A visit to Temple Square

This spring we met Brian after work for a picture taking session at Temple Square. As we were finishing the kids walked around the edge of the reflection pond.

Jessica as a Pirate

One evening activity was done by a Salt Lake City actor. He dressed as a pirate, and talked to the kids about how to play a part. He chose Jessica to dress up also, and this is Jessica in her pirate disguise.

4-H Family Camp

One of the highlights of our summer was 4-H Family Camp. We spent three days up Provo canyon camping with a group of 4-H families. The theme was "A Pirate's Life for Me" . The kids were divided by age, and had camp counselors who did planned activities with them all day long. It was a delightful experience! The above picture is of telescopes being set up for skywatching. The Utah Astronomical Society came up with their huge telescopes one eveing. We saw star clusters, planets, and even red and blue stars. It was amazing.

Brotherly Love

The Picture Tree

We have a picture of our kids in this tree from every summer for the past several summers. IT is located in the picnic park at Capitol Reef. We couldn't resist the yearly photo shoot.

Our GPS Treasure Hunt

Armed with GPS units borrowed from Brian's dad, we went on a treasure hunt in Wayne County, Utah. We spent time searching for the graves of our ancestors. We marked their locations, and recorded them so that others could find the graves more easily. We are now putting together the information along with the ancestors' biographies for our family website. This has been a really neat project for us, and has really helped to "turn the hearts of the children" in our own family.

Noah crawling on the sandstone

The Boys on the Other Side of Hickman Bridge

Kids with Hickman Bridge in the Background

Brian and Debs on the way to Hickman Bridge

In July we went down to the farm for a week long visit. While we were there we hiked to Hickman Bridge in Capitol Reef. This is a picture of our family just before arriving at the bridge. Hickman Bridge is a nice hike for families, especially on an overcast day where it isn't too hot outside. There are crevices in the sandstone that make fun little "clubhouses" for the kids to play in.

Giving Up at an Early Age

Seth was carrying several of his toys up the stairs in our home. He had placed them in a box in order to carry more at the same time. "Mommy!" he exclaimed, "I wanna go home. It's too hard!"

Do You Want Tickles?

Deborah was playing with Seth and teasingly asked him, "Seth, do you want tickles?"
"Yesh" was his reply.
"Where do you want them?" she asked. "On your feet?"
"No." he responded.
"On your tummy?" Deborah continued
"No." he again responded
"Then where do you want them?" she asked.
"On Hyrum" was Seth's reply.

Daddy's Girl

 

- by Jessica

The Candy Bars and I

In the garage
is a cache
a non-nutritonal stash
of candy, handy
from last summer's
scouting outing.

There's quite a lot
in a pot.

Snickers and Milky Ways
enough to last me many days.

I often eat
a sticky treat
of non-nutrional
chocolate sweet.

Today, I threw the stash
into the trash
and covered it with a bag of wet garbage.

I'm free!

- Maribeth Ivie

Not Bad for Age Two

Seth had some cereal in his hand, along with the bag out of the box. He thought it would be funny if he started throwing the cereal, which he proceeded to do, causing his mother to quickly take the bag of cereal away from him. He cried "Gib it back," but his mom told him "You can't have cereal if you are going to throw it." Seth continued to cry for a few more minutes, then without prompting, he went carefully around the room picking up the cereal that was on the floor. Finishing he then went his mom and said "more pease." Charmed, his mother gave him the bag back. We sometimes underestimate his level of understanding.

Conversation between Seth and Noah

Our two youngest sons were sitting on the bed. Seth carefully brought Noah a stack of toy animals. Then he presented them to him and said:
"Hey, baby! Here go! He like it! Here go, Noah! Here's a robot!"
Pretty good for age 2, both in the speaking and sharing departments.

Frustrated Hair

Debs was in a hurry to take our kids to school, and so she left without doing her hair or anything. Upon her return Hyrum looked at her unkempt appearance and remarked, "Mom, your hair looks like you woke up, and were just all frustrated."

