Keaton and Sully - Ages Five and Three

Patti and Mike had a professional photographer take these pictures of the boys. Since then, Keaton has lost his other front tooth, so he now has quite the toothless grin!

This is Sullivan's official three year old photo. Doesn't he look great dressed in blue with his compelling blue eyes!

Megan's Yearly Photo Shoot

I asked Megan today if she knew what a tradition was. She said she didn't. I told her that a tradition is something specific that we look forward to doing year after year. Today we made our yearly pilgrimage to Southtowne Mall to have Megan's picture taken. Afterwards, we always get pretzels and diet coke.

Today there was a lady at a booth in the mall showing a special curling iron. She volunteered to practice on Megan's hair. So....today she is curly-haired Megan instead of straight-haired Megan.

Her favorite pose is the one with the baseball glove. She played her first season of baseball this year; she is hooked and looks forward to playing again next year.

Happy Anniversary, Mike and Patti

This is Crater Lake. The color and the clarity of the water was awesome.
Canon Beach - Location of the Wedding
Mike and Patti and the person who married them
The bride and groom with the parents

Mike and Patti's wedding was so fun! They were married on the beach in Oregon. We all wore our casual attire. After the ceremony, we enjoyed a picnic at the beach.

The next day, Paul and I drove down the Oregon coast and spent a couple of nights at Crater Lake.

The All Stars - Derek In Competition

Derek's team is still fighting it out for the championship. Good luck in your game today, Derek!

Congratulations

Happy Anniversary, Paul and Char Moore - May you have many years to come.

Do these two look like teenagers? They were actually at a mature age (in this photo) when they decided to marry. Four children and many years later, they are still very much in love.

Happy Birthday, Sullivan Patrick Moore

Our little Sully is three years old today. He is such a cute guy and a joy to have as a grandson.

Sully's mom is making a wading pool sized cake for the party in the backyard. Sully loves water and spending time in his wading pool, so the cake fits in nicely with this theme. It sounds like a major production to make! Patti is very creative.

Most people think that Sully looks quite a bit like Paul. I agree, especially through the eyes.

Sully, we hope you have a fun day!

Pioneers

William and Eliza Jex - My Great-great grandparents
William and Eliza and their 11 Children
Family Photo Taken When William Was 94 Years Old (William is on the second row in the middle)

Last night we went to the LDS Conference Center to see a pioneer program. The tabernacle choir sang, and pioneer experiences were narrated along with the music.

When I came home, I started looking at several family history books which I have not been interested in at all previous to this time.

I guess because I am getting old, these people's histories seem more compelling to me. William and Eliza Jex are my great-great grandparents. They raised 11 children in Spanish Fork in the 1800's. Originally from England, the couple immigrated to the United States and then joined a pioneer trek to the Salt Lake Valley.

Eliza says of her experiences on the ship coming to the United States: "Our trip across the water was a very rough and stormy voyage. We had little to eat. We had an awful time before we finally reached New Orleans, being put on half rations and having much sickness and many deaths on our way. It was a long, tiresome journey as we were two months and one week on the water."

Ten weeks on the ocean!!!! Eleven children!!!! Eliza was a resilient woman and seems to have kept a very optimistic state of mind throughout her life. I would not have made it--I know I couldn't have withstood all that.

Eliza lived to be 93 years old. She died while fixing a birthday dinner for her husband. William lived to be 98. At the time of his passing, he had over 400 decendants.

There really is reason to celebrate our ancestors who braved all kinds of challenges to make the trip to Utah; once here, they continued to live in harsh circumstances as they raised their children and tried to make a living.

Significant Date - July 17th

Dora Daniels Powell
Albert Harris Powell
Arthur Thomas McKell
Rebecca Nielsen McKell

These are photos of my four grandparents. Three of the four died on the same day (different years). Isn't that something! July 17th is not my father's favorite day, so he was glad to see it pass yesterday.

Bryce and the Iguana

I think this photo was taken in 2002. Catherine, Russell and family had gone on a cruise. Bryce was very brave to pick this grotesque animal up!! He looks very proud of himself.

Melanie and Derek - 2002

I love this picture of Melanie and Derek taken on our porch in 2002. He was such a cute little guy, and he adored Melanie (still does). Derek will be going into sixth grade in August. Where does the time go?

Another Beautiful Sunset

My Sweet Little Girls

I'm guessing my daughters are not thrilled to see themselves as children in these pictures. When they have looked at themselves in scrapbooks from these early days, they always tell me what dorky clothes I picked out. They said that most of their clothes consisted of plaid polyester pants with matching shirts; the shirts had little bits of the pant's plaid fabric sewn into them.

