COUGARS beat the UTES!!

Thanksgiving weekend was the big game between Utah and BYU...we won!
Ray's victory shuffle on the 50 yard line....:)

THE UTAH GAME!! go BYU!! Here are some the fun pictures that Ray took after the win over Utah. Ray, Trey, Laura and Ben went to the game and ran into Joel's kids Ryan and Rachel after the game. They all ran down on the field....Cox family tradition!!

Thanksgiving Day 2009, Lehi, UT

This big picture is of the whole Merle and Laura Lee Hawkley group. We are missing Phil and Lisa, but are glad to have all the grandkids here.....ALMOST!! I was soooo happy we got a picture and we were looking at them, after everyone left, and I couldn't find Ben in the photo!! I just about died! He was in the basement playing video games and no one noticed he was missing...uggg. so sorry Benny! Just give me another mother of the year award. Hopefully we can photo shop him in! I think my mom and dad and Missy would be proud of how we've all turned out and love the two new grandkids in law! I love you guys. Happy Thanksgiving....we have a lot to be thankful for!

well, after MUCH weeping and wailing and nashing of teeth, I got my family to pose for a picutre outside Edee's house. So here we all are in 2009!!

the new me

YES...apparently after years of hilighting my hair and then bleaching it, I wasnt really sure what my real color was...well, here it is folks....pretty dark brown. I knew it turned darker with each pregnancy, and after 5 of them this is what you get. I went to get my hair done and had her match my roots. I am a combination of freaked out and excited! Almost in tears and then happy to be my "real" hair self. Kind of liberating really. Me at 38, a brunette-who knew!?

Ray has been a great sport and Jeff asked me if I was wearing a wig...hahahaha

BIG FISH!!

Our family campout with the Dye family in Pine Valley, UT Sept. 2009

Trey's first fish!! He and Tanner went fishing (a short walk to the lake from our campsite)... and they scored some fish!! Trey even learned how to clean it thanks to Tanner's dad Ryan.

It all reminded me of fishing with my dad on our vacations in Idaho...

OUR 4th of July summer vacation

Ok, the whole reason we went to Utah County for the 4th of July was because Loll was a dancer in the Stadium of Fire. She worked so hard and did such a great job! We all got to watch her dance and see the Jonas Brothers and Glen Beck. Our whole family went and we took Caroline and Rachel with us. It was lots of fun.

It turned out great because Joel and his family were in town and we had a mini family reunion. so fun to see everyone and we needed a fun getaway trip for the summer.

Laura isn't in our family photo because she was busy practicing for the big show. They had an unbelievable practice schedule!

The family at BYU, July 3rd.

FOR SHAME ON ME!!

Ok, I knew it had been a LONG while since I had posted anything on this poor lonely blog, but wow, it has been longer than I thought. Where does the time go? I have a lot of things to catch up on so I will just probably do it randomly and try to update this journal of our days.

Here is a picture from our campout in Pine Valley in September. Ray was a good sport and took some pictures with me. He LOVES to pose for pictures;)

Happy Fathers Day!

happy dads day Ray! here we were actually going out on a date a couple of weeks ago... we went to Olive Garden and the food didn't make me sick! happy day!! I also actually have makeup on and my hair is combed...it's a MIRACLE! haha

Thanks to Laura and Trey for the babysitting! The summer is getting away from me, I can't believe it is almost july!! (so excited to go to Lehi!!!) I need to blog about my week last week...interesting and a relief!!

OUR FAMILY

well here we all are! all 7 of us! I love Brett's grin! haha We were up in New Harmony for the day pulling up old carpet and carpet pad and loading junk..from the previous owners...tons of it...yuck! but it is good to work hard together and hopefully we'll have a fun cabin when it's all cleaned up! It is a beautiful piece of land (5 acres). We also went four wheeling and took the Ranger that we're sitting in...it is Brett's favorite!

