christmas 2010

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, Whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, Whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

We are happy to have been able to celebrate christmas with our family,friends and extended family. There were several recitals, the christmas sing ( with the reindeer rap), Christmas eve at Grandma and Grandpa's, a christmas tea party with grandma, and we are in the middle of "family fun week (bowling, good food, unflooding my sister's flooded basement yesterday, movies (megamind and true-grit), etc. Brynna and emily got influenza and brynna is still struggling with her third day of hives all over her body (the doctor says this must be a virus...anyone else have or had this...seems strange. We have been missing Melissa, Lance, Evelyn, Addie and Blake and melissa's phone is lost so no pictures texted yet of christmas in Washington. Today has been an inside day due to an icy snow storm. Maybe a dvd marathon with popcorn? We hope the blessings of love, peace and joy will be with all who read this post.

Blake Douglas Keyes/summer in review

(I just stole this picture off Melissa's blog, because I love it and it makes me smile.)
In August Aubrey and I traveled to beautiful and cold San Francisco California to enjoy greeting my first grandson and aubrey's first nephew. As you can see he is quite a looker. He is blonde and so calm and happy. We also got to play a lot with Evelyn and Adelle, who couldn't be more thrilled to have a baby brother. We are thrilled to have them all!
Aubrey also got the priviledge of being yelled at intensely ,with very colorful language, by an interesting man on a street corner while we were there. We loved visiting giradelli square and fisherman's wharf and of course gulped down some clam chowder and sourdough bread. Aubrey didn't tell many people but she did the american idol thing while we were there. She was lucky in that they let her sing her whole song, actually looked up at her and had her move around in various places while she sang...then told her she had a good voice but looked too naive for the competition...snip snip...end of wristband. It was intense with over 20,000 people auditioning and weirdness galore. We simply feel lucky we were able to see the grandkids and arrive back in Utah safely. We flew home in that big windstorm and had to almost land and re-land a few times...the plane lurching and bumping up and down...and it totally freaked me out! (I do currently miss holding those cute grandkids, though).

Meanwhile, the rest of the kids had a great vacation with grandma and grandpa taylor while we were away. Matthew has been busy all summer running long-distances with Grandpa Taylor and has participated in two 10-k's. He seems to love it. Emily has been babysitting a lot. She is quite a business woman. Brynna pretty much played and rode her bike as much as possible.
Lane's parents had their 50th wedding anniversary this summer, and we enjoyed a lot of extended family time with both Utah family and California family. Oh, we also put our yard in...can't believe I almost forgot that.

Once the kids started school, I have felt like I am drowning in a sea of...I don't know what...but something extemely thick and gooey. Matthew and Brynna are in 6th and 2nd grade, Emily in 7th grade and Aubrey is at the highschool (10th). Kids at every school. Back to school night and registration was an adventure, just to get to all of it. Now, between homework, early morning seminary, soccor, drama council, scouts, singing, piano, young womens', dance lessons, church callings and the everyday weird little things like kids forgetting lunches or someone getting poked in the eye just before school, etc. it all seems to get just a tad nutsy. But we are all slowly adjusting in and seeking for a good balance. All in all we are continually grateful for kids, family, friends, and the blessings the busyness of life brings.
I can hardly believe the crisp smell of fall is in the air already and with it seasons end and begin again. I loved the regional conference concept by sister Beck, "We are doing better than we think we are and we can do better."

Aubrey advanced to the semi-finals at the scera celebrity competition last night. YAY. Last year after singing at the same competition she felt like she'd "bombed" (in a negative way) and would in her words "never sing in public again". But she decided to try again, if nothing else than to conquer her fear. She practiced really hard and despite her worries had a great performance. She and two other young singers won the night. Aubrey teaches me daily the power of living a life focused on moving toward your dreams...and does that girl have dreams!

