a piggyback ride. But I did find out that there were many nice people there that offered to help me many times. Nixon loved it because he loves to be outside and that's where we were all day!

After a full day out we got in the car that night when JD was done with work and drove with his company to the Phoenix area. It was a long day!

Brooke passed out in the car when we were almost to Grandma's!

We had so much fun in Arizona! Sunday evening after we got there we went down to the park with a bunch of cousins to feed the ducks. We had so much fun playing and seeing cousins! Brooke helped Noah and Keith mow the lawn. We also got to see some of the Fraughton cousins although we didn't get to spend as much time with them as we would have liked! We loved being able to come and see everyone! We miss and love you all!

A funny conversation

2009-03-13T22:25:00.002-05:00

On Thursday JD had a church basketball game, so we all went to watch it. Afterwards, we went to McDonalds to get something to eat. While we were eating Brooke told us how much she missed Bella, for those of you who don't know who Bella is, she's Keith and Jessie's dog. We told her that maybe we should bring her home with us next time we go to Arizona, or that one day we would get a dog like Bella. And Brooke said, "Yeah, we have Nixon, but he's not a pet."

Nixon's crawling!

2009-03-09T12:04:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure if I'm suppose to be excited or not, because my job just became more difficult! It's been a couple of weeks that Nixon has been doing his army man crawl and getting on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth, but now he is officially crawling! He's been doing that for a few days now. I have to keep my eye on him all the time or he is gone! He loves to follow Brooke everywhere so goes. This morning she went into her room to play with all her Barbie stuff and I told her she needed to close the door so that Nixon wouldn't come in and eat all her little pieces. He still followed her and cried once he got to the door! It'll be a very new experience for Brooke, and I think a little frustrating for her as well.

Our First Ice Storm

2009-01-30T16:17:00.006-06:00

OK, so this post is mostly just for Becca because before we moved we were talking about ice storms and Becca didn't know what they were exactly, so I took the best pictures I could, but it was 19 degrees outside when I did and I was cold and the wind was blowing so I didn't take to many.

This first picture is from our balcony, and it's all the ice on the ground. I know it looks like snow, but it's not and it's super slippery.

These are the bottom steps of the stairs up to our apartment. They got iced over and Brooke had to hold my hand when she went down stairs or she would slip and fall. The rails were covered in ice too!

See the icicles hanging off the bush? That's how it was on all the trees and street signs. It's really pretty in the trees when the sun shines on it.

Just more ice. It was all over the sidewalk and street. It only melted after it warmed up and the sun was shining on it. If it was in the shade, it stayed there all day. And at night everything refroze if there was still water on it.

The car covered in ice.

Do you like the icicles hanging from our car? It's sort of weird to see.

And this is from my bedroom window. The rain froze to the screen like that. Funny, huh?

Anyway, for the most part that's what it was. Ice just blankets everything. And we stay inside. It depended on which school you went to, but some were closed for two days and some only for one. And the day after the ice storm there was so much fog that I couldn't see the water tower that's right next to our apartments. Luckily no one lost their power. Sometimes the ice gets so thick and heavy on the power lines that it knocks peoples power out, and then it gets really cold inside too. Anyway, so now you know what an ice storm is Becca.

We love and miss you guys, and the warmth. So enjoy the nicer weather for me!

Family Pictures

2009-01-17T19:28:00.005-06:00

Before our move we had family pictures taken by Amy and they turned out so cute! I thought I'd post some of them for you guys to see. Honestly there are so many that we love I can't share all of them, but Brooke and Nixon are so cute and fun to have pictures of... but again I am a biased mother. I love his expressions! They crack me up and they change all the time. And as for Brooke she is a little camera hog, Wendi knows. Brooke loves to have her picture taken, whenever anyone gets a camera out and she's near it she wants to be in the shot!

Brooke loves her dad!!! She had fun with him and gave him a wet willy. Thanks for teaching her that Sean and Keith!

Brooke can't get enough of Nixon!! She loves being a big sister. Anytime he gets up or cries she wants to be there to see him or take care of him, or make sure that mom's doing her job taking care of him!

Adjusting, it takes a while...

