Summer in Review

We are still binky-less!  Hurrah!  There were a couple times on our trip where I thought "this would be so much easier if I could just plug him up," but he never asked and I never wavered.  Whew!

Speaking of our trip, here is our summer in photo summary:

My Dad came up for 4th of July weekend (Mom was in Utah), and the boys had a "ball" playing baseball with him.

We also did sparklers and driveway fireworks, which the boys LOVED:

We went to the beach that Monday.  The boys loved playing in the waves and digging in the sand:

Then we drove by Dinosaur mini-golf and decided to have a round.  Daniel liked to smack his ball where-ever from the starting point, then pick it up and place it right next to the hole for an easy putt in.  He did NOT want to do this last hole, because he realized he would not get his ball back!

We went to Utah for a Nash family reunion.  My mom picked us up from the airport and we enjoyed spending the weekend with her and my sister DeeAnn's family down in Nephi.  We then joined up with the Other Nashes in Provo Sunday night.  Here's Nathan with his sisters:

We visited Thanksgiving Point in Lehi and enjoyed a mini zoo, pony rides, dinosaur museum, and a 3-D IMAX film about some oceanic dinosaur whose name I cannot remember, then went and had ice cream before heading back to our hotel.

We took family pictures with all of Nathan's family (sans Jeff, who unfortunately had an urgent work matter he needed to attend to last minute).  This is one Nathan took from the "sideline".  We'll post others when we get them.

A highlight of the Nash reunion for the boys was when we made and launched rockets.  They carried those things around for DAYS.

We learned to play a fun game called Bang!, and I confess it often led me to conflicting emotions.  You're supposed to take other players out, and I never wanted to pick on anyone.

The boys got to see all 5 of their living great grandparents on this trip.  I always think this is so remarkable, because I never knew any of my great grandparents.

Here's Four Generations of Nashes.  I wonder which of my boys will be the one to carry on the look-alike trend.  Unfortunately, we got a picture with Grandpa Nash but not Grandma (sorry!).  I was not in charge of this--don't blame me!

We stayed overnight with my Grandma Rabiger before flying up to Seattle for the next leg of our trip:

Many thanks to my Aunt Deanne for having us over for a Pioneer Day cookout and Aunt Joyce for taking us to the Salt Lake airport!  My brother Sean picked us up from the Seattle airport (the Other Nashes were still driving en route) and we enjoyed an evening with his family.  Then Nathan's Grandma and Grandpa Merrill picked us up from Sean's and took us up to Anacortes.

While we were up there, Nathan went hiking with his dad.

And discovered that his 16-year-old hiking boots are not as sturdy as he supposed they still were...

We got home late Tuesday night and David started his first day of Kindergarten on Thursday.  Here are the obligatory pictures of starting school:

I asked David to take off his sunglasses for the next one...

Okay, now take them all the way off, put your arms down, and give me a nice smile...

What a ham!  Let's try again...

Still a little dorky, but considering what it took to get THAT, I'm satisfied.  When I showed Nathan, he laughed and said it reminded him of this Calvin and Hobbes strip:

Anyway, then we took David to his first day, and the teacher invited Daniel to join them on the mat while I filled out some paperwork:

His first day was just a day of assessments with only a small part of the class.  They read a story and toured the school while "looking for a raccoon" (part of the story, I guess).  David came up to one of the signs for the tour and read it out loud, taking his teacher quite by surprise.  I guess only a couple kids in the class can read yet.  Wait until she discovers his mad math and puzzle skills...

Oh yes, in case you didn't get our announcement yet... we're expecting #3 on February 4th!

Blah Blah Blah

So I'm feeling major guilt that I haven't posted much news lately, but I draw a total blank when I think about what to post.  We haven't had any major catastrophes, injuries, news, or breakthroughs.  Kinda nice, actually.  We're just doin' our thing, one day at a time.

Daniel has started expanding his vocabulary and says "go" when I announce it's time to go somewhere and "out" when he wants to get out of his highchair.  "Go" is also applicable to shoes and socks, and anything that goes, like toy cars and trains.  He is fascinated with the Christmas tree and loves to pull (nonbreakable) ornaments off the tree and carry them around.  His favorite one is a jingle bell.  Both the boys love that one, so I bought them each a jingle bell necklace.  I have been debating whether to put those in their stockings or just hand them over.

David is all go-go-go.  He loves puzzles and games and is teeming with braininess.  