Balloon Festival Bust

So we got up and 5:15 am and trailed ourself over to the balloon festival per tradition. But the balloons would start to blow up, wildly quiver, than be taken down. Too windy for any to be fully blown and too windy to ever launch. Came home...naps. All were feeling a little "deflated". We are feeling blessed to have melissa, lance, evelyn and adelle visiting for a little while. Also we are having so much fun with cousins and uncle and aunt up from california. Hope everyone has a great independance day weekend.

Aubrey Wins Grand Torchbearer at Storytelling Showcase

In some amazing twist of fate, Aubrey was selected to compete in the NYSS (National Youth Storytelling Showcase) in Pigeon Forge Tennessee and took first place overall. She now has to return next year and pass on the "crown" to next year's winner. We will have to save up our frequent flyer miles again. All the pictures of the event are on her phone and of course I have no idea how to upload them. She had a great time going to Dollywood and the Titanic museum, etc. with her Aunt while she was there. She told a semi-true story about being terrified of lambs when she was young. The true part was that she really was horribly terrified of lambs (she swore one resided in her bedroom at night)...the rest... like how clueless her parents were is partly stretched...well actually maybe not. Her stories always include singing and are pretty odd, sarcastic and funny. She won a huge heavy trophy and 500 dollars...which she needs, because drama council in mega-expensive at the high-school. So the moral of this story is...let your kids constantly joke around about you and someday they might win prizes for telling it to the world?

Looking forward to getting the girls back

It has been a strangely quiet week with Emily gone to girls camp and Aubrey gone to Tennessee. Both of them left Tuesday, Emily Tuesday morning and Aubrey Tuesday evening. There has been no fighting over clothes, no constant loud singing, no giggling late in the night. This is Emily's first girls camp and it is an extreme one. The girls went to Southern Utah, rappelling, river rafting, and boating. Emily is my most "safe" child, so I wonder how she is doing. I think girls camps should instigate mass texting from the leaders to the parents to let the parents know their children are alive and well. Hey, this week I have finally entered the texting world. We added Aubrey to our phone plan after approximately 4 years of constant begging with the agreement she would pay the additional charge of texting, since we figured with Aubrey we would definately need unlimited texting. It has been great since Aubrey has been keeping me apprised of every moment in Tennessee. I knew she went to Texas roadhouse last night, her debate on what to order, her excitement over the potatoes. That girl loves potatoes. She is with my sister for a National Storytelling competition. We were sad that it happened to be the exact same week as girls camp, so we debated, but Aubrey in the end convinced us to go the Tennessee route. Today she goes to Dollywood. How fun is that. I also love getting pictures and videos of the grandkids from Melissa. Wish I knew how to switch them to my blog because they are so adorable. Emily gets home tonight and Aubrey gets home late Sunday (long flight). It will be a little louder, but good to have them home.

Is it summer yet? See post below

Is it summer yet?

"The years teach much that the days never knew. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

I know I have said it before, but in terms of my kids, time just goes by too quickly for my liking.

Another school year is now in our past. There is both a lot we will miss and a lot we will not miss. We will miss our friends, we will miss great teachers, we will miss structure. We will relish a little more sleep, a little more play, and a little more time together as a family.

We had no post about Matthew's Birthday,May 16th, but it was a good one...even though it was on a Sunday. He is excited to try mountain biking this summer with his birthday present.

I also meant to post about our sad, time-consuming and somewhat disgusting experience when Bella ate chocolate that Brynna had hidden under the upstairs couch last sunday. I didn't have time because I was too busy cleaning the carpets, floors, stuffed animals, etc.

Brynna also had a dance recital this past week in which she was a "child". She has a lot of fun with ballet.