2009-01-13T15:12:00.004-06:00

It's hard to find everything that you want right when you want it when unpacking, but I finally found the cord to my camera so I could upload pictures onto our computer. We are learning to adjust to life in Wylie. I lose track of time very easily and before I know it my day if half way over. Last week and this week JD is off to an event, the nice thing is that it's in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Last week he was only 15 minutes away from home so he came home one night and then we went and visited him twice. This week he is in Fort Worth so we are going tonight and spending the night with him and then we won't see him again until Saturday.

This is the front door to our lovely apartment on the third floor!!! I was so excited to put my Valentine's sign on the door, until one night when I woke up in the middle of the night because it was banging on the door so hard due to the wind. So it only goes up on non-windy days, which seems to be very few.This is the view from our stairs. It is so flat here!! Actually it's a little hilly, but I am use to seeing mountains in pretty much any direction you drive, so that's something new to get use to. And I don't think I have ever seen so many water towers in my life. I thought I would be able to easily find JD's work when we visited in November because it's right by a water tower, no there are so many, and you can't see it, but there is one off in the distance and there's another one you can see from our apartment further west.

Nixon just started on solid foods and likes them, but he loves to eat. At first he isn't so sure about what I am giving him, but he's had carrots and squash. He's getting so big and loves to be on the floor and scooch around, He'll probably be crawling sooner than I'll be ready for it.

Brooke is doing well, she has made quite a few new friends very quickly. She misses everyone and asks if we can go to Grandma's and play with Chloe or Brandon. She always talks about everyone, it just depends on what we are doing. It's been sort of cold and windy lately so we haven't played to much outside, but she has come to love playing the Wii and is getting better at golf, so look out Keith she's going to beat you! We went to a playgroup last week where they had bouncy castles and fun things like that, but Brooke didn't want to do that, she played air hockey with a boy from the ward for most of the time.

She also loves to be on the computer, she was really tired that day!!!

Our apartment is still sort of messy because I haven't found a spot for everything just yet. Hopefully when JD gets back from his trip he'll be able to help me a little. But we will keep taking pictures and posting them for everyone to see!

TEXAS

2009-01-02T16:59:00.005-06:00

We are finally here! We left Mesa early Monday morning and got in late that night. I don't think we knew just how long of a trip it was going to be. Luckily, Jill and Kevin had offered to fly Nixon over for us, which was a great blessing for us!! It was fun to have them here for a couple days. We moved into a two bedroom apartment, which is an adjustment from our home in Queen Creek, but we're getting use to it. We live on the third floor, I know crazy, but Brooke loves going up and down the stairs all the time, at least for now. JD's new boss had some guys from his work come over and help us move in, as did Kevin and Jill. It made it go really fast. Now we just have to unpack everything, or atleast the things that we need for now. It's really pretty here and cold, for me anyway. I've always loved coats and sweaters so this could be a fun thing for me to get all bundled up, and not have to have it be so cold that is snows.

We miss everyone a lot! Brooke is everyone's Mii on the Wii, so we have fun with you guys that way, I guess. I've met a lot of the guys and their families that JD works with and they are really nice! We went and played games with them on New Year's Eve and then last night we went to Joe and Alisha for dinner and watched to Rose Bowl. (Joe is JD's boss). I'll take pictures of where we live so I can post them for everyone. We love and miss you all like crazy! Hopefully we'll be able to come and visit in a few months.

I think we've gone crazy!

2008-12-02T15:08:00.004-06:00

How many people do you know that move right around Christmas? Now how many people do you know that would do it twice? Yes, we fall in the category of twice, and hopefully we'll chose a different time of the year to move next time! We moved four days before Christmas two years ago and this time it'll be four days after! So our holiday season will be spent packing our wonderful decorations into boxes so they will be ready to go! JD makes sure that during all our craze of packing and getting things ready to move that we take time out to do something fun to help us remember the Christmas spirit. We are really grateful that we get to spend Christmas home in Mesa before moving and with family!

A lot happens at our house

2008-11-10T08:17:00.007-06:00

I know I'm a little behind on things that happen at my house, but the past month has been really crazy! First of all it's hard to keep up on everything with Nixon. So many things change with him constantly, he is continually growing and learning new things. He's started to roll all over but not just from his stomach to back, but also back to stomach, so when he's on the floor he rolls until something gets in his way and stops him! He also started eating rice cereal, which he loves! We've always called him our little piggy, he'd eat all the time if I'd let him.