Grandmothers, The Best Help

Hyrum wanted to go to his Grandmother's house and was trying to pester his mom into taking him. "Mom, please can I go to Grandmother's house? Please, will you take me? Please, please... PLEASE!!!!" Deborah, who was struggling to get the house clean, without a lot of help from her children, patiently explained to him, "Sorry Hyrum, but I need to clean our house today. Can you help me clean the house, and then I'll have time to take you to Grandmother's?" Hyrum considered her request and then replied, "But if you will take me to Grandmother's house right now, I won't mess up or get into trouble here, and you'll be able to clean faster."

Swiming with the Fishes

Having heard the term, "Swimming with the Fishes" many times, Hyrum decided that it was time that he actually experience it. He filled the bathtub with water, and then getting a fish net he managed to scoop up a guppy which he then plunked into the tub to swim with him. Though a fun sounding idea, the guppy didn't survive.

Juicy Coincidence

Deborah was picking me up so we could run an errand with our three young boys in tow. Seth was seated near the passenger door, and then Noah, and Hyrum was behind Deborah. I climbed in our van and as she pulled away from the curb we heard an "Erphhhhh!" from Seth. Turning around we found Seth drenched in orange juice holding a huge half-empty pitcher of it. Apparently he had been attempting to get a drink from it when my wife accelerated. "Hyrum, did you open that and give it to Seth?" Deborah asked. "No" was his reply. Taking the pitcher from Seth and trying to mop him dry with a towell, I looked around his car seat, but couldn't find the cap. "I wonder where the cap is," I exclaimed as I search around Seth to find it. "Oh, hey, here it is," said Hyrum holding up his hand. "I found it right here by me. That's lucky I found it" I took the cap from him and screwed it back on the picture, and Deborah and I had a good chuckle.

Guess Who?

So you can tell that this is an Ivie, but which one?

Miraculous Math Book

This morning Cassandra couldn't find her math book.  She was frantically looking for it before leaving for school. When I picked her up this afternoon, I asked her, "Did you find your math book this morning?"

Her response: "Actually, when I got to school, it was already there, Mom!  It was a miracle! I had a miracle today!!"

Not Square

Hyrum was watching me as I made sandwiches for his sisters to take in their lunches to school.  He was impressed as I took a sandwich that had been cut in half diagonally and was able to fit it into a sandwich bag by putting the two halves back together.  "See, Hyrum, two triangles make a square."  I said to him, trying to be educational.  Hyrum looked at my work and then replied, "That's not a square that is a 'bread'."

Kissing it Better.

Seth is fascinated with his new younger brother and likes to point out his different features like his hair, or nose.  When it comes to pointing to his eyes we have to stop him before he pokes Noah in the eye, "No Seth, be gentle" to which he immediately takes out his binki, and kisses Noah on the forehead with a big, wet 1-year-old kiss.  I guess he figures that kisses make everything better.

Noah Ray

 
Such a serious little baby we decided to name him Noah.  At 8 lbs and 13 oz, he was quite a big kid, and look at that hair!  He was 20.5 inches long, but we think he will end up being as short as our other kids. 

1-Year-Old for "Get Your Own"

I was passing out granola bar treats to each of our kids this morning. Seth came running up and so I offered him one, and then I asked him to take it to Cassandra. He obediently headed straight for Cassandra, but upon arriving where she was, rather than offering it to her he held it close, and said to her "Da-EE" and pointed in my direction. We had a chuckle at how he was able to express himself. Apparently he wanted to keep the one he had.

Hyrums Short Parkour Life

"Parkour" is the term for an urban gymnast who climbs walls, jumps between buildings and other outdoor stunts. I watched a movie with Deborah called “Parkour Rules” that showed some amazing feats by young men who were performing all sorts of impressive outdoor gymnastics. My son watched the video with me with wonder and decided while I was at work that he wanted to try some of the same feats. He tried flips on his parents’ bed, and was quite good at them, deciding that the next step was to do a flip off of the bed. He went to the side of the bed and jumped off, turning mid-air he rammed headfirst into the floor. He cried for a while and later confided to his Mom that he wasn’t going to try and do the other Parkour tricks that he had seen. We’re going to be more careful about what he watches on TV/Internet.