The dance festival is always an experience. This year Aubrey did not have to be at school, so she went over to the field very early and saved us a place. Lane and I showed up about 45 minutes early and socialized with all our good friends, excited to see our kids groove to the loud tunes. We particularly wanted to get some video of Brynna doing the monkey dance, and Matthew actually dancing with a girl...since this may be our only chance at blackmail for a while. Right as the fifth grade filed onto the field a pretty, statuesque and tan woman come up from the back of the crowd and stood right in the very front...in a very tall way. Did I mention she was tall? ( As a disclaimer I have nothing inherently against the tall...I am somewhat tall myself...just when people blessed with tallness are standing at their full height directly in front of dancing 5th graders...). She was politely asked to sit down...only to make things worse...due to her very fashionable jeans coming, well I would guess at least half way down her derier as she now squatted in the front row. A good many dads in our general vacinity noticably felt compelled to look the opposite direction of their dancers with confused looks and red faces. Aubrey was fascinated that she was so tan all the way...well you know. I found it slightly humorous and have found myself smiling to myself as I think back on the whole thing. Classic dance festival.

I looked for Matthew only to see that he was way way in the back facing the opposite direction of the parents. I thought they might switch sides, but after the first song was over and no switching of sides occurred, I sent Aubrey with the camera to the other side of the play ground. Quite the difficult task. She got about three seconds of footage and then they did switch sides, of course. When she got back to where we were, we got about 3 more seconds of footage. Brynna was substantially far away from us and I kept losing her when the monkeys ran...monkeys can run fast. Emily danced great but was so far in the back that seeing her was next to impossible. I am sure that none of my children's dancing abilities was related to their being in the back...it just couldn't be. Anyway not a load of memorable dance festival footage. I did find the second graders dance to be particularly inspiring as there was the most adorable little girl , without a leg, that danced with joy and excellance to two very difficult and "jumpy" dances. She was one of the best dancers there and I was glad they put her in the front. She really was an inspiration to me.

Emily also had NOVA graduation and 6th grade graduation. I cannot believe that she goes to Junior High this coming year. The 6th grade graduation was touching. I think they try to make you cry singing that tribute to the parents...as if you aren't already emotional thinking about your little baby going off --even more-- into the real world.

Aubrey finished up ninth grade and is excited to start Highschool. She is thinking of teaching singing lessons this summer and is simply glad to not have to do anymore math for 2 months. She leaves for Tennesee in a little over a week for a little adventure with her aunt.

Brynna got to have a pancake breakfast this morning and cried because she will miss her teacher. She loves school, and although she is looking forward to not having to wake up early, will miss her friends, school, and Mrs. Dajany.

We have no great vacations planned but hope to get away for a couple weekends during the summer. Perhaps it might warm up at some point. I will get to head to San Francisco in the middle of August for the much anticipated birth of a new grandson.

Although I resist it at times, life always continues with change and growth and more change and growth.

Hello Dolly

This week has been an exciting and fun one with Aubrey performing as Irene Malloy in Hello Dolly at AF Jr. High. The entire cast is fabulous, but of course we are partial to aubs. She has told us all she "looks like a geisha girl" in her wig. She was stressed out all semester because she is supposed to "kiss a boy" in this play...but it ended up that just before the kiss the stage goes dark...so it looks like a kiss.. but it doesn't really happen. Such relief! It would have been her first kiss since a boy pushed her down and kissed her in Kindergarten. She has her last performance tomorrow night. Sunday I know I am going to be singing, "Put on your sunday clothes there's lots of world out there." I just can't get the music out of your mind, having heard it for the past few months continually. On n unrelated side note I have to give my first SS lesson this Sunday-on the proclamation of the family-Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Poetry Jim Jam

So today was Brynna's 1st grade Poetry Jim Jam at school. It was, well....interesting. Mrs Dajany had a cool spotlight set up against a black background. The kids had all written their poems at school...so we had heard nothing about the content of her poem. Brynna waited her turn patiently and then walked up to the front of the class and very solemnly read....


Dog
By Brynna Taylor

The Dog
Went to the bathroom on the rug
At Night
In the living room
Because she needed to go to the bathroom.


I think I laughed out loud for real. Kind of a silly day at Barratt Elementary.