We had fun celebrating Halloween! Kristin and David invited us to go to their trunk-or-treat so we went with them and Brooke had a blast eating, playing the games and going to each car to get candy. There was also a small little "haunted house" (how scary can it be if it's in the church building), but JD went through it with Brooke and Allyse. Brooke didn't care for it and I'm sure Allyse had a great time screaming the whole way through it! Then we went to the carnival for Casey and Amy's ward party. (It was the carnival I talked about it the previous post) Then on Halloween we went to a chili and soup dinner at Casey and Amy's, and after dinner we went trick-or-treating. We had gone about two blocks and Brooke got tired so I got to piggy back her back to the Fraughton's where we watched a movie outside. When she got home she laid down on the couch and fell right asleep. We had a blast stretching Halloween out as long as we could. After Halloween we had a couple little birthday parties for Brooke, one with the Fraughton family and one with the Burns family. For the party with the Fraughtons we made a cupcake cake that looked like a pumpkin, JD really did all the work on this cake! Then for the party with the Burns family Brooke had to have a Barbie cake so she and I had fun decorating it, with her telling me the colors of the dress and what color she wanted the flowers to be on the cake!This past weekend JD and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. It's amazing how fast time flies, but we have loved every minute together. It's amazing all the wonderful experiences you can have in that short period of time. Our favorite ones have been when Brooke and Nixon joined out family. But unexpectedly we found ourselves in Texas on our anniversary. It was not a fun little get away, but rather a very short trip to find a place to live. We will be moving at the end of December. JD got laid of last month, but before that ever happened he was offered a job by a friend that he had met on his mission. Heavenly Father works in very mysterious ways, but we are very grateful for all the blessings that we receive! It was both our first time to go to Texas, so even though it was a quick trip and we had a lot to do, it was fun to see a new place and how pretty other places in the country are! Happy Anniversary JD! I love you!

Happy Birthday to Brooke

2008-10-30T23:52:00.005-05:00

I know it's a day late, but better than never right. Yesterday was our little Brookie's birthday. She turned 4! I can't believe how big she is getting! We had such a great day! She had her favorite breakfast, french toast sticks from BK. Then she had her favorite meal for lunch, macaroni and cheese and green beans. Later we went to a carnival with her cousins and she had a blast. She got to ride on a pony, probably her favorite part of the night, and now she wants to get a pony for Christmas. She got to play a lot of game and go on a train ride. She had a blast. Thanks for the fun Fraughtons! Happy birthday to our princess Brooke!

So She Does Listen

2008-10-13T12:18:00.002-05:00

Last Wednesday we went to a wedding reception, on our way home Brooke fell asleep in the car, so I carried her into her room, and laid her down. Of course she woke up and wanted me to read her a story. So I sat down and read her a story gave her a kiss and tucked her in.

The next morning she had to come a get me to show me something in her room. "Mom do you see this? Your shoes are in my room, is that where they belong?" I forgot that I had taken my shoes off when I sat down to read. So of course I answer "no." So then she says, "Mom, you need to pick them up and put them where they belong." It cracks me up because it seems like a word for word conversation that either JD or I would have with her, only reversed.

I guess it is nice to know that she does listen and knows the rules, it's just she still has to learn to follow through and obey! I love her and the funny little things she says. It makes everyday interesting because there is always something new.

Happy 40th Wendi

2008-09-28T20:58:00.004-05:00

I know it's a little early for Wendi's birthday, but this past Friday we had a surprise party for JD's sister Wendi. It was really fun. For over a month now we've been planning the party. Brett's (Wendi's husband) brother got married Saturday, so they came down for the wedding, but with the help of Brett and several other people there was a fantastic party planned, the best part of it all was that Wendi had no idea about it. It was not the typical surprise party. It was a "funeral" for the "passing of Wendi's youth." Brett had awesome programs made for the occasion. It was not a sad event, we shared memories of Wendi, some I'm sure she'd like to forget, and then we had delicious Mexican food and hung out singing karaoke. We had a blast and partied all night with friends and family. Thanks for everyone who helped. Wendi we love you and miss you!!