I'm still digging myself out of my Christmas-gift-crafting chasm and feeling very exhausted, but happy with all that I've accomplished so far.  This week I substituted as Primary Chorister at church.  It was fun to be back in the saddle again, but I'm happy that's not my regular calling at the moment!

I made some Lemon Cheese this week, and derived great satisfaction from it.  For those who don't know, Lemon Cheese (aka Lemon Curd) is a traditional British recipe something like lemon marmalade.  My grandma used to send us some every Christmas, and now I like to make it for my Dad since she passed away.  I even used her double boiler, which was my Great Grandma Hewitt's.  Even though I have my own double boiler, which probably conducts heat more efficiently, it just seems like Grandma's recipe needs to be done in Grandma's pan.

My parents came through town this past weekend on their way to Salt Lake City for Christmas.  We did presents with them and enjoyed a relaxed visit.  They gave Daniel a remote-controlled Thomas the Tank Engine which delights him to no end, and David got some more trains for his existing set.  He played with it all day yesterday after school.  It's rather fun to have some Christmas gifts spread out so they get appreciated more individually.  I can hardly believe Christmas is in a week!

Merry Christmas to all!

Thanksgiving in Connecticut

Daniel, the little rascal, keeps getting into the cat food!

For Thanksgiving this year we went up to my brother Sean's house in Connecticut.  I thought it was very fitting to celebrate Thanksgiving in New England, in the heart of the area where the colonists experienced harsh winters and abundant blessings.

Nathan had the entire week off, so we decided to head up on Tuesday.  My parents drove up from South Carolina Monday afternoon and we caravanned up together.  Aside from needing to make a gazillion pit stops for David in the first three hours, the trip went pretty smoothly...until we got to New York City.  We hit it at 4 pm, took the upper level of the George Washington bridge which has all the commercial traffic (read: lots of big trucks), and got lost in Harlem of all places, during rush hour.  By the time we got straightened out, we'd missed our exit for the parkway to take us to Connecticut, so we ended up staying on I-95 for a long time.  Meanwhile, my parents got off on the right exit, but got on the next parkway going the wrong way, so we were both lost in different places.  Somehow we still managed to pull up in front of Sean's at the same time they did, albeit about and hour and a half later than we'd planned.

The next morning we took the kids to Stepping Stones Children's Museum.  They had a blast, especially with the water room.  That afternoon Sean and Nathan made the pumpkin pie.  Mmm.  Well done, boys!

David getting outfitted with a water apron

David and Anne Elyse

Clockwise: Daniel, Anne Elyse, random girl, David

Daniel in his water apron

Daniel and Anne Elyse

Thanksgiving itself was wonderful, of course.  Kudos to Jenny for planning and executing a beautiful spread.  Daniel and Anne Elyse napped during dinner, so we had a relatively calm meal.  That night we sat around the piano and sang songs with the kids.  David, our "sing 10 songs with me" kid, was beside himself with glee.

David and Annie hanging out on the couch...

Mom and Dad left early Friday morning to be back in SC in time for some meetings Saturday evening.  Nathan and Sean braved the Black Friday mobs so Nathan could get a Wii.  Around lunch time we went Duckpin Bowling.

I've never Duckpin bowled before.  Duckpin balls are just a little bit bigger than a grapefruit, and the pins are squattier.  It was really fun, and I must say, preferable to 10-pin bowling, a sport which Sean teases that the ball bowls me, not the other way around.  *sigh*  He's quite right, unfortunately.  lol.  

Sean and Nathan bowling

Jenny, Sean, and Nathan

Even David could manage these balls!

After one game the little kids were quite ready for lunch and naps, so we swung by Star Pizza in Hamden and got some very, very tasty pizza for lunch.  It's a good thing Star Pizza is NOT within a 15 mile radius of us, because we would patronize it far too frequently!   That evening Sean and Jenny battled Nathan on the Wii.  It was very amusing to watch petite Jenny take on Nathan in a virtual boxing match.  

We left early Saturday morning and had a very smooth and fast trip home.  I noticed on the way that Daniel's right ear was draining goop again (second infection this month. good grief!), and we all had bad colds so we decided to spare our ward and stayed home from church Sunday.  It was very nice to just hang out and recover from our long travels, as well.  

Thanks for having us, Sean and Jenny!  It was a real slice.

Long Overdue and Over-duly Long

I realize I have been remiss in keeping everyone updated on our doings. Truth be told, life has just been happening fast and I haven’t had much chance to pause and document it.

So I last left off in May, I guess. That seems so very long ago! When I got home from my grandfather’s funeral in Utah, we followed up on an offer to adopt a dog from a family moving to Australia, and they couldn’t take the dog with them. We agreed to take her, but after some nipping episodes and a long conversation with my mother-in-law about my reservations and concerns, we (I) decided we weren’t ready for that and graciously backed out before the arranged hand-over. That was probably the main thing beyond normal life that happened in May.

If you don't see pictures, click the X in the upper right-hand corner of this box

May 29-June 6: My mother-in-law, Marianne, came to visit. David had lots of fun playing with her (and vise versa). While she was here we shopped for a playset to put in our back yard. It got installed the day after Marianne left. It’s nice to have something out there for him to play on when I turn him out to burn off some energy. The biggest drawback is the mosquitos. He must have some sweet blood, because he always comes in with mosquito bites. We’re still trying to figure out a good way to deter them besides drenching him in deet.

June 14-June 21: My sister-in-law Jenny and her 13-month-old daughter Anne Elyse came down from Connecticut to visit. We enjoyed taking the kids swimming, going for walks, and visiting various parks, as well as the Marbles Kids Museum. My parents came up to visit the weekend she was leaving so they could visit her, as well. Jenny’s primary reason for coming down was to help with a big project that has consumed much of my time this year, especially during and since her visit. Inspired by the scanner I received for my birthday last year, I had an idea at the beginning of the year to digitize all of my family photos—over 40 years’ worth—that were sitting loose in boxes in my parents’ attic as a Christmas present for my parents. Per my request, Mom and Dad brought up 12 boxes of loose photos when they came up to see Jenny. I had already acquired four boxes from previous visits and had slowly been working my way through them up until this point. Even though I was hoping to surprise my parents, they kind of had an idea of what I was doing, so Jenny and I decided it would be easier if we just told them outright what the plan was (which is why I am just now mentioning this extra activity). After I saw how many boxes there were, I really hunkered down to scanning so that I had a prayer’s chance of getting it all done by Christmas. I got the contents of the two “Pictures to Sort” boxes appropriately distributed, and finished scanning the contents of two boxes.  With the box of my own pictures already scanned plus sending Sean's box home with Jenny, that made six boxes down, four to go by Christmas (five if I'm lucky), and three or four to wait for another year.

My scanning work station

My pile of boxes and albums for this project

July 4-5: Nathan and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. I can hardly believe we’re here already. Time has flown so fast. We also got the air ducts cleaned in the house. It ended up costing waaay more than we initially thought, but considering that the ducts had never been cleaned since the house was built 18 years ago, I thought it was well worth it.

My anniversary bouquet

July 7-14: Utah. I flew out with the boys to Salt Lake City for a Nash family reunion. I met Marianne and Bethany at the airport, and since we weren’t checking into the reunion until the evening of the 8th, we stayed at a hotel that night and in the morning took the boys to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point. David loved it! He’s been much more interested in dino things since that excursion. While we were eating lunch at the café there, I looked up and saw friends from South Carolina, of all places! It was fun to visit with them briefly and introduce them to my boys.

If you don't see pictures, click the X in the upper right-hand corner of this box

The Nash Reunion was fun. We gathered at BYU’s Spring Haven Lodge in Hobble Creek Canyon. Such an amazing lodge! It was a perfect setup for little kids with an indoor treehouse, playland, and sport court, plus pool tables and air hockey. David practically lived in the “Tree Room” where all that stuff was set up, earning the Reunion Award “King of the Playground”. He would play in there with his cousin Sophia, and they ran around holding hands. It was so cute. Daniel had his own bit of fun. The hallways had floors sloped like footbridges, and Daniel loved crawling up and over the “bridges” back and forth, over and over. He looked so proud of himself each time he crossed, and would pause and clap for a moment before crossing again.

If you don't see pictures, click the X in the upper right-hand corner of this box

A Nash Reunion Tradition is for each family to write a limerick about their doings since the previous reunion (2 years apart). Here is my limerick:

In the North of the South, we put things in our mouth:
Binkies and fingers and boogers and toys—oh, just for the record, that’s ONLY the boys.
Nathan and Natalie prefer finer things, like Bojangles’, brocc’li, and mac-n-cheese.

We come and we go and we watch our boys grow.
They dance, count, and sing, and they climb everything.
We love our new house so our smiles no rains douse,
But we miss proxim’ty to our “tight” Nash fam’ly!

The reunion adjourned on the 11th and I took advantage of being out West to visit my family. We had an unofficial family reunion among my siblings. DeeAnn and Nate live in the area, I was out for the Nash reunion, my sister Lisle (NV) was in town while her son went to BYU Soccer Camp, my brother Sean (CT) was passing through for a quick hello on his way to WA for Jenny’s brother’s wedding, and my sister Minda (also NV) decided to come since so many of us were gathered anyway. We were only missing my two brothers that live in SC. That Monday we all gathered at a pool in Spanish Fork to go swimming together. It was a lot of fun to be with everyone. David especially enjoyed going down the big slide. We also went to Nate’s farm and David got to pet the goats, chase bunnies and chickens into their coops, water the ducks, and ride one of the horses. He found that very memorable.

If you don't see pictures, click the X in the upper right-hand corner of this box

July 15-28: Washington. Since I was that far out West anyway, I continued my trip up to Washington to enjoy some more family time.

Mount Rainier from the airplane.  Just for some perspective on how huge it is, those "foothills" at the base are full-size mountains, probably as big or bigger than the Rockies.

Daniel was exceptionally fussy on the drive from the airport to Anacortes, and a family friend/physician confirmed our suspicions of yet another ear infection. Ugh! David played hard at his grandma’s house and thoroughly enjoyed going to the parks and playing in her playroom. At one of the parks I stepped in a divot in the ground and turned my ankle pretty hard. Still recovering from that. Almost a week into my stay, and shortly after Sarah arrived with her two girls, David started running a fever and throwing up. Poor little guy would just lie on the couch and watch the same three movies over and over and over. He was so inanimate, but he wanted me to sit by him. I took advantage of that time to satisfy my curiosity about Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. I got through all three books before we left, just in time to wait impatiently with the rest of the country for the fourth and final book to be released Aug 2. (I just finished reading that one last night. Great series.)

If you don't see pictures, click the X in the upper right-hand corner of this box

Nathan flew out to WA on July 22 to go deep-sea fishing with his Dad off of Vancouver Island, BC. When they got home we ate some of the chilled-but-never-frozen salmon they’d caught the day before. YUM. I don’t think you can get fish much fresher! Then we packed up and headed back home.

Nathan showcasing a ginormous leaf

Aug 4-8: Marianne visited with us again while Bethany was at EFY in New Hampshire (and then flew up to NH to tour the area with her). While she was here, Daniel underwent the long-awaited myringotomy (tubes in his ears).  Everything went smoothly there. I had to have him at the hospital at 5:45 AM, so between that and the general anesthesia he was pretty sleepy that day, but was happy and bouncy the next day. We decided to do his birthday party a little early so we could celebrate with Marianne. I also finished scanning another box of pictures.

If you don't see pictures, click the X in the upper right-hand corner of this box

Aug 9-12: I went down to Aiken to visit the SC branch of family. My brother Preston, who was stationed at the Navy Weapons Station in Charleston, is moving to California for his next tour of duty: grad school at Stanford University. He and his family stopped in Aiken for the weekend on their way out, so I went down to say goodbye. It’s a five-hour drive, and as we were approaching Aiken, David said, “Mom, [Grand]Ma’s house is really far away.” That is the first time he’s expressed a sense of time or distance, and I found it a humorously appropriate time to start.

We had another birthday party Monday night to celebrate six cousin birthdays: Brenden’s oldest two daughters (15 and 13), Preston’s youngest two daughters (5 and 3), and my boys (4 and 1).  Sorry, I forgot my camera for this trip.  We had one cake with a cluster of candles for each cousin, and lit each cluster and sang Happy Birthday individually. It was fun, and, remarkably, didn’t take eons. David had a ball playing with all the toys I played with as a child, and had lots of good cousin time. It was hard to pry him away when it was time to go.

We came home from Aiken with an addition to our family: Preston’s cat, Alea. They couldn’t find pet-friendly housing at Stanford, so Alea is hanging out with us for 10 months while they’re in CA. David is very excited to have a kitty and keeps close tabs on her whereabouts and activities. Daniel likes to transfer her kibble into her water bowl and make big splashes.

Daniel is very close to walking. I keep thinking it will happen any day. He’s also bringing in tooth #7, so I’m mopping up lots of drool and a very goopy nose.

In addition to still being a ward missionary, I have been put in charge of the Crafty Sisters Enrichment group at church, plus I’m kind of in charge of playgroup and am trying to start a baby-sitting co-op. Nathan is still up to the same-old same-old: Work, Mission Leader, Work, Mission Leader, with the occasional video game thrown in. So there’s our very thorough update. I’ve really enjoyed being able to visit all our family this summer!