it's Missy's birthday

Happy Birthday Missy!! I could be a year off, but I think today she would have been 43 years old. I have so many happy memories of her and am so glad she was (and still is) my sister. I miss her everyday. I was cleaning out some of my stuff the other day and found a box of her pictures and things she saved. In it was a little pocket of Hawkley's hair from a hair cut that she had carefully saved. I just broke down and cried. Some times life hurts and losing someone so good hurts, but what a happy reunion we will have someday. Until then, we just have to keep on going and do the best we can. I have started drinking some vitamin drinks from Costco. They have lots of vitamins and no sugar and are pretty good. On the bottle is this quote which I find to ring very true for me:
"AS IN LIFE, CHILL FOR BEST RESULTS."
hahahaha isn't that a classic?? LOVE IT!!! so here's to "chilling" and being thankful and counting our blessings....like the time we had with those we miss.

Happy Flag Day a few other things!:)

OK, this is a just a little note to tell a little about what I heard every June 14th all of my years growing up: "Happy Flag Day" and "____________ years ago today, Mr. Kelly hung himself". No, I'm not kidding....June 14 was my parents anniversary and instead of them saying Happy anniversary, they'd say those two lines. (My Dad's mom's best friends husband hung himself the morning my parents were married, sad but true)



So as I walked out front today and saw the flag flying in front of my house yesterday(courtesy of the scouts) I thought what day is it today??? then I said to myself...."Oh, happy flag day and a lot of years ago today Mr. Kelly hung himself"....thanks for having a sense of humor mom and dad and I wish you were here to wish a happy anniversary. I miss you. I love you.

just call me granny....

Hey, this is my new bike! Ray bought it for me and I Love it! Notice the comfy seat, my favorite part, and notice how OLD and nerdy I look on it! If you are 38 and look 48 but feel 28, does it even out? hahaha...I honestly have to say I feel like I "look" better on it than these photos are saying....but I'll just pretend as I cruise around on the neighborhood that I don't look like such a nerd. Oh well, I am having fun. Who knew I could ride 10 miles and n0t have a complete body breakdown! haha here's to excercise and hoping Ray and I can ride lots together. (he got a road bike for his knees, he needs two FULL knee replacements and has been told by the doctors to ride, ride, ride...so here's to getting healthy and enjoying nature...OOOOHHHH, on the trail we saw two deer the other day..so cool!!

SHE'S a TEENAGER!!

June 12, 1996.....what a happy day!! Thirteen years ago today, you were born!!

Happy Birthday Lolly girl! I love you so much and couldn't be prouder of what a good and beautiful girl you are...INSIDE and OUT!! And just look at those newly straightened teeth!!

You are a joy and I love you!

For my sister

this is just a shout out to my great sister Edee:

"I love you, feel better, and be happy!" :)

I love looking at these spoons in my kitchen and I loved going to the Relief Society Meeting..(Thats where this picture was taken)...I am inviting myself for this year too. ahahahaha

Hang in there and like you said, think of the positive...enjoy your "better than new" capris!!

1st grade ZOO

Before I start blogging all about summer fun I wanted to post this picture about Jeff's project about the Bald Eagle. He did a great job and had great teacher. All the kids stood behind their desk and when you pushed the "button" drawn on a paper on their desk, they told you all of thier memorized facts about thier zoo animal.. it was so cute and you did a great job Jeffrey! We love you!

KTM love...

THE madness began

a few weeks ago, when Ray and Trey went on a road trip with our great nieghbors Curtis and Tyler Rogers. They found a great deal on KTM motorcycles and decided to buy few to resell and try to make a few dollars in this rotton economy (and Trey has been dying for one (he is paying for half of his own) so they went to Idaho and met the dealer from Seattle who sold them to them. They went up in back in one day and so far so good, they have been selling!!

Brett joined in the picture because he LOVES LOVES LOVES those motorcycles and anything with a noisy motor that goes fast...he wasn't too happy to stay home with me..poor guy! (notice is dirt bike pants he has on! so cute!)

I love our neighbors and our ward, I love knowing EVERY single one of the families in our neighborhood and having all but 2 as members of the church. I guess you could say I am fully transplanted to ST George. Oh, and Trey is loving the KTM he bought...so glad he and Ray like to do so much stuff together and glad Trey is learning about the value of a dollar...I'm not such a good teacher with that, but I am trying to get better!!

I'm gonna gag!

OK, I came home a couple of weeks ago and found two DUCKS swimming around.

They flew away when I turned the waterfall, and I mean FLEW, like hawks! I then found out from my friend and neighbor that she has pool hopping ducks too....hopefully my pool is NOT thier potty spot...so anywho.....we have some crafty ducks in the neighborhood. thank goodness for strong Chlorine!;)

Merle, this one's for you!

Ok, so I blew off blogging my birthday, Edee's birthday, and mothers day...and Easter.Wow, I am SO with it! But some good advice from my big sister makes me not want to give up....so here goes, maybe I can turn over a new leaf and be a blogger again!

This picture is for Dad, the most gung ho scouter I ever knew..I remember him sitting at mom's sewing machine heming boy scout pants for the boys in the ward, going to meeting after meeting, driving all eagle scouts to Idaho to hike the Tetons...yah, that's from Phoenix!

Well, whenever I think of Cathy Baker, or Laura Larson two lovely ladies who were always serving in Primary, I picture them in a yellow scout shirt..........now I get to wear the beloved blue and yellow as 2nd counselor in our ward primary. I think Dad would get a kick out of it and I have a lot of years of scouts ahead of me so I am trying to get my "scouter" on. I really do love serving in the Primary. I know Heavenly Father loves Primary! So here's to you Dad, I love you and what a good example of service you were!

Big kid toys

The weekend before our campout we Ray decided to wash all the fourwheelers and dirt bikes. It was such a pretty day and the kids all had fun. We rode up and down the street a few times to the park and I took Brett for a ride, but he said he likes to ride with Dad better (he goes faster you know, and well, he is DAD of course....I can't compete with that! haha) It was a beautiful Saturday, and you know....Saturday is a Special Day!! ;)

What you see.......

I believe Jeffrey had been begging me to take some pictures with my camera....Brett and I were the guinea pigs and so what you see is what you get...me in my PJ's with no make up, sitting in my chair with my sidekick beside me....(a very common site in our home). I can see so much of my Dad in my face, and so much of Ray in Brett's face. So this is the real me at 37 and Brett at 2. Thanks for recording a regular everyday moment for us Jeffy. Someday these times will seem like a million years ago...hard to believe, but they will! I love you!

Spring Break in the dunes...

We had a great time at Coral Pink state park over spring break. This picture certainly doesn't do it justice, but this is the entrance you ride up to get to the dunes...so pretty.

Our 1st trailer!! Brett loves the trailer and anything to do with four wheeling and camping and his daddy. Brett was with us for the day and then went home with Aunt Michelle and Grandma and Grandpa Cox. We had a great time with all of our friends and I think I even learned to be a little bit better of a rider! haha

I just love what a beautiful world Heavenly Father created for us, and spending time together as a family is the best!

Monday thought

Well, here it is, another monday morning and I am trying to grab the courage to start the week off with some cleaning projects. Hopefully all will go smoothly....I will let you know;)
I wanted to start the week off with the good thought for me and all of us to remember, here it is:

"Whether you think you will, or you think you won't....YOU'RE RIGHT."

So true so true, so here's to positive thinking that my laundry will get done, my scrapbook will get cleaned and my kids will happily do thier chores this week! Have a great monday guys!

"only in my dreams"....yes, that was a Debbie Gibson song in the 1980's...today I am singing in my head because if you look at this photo...that would be my dream:

In the middle of the ocean on a beautiful boat, reading and enjoying the salty air. Ah, the smell of the ocean! I know I am in fantasy land, but it has been a rather stressful week, the scoliosis, the scare of meningitis, the bad knee, the lack of completed homework.....well I will stop there to avoid TMI. (I know too late) ha!

So I will just have to take cruise in my head I guess...and enjoy today and try to count my blessings.....yes, I know I have many.

Creative soul

More lego fun to report! My boys it seems are addicted to Legos. If you haven't had this interest in your house, feel lucky...those things are expensive!!! geez!! Jeff was so proud of his creation that I needed to take a picture of it. At 6 years old he is quite an independent and creative little soul, and I love to see him smile.

