Merry Christmas

We hope you had a very merry Christmas. We sure did. Throughout the week, we received around 10 inches of snow, making for a white and beautiful Christmas.


Gary and I went against our steadfast rule of never ever ever owning a gaming system. We let Santa get the family a Wii for Christmas. Each of the kids got a game, and we got Rock Band. It is soooo fun! Neither of us is great at drumming, but Gary does well on lead guitar and I do alright on bass. When Addie is around, she is normally the singer, although I'll pitch in here and there. Get it? Pitch in! :) Ha, ha, ha!!! Okay, nevermind. Anyway, it's fun because the Wii lets us play together, and that is what we liked about it. Sad, but true, we have all experienced a bit of Wii-itis after big games of bowling or tennis, but for the most part it's been nothing but fun.


We're all enjoying a break from school and work. Happy holidays from all of us to all of you!

So, this is what Sadie thinks of us.

November 2008

Here are a couple of pictures Gary took from our backyard last week.

This one is looking West. It was such a beautiful sunset, that even this picture can't do it justice.

Ben Lomond Peak in the reflected sunset. Looking North from our bedroom window.

Her First "Real" Meal

We've reached yet another milestone. Sadie enjoyed her first taste of rice cereal last week. I only give it to her once a day at this point to let her kind of get a feel for it. She does better some days than others. Believe it or not, her first try was the most successful of them all! She emptied her bowl entirely!

This is Halloween!

This is the best time of the year! The trees are vibrant with color, the weather is getting milder (if not chilly), and the holidays are just around the corner. What could be better?

Here are a few pictures of our Halloween for you to enjoy:

Every year we get all the Davis cousins together in their costumes just before Halloween so they can all admire one another. Looks like Gabe isn't too keen on Davis's costume! Run, little bee, run! Sadie is the pumpkin on Addie's lap.

Scarecrow Adeline

Ironman Calder

Spiderman Gavin

Pumpkin Sadie with her Spooky Daddy. Oh wait, he's not in a costume. Ha ha ha!

(By the way, if you like Sadie's cute little hair bow, go to my teaching partner, Candace's blog where she sells them. She calls this one the Halloween Korker. She makes some cute stuff, so check it out! keiselkreations.blogspot.com)

Happy Halloween 2008!!!

Family fun!

Sunday, October 12th, my little, er I mean younger brother, Cory, blessed his new little Aidan. We all made it there for the blessing and yummy food afterwards. Lyn's mom makes some delicious chile verde. Add my mom's classic cookies to the mix and you have a hard time kicking me out of the joint!

Here's the cute family: Lyn is holding Aidan David and Cory is holding Ethan.

Sad, but true, this is our first official family photo. and didn't it turn out great!? Pay no attention to the evil expression on my sweet Calder's face. He's going through the 7-year-old-boy-has-to-goof-off-in-every-picture phase. As Yoda would say, "Love him, we do!"

Here are the two precious baby cousins. Love Sadie's drool spot! Mmmmmm! The combo of Aidan and Sadie are lovingly referred to as "Saidan" by Granddad Robison. :)

Our little Sadie is already 4 months old!

Where in the world does the time go? Our sweet baby, Sadie, turned four months old last Sunday. Although I struggle to remember life without her, it seems crazy to think that she's been with us for so long.

Right now, Sadie is 12 lbs, 10 oz. That's a chunky kid for us!!! She has rolley-polley legs which are just the cutest. I've never had a kid with rolls. Never!

She is at such a fun age. I always enjoy this stage when they are more alert and responsive, but not into everything yet. It gets even better once they can sit up on their own and entertain themselves for a bit.

Sadie is smiling a ton now. I got a cute photo of her doing just that. I put her in the saucer (thanks, Aunt Karen) which I only brought in the house because I was babysitting my neighbor's 1-year old the other day. I didn't think Sadie would even care, but she started looking at all of the toys and just got really happy. She is also cooing and babbling a lot more. We still haven't gotten her to let out a laugh. It's seriously like she's trying to hold them in. She'll cough/grunt when we tickle her, like she just won't let that giggle come out!

She is gaining more and more control over her movements right now. She reaches out to things, especially the little toy we have on her carseat. She loves making it jingle. She grabs onto everything that comes into reach, including her clothes, my clothes, burp rags, long hair (watch out!), and toys. She stares and stares at her hands with wonder and amazement. She also loves to give us a good splash while she's in the tub! It's amazing to watch the growth she is experiencing, both physically and mentally. Remember there's a 5-year gap between Gavin and Sadie, so I am really remembering so much that I had forgotten about specific milestones. So fun!

Sadie is our little angel and we are so blessed to have her in our family. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for sending her to me. She is so sweet and always has a happy little twinkle in her eye. We just love love love her so much!

Spider Gary

My crazy hubby and I, along with a couple of other cool "grown-ups" ;) took the young women to City of Rocks, Idaho a couple of weekends ago. We had a fantabulous time. I have got the greatest group of girls! Needless to say, the girls were wowed by Gary's awesome skills. They dubbed him "Spider Gary." Here's a picture of him goofing off.

Slacker!

Apparently I need to update more often or I'm going to lose all (3) of my devoted readers. Complaints have been pouring (trickling) in. I have been soooo busy! Holy cow. I promise to post some good stuff coming up. We have lots of fun pictures on our camera I need to upload and then I'll get rollin'.

Blast that watermelon!...

So, apparently I really AM allergic to watermelon. Who knew???

About 15 years ago, I noticed my throat would tickle and feel a bit sore after I ate watermelon. So, I tried what any rational person would try and I ate a whole bunch of the stuff just to see if it was my imagination. Nope, I really was allergic to watermelon. So I stayed away from the stuff as much as it pained me to do so. I love the taste, the texture, the watery juice, the coolness of a chilled piece of watermelon sliding down my throat on a hot summer day. But, I didn't want to run the risk of going into some allergy-induced throat swelling or something.

Well, fast forward about 12 years or so, and wouldn't you know it, curiosity got the better of me. I tried some watermelon. Just to see. And guess what? NOTHING! No tickling throat, no soreness, no itching, no nothin'. So, I 've happily been eating the nummy gourd for about 3 or so years now symptom free.

Okay, fast forward again to about 10 days ago. There I was, doing my best to set up my classroom and get ready for the new school year at a new place. I was eating pretty well, mostly because my teaching partner is eating well and I didn't want to down the usual chips and cookies in front of her. How embarassing! So, I bought me a nice, juicy watermelon, cut half of it up into bite-sized cubes, and threw it in the fridge for a quick serving of fruit here and there. I was eating the stuff a couple of times a day. And, dang, it was good!

Anyway, first day of school rolls around, and I start to itch a bit. Second day of school comes, and I itch some more. The middle of the night before the third day of school arrives (which happens to be my FIRST day of teaching due to my part-time schedule), and I wake up with a mild case of hives. Could it be stress? Could it be the portable I'm teaching in? I dunno. Fourth day of school rolls around, and I am scratching like there's no tomorrow! At this point I'm more hive than normal skin. I have a fever and my whole body feels like I'm being attacked by bees. Killer bees. I go into the doctor the minute the kids leave the portable. The doctor seriously does a double-take when he walks in the room. Poor Deana. Swollen eye lids, patchy bumpy skin, tingly lips and tongue and throat. Needless to say, I was immediately given a steroid shot, and prescribed 3 medications to take for a week to stop the allergic reaction.

I'm still not 100% sure what's caused this reaction, but I've narrowed it down to a few culprits. Could be my portable (very musty smelling, and a new environment), could be the watermelon (still remembering my previous reactions to it...although they really weren't a big deal), could be the cinnamon gum I had been chewing (I occassionally get wheezy with it and the cinnamon toothpaste I use, but DANG I love me some cinnamon!) So, what's a girl to do?

Well, never NEVER wanting to meet Hivey Deana again, I needed to figure out exactly what did this to me. So, I did what any rational (are you seeing a pattern here???) person would do and waited for the hives to subside and the steroid prescription to run out and tried me some watermelon! I've taught another hive-free week in the portable, so it seemed like the best thing to do. And I very responsibly only tried a little bit tonight. But, guess what......I'M ALLERGIC TO WATERMELON!!! As I write this, my lips, tongue and throat are tingling. My skin is itching, and I'm MAD! I love watermelon. But, apparently it is not to be between us. I'm going to have to give it up for good.

Sniffle, sniffle.

I just count my blessings I'm not allergic to chocolate milk. :)

Rise and Shout!!!

Gary and I were able to go to the BYU game on Saturday. (THANKS DAD AND CORY!!!) We invited Gary's brother, Jeff, and his wife, Lisa. Despite a few glitches, we got there and enjoyed seeing the cougs beat Northern Iowa 41-17. Woo hoo!!!

I used to get to go to games all the time, but haven't been to one in a couple of years. Maybe I'm getting old. Maybe I'm getting lazy. Okay, actually those aren't maybes...But, I'm almost to the point where I'd rather sit on my leather recliner surrounded by inexpensive (and caffeinated) treats and watch the game at home. How pathetic am I becoming!? At least I have cable.