Matthew speeds to a third place finish

I tried to convince Matthew to use his car from two-years ago in this years pinewood derby. He is only three weeks from moving on to the "new scouts" and no one in our new ward would be any the wiser. However, Matthew, being the good and honest boy he is decided he wanted to do it one last time... and do it himself. He worked very hard and long on it...both with the sanding etc. and with the design. He sanded it himself, did the paint job himself, and put the wheels in himself. An hour before the weigh-in, dad helped him put in the weights. He went for a BYU paint job. I was hopeful it would simply make it down the track...to the end...without falling apart in pieces. I was seriously worried, but it did great and he placed higher than any other year. He even got a trophy with a huge wheel glued to the top of it...it was very creative. Speaking of creativity, for the treat they let the kids make cars out of twinkies...they were so cute...Brynna's favorite part by far.
We also spent the last couple months finishing up Matthew's requirements for his webelos (we did not get every single one of the awards...but just enough to get the actual webelos badge), as well as the arrow of light. He had a great arrow of light ceremony where a very tall man with a fox on his head summoned the great spirits...it was actually very entertaining. So in a few weeks Matthew moves on to real camp-outs and klondike derby's and such...not sure how I feel about that.

Our Tinkerbells 7th Birthday

Brynna, turned 7 years old today. I can't believe it has been seven years since she was born. We are so grateful to have her in our family. She really is a blessing to us all.

She woke up to her favorite, McDonalds breakfast...Got sung to at school... And then came home to fun and presents. After school she dressed up in her tinkerbell shoes, dress, wings and tiara. She also had a Tinkerbell cake...I bet no one can tell she loves fairies and Tinkerbell. She also was so happy to get a phone call from her great older sister, Melissa...who she likes even "more" than Tinkerbell.

She had a great day, despite soccer practice, scouts, singing lessons and young women's (for her siblings) all on her same day. It was tricky getting time to open presents and blow out candles. Grandma and Grandpa Taylor took Brynna out for pancakes last night and Brynna got a beautiful belle cake, cute dress and zhu zhu pet accessory from them. Grandma Nuttall and Katie came over today and spoiled Brynna with a new crocheted blanket and Cinderella polly pocket.

We are so lucky to have such great grandma's grandpa's and aunts.

So now, on the evening of her birthday, since all has quieted down, Brynna sits next to me on the couch in all her Tinkerbell glory wrapped in her new blanket, holding the sleeping puppy. Happy Birthday to our baby girl.

Bella and Our Little Silly April Fool's Day

The kids are pretty excited to have a new puppy. We named her Bella...not because of Twilight but because Bella means beautiful in Italian. Although, Bella is white like a vampire. She has been a pretty good puppy...no "accidents" so far. She loves to be held and played with. She loves all the kids. She will make a great guard dog someday I am sure; she is going to get up to probably three to four pounds.

Our April Fools day was pretty much uneventful. Brynna thought it was hilarious to draw a picture of a cow and tape it to the back of her sister with a caption that said..."I'm a cow". No idea where she got that from. She laughed for a good five minutes though. All the kids rubber-banded the sink squirter so by the end of the day all had been squirted and the kitchen floor was drenched.

Just by chance, On April Fools day, a long ago lost mouth retainer (two or three times back) appeared in the dryer...I think from a jeans jacket recently handed down to Emily...finally worn and sent through the wash. So I took it, made pudding for dessert, and served Aubrey's pudding with a huge dose of retainer at the bottom. Silly...but we thought it was funny knowing her history of retainers.

They also had the 9th grade students register for Highschool on april fool's day which was likely appropriate given the difficulty and stress involved. Aubrey of course went temporarily insane and wouldn't let anyone in her family help her...but we eventually got it worked out...it might even be "o.k."

We are also excited to announce that Melissa is expecting again and she is having a boy. Boys are hard to come by in our family...needless to say we are all thrilled, but no one more than Matthew.