I think maybe some of the Lego interest may come from me, you see I used to love legos. I am the youngest and I remember one afternoon, my brother wanted to build a lego house with me, well I was so excited!!! (Joel is 10 years older than me)...well, after we built the house, I discovered his true desire to build the lego house was not to play with me, but to put firecrackers inside it on the back porch and BLOW IT UP!! Ah, the stink and look of those charred lego pieces...haha What a funny memory, of course, if one of my older kids did that to Jeff or Brett, I would come unglued!! Well, just thought I would share a funny memory from my childhood. Long live LEGOS and even though I can't seem to avoid stepping on little pieces every now and then, I love 'em still!

Tagged

OK, I was tagged by Lauren to write 25 interesting things about me..they may not be interesting, just something you may not know about me...so here goes..

1. I am a returned missionary
2. I have never been to a foreign country besides Mexico, (does that even count?)
3. I absolutely had a terrific, care free child hood, and was the baby of the family
4. I loved, loved, loved, Michael Jackson when Beat It was out...I am so ashamed to admit it now! LOL Missy and I had a poster of him in a yellow sweater we called a store in Metro Center everyday to see if they got the poster in...
5. I love to go to the beach and love to go on cruises. I am convinced it is the best way to see the world.
6. I was blessed with wonderful friends growing up who had the same values I did, and I am so thankful for the church.
7. I cry very easily, over the good or the bad
8. I love to laugh and especially when I am laughing so hard I can't breathe. (I miss Missy's laugh)
9. One of my favorite things in the world is when the Raines come to visit ST.George. You guys make me happy!
10. I am determined to learn to wake board this year..I am 37, but hopefully I have some skills left, (wait, did I ever have any?!?! LOL)
11. I have a fascination with sharks that probably spawns from watching JAWS several hundred times with Grandpa Fewens one summer at the 24th avenue house...strange but true....and I seriously would like to go into a shark cage and feed sharks on a tour, they actually do that!!!
12. I am so glad I have 5 fabulous children.
13. I am an orphan, wait , can you be an orphan at 37? I miss my parents. and Missy.
14. I love to scrapbook, but seem to go in cycles of actually producing stuff, or just THINKING about it! ha!
15. I dream of being a more organized, structured person, but like they say, it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks...
16. I want to go to Europe before I die, and Hawaii
17. Sense and Sensibility is my all time favorite show, it makes me cry though, so I don't watch it too often
18. I am a fully recovered Diet Coke addict, although I still think it is a FABULOUS drink! I do feel better without it! I have been "clean" for over 2 months!
19. You know how some people have boundless amounts of energy, that is NOT me, but I wish it was!
20. I love to fish. and want to go back to Alaska to fish again, for Halibut and Salmon! It was fabulously beautiful and fun!
21. I pray for our country...
22. I cannot tolerate people who are intolerant and bigots (they do exist still)
23. I love Primary! I wish every child in the world could be taught the things that we teach in Primary. It is so simple and true! But I do confess to having a headache after primary every week! LOL
24. I have a horrible sweet tooth. It is a struggle, but I am abstaining from sugar! Yikes! someone go have some chocolate cake from COSTCO for me ok?? :)
25. I love the beach and if I had enough money, I would have a beach house.....
It is funny, because if I did this list later today or tomorrow I am sure it might be completely different! I am so thankful for my life! Thanks Lauren, this was fun, did you learn anything about me you didn't know??? Probably not!:)

Just for Laughs...

Happy Visiting teaching girls! You know how true it is! haha

That's my girl!!!

Wow! OK, every year two students are chosen from Tonaquint Intermediate school (6th and 7th grade) to attend the National Junior Leaders Conference....and my Laura Lee was the one chosen from the 7th grade, "in recognition of academic excellence,extracurricular involvement, and leadership potential." WOW, I am so proud of my girl!!!! The conferences are world wide and kids from all over the country attend, mainly in Washington DC, California and NY.

