Eagar Family News

2010-05-14T22:55:00.002-06:00

On second thought, let's just call each other and email pictures when we have them. This blog will still be here for those of you who would like to post to it.
Love to all of you,
Karen

regression

2010-05-10T11:21:00.002-06:00

I am thinking about going back to the paper newsletter that we used to have. This blog is kind of dead. (But thanks to Mom and Linda for trying to revive it a bit).

Here's why I think a paper newsletter is a better format for our family to keep in touch:
-Gan can stay involved, since she has no computer
-deadlines were a good thing to keep updates coming from everyone
-my impression is that (almost) everyone in our family prefers to read from a tangible piece of paper rather than a monitor

One thing that we need to change is the frequency of the newsletter. I can't keep up with once a month anymore. I propose a quarterly or biannual (or triannual, what's the word for every four months?) newsletter. If you'd all like to take turns pestering each other for family updates, that would be just fine with me, too.
Let me know what you think about this change as well as other changes you would like to see.
Thanks and I love you guys,
Karen

About girl dogs and casting aspersions

2010-03-03T19:56:00.002-07:00

Just a comment about Linda's story: Dad sometimes sings with an Irish accent, too.

When Rebekah was about 3 years old, she and Dad went for a walk around the block. When they returned home, Bekah said, "I saw a girl dog." I asked, "How do you know it was a girl?" She answered, "Because it had long hair!"

When Matt was only about 5, he ran upstairs to tell Dad that Linda had gotten into the fireplace to play. Dad asked, "Matthew, are you casting aspersions?" Matthew answered, "No, Dad. I didn't cast her in there; she got in herself!"

Today Bethany (just turned 3 last week) was running around the house singing over and over again, "I'm not a dog; I'm not a squirrel; I'm a girl."

A Little Family History

2010-02-26T14:43:00.004-07:00

I just spoke to Gan this afternoon. She told me a story which I recall hearing before, but did not remember well enough to recount on my own. It's a fun story and I want to record it, and I thought the family blog might be a great place for it.

When Dad was young, he was called by his middle name, Waddy, after his uncle, instead of by his first name, Tom. When he was in second grade he came home from school after their Valentine's Day celebration and announced that he did not want to be called Waddy anymore. When asked why, he poured out his bag of Valentine's from his classmates and said, "Look!" There on the cards were written, "Wooley, Whitey, