Rewind

Even though I was out of commission for a few weeks, life still went on its usual course. My brother Dave and his wife Ashley had their first baby, Dominic, in October. We're all so happy that he's here and is a healthy baby boy. Oliver did not know what to think about Dominic when he first met him. We carved pumpkins this year with the MacKay's and were very excited to use these cool stencils. Our neighbors carved some amazing pumpkins this way so we wanted to try it out. Too bad it took so long that everyone else was done carving, cleaned up, with pictures taken before we even finished! We went to my sister's house on Halloween night for trick-or-treating. Oliver loved wearing his dog costume and thoroughly enjoyed all the candy!
As I mentioned before, we stayed with my sister-in-law and her five kids for three weeks while I was on bed rest. One of Oliver's cousins is about six months older than him, it's a love/hate relationship with these two. One morning I woke up to find Oliver's face looking like this (Kate has a vicious claw...or fingernails). However, Oliver wasn't completely innocent in this little cat fight...Kate had a nice big bite mark on her chest. Oliver was in desperate need of a haircut and Mike insisted on doing it himself. Unfortunately he made some mistakes and therefore his hair kept getting shorter and shorter! I personally prefer the long hair on him, but it's still a face to love.

Number two

Well, we're taking the plunge, baby number two is on the way. We had a little bit of a scare early on and I went on bedrest for a few weeks. It wasn't completely miserable because my amazing sister-in-law took care of Oliver and I in addition to her five kids. So, 12 weeks and counting...only 28 more to go!

I finally found the time and energy to blog

I'm not a good blogger, that has previously been established. Then we moved and did not have the Internet, so I had an excuse. Well, we finally got the Internet a couple days ago and for some reason I feel obliged to post something. Here is what we have been up to:

We made the huge move south to Provo at the beginning of August. Everyone up north (Davis county) keeps asking us how it is to live in 'happy valley'. My reply is that we're actually in 'little Mexico' and that no place could be more White and Mormon (aka 'happy valley') than Davis County, more specifically Centerville/Bountiful. I'm just saying...

Oliver had to sleep in the port-a-crib for the first couple weeks, luckily he still had his binks.

We immediately went back to Centerville for a week and a half in August because my brother went to Arizona on vacation and apparently my parents need babysitters. My dad and I canned tomatoes and made salsa that week, I have to say that I was pretty impressed with myself. Mike's brother Marc also came home from his mission to Arizona that week. No worries about him adjusting, we all went and saw The Dark Knight an hour after he got released.

Mike turned 30! He didn't think it was a big deal, so we did not do anything special or overly exciting. However, we did go drop a load of money eating sushi that night. It was very tastey.

For Labor Day my brother Adam and his family came into town from New Mexico. We had parties galore and Oliver was loving the cousin time (not to mention late nights and lots of sugar). Oliver was really thirsty in the picture below and this was the only source of water.
Last but not least, Mike started his job at BYU and is loving it. Who would have thought, Mike MacKay a BYU professor, I'm so proud.

Yellowstone

I finally went on the MacKay Yellowstone trip after being in the family for five years. This is my father-in-law's favorite place in the world and he knows it like the back of his hand. One MacKay gene that Mike did not get was the OCD for planning and organization (which can be good and bad). We of course got our itineraries six months ago by email and subsuquent emails with further details after that. Not to mention frequent reminders at Sunday dinners. All in all, we had a good time with family and were pretty exhausted when we get home...isn't that a sign of a good vacation?

This is the bike/hike we took on the first full day there to a place called Osprey Falls. I think this was the only place my father-in-law had not been, hence he did not know how long or steep the hike was! We did a round trip of 9.6 miles to the falls, but it was worth it when we got there.


Wildlife...we had a picture taking contest so everyone was doing their best to get pictures of the animals. We haven't had the official judging yet, so we'll see. These are some pictures Mike took with his dad's very nice camera (a lot nicer than ours!).

The hike down Uncle Tom's Cabin where you walk down a steep staircase. Not too bad on the way down, but a little more effort on the way back. At least I didn't have a child on my back like everyone pictured below!