You may not know this, but Gary allows me to upgrade our cable for football season each year as my birthday present. So, fall is my favorite season for many, many a reason! Cougar football, my birthday, cooler weather, and COMCAST! Yay!!!

Go Cougars!!!

Sorensen kicking off after a score (or laying an egg...can't tell which.)

Max Hall throwing one of his many completions.

My dorky husband taking a photo of us.

PS...Gary took all of these fabulous photos with our "new" camera. (Thanks for the deal on your old one, Dad.) :)

Addie's special day

Our stake conference was held yesterday at the Ogden tabernacle on the temple grounds. Addie was invited to be in the primary choir. She was so excited! She went to practice every Saturday morning, and then got to perform yesterday. The choir sounded so beautiful. The director is from our ward and is so talented. The first song was a medley of I Am a Child of God, Army of Helaman, and We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet. The second song was Families Can Be Together Forever. Then they sang Love is Spoken Here (one of my all-time favorites, which gives me goose bumps every time I hear it...) The last song was one I hadn't heard before called I Know that My Savior Loves Me. They incorporated bells in one song and sign language in another. It was such a special experience for Addie. I could see her beaming up on the stand.The highlight for Addie, though, was that she got to shake an apostle's hand. Elder Robert D. Hales, of the Quorom of the Twelve Apostles from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spoke to us. Addie was fortunate enough to get a handshake and a "hello" from him. Even at such a young age, she knew she was meeting an important man of God. Gary and I realized neither of us has shaken an apostle's hand. What a lucky girl!

Hello again...

You may have noticed I've been missing for a while. Alas, I had to go back to work on the 13th. Summer just doesn't seem long enough, but, then again, I'm ready to get back into the structure and schedule.

My new teaching partner (Candace) and I have been busy readying our room (it's a portable which means we get A/C...yay!!!) and trying to figure out the newly adopted reading program, plus planning out the first couple of weeks. I'm teaching 5th grade this year. I'll be working every Thurs. and Fri. as well as every-other Wed. It should be a sweet deal. I taught 6th grade part time last year, but worked every single morning (with alternating full-day Wednesdays). It'll be nice to have 2 to 3 full days off per week this year.

Candace and I met our new class on back to school night a couple of days ago. Looks like a cute bunch of kids. We've got a lot more girls in our class than boys. We'll have to see how that goes. I happen to have my own 5th grade girl at home, and let me tell you, it can be a dramatic experience some days! :)

I haven't taught 5th grade since my student teaching days years and years ago! It has a fun curriculum. American history, electricity, physical matter, magnetism, US geography, and novels, etc. I really enjoyed teaching 6th. I hope to like 5th just as much. My mom has taught 5th for years and really likes it (well...most days.)

I switched schools because this new one happens to be 2.2 miles from my house. (It's not the closest school, or even the 2nd closest school to my house...can you believe that?) My old school was a 20-25 min. commute each way. So, I'm definitely excited for that part. The faculty at this new school has been very welcoming and the 5th grade team is very helpful! I will miss my last school for sure. But, this new one seems to be a great place to work. I'll keep you posted.

Sadie's Blessing Day

Gary blessed Sadie on Sunday, August 3rd. It was a beautiful blessing. It was so special to have all 4 of Gary's brothers and both of my brothers, along with both of our fathers take part in the blessing as well. I am truly grateful for the gospel in my life. I am grateful to have a wonderful husband who has the power to bless my family. On a lighter note, I'm happy Gary didn't sneak in Sadie Sue as her given name. That's a nickname he calls her and for some reason it really bugs me!I took this second photo the night before Sadie's blessing. I put her dress on her just to be sure it fit and everything. She looks like a mad little bird trying to get away from me! She wore the cute headband for the blessing and then we took it off because she has a teeny head and it was drooping into her eyes.

How can something so small...

.....cause a man so much grief???

What you see in my hand here is a kidney stone. This little bugger sent Gary to the ER last week in such agonizing pain. He held out, thinking he could just be tough (and not have to pay the $75 ER copay.) But, the pain was unbearable. We finally went in so they could hook him up with the "good stuff" that he got with his appendicitis a few months back. (Incidentally, Gary commented that he would take another round of appendix pain over this any day.) Once the IV drugs kicked in, he told me that it was the best $75 we could have ever spent. Poor kid!

We've heard plenty of people telling us passing a kidney stone is worse than labor. Well, he's never been in labor, and I've never had a kidney stone, so we'll just take their word for it. I really don't want to experience one myself in order to tell you whether they're right or not. But, sadly, Gary will likely be passing more stones. The CT scan revealed several more hanging out in his right kidney. Oh boy...can't wait!

