Mission Predictions Wanted....

So, David should get his mission call in the next few weeks.  Any guesses?  Everyone gets two guesses... one within the U.S. and one foreign.  Let us know what your predictions are and we'll add them to the chart.  My favorite so far is from Layla, "Ogden".  Didn't know she'd ever even heard of Ogden!

Legacy of Dick McKay

 I know there are pictures of Dad reading to us or the grandchildren. But I couldn't find them tonight. So instead I put up the pictures I could find of reading as a child. Tonight on the 5th anniversary of his leaving, I have been reflecting on many of the legacies of Dick McKay. But this one is tender for me. Each night I read to my children, a bedtime ritual we rarely stray from. I may have done this anyway because there's tons of research about how good it is for children. But I cannot deny Dick McKay's influence in my love for children's books. Although the photo of my kids is from 2009, it still applies. They love to read. They love to read with their parents. And this nightly ritual is Dick McKay's legacy.
And Becky, the photo of Rosalie is for you :)

We were thrilled to have Cath, Don, Nick, and Elizabeth join us for a few days.  It was a whirlwind visit and we had a fantastic time.  We were able to introduce them to some of our favorite (para)sites.  

Our kids have avoided entering the ocean at all costs for the past year ever since their run-in with a riptide.  But with Elizabeth here they miraculously were cured of their fear.  Sometimes peer-pressure is a good thing.

Maggie found a quiet moment to meditate on the day.

Don and Nick helped Abe achieve momentary inverted flight.

We spent a day hiking a volcano.  This is the view standing on one volcano looking at the other.

Dave, Nick, Abe, and Blue on top of the volcano.

Lunch and a view.

Maggie turned 7 yesterday.  She had a party and a pinata.  The poor thing learned the hard way what six years of built up aggression can cause.

Maggie in her birthday dress from Grandma. 

Temple Square

 This year we decided that we would take trax to temple square and let the kids have something else to enjoy. Brad and I also hate trying to find a parking place close so we aren't walking a mile to the Temple. My kids loved the trax and Temple square even through it was a freezing 28 degrees outside. Mom and Nikkie came with us to help with the kids and to enjoy this moment with us. I don't know if I would have even entered the Temple square without help. Going 5 days before Christmas it was so busy but the kids still like the lights. Abi doesn't remember last year but this year she couldn't get enough.      

 Brad took some great pictures. Brad and I bought a new camera for Christmas and we love the picture quality. 

 The kids on Trax after the Temple. Nikkie was helping keep the kids upright because they kept getting up to walk around. Once they thawed out they where bouncing off the walls of the trax!!! 

Reid family pictures

We went as a family up to the canyon in Tooele to get these beautiful pictures of my family. They turned out so good. I can't wait until next year to get more!!!!

This is a post mainly for those living outside of Utah who haven't seen the Frampton/Reids for awhile. This was a joint party for the three oldest Reid girls at the bowling alley in Tooele. I snatched a couple of pictures of my mom which is rare too.

 Debbie is explaining to Alivia how bowling works.

 Samantha got the competitive Frampton gene

 But Madison was getting into it too. If I remember correctly she won too!

 Are these three related?

 Abigail was being passed around to everyone. She didn't seem to mind.

 Alivia was very hard to get smiling in candid shots so I sat her down and made her smile for me.

 

Still alive in Central America

So it's been a very long time since we've posted on the blog.  I think the last time was in May.  This is mostly due to the fact that our camera was stolen and we haven't had photos to add.  Well we finally got a new camera so I figured I'd throw a few photos up.  Truth is there's nothing too new going on down here, but we're safe and happy and enjoying the 85 degree November weather.

Traci and I have been so happy to see our kids become such good friends.  They've all done a good  job of making friends down here.  But at the end of the day their best friends are each other.  Their friendship and our love for movies makes this is a common sight at our house.  

So Simon now sleeps in a big boy bed which is great.  However,  he doesn't ever want to go to bed.  For the last couple of months our nightly ritual has been to put him down to sleep and then we wait about two minutes when he appears again at our door.  He does so very quietly and sneaks his way back into our room.  He doesn't think we see him and he slowly makes his way to either a corner of the room or under our bed.  If he suspects that we see him he will cover his eyes because doing so clearly makes him invisible.  The above photo is of Simon about to begin one of his stealthy entrances into our room. We took video of it the other night but for some reason I can't upload it here so I put it on youtube, here's the link.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3lQPgIXQQs&feature=youtu.be

The two babies of the house crashing for the night.

A couple of weeks ago we found a great little hike close by our house.   We hiked right through some low level clouds.  It was really cool and a little spooky.  These photos also show Abe's broken arm.  He had the cast for a month, just got it removed.  It was a tough month for a kid that never stops moving, plays football every moment he gets, does training drills in his bedroom, etc.  

Up on top of the mountain.

We found a large overhang that was kind of like a cave.  Abe and Mag decided to do some thinking.

Traci kept with tradition by making the kids costumes for Halloween.  Her annual  sewing fest ended just in time for the kids to have their costumes.  I'm guessing that only the kids/teenagers of the family will be able to make sense of this.  The kids decided to be Fin, Jake, and B-mo from a cartoon called Adventure Time.  I've never seen it but apparently it's wonderful.  Maggie won best costume at her 1st grade Halloween parade.

Every year the Marines throw a fancy black-tie ball.  It becomes a pretty big deal with women spending hundreds of dollars on fancy ball gowns.  I definitely married the right woman.  Not only was she stunning but she also paid $10 for fabric and then sewed her own dress.  She looked amazing and everyone at the party was shocked when they learned she made the dress. 

We are so proud of Viv.  In the last few months she has completely come out of her shell.  She has been outgoing and has found ways to be social and interact with lots of kids her age.  Without any push from us she joined the school choir.  Here she is in the choir's first performance.  They sang a couple of great songs at a school carnival.  Viv says she was really scared but it didn't show and she rocked it.  She says next stop is the drama club.

On election day Abe woke up with a cough that was bad enough to keep him home from school.  As I left for work I found him on the couch watching CNN and making graphs to chart the election throughout the day.  He watched all day long and absorbed all the analysis and predictions.  By the end of the day it was time for him to go to sleep.  He was a complete basket case.  12 straight hours of election coverage will do that to a person.  Finally he had had enough.  He made his own ballot which I think sums up how everyone was feeling at the end of an election campaign which lasted way too long.  This is a photo of the ballot.  For those who don't know "White IV" is the running back for the Utah Utes.   I think he showed his wisdom by voting for the person who he's seen perform but never heard speak.