Christmas lesson

So Dallin walked up to me today and asked for some tape and wrapping paper so he could give his toy train to his Aunt Beth for Christmas. I told him he should keep his train because it's his, and that Beth would want him to keep it.

His response: (very sweetly) "But Christmas is about giving. And I really want to give this to Beth because I love her."

So we wrapped up his toy train and it is now under the tree (Beth, act surprised). How could I say No after that?

It was a great reminder to me that 1) Kids pick up on a lot more than we probably think, and 2) Christmas really is about giving (what a concept!) Really though, I hadn't taken the time yet this season to remember that the gifts we give are really representative of the gifts that the wise men brought to the baby Jesus that night in the stable. They also remind us of the greatest gift that was ever given to mankind, and that was the gift of the atonement by the Savior himself. How blessed we are for that gift.
At church, the Young Women and their leaders made a goal to read the entire Book of Mormon in a 6 month period, ending in February. I have loved taking on this challenge and I have specifically noticed that the Book of Mormon is full of references to the Savior, and prophets foretelling His coming. If I had to summarize the Book of Mormon into one phrase, I would say that it truly testifies of Jesus Christ, His coming to earth, His divinity, and His great love for us all.
I love the Savior so much and I am grateful that He sacrificed His life and suffered for me so that I might have the chance to return to our Father in Heaven. I'm also grateful that my 4 year old son picked up on the true meaning of Christmas and reminded me that it's about giving, just as the Savior gave everything for us.

I love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas!

marathon man

On November 14th, Jason ran his first marathon and we are so proud of him! He had been training for it for almost a year and his good friend Josh came out from the east coast to run it with him. He will modestly tell you otherwise, but he did great. There was a group of us there at almost every rest stop to cheer him on, and Dallin was so excited that he got to come.

The Jason/Josh fan club at 6:30am at the starting point,


It was absolutely freezing but I was trying to appreciate the view


The boys just before the start of the race


Our favorite runner, number 707


Dallin enjoying a drink with his Dad after the race. The best part was at the end when Jason was nearing the Finish line and Dallin ran out and grabbed his hand and finished the race with him. I am trying to figure out how to get the video downloaded and I will post it- just adorable!


Jason's post-race comments: "I'm ready to get back to cycling" :)

Halloween

We had an awesome Halloween this year and the kids got to carve pumpkins for the first time. They loved getting all dirty and Jason helped them carve the face they wanted. Unfortunately, my camera died after taking only a few pictures so this is about all I have. Thanks mom for the costume pictures! I got to take the kids to the pumpkin patch with some of my good friends and their kids, we went to our ward campout and "tent-or-treat" on the 30th, and then on the big day we had my parents, Beth, Cari and Alec over for chili and cornbread and trick-or-treating down our street. It took a while for our kids to get the trick-or-treating thing down. They would knock on the door and just stand there until I reminded them to say "Trick-or-treat!" and then Evelyn would walk right up and grab her own candy out of the person's bowl, and Dallin would say "Thank-you" really quiet once he had turned around and was already walking back down the driveway. Once Evie got her candy she would run down the driveway as fast as she could and yell "Wook Dad! Tanny!" :) Oh well, they're still learning.

birthday girl

I am really late with this post, but better late than never, right? Evelyn turned 2 on October 2nd and we had a birthday party with family to celebrate. Our Evie is so full of energy that she is sometimes hard to keep up with, but she is also the life of the party and so fun to be around...we just love her!


I'm pretty sure Aunt Beth was encouraging this...







At two years old, here are some of Evie's favorite words and phrases..

*don't want it*no help!*color with crayons?*hold you mama? (she wants to be held)*I fix it* read scriptures*I sorry*I love you*read it*Blues Clues*Where's Dallin?*Brush? (wants to brush her teeth)*

She has also been very busy testing her boundaries and has us busy referencing all our parenting books, and asking for lots of advice from her Grandmas.

Happy Birthday Evie, we love you!

Dallin-isms

I love my little sweetheart. We had a fun conversation with Dallin this morning while we were all getting ready. This is why I have been smiling all day...

Dallin: Oh! I need to make my hair all handsome.

Jason: Why?

Dallin: I'm going to a fancy meeting.

Jason: Oh you are?