Katie Elizabeth Shaw

Born: April 6, 2006 at 11:32 a.m.

8 lbs. 6 oz.
21 1/2 inches

Black Hair, Blue Eyes, Beautiful Baby

At Least He's Honest

Two or three of our more clever birds have learned how to escape from their cages. In an effort to keep them from escaping Deborah has tried twisting wires and using carabineers to keep them in their cages, but they have managed to figure out a way to get these open. Deborah has since tried placing small luggage padlocks on the bird cages and these seem to be working but they hold a fascination for Hyrum who likes to take the key, remove the locks and play with them. One night Cassandra carried the locks upstairs to her mother and asked what she should do with them. Deborah asked Hyrum, "Hyrum, did you just do this?" "No" was his reply. "Then when did it happen?" "Oh, about an hour ago."

Melissa and Jessica in the Parade

Melissa and Jessica shiver as they get ready to dance in the parade. It was very cold, and so they ended up wearing coats for the entire parade to keep from freezing. 

Cassandra on the Parade Float

 

St Patrick's Day Parade

 

Jessica Likes Mom

 

Jessica Likes Dad

 

Our House

by Jessica 

Spoiled "Wotten!"

We recently moved our children to the basement into the two beautiful new rooms that their grandfathers built for them. As an added bonus Deb’s mom got each of the kids a new bedspread. Cassandra was very excited at how nice her bed looked in the new room and exclaimed, “Mom, grandma sure spoils me wotten!”

What Cows Eat

In a conversation Deborah was having with our children about farms she explained to them that if cows eat the wrong grass they can get sick.

Jessica: “Yeah, that’s how Abraham Lincoln’s mother died. She drank milk from a cow that ate poisonous grass and she died. Then his dad married another lady and he was really sad. But he got over it. Abraham Lincoln made it so the black people could be free. And that is why there are so many kids with black skin in my class, like my best friend Alicia. But then a guy shot Abraham Lincoln in the back because the South Americans were mad that he made the black people free.”

What Husbands are For

Deborah: “If you had a husband, what would you do for him?”
Cassandra: “Well, I know what he would do for me...”
“Give me a wedding ring!”

Hearing Birdseed

Hyrum took a new container of birdseed and poured it out over the dining room carpet. Deborah wouldn't let him play until he had picked it all up. Since there was a lot of birdseed it was going to take him a while. Deborah went upstairs to take care of Seth, Hyrum came up in 5 minutes with a "I'm done."
"You need to pick up all of the birdseed."
"How do you know I didn't do it?"
"Cause I didn't hear you pick it up"
"You can't hear birdseed!"
“OK, do you want me to come check?”
“No”
And with that he went back down and started to pick up the birdseed.

Nathaniel Glen Dixon Born

Nathaniel Glen Dixon arrived Tuesday evening at 11:00 PM Dec. 27th 2005.
8 lbs 4 oz 19 1/2 inches. Mom and baby doing fine... Dad recuperating.

Nathaniel - Not too Happy After Birth

Eric and Bonnie with Newest Dixon

 

Melissa in her Christmas Outfit

 

Jessica in her Christmas Outfit with Doll

 

Cassandra in her new Christmas outfit and matching doll.

 

Hyrum in his new Christmas Outfit

 

Who Loves Me the Most

The following conversation occurred between Hyrum and Deborah:
Deborah: Who loves me the most?
Hyrum: I do!
Deborah: Even more than daddy?
Hyrum: Well, I do if you give me a cookie!

Samuel's Card

 
 

Travis Watches Over His New Son

 
 

Samuel Harper Born

 
Samuel Harper was Born Yesterdat at 6:34 p.m.. He is 21 inches, 7 lbs 6. oz.
 

Ivie Girls, and Their Reflections Contest Trophies.

Melissa, Cassandra and Jessica all won trophies for their Reflections Contest Entries This Year.