Love to all,
The (Other) Other Nashes
Nathan, Natalie, David, & Daniel

Thanks for the Memories

My paternal grandfather passed away on April 20.  I have many fond memories of my Grandpa Taylor.  He was a kind and loving man, and he could fix anything.  My Dad has shared many memories of Grandpa having exceptional physical strength.  I never saw that side of him, but he always had a big hug and a kiss for me, and never failed to tell me I was "so pretty" and had a "beautiful smile."  That last comment always made me feel good because I have always been self-conscious about my teeth through 8 years of orthodontia.  Nathan and I laughed so hard at Pixar's short film "Gerry's Game" because the old man reminded us so much of Grandpa.  We'll miss him here, but I'm so happy he is reunited with Grandma. 

Here is a slide show of my most recent pictures of Grandpa and Grandma.  I never knew my Great Grandparents, and so grabbed as many opportunities as arose to take pictures of David with my grandparents.  Daniel never got to meet them...here.

Mouse over images to see captions.

...And a video of him dancing as my cousin Nicole sings at a birthday celebration for both Grandpa and Grandma on November 22, 2003.  My favorite parts are when he does the hula (echoes of his years in Tahiti) and when he pulls on his pant legs to kick his foot in the air.  What a goof!

Obituary: Ralph R. Taylor

Published in the Deseret News on April 23, 2008

Ralph R. Taylor 1914 ~ 2008 Our sweet, patient father full of good humor and love, left the restraints of this life to meet joyfully with our Heavenly Father, wife and other family and friends who have gone on before. Ralph Randall Taylor, 94, was born January 3, 1914 and passed away April 20, 2008. He is the third child of William H. and Flora Darling Randall Taylor. He attended schools in Salt Lake City, graduating from West High School where he was a member of ROTC. Dad saw the beautiful Molly Hewitt and wanted to get to know her. With his good looks and playful smile, he charmed her into marrying him on January 29, 1936 in the Salt Lake Temple. In March, 1936, soon after they were married, he left for a three-year mission to the Tahitian Islands. He came to love the Islands and the people. While his memory waned on some things, never the Tahitian language or of his memories there. Dad was a very creative handyman. He could fix or build anything. Just name it. Dad loved a clean and kept yard and worked hard to do that and ensure the neighborhood was also swept and tidy. He was a member of the [Mormon] Tabernacle Choir for over 30 years. He was ward choir director for nearly that long. He worked for a short time on the radio doing voice characterizations for "The Children's Friend Hour." He loved to direct "roadshows" and with his love of music and dramatic theatrical flare, directed the ward to many first places. It was said of the way he led music "he could make the floorboards sing" and "he didn't lead the music, he performed it." He worked for the telephone company after his mission until he retired and received the Outstanding Craftsman Award from Gov. Scott Matheson. Dad and mom served a mission at historic Nauvoo where they made many friends and wonderful memories. He was a volunteer at Welfare Square from the time construction began on the facility until he was 92. The family wishes to acknowledge and thank his many friends there, especially Erik and Patty. After mom passed away in 2005, Dad was cared for by his loving children until January 2008 when Beehive Home of West Jordan became his home. He passed away at Jordan Valley Hospital. Dad easily endeared people to him with his wit and charm and was always grateful for friendships and kindnesses shown to him. On his behalf, a heartfelt thanks to all who helped him in anyway, large or small. You were a blessing to him. We would like to let the people of 26th Ward know, Dad loved you all. Dad is survived by brother, Eldon Taylor; sons, Dennis H. (JaNice), Tim R. (Missy Gay); daughters, Becky Jones (Lynn), Nadine Osgood (Warren); daughter-in-law, Marcia Baker, 24 grandchildren, seven step-grandchildren, 62 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Marvin and Elma Taylor, Norman Taylor; sister, Alta and Harry Jones; sister-in-law, Hilda and Rands Wiley, Betty Taylor and brother-in-law, Fred Hewitt; his wife Molly; son, David Ralph and grandson, Michael Jones. Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Sat., April 26, 2008 at Pioneer 26th Ward, 1145 W. 500 S. Viewings will be held between 6-8 p.m. on Fri., April 25, 2008 at Redwood Memorial Mortuary, 6500 S. Redwood Road, and also one hour prior to services at the church. Interment Redwood Memorial Cemetery.