Dallin: Yeah. It's a fancy meeting with beautiful womans, like Mom.

He definitely knows how to make me happy (especially when I just woke up and look really bad). And he definitely knows how to pay a compliment..something he picked up from his Dad!

Sacramento Zoo

We decided to meet up with some friends at the zoo on Monday and the kids loved it, especially the monkeys and flamingos. They took a nap on the way over so they were a little bit groggy at first, but they ended up having a great time. Dallin saw a lady holding a snake and walked right up to pet it, he was really fascinated. Evie loved every single animal, and apparently got a little carried away because she bit Dallin on the nose.

Mixa Reunion, part 2

The second day at the beach was much more clear. This is the view from 17 mile drive right near Pebble Beach golf course. It was beautiful outside.

Mixa Reunion

My parents had their 30th anniversary this past June so me and my sisters all pitched in and surprised them with the first ever 'Dave Mixa family reunion'. Since my sisters were all in D.C. this summer and couldn't be there to celebrate, we told my parents we would take them to Monterey/Carmel in September when everyone could be there. We rented a big house in Seaside and spent the weekend together, including Cari's 21st Birthday on Friday. I wish I had taken pictures of the house, it was so much fun! Unfortunately, I only remembered to get my camera out two times the whole trip so there is a lot I missed. Some of the things we did:

-lunch at Kinder's in Walnut Creek (mmm, so good!)
-Cari's birthday dinner on Cannery Row with dessert at Ghirardelli
-all kinds of shopping for the girls
-surfing/boogie boarding for all the guys in Monterey
-Sacrament meeting in Monterey where we took up an entire row
-17 mile drive on Highway 1
-and of course, the BYU football game on the big-screen :)

Here we are at the beach in Monterey. Dallin spent several hours with his Dad digging in the sand, making sandcastles with Alec and just playing in the sand. Jason tried surfing for the first time and had a lot of fun. All the girls showed up later and Evie was in heaven. This was her first time at the ocean, sad I know, but she absolutely loved it.

Catching up

It's been a long time since I posted so I am trying to catch up with everything that's been going on..

At the end of August, we heard a knock at the door and when we opened it, there was a present sitting on the porch that said TO DALLIN. When Dallin went to pick it up, Cari and Alec popped out from beside the house to surprise him! It was a big shock because Cari and Alec have been in Washington D.C. all summer and weren't supposed to be back for another week. Since they had missed Dallin's birthday, they brought him this awesome remote control Corvette. What could be better to a 4 year old boy? We were so glad to have them back too!



This is my sweet little 4 year old, all grown up and waiting for his first day of Joyschool. He couldn't wait, and he insisted on wearing a backpack even though he didn't need one. I just can't believe how big he's getting!

It's a little boy!

here is a profile shot:



We are just in love with him. Dallin and Evie are so excited to be getting a little brother and love to give him kisses. I thought it might be a boy, though I wasn't very sure, but this pregnancy has been very similar to Dallin's so that was my guess. Only 5 more months to go!

Oh, and if any of you moms have any tips where I can find cute maternity clothes that won't cost me fortune, please let me know. I pretty much have to buy all new clothes because I've never been pregnant in the winter before!

Cravings

With Dallin it was cookies and sweets, with Evie it was steak and tuna fish sandwiches (two separate, not steak and tuna together), and with this little one I have been dying for homegrown tomatoes. Store bought are not the same, they have to be homegrown. Lucky for me, it is tomato season! A week ago, my dear friend Dianna showed up at my door with a large ziploc bag full of tomatoes from her mom's garden. There were three times as many as there are in the picture. I ate them all by myself. Within about 4 days. I can't get enough, so if you live nearby and you happen to have some extra garden vegetables, I'd be happy to take them off your hands. :) And thank you so much to Dianna and Dianna's mom for the treat!

Four years ago..

you joined our family on August 1st and made us the two happiest people in the world. It was 7 years ago that doctors told me I may not be able to have children, and 5 1/2 years ago that they told me I should wait 5-10 years before trying to start a family. But it was 4 years ago that you came to this earth and blessed our lives. You were, and always will be, my miracle baby.