WOW again Loll! I love you so much and can't wait to see what the future holds for you! You are a shining star and can be anything you want to be! You are only 12 years old and you have won more awards than I ever have and I am 37 years old! :) Enjoy life and keep on making such good choices! I have to say that you are just as brilliant on the inside as you are on the outside. A mother couldn't be prouder! Thank you for being the "second mother" around here and helping to take care of me. love, mom

Brett's Temple

Today, Brett showed me his Lego project....He said, "look mom, I made it!" (big smile) then said, "It's the temple, my temple!" Of course my heart melted, and I am so thankful that my parents taught me, so that I can teach my kids about the temple and the gospel. So, even at 2 and a half, he knows the temple is important and as he says when we drive by the St. George temple, "It's up high!". I love you Brett! You light up my life, my baby number 5...I am so glad we knew you needed to be in our family!!!!

can you say SLACKER???

I am like a slow turtle these days, just trying to keep it together, but life is good! I am so blessed with good family and friends...Thanks guys!

Geez! I am soooo bad lately about keeping up this blog. I know why, it is because I need to download pics on my computer and haven't and so I think, oooh, I will post later.and then it is never done! The family is doing great and it is now February....hmmm time is going by and as a friend of mine said, "facebook is the lazy man's blog.." so true, so true...I have been having a great time re connecting with old friends on facebook, but I really do want to get my blogging act together...thanks for the inspiration on being good bloggers Trevlyn and Edee...I want to be like you guys when I grow up!:D

Nineteen years ago tomorrow....

Well, here I go with a "MONDAY Thought", only it's on Thursday night...oh well better than nothin' huh? It is a hanging on my wall that says,

"Because someone we love is in heaven, we feel heaven in our home."

Isn't that great? I love it. I found it at a craft show and had to buy it, because I know it is true. I know our loved ones are closer than we may think and it reminds me of that song by Alabama, that goes..."I believe there are angels among us...."
So, I hope you feel angels around you and that your January is going well.
It has been 19 years tomorrow that my dad went in for a triple by pass. I remember many things about that time in our lives ( so many kind people who showed us all love and service)...in some ways it feels like yesterday and in others, like a lifetime ago. He died 4 months later in the ICU, after a long fight.
My husband and kids will not know him until the next life, but I know his influence continues to guide me and when significant things happen, my dad, and mom for that matter are close at hand. that is what the gospel is all about and I am so thankful for that knowlege!
Life is blessed and happy and I am overwhelmingly happy with the "angels" influence I feel in my home. I am looking ahead to the rest of 2009 and hoping to do it with gratitude.

OKAY, for Christmas, Laura Lee got a "life size" standing poster of this guy....everytime I walk into her room, I just about have a heart attack and think some man is standing there....(ahhh, it takes me back to being 12 and my Rick Springfield poster that I just couldn't hang up because it showed his gross armpit hair! hahaha)

Anyway, just thought I would record the "Edward Phase" of Laura's life....someday he will be her Rick Springfield....or Donny Osmond (Edee) :D

Time is flying by

I don't have a cute picture to post, or any cute anecdote to write about...I just want to say that I am so thankful for my life. Jeffrey bore his testimony in sacrament meeting last Sunday and the first thing he said was, "I am thankful for life". WOW! My sweet 6 year old. I am so thankful for the life I have and the new lease on life that I feel this new year of 2009. It is a year of change for me, (proud to report still no diet coke :D) and I am thrilled to be getting healthier!!!!
So if you are contemplating trying a new regime of somekind, just try it....who knows maybe it'll be just the thing you were looking for to feel better or be better! Ah, so much for my "MONDAY THOUGHTS" eh? My bad....maybe next week! HAHA

Happy New Year!!!

OK, talk about a blast from the past! This is my mom and my Aunt Linda. (sometime in the early 1970's) They would ALWAYS sing and dance to music around the house when they were together. We were always entertained as kids.

The reason I post this as my NEW YEAR'S post, is because one of my resolutions this year is to be more fun, sing more, dance more and play more with my family. Mom and Aunt Linda have both passed away, so this is a tribute to their memory and how much fun we all had together...

So here's to a new year of silliness, fun and games and maybe someday my children can say the same about me! :)