I agree with those descriptions, but the difference is that I thought the clothes were cute. Looking back now, nothing in the 1970's was all that cute, if I remember correctly. They were accurate; there was an over-abundance of polyester and plaid during that era.

Regardless of the clothes, I think that they were the cutest girls in the world, and I still think that about them.

Feeling Better

Well.....I apoligize to the medical profession for saying they couldn't help me get better (last blog). I waited all week for my "flu" to run its course. Of course, my self-diagnosis was dead wrong, and luckily I went to the doctor on Friday (as opposed to suffering all weekend as well). I have a very exotic disease (a urinary track infection) which is now being treated with an antibiotic.

My husband is really something. He is such a jewel. He couldn't have been more attentive and helpful while I lay in bed like a slug for a week. He is the sweetest, most thoughtful man. I know how very fortunate I am to be married to him.

SICK

I have been in this house for three straight days, feeling awful. I am thinking I have some kind of flu. I guess I could go to the doctor, but I don't think he could give me anything to help.

My whole body hurts--even my skin. Add to that a fever and chilling with accompanying shaking.

I could add a pathetic photo of me in a nightgown with no makeup on or even having combed my hair. I wouldn't do that to you!

Tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully a better one.

Tanner Christiansen - New Member of the Family

Little Tanner is adorable. The celebration was all about him.
Isn't he sweet in his white satin suit. He slept through most of the festivities.
Here are four generations together - Tanner, Kent, Ashley and Grandpa McKell.
Barbara looks like a very proud grandma to big sister Allison.

Our House and Yard

Paul has really been enjoying our new camera and taking photos here and there. This morning he took some pictures of our yard.

We are limited in our selection of plants to grow in our yard. The first limitation is the deer. We find plants that they don't like to eat. The second criteria is planting things that come back every year. Our third rule is that we buy one pre-planted pot each year and plop it down as our contribution to the overall look of the yard. I know that isn't much, but it works for us.

You may ask yourself why we appear to be so lazy! Between my bad back and Paul's hip problem, it isn't worth it to kill ourselves planting and maintaining the yard. We moved into this area with the idea of growing older (which is a given) and still being able to live independently. Our little bit of green yard surrounding the house is maintained by yard workers (mowing, weeding, trimming, fertilizing, etc.). It is well-worth the fee we pay each month to the association.

One day I will write a blog about all the crappy things that happen to our bodies as we get old. Or maybe I won't depress you with all the facts. Just know that neither of us miss the yard work we used to do when we were young.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Frost

If she were alive, Leona Frost would be 97 years old today. (I remember because she died just before Megan was born, and she was almost 90 years old at the time.)

Leona was the sweetest, most giving person. I couldn't have wished for a better mother-in-law. She was also a fantastic grandma to my two daughters.

My mother-in-law was a fabulous cook. She frequently made huge dinners for the whole family as we would get together in her home. As part of the family tradition on Christmas morning, she cooked memorable breakfasts of sausage, eggs, biscuits, etc. I never tasted anything I didn't like that Leona made. She would usually say something funny like, "Oh, here is a pie I baked. It probably tastes terrible, but maybe you can choke it down."

Leona was always kind and thoughtful to me--both before the divorce and afterward as well. She told me frequently that, no matter what, she would always think of me as her girl. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about that.

Leona's legacy will live on in her children and grandchildren. Whenever I see someone in her family going out of their way to help someone else, I think of Leona and her incredible giving nature. She would be proud of her posterity and how they share their time and goods with others.

Leona Frost was one-in-a-million! I was very fortunate to be her daughter-in-law.

Our Honeymoon in Russia - 1998

St. Basil's Cathedral, one of the most famous landmarks in Moscow
A lovely church that is part of Red Square
Notice the onion-shaped domes on this church. The shape is used for heavy snows to melt more quickly from the roof.
These two wooden buildings on an island were some landmarks on our trip as we cruised between St. Petersburg and Moscow.
This huge wooden structure was built many years ago without using any nails.
Government buildings across from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg
The architecture in Russia could be very intricate and beautiful.

Happy Anniversary to Us

Eleven wonderful years! (I wish we still looked like this.)

Moore Memories - Fourth of July (2001)

Family Party in Steve and Lisa's backyard
Lisa and Katie
Driggs with an interesting hair color!
Nicole is bracing for the freezing water coming from the hose
Lucy is as cute as can be
Abby found a cool place under the swing set
Chad is one handsome dude!
Catherine and Russell