A Retainer of Peace

Our lovely Aubrey recently got a new beautiful retainer. The message of peace will remain in her mouth on hopefully a consistant basis.
We thought we would take a poll to see how long you think this one will remain in her possession. Here are some hints for easier voting: It is her 6th retainer in the last year. The last retainer lasted a mere two to four days. She believes the just previous retainer went into the garbage, wrapped in a napkin, the first day of school after Christmas break.
So, if you find a retainer that looks like the above, please give it to Aubrey. Any donations for use in future retainers would be greatly appreciated;) We are, however, hopeful this retainer will be the last.

Traveling Show

The fifth grade Traveling Show, I must say, was amazing. It was so fun to see all the fine fifth graders we know perform so admirably. It was great to see all our people from "the neighborhood". The show seemed even more patriotic and moving this year for some reason.
My eye-sight continues to deteriorate, however, as witnessed by the fact that I took a picture of a kid I thought was Matthew, but was actually a random boy who I have never seen before. It would of course be the only picture that turned out clear. I should find out who he is and give the picture to his mother. So here is my one and only picture that includes the actual Matthew...even though it is dark and he has glowing strange eyes in it. This was also the first year since we began Barratt traveling shows (many many years ago) that I got to sit in an actual chair with a back (we are usually in the bench's in the back or against the back wall). So having a chair was very nice and added to the overall ambiance of the evening.

Happy Birthday Aubrey Scaubrey Corn on the Cobbrey

Today Aubrey turned 15 years old. She is very excited to be this age. She looks forward to getting her drivers permit and hanging out with a parent in the church parking lot learning how to work the gas and the brakes. I was going to let her pull the car into the garage last week and Lane almost had a heart attack believing that allowing that action would spell the demise of our garage due to a horrendous crash. I myself have been in a loopy and out-of-it state due to sinus surgery and subsequent sinus infection from the surgery as well as loads of medication (Let me say that sinus surgery is not fun and I never knew there was an actual machine that they sucked infection out of your nose with...learn something every day). We also just registered Emily for Junior High. Next year we will have Aubrey in Highschool, Emily in Junior High, Matthew in sixth grade and Brynna in 2nd. We will also have "three" grandchildren. Life goes so fast.

So here are just 15 of the things that we love about aubrey:
1. She keeps us laughing. Aubrey is like having an extremely sarcastic stand-up comedian living with you on a constant basis.
2. We always know what Aubrey is thinking or feeling. Since she has learned to talk...she talks and talks. With a teenager that is a good thing.
3. What's a liscence plate?!
4. You can count on Aubrey to bring you an unwanted random item if you tell her to bring you something like the phone or a brush.
5. Aubrey keeps our house in music, we can always hear loud but beautiful singing coming from all parts of the house, wherever she happens to be at the time. We are currently hearing "beautiful disaster" to the point that I think we all know every single word and intonation.
6. Aubrey helps me hone my domestic skills, due to the huge loads of laundry this girl supplies.
7. Aubrey's smile lights up a room, when she is happy you know she is happy. She is quite the emotional girl.
8. She always loses her money...meaning more money for me.
9. She can make a great weird face with her nose sucked completely in. Maybe she will make it on Letterman some day with her "stupid human" trick.
10. She is a great writer and has started writing her own songs.
11. She has a bubbly outgoing personality in the midst of the rest of us quiet/subdued people.
12. When she was little she always asked all the women in albertsons (everytime we went shopping) if they would be her grandma (no matter what their age).
13. She kissed a boy in kindergarten, but hasn't kissed one since and is NOT looking forward to kissing a boy in Hello Dolly. She has good values.
14. She goes to Young Women's even though she doesn't feel comfortable yet.
15. She is a joy to have as a daughter and we are lucky to have been blessed with this girl who keeps us in constant chaos, talk, singing, lessons, homework, and life.

Have a happy Birthday Aubrey.