Suspension Bridge

Swimming at some random part of the river and at the 45th parallel, where hot springs run into the river.

More pictures from various parts of Yellowstone.

Okay, this post took me freakin' forever...that is why I do not post very often or very much at one time. I'm spent, it may be awhile now.

So you think you can WHAT?

I'm seriously thinking about boycotting the rest of this show. I was shocked when Kherington and Gev got eliminated last week, but this week was just down right insane. I was really hoping Will might win this season. Huge disappointment. Oh well, at least Comfort got eliminated (again).

Oliver's haircut

Well, we finally gave Oliver his first proper haircut. We have mostly been too lazy to give it a short cut, but decided he would probably benefit from short hair for the remainder of the summer (he sweats like crazy on his head)! I had my brother Dave take a picture before because I really do like the long hair, but Mike did an excellent job on the haircut and of course I think it's just as cute.

Best buds

I'm experimenting with this new collage program I downloaded at photoscape.com. Here are some pictures of Oliver and Grandpa Trump. I think Grandpa may be one of Oliver's favorite people, even more than mom and dad (seriously). They love to take jazzy rides, eat breakfast together, play with trucks and look out the front door for cats.

Memories of England

I have been looking through old photos trying to put together some sort of album(s) over the past five years....I know, yikes! It has been fun to see old photos and the ones from England brought back lots of memories, so I thought I would share a few.

Mike mowing our little lawn with an electric lawn mower! Yes, we actually plugged it in in the house. This was my first bike in England, what a beauty! I got plenty of stares and comments as I rode this around town. Don't let this ugly, weird, little bike fool you it was pretty darn comfy with its full suspension.

The beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire. Yes I hate to admit it, but I probably did not fully appreciate the beauty of it while we were there.

Maybe my all time favorite picture from England. We were on a walk with our ward somewhere in the country and this telephone booth was randomly along the side of an old country road. Don't we look like completely lost American tourists? Ahhh...so British.

What a coincidence!

While looking through my Parents magazine I found an article about children with sleep problems. At the end there were some suggested books and this was one of them. . .





I nearly fell off my seat because this title perfectly explains my little boy who of course is named Oliver. I think I will order this book.

New Mexico

It has been a few weeks now since returning from New Mexico, but I figure better late than never. While Mike was in England for 10 days, I decided to take Oliver down to Albuquerque to visit my brother Adam and his family. Oliver did surprisingly good on both flights and we had a great time hanging out with the cousins.

Oliver and Ashton were jealous of Averie's headband so here's a picture of the "girls".

Oliver was loving the rocking horse action.

Oliver and Averie hanging out reading books. When they weren't hugging each other and playing nicely, they were poking eyes, pulling hair and taking each others toys away. I'm pretty sure all of those things mean cousin love.

No, my brother is not a giant...this four wheeler is a small size meant for only children. Oh well, the kids still reaped the benefits of the four wheeler thanks to a wagon and motorbike tricycle. And yes, you're looking at their backyard (about one tenth of it).

These are the neighbors horses which Oliver called "woof" and was loving.

Our little boy

I don't know exactly when Oliver turned into a toddler, but everything he does reminds me of a little man child. Like when he watched me shovel some dirt, next thing you know he picks up the shovel and pushes it in the dirt. He loves brushing his teeth with an electric toothbrush like us as well. He's also tired of his little plastic basketball hoop, he wants to go outside and shoot balls into the real hoop. My personal favorite is when a group of us are laughing and he joins in with his fake laugh. I love the age Oliver is at now, it's so much fun to watch him grown and learn new things. Though I loved it when he was seven months and learning to crawl and ten months learning to walk. So I guess what I'm saying is that I have loved watching Oliver in whatever stage he is currently in.

P-town baby!

It's official, we are moving to P-town this fall because Mike got a one-year position at BYU! Yes, we are pretty freakin' stoked about the fact that Mike will have his first full time paying job in our five years of marriage. (And when I say "we", I really mean ME)! Honestly, it was looking pretty bleak for him getting a job this fall at a university, but fortunately we got the Mormon thing going for us. In all seriousness we are really grateful for this opportunity, something I believe Mike fully deserves for all the hard work he has put into this PhD. All I can say (or sing) is....rah rah rah rah rah rah rah rah rah rah, goooooooo couuuugars!

It's MaDNeSS time!

"This is awesome baby!" Yes, I'm quoting the annoying-but-you-still-love-him, Dick Vitale. That is plain and simply how I feel about March Madness. What isn't awesome about last second game winning shots, or a no name school upsetting a powerhouse? Another thing I love about college ball is that there's no guarantee from year to year on any certain school. Take Florida for example, two time defending national champions, did not even make it into the tourney this year. Even if you don't follow college basketball, go ahead, fill out a bracket and see how the madness consumes you. It will. And you'll probably do better than those experts (or geeks) who spend hours going over statistics to fill out their brackets. So, who is my final four you say? North Carolina, Georgetown, Memphis and Xavier, with Georgetown upsetting to win it all of course.

Tuesdays with Morrie

I read this book a few years back when it was on the bestseller list and really loved it. However, I couldn't tell you the details of the book a few days after finishing it (as is the case when I finish most books). So when I saw it on my mom's desk one day I decided to read it again, though I don't normaly read books more than once. I forgot how touched and inspired I felt as I read about this man, Morrie. He was a complete optimist even in the face of death, which I truly admire. Reading about how ugly this disease is in the end really helped me have more compassion for my dad and the fears he faces. That said, you do not have to know anyone personally with this disease to appreciate the book, I would recommend it to everyone.

24 or The West Wing

We finally watched the sixth season of 24 and I'm glad there aren't anymore to catch up on! We have been addicted to this series ever since we were introduced to it in England. We would borrow our friends box sets and watch an entire season in a single weekend, sad but true. However, this last season was probably my least favorite, especially the ending. Come on, there is suppose to be some sort of cliffhanger at the end, not Jack starring out over the ocean - lame-o!

As much as we liked 24, our favorite TV drama series definitely has to be The West Wing. Again, some friends in England owned all seven seasons and we wasted a lot more time than I would like to admit. I felt like I learned a little bit more about politics, even though everything was ficitional. The series was brilliantly written and the characters were so addicting as well.

If Martin Sheen entered the presidential race today I would vote for him hands down and try to talk everyone I knew into voting for him also. However, if Dennis Haysbert (President David Palmer, 24) entered the race also, it would be a seriously tough decision. But hey, at least the decision would be tough because they were both great candidates...I wonder what that would be like.

Long time...

I realize I stink at blogging when my second to last one is about Christmas and it's nearly March! What has been occupying my time you say? Well, besides chasing my little bundle of energy (Oliver), my younger brother had knee surgery (and 250+ pounds is not easy to help move around), my other brother and his wife moved in with the folks (yes, my parents have three adult children living at home with them now), I have taken up reading again and I'm a little ashamed to say that I can't get enough of guitar hero!

My brother Dave brought guitar hero with him when they moved in. I love it! It took me a few times to get the hang of it, but now I can play most songs on medium without getting booed off the stage. I really don't know how anyone plays hard or expert. Yes, it's a huge time waster and I feel guilty afterwards, but I'm completely in the zone while playing. My best song is, My Name is Jonas (Weezer). Rock on!


I am pleased with myself that I have found some good reads, thanks to my friend Gina. This book was so amazing I read it in just a few days, which I feel is quite a feat because there is no relaxing with Oliver running everywhere getting into everything. (He opened the door to my mom's curio cabinet the other day and brought me one of the figurines, thankfully it was all in one piece!) The characters in this story are fictional, but some of the events are historical. I would recommend this to everyone, it helped restore an attitude of gratitude for my life and empathize for people living in countries where some basic freedoms are not enjoyed. However, I will warn anyone who reads this that it is very sad (but don't let that deter you)!

Oliver's 1st Birthday!