By the way, here's a big thank you to Brenda and to Dani who were willing to come watch my kids late at night in a pinch! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

888

Today is 8-8-08!!! Isn't that the coolest date ever!!! Anyone who knows me knows I'm a numbers freak, especially when it comes to dates. Today should be a holiday in my opinion! :)

The birthday boy!

Well, we just celebrated the last of our kids' birthdays until next year. I, unfortunately, don't have all too many pics of Calder's special day. If you read in an earlier post, both Addie's and my digital cameras are no more. So, we're currently relying on cell phone photos. (Please note Calder's handsome post-bath wet head!) Gary has some more pics on his phone, but he's out of town for a couple of days. So, here's what you get for now. Poor middle child always gets the shaft!

Addie decorated the top of Calder's cake this year. It's an omnitrix. If you don't know what an omnitrix is, you must not have a 7-year old boy in your house. It's a Ben 10 thing. Calder's sooooo into Ben 10. He owns nearly every one of the aliens, and got his 2nd omnitrix for his birthday (the first one got worn out), plus a Ben 10 DVD game, a Ben 10 sticker book, etc, etc.

He's also into Star Wars right now. Funny thing is that he's never seen any of the movies. Yet, he's familiar with most of the characters. That's his new light saber in his hand in the photos. Crazy thing, when Calder talks about Star Wars, he's referring to Episodes 1-3 and The Clone Wars cartoon coming out this summer. I still think of Star Wars as the 70's movie with awesome special effects that I actually saw in the theater three times as a youngster. Generation gap, anyone?

MONSTER BABY!!!

Here's a picture of Sadie with her new little cousin, Aidan. We met him for the first time today, and ohhhh he's a cutie! I just can't believe how monsterously huge Sadie looks next to Aidan being only 9 weeks apart in age. (Aidan even started out a pound and a half heavier than Sadie was.) My baby is already growing so big. Sigh. It happens sooo fast, and right before my very eyes. Savor the moments, eh?

P.S...Sorry about the poor quality of the picture. A)Babies wiggle a lot, and B)The picture was taken with my cell phone because both of the family digital cameras had "accidents" involving 2 separate water incidents last week. They bit the dust! When it rains.......

Introducing...

My newest nephew! So sweet!!!

Aidan David Robison

Born July 31, 2008 at 9:55 PM

7 lbs, 10 oz.

20 inches

Memory Game...

Okay, so my cousin Amie has this on her blog, and it looked like fun. Hopefully more people than just her (she?...grammar anyone?) will play. C'mon, you know you wanna leave me a comment!

Heres what you do:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Gavin's regression... :)

So, I was rushing around trying to get all of us ready for church this morning and realized I hadn't seen Gavin in a while. I called for him and when he answered from the living room, I started asking if he had his shoes and socks on before I rounded the corner and saw him. His reply was that he couldn't get his shoes and socks on because he "askidentally" trapped himself. But, he informed me that he was okay, because he was having fun being trapped. Good thing my kids are small...no baby swing was injured in this incident.

The birthday girl...and boy!

We just celebrated two birthdays. Adeline is now 10! Yikes, when did that happen!? And, Gavin is now 5. Adeline wanted to make her cake this year, so with minimal supervision, she did just that. It turned out great!

We do friend birthday parties every other year for the kids, so this was Addie's chance to invite a couple of friends out for fun. We went to the mall to window shop, play at the arcade, and have some lunch and ice cream. It was a lot of fun!

As a family, we went to the local swimming pool for Addie's birthday so the kids could cool off and have fun. What we have here is brave Addie jumping off the high dive, Calder proposing peace, and Gavin imitating a water skeeter (yes, that's my cute white hubby with him).



It is fun to have so many Summer birthdays (Christmas in July, anyone?), but we have decided to get a little creative when it comes to the cakes. Only four days separate Addie's and Gavin's birthdays, and then Calder's comes 19 days after that. One can only eat so much birthday cake. So, in years past, I've done things like frost some rice krispy treats for one of the kids' candles or do the cupcake thing. But, by far their favorite, is the "doughnut cake". It is just what it sounds like. I stack a couple dozen doughnuts and put the candles at the top. This year, Gavin called dibs on the special doughnut cake. So, since we were in St. George, it ended up being perfect, though not as spectacular as those last year.

We also went swimming for Gavin's birthday at the hotel pool. I forgot to grab my camera, though. Dang it! The kids also went hiking around the red rocks with their dad.

And here are a couple of cute pictures of Gavin opening his presents.