New Hair Cut

Isn't she lovely....isn't she beautiful...
Brynna wanted me to post her new haircut on our blog for all to see, especially Melissa and Grandma. She has been asking for this hair cut for about 6 months now (exactly how she wanted it) and we finally got around to letting her get it. She has been really very excited about it and her mom is excited about the potential decrease in tangles.
Also we were very surprised to discover that emily had done so well on the science fair. (Good job emily). We were not even sure it was a real experiment, but I guess it passed. Her board was extremely cute with flowers all over it, so it probably made up for the potential lack of a control group.
We are just trying to get through this next year of 2:00 church...only 10 more months to go. I feel a strong longing to go back to the 32nd ward when I see everyone driving home at 12:00 and we are hanging out...waiting.
Additionally, I have been reading a ton for work (and for pleasure) lately. The "alcatraz" series has been really fun and it has been fun discussing it with Matthew who has finished the series.Gottman's book on raising emotionally intelligent children has also been a good reminder to me to be a better parent (I always seem to need that). I also had to give a presentation in RS on marriage so I was forced to study and receive some good reminders there as well. One of the most interesting things I read was that women have tons of power in making the marriage function well simply by having what they call a "soft start up" when discussing difficult issues. This soft start up is one of the most important factors in good marriages (and it only matters if the wife does it). Also the ratio of positive to negative interactions is supposed to fall in the 8 to 1 range. I tracked myself for about a week and I was oh so far off from this...so more things for me to work at. The last few weeks I have felt like I have been living to count things "off the list" of things to do (I don't know if anyone else ever feels this way). I want to change that way of approaching my life the most and just enjoy the moments...whether I count things off or not.

Hi, our family is currently collecting childrens' board books for charity. They give them to new parents I believe. The kids get to write a little note in each one that talks about their own love of reading. If anyone has any new or gently used board books they would like to donate we would be glad to pick them up. On a side note, is it just me or does anyone else find the science fair a little annoying. I know, it is probably just me. Currently helping Emily re-write her paper and trying to get her to start on her board. I am learning a lot about fibonacci numbers and the "golden mean". Gotta love a Saturday devoted to the science fair.

Re=cap of the holidays.

The christmas holiday has come and gone but the pictures and memories linger. I actually love january and february because the months feels like a new beginning and (altough not this year) usually there is a bit more time for reflection and getting things organized. Our christmas holidays this year included emily's 12th birthday: the arrival of Melissa, Evelyn and Adelle; Brynna in the nutcracker as an angel (who ran beautifully all over the stage in elaborately quaffed hair); the arrival of lance (studying for his test); the new wards christmas party (aubrey singing silent night, emily playing the first noel); Aubrey's recital; school continuing until just up until christmas; The "North Pole Bird"; The Barratt christmas sing; Grandma Taylor's Christmas party including the nativity: christmas eve and day; family fun week (bowling, movies, games,skiing, sledding etc.); The arrival of grandma and grandpa nuttall; new-years eve banging pans: snow and snowmen; back to school; sad departure of lance, melissa, evelyn and adelle; speak in church (so glad that's over...wish I had done better). Whew!. By far the best part of the holiday was getting re-acquainted with the grand-children and melissa and lance. I wish we could have more contact. I wish we lived closer
On a sad note, Brynna wrote her talk about her bird that had died last year. After giving the talk she sat on the stand and sobbed because she "missed lilly". (She received a new parakeet from the North Pole for Christmas..but obviously this did not quell her grief). This week we have gone back to attempting to complete the moving process. Our garage is still overflowing with boxes. We still haven't unpacked certain key items...such as the wii...I think that it is lost for good. We finally moved our food storage down to the basement and put up some shelves in the storage area. We have not refilled any water storage...so hopefully there will not be an earthquake here soon, or else we will be very thirsty. We hope all our family and friends had a great christmas and holiday. We are looking forward to getting a little more settled.