Party's Over

Driving back to Logan was no picnic. All the kids got some kind of sickness, and Powell vomited everywhere in the car. We had to pull over to a McDonald's in Flagstaff to remedy this emergency. James cleaned out the car the best he could in the freezing cold, while Kathleen took Powell inside the bathroom to strip him down, wash and wring out his clothes, and bathe him in the hand-sensored, cool-watered sink with only hand soap and an electric hand dryer to work with. Needless to say, we lost about 3 hours of driving that night and remained in Flagstaff the night of December 30th, so we had to drive all the way from Flagstaff to Logan in one long stretch. Thank heavens the roads were pretty clear, and we saw no major accidents along the way. Despite the rocky ending, we were thankful to be able to see the Grand Canyon and visit with many of Kathleen's family members over Christmas break.

Happy to Play at a Park

Reagan stayed on the rocking seahorse for about an hour. Powell made good friends with his second cousin, Tenille Updike. Nathanael pretended to be a (snaggle-toothed) velociraptor chasing his sister and other little girl relatives. Kathleen got to play some competitive volleyball with all her tall, talented relatives, while James was unfortunately sidelined, due to his hurt shoulder.

Temple Cactus Garden

Families Can Be Together Forever...

Here we have Kathleen's Grandma and parents in a picture with our family. By this time, we had to promise our ancy, yet camera-tired kids a visit to the cactus garden on the temple grounds and a trip to Dairy Queen.

What a Poser!

Nathanael just couldn't help himself--he just had to pose goofy for one shot! Click on it--this one is worth viewing in full-screen mode!

Four Generations

This is a picture of Brooklyn with her mom, Kathleen, her Grandma Julene (Kathleen's mom), and her Great Grandma Ireta. (Ireta is not Julene's mother, but she is the only living grandparent Kathleen still has.)

Up, Up with Updikes!

After we all left the Grand Canyon in one piece, we continued to drive down to the Phoenix/Mesa area for a mini-reunion involving a lot of Kathleen's family. Here, some of her relatives are pictured at the cemetary where her grandpa, Paul Updike, is buried. Her Grandma, Ireta, is not yet ready to be buried in her grave. Her son, Galen, told her to do a jig on her grave, and she did! We all had a good laugh at that one!

Grand Canyon 6

James and I were just glad we didn't lose any of our children over the railings. Reagan proved to be the most curious and agile climbing the rocks and ledges.

Grand Canyon 5

Nathanael was especially impressed by the colors, textures, and variety the rocks displayed, as well as the ancient, twisted tree trunks.

Grand Canyon 4

Powell was very proud to pose next to this historic marker, Powell Memorial, named for American explorer John Wesley Powell.

Grand Canyon 3

Brooklyn was thrilled to see the Colorado River, which is responsible for carving out the Grand Canyon. It was completely frozen.

Grand Canyon 2

We had about one minute to capture sunset shots, since it was very overcast that evening.

Grand Canyon 1

Our family drove to the Grand Canyon on Christmas day. We spent all the following day driving around and stopping at scenic points to take pictures. We were shocked at how cold it was, as well as how many tourists were there.

Nathanael's Two Front Teeth

On Saturday night, January 12th, Nathanael's two front teeth came out. He is adjusting his speech and eating accordingly. His favorite thing to pretend to be is a "Vampirate", as posed in the above picture.

Kathleen Update

Kathleen has been very busy this year. She got her tonsils out this summer and had a slow and painful recovery. Just when she was feeling better, we moved the kids to a new school which requires her to drive 10 minutes each day each way (rather than walk a block to the public neighborhood school). Living in Utah has its advantages, though (did I just say that?). Kathleen has 3 sisters in Utah affiliated with BYU, whom she has been able to visit with on occasion, including her sister Laura, who had a baby girl on November 1st. The day before, she saw her sister Crystal into the MTC, who is serving in the Independence Missouri Visitors Center mission. She also has a few aunts and uncles in the Provo area, but we are reminded each time we drive back and forth between Logan and Provo, it is a good 5 hour round trip--not fun with the kids in tow. Thank goodness for the ceiling-mounted DVD player in our minivan! And it's a good thing she actually likes to shovel the driveway and sidewalk (it gives her some alone time, and James can't do it because of his shoulder problem).