Blessing Day

2008-09-08T12:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we blessed our little Nixon! He was so good during the blessing and for the entire day. He didn't make a peep during the blessing. In fact, he slept through the entire get together at our house afterwards. I do feel very blessed that I have a worthy priesthood holder in my home to preform these sacred ordinances and to also give my children and me blessings. JD is such a sweet guy, it is very obvious to anyone who knows him that he loves his children very much.
This was Nixon right after his bath, getting dressed in his blessing outfit.
Isn't he so cute!! (I know I'm biased)
After the blessing we had our family come over to our home. And between JD and my family there are a lot of us, and we have a rather small home. While there Keith stuck Noah in the cooler.
Nathan thought that looked like a lot of fun, so when Noah was done, Nathan walked over there and got in by himself while no one was looking. It was so fun!! I love being able to spend time with the family, especially when everyone, or almost everyone, is able to be there!

Princess for the Day

2008-09-08T11:45:00.006-05:00

This weekend Brooke was transformed into a beautiful fairy princess, along with her cousins. She was invited to Addison's birthday party (one of her cousins) where they had the works done!! All the girls had the hair done special, they had their face painted and then had their finger nails painted. After they were all dolled up then they played a game where they got their wings and wands and became fairies. Brooke was so disappointed that she had to take off her face paint, which she calls "make-up", when she was getting ready for church. When Brooke saw the pictures of her she told me that we needed to "get that kind of make-up." Brooke had so much fun that she's still talking about it, even the turtle.

Casey and Amy have a turtle at their house, and after all of Addie's friends left, they got the turtle out to play and show the cousins, who had stayed to play. Brooke would have nothing to do with it. She screamed and cried (so I was told). And then that night when I got home Brooke told me all about the turtle and how she did not like it. Then for the rest of the night she was scared of everything and did not want to go anywhere in the house without JD or me by her side.

Nixon Smiles

2008-09-02T22:49:00.000-05:00

It is so exciting when a brand new baby starts to smile and especially when you know it's not because they are passing gas. A few days ago Nixon began smiling and of course I was first to see it, so when JD got home I tried to get Nixon to smile for JD and he wouldn't. And if JD was home and I could get Nixon to smile, I would call for JD to hurry to come a see Nixon smile and of course as soon as JD would come Nixon would stop. He's just that kind of kid to tease JD that way. One time he even would look at JD see that JD was looking at him, look away, then look back, still saw that dad was looking and look away. It's funny to see little personalities in little ones so early. And now we get to enjoy Nixon's smiles, when he's happy!

Scrapbooking Made Easy

2008-08-23T09:50:00.005-05:00

I found this scrapbooking website the other day and I was able to do this for free.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I thought it was super cute and I love it because scrapbooking take me forever and I just love this! It's so easy!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The Dog Days of Summer

2008-08-18T16:34:00.003-05:00

I wish it was this cold. I would love to bundle up in a bunch of blankets or put on many layers to stay warm. Today Brooke and I went outside to play with our neighbor and we were sweating after playing for five minutes and this was at 7 in the morning. Brooke hates the sprinklers, but when they came on this morning her friend put her face and hair in the water, so Brooke tried it and realized that the sprinklers aren't scary, but can help you cool off! I can't wait until it at least starts to cool off in the evening, so that we can have some tolerable mornings to play, and nice evenings to take walks!

If only I could sleep like them

2008-08-11T12:46:00.004-05:00

I love how my kids can fall asleep anywhere and in any position. I was shopping with my mom on Saturday and we were at Hobby Lobby and Brooke was sitting in the bigger section of the cart and fell asleep. I should take my camera with me everywhere I go. These are only a few examples of how and where they fall asleep.

I can use my computer!

2008-08-07T14:30:00.001-05:00

So I just am going to be a little boastful for a second! I was able to change my blog page, almost entirely by myself. (JD only helped a little) But nevertheless, I'm figuring the computer out, and especially on our new computer, I think it's quite an accomplishment.

Our New Addition

2008-08-01T19:17:00.002-05:00

We were very happy to welcome Nixon Ancil into our family on July 14th. He weighed 6lbs. 12oz. and measured 20.5 inches long. He is such a good baby! He sleeps really well, so I can't complain. Big sister Brooke loves having him here and is the best helper that a mom could ask for.