You are 3 feet, 5 inches and 35 pounds. You have big brown eyes and the cutest smile ever. You LOVE diggers and anything to do with construction. You are so sweet and good natured that it's hard to ever say No to you. You say the most sincere and sweet prayers and you constantly amaze me with your vocabulary. You tell me I'm beautiful several times a day, just because you know it makes me smile. :) You love to read books and ask me to read to you every chance you get. You are a wonderful big brother and are always looking out for Evie. You are sensitive and always concerned about how others are feeling. When we asked you what you wanted to do on your birthday (after many fun suggestions), you chose to spend the day mowing the lawn with Dad, "fixing" the sprinklers, sweeping the yard, etc. I think you are the sweetest boy in the whole world. We love you Dallin Keith. :) Happy 4th Birthday!!

manners

We have been trying to teach the kids manners that go beyond 'please' and 'thank you', so a few weeks ago I told Dallin that girls (and ladies) always go first. Whether we're opening the door to go into church or standing in line for food. It's always polite to let girls go first, and that includes his sister. :) Jason had also recently taught him this. I hadn't mentioned anything since then, but today I was pouring a cup of milk for both the kids at lunch and I just happened to pour Dallin's first. That's when I got scolded. "Remember Mom," Dallin said, "girls always go first."

So I acted contrite and tried to hide the huge smile on my face. :)

dear friends and family

First, let me say how excited we are to be expecting our third baby, and how grateful I am that I don't get morning sickness. What a blessing! However, the level of fatigue and exhaustion is really off the charts this time. My blood test results show that my red blood count is the lowest it's ever been, and I have been anemic for a few years now so that is pretty low. And then there's the Evelyn factor and we won't even go there. :)

I'm telling you all this for three reasons:

1. So you will forgive my absent-mindedness.
2. So you will feel a little bit sorry for me.
and
3. So you will not call CPS on me when my children are running wild, naked and unattended all over the neighborhood. Okay, maybe just the house and yard.

My memory has gotten so bad that I have to write things down within about 10 minutes or I will forget them. So basically, my brain is on vacation right now. My goal is to return to a normal, functioning life by late July (end of the first trimester).

See you then,

Mel

p.s. The official due date is January 23rd (my father-in-law's birthday). And Yes, I specifically planned it this way, as well as Evie being born on my mother-in-law's birthday so that they will have no choice but to love us more than their other kids.

disneyland!

On May 29th, Jason came home from work and said "Let's go on a road trip." Where to, I asked? "Disneyland." Sounds good. We were packed and on the road within an hour. We got there at midnight, and of course the kids got a sudden burst of excited energy and had to jump on the beds before they went to sleep at the hotel.

By 9:00 the next morning we were on our way to the park! (Okay, side note: we were supposed to be getting a hotel just down the street from the park. Well, yes, it was...but on the back side, where you walk for like a mile on Disneyland property before you even reach the ticket counters. Ahhh!)

They really have no idea where they're about to go, do they.

We made it! Hurray! Pregnant body + miles of walking = aching hips, blistered feet and feeling way over-excited about being at the front of the park. :)

One of Dallin's favorites, the Jungle Cruise. :)

Next on his list: the Haunted Mansion. Which he said was "just a 'yil too scary"

Dallin was just barely tall enough to ride Thunder Mountain Railroad, so he got to go with Dad. This ended up being his favorite ride.

...though Evie wasn't too thrilled that her Dad was gone. She was VERY attached to him the whole trip and would hardly let me hold her. (Which was probably a good thing since I almost collapsed just from walking to the park.)

Still waiting for Dad. Feeling very uneasy.

D and E at Toon Town

One of the longest lines we waited in folks, and no I'm not kidding.

So long that Evelyn fell asleep on Jason's head..

..but woke up just in time to meet Mickey and grab his nose. (Dallin is not in the picture because he ended up being scared to get too close. On the other hand, Evie practically mauled Mickey..)

It's a small world

Dallin and I, right after climbing Tarzan's treehouse. Um, as if walking 5 miles to get to the park wasn't enough of a workout..this treehouse absolutely killed my thighs. Don't be fooled by my smile, I was winded. Jason estimated that we ended up walking well over 10 miles that day.

The kids loved it, we loved it. Spontaneous road trips are the best vacations ever. Hopefully we will see you again soon Disneyland. :)