Perhaps the most significant thing Kathleen has accomplished this year is starting her own home-based business as a Heritage Makers Independent Consultant. Finally, our pictures and stories are getting preserved (she never could get into scrapbooking--the one page she completed hangs proudly on her home office wall). Check out her website at http://www.memories4eternity.com/

James Update

After knee surgery and kidney stone surgery in the previous year, James got on a health kick this past spring. He got in really good shape over the spring and summer by lifting weights every day and playing basketball as much as possible. Then, he tore his rotator cuff. He's now doing "prehab" to prepare for surgery during his spring break from USU. He is getting ready to teach Constitutional Law and First Amendment classes at USU this semester, which starts January 7th. He also has to spend a lot of time writing so that he will publish, rather than perish, in his profession. Each night, at dinner, the kids beg him to play the "Quiz Game." He asks them questions about geography, history, math, astronomy, physics, etc. They've learned a lot from this. In the past few weeks he's got little sleep. Sick kids have given him constant night duty nursing fevers, cleaning up vomit, and scrubbing out diarrhea, while Kathleen blissfully rests with eye shades and ear plugs (what a sweatheart!).

Reagan Update

Reagan really hates having his picture taken, so this was quite a fait accompli! Reagan has remained steady at the terrible twos; we wonder what will happen when he turns 3 in February. He really likes to play with plastic animals in all shapes and sizes, and spends hours classifying them into groups. He will get all of the African animals and play the Lion King, complete with full recitations of lines from the Disney movie, get out foxes and dogs and the Fox and the Hound books to leaf through the pages, collect all the bunnies and hop them around, and pretend that his stuffed animals Rudolph and Clarice are Bambi and Faline. He is fiercely independent to the point of being contrary about everything from hating hot dogs to the color yellow (two of his all-time favorite things). His favorite thing to wear is his yellow penguin slippers and his favorite thing to do is watch DVDs along with their companion books. He constantly reminds us that, "I not a baby anymore, I not a little boy anymore, I'd a big boy!" and when he turns 3, he will have a Tarzan and Jane party and will finally go poop and pee in the toilet. Come on, February 25th!

Powell Update

Powell still keeps us smiling all the time. He absolutely adores his preschool teacher, Mrs. Lee, and has made a lot of new friends in the neighborhood. About the time he turned 4 in March 2007, he had completely taught himself to read. This is in no doubt due to the fact that he has good examples from his older sister and brother, and has always felt the need to keep up with them (he began walking at 9 months). Unfortunatley, Powell always seems to get the sickest and stay sick the longest of anyone in the family. He has had a couple of serious bouts of stomach flu and fever that have left him weak and tired. But he always bounces back with energy to spare. Powell has begun to take a liking to drawing, and is constantly asking for paper, scissors, crayons, and glue to create calendars, mosaics, etc.

Nathanael Update

Nathanael is an avid reader and curious learner. He is the top reader in his class, and completes his math and spelling homework in a flash! Nathanael is still fascinated with dinosaurs and weird creatures, and is constantly memorizing facts about them. He has a little less free time to draw, due to his increased homework load from the charter school, but still turns out beautiful works of art that we are saving in a drawer. Sometimes, his best work is in the form of doodles on his schoolwork. Nathanael keeps trying to make up funny jokes (he has only come up with a handful), but is better at creating double entendres and other wordplays. He can't wait for his front tooth to fall out and take swimming lessons again in the summertime!

Brooklyn Update

Brooklyn chopped off 13 inches from her hair in August and donated her hair to Locks of Love. She began attending Thomas Edison Charter School in Logan, and enjoys the extra challenge she was not given at the public school just a block away from us. Brooklyn has lost 8 teeth, and is growing like a weed! She has almost completed the Little House series of books, and practices the piano at least 5 times a week. She enjoys learning about geography, and is doing complex addition, exponents, and algebra! She still plays with her Disney Princesses and My Little Ponies, albeit less now, and thanks to her Great Aunt Cari, has started an impressive and rare seashell collection. Brooklyn plans to read the entire Book of Mormon before she turns 8 on June 12th, in preparation for her baptism. She is constantly wishing for a little sister (twin sisters would be even better), and is the quintessential big sister/little mother to her siblings. We could not have asked for a more perfect oldest child!

Happy New Year!

A new year means new resolutions. For me, I want to resurrect my blog and keep up-to-date with my family's comings and goings. First off, I will start with a recent family picture. This was taken after Brooklyn's Christmas Piano Recital on December 14th. It's hard to believe that my kids are now 7 1/2, 6 1/2, almost 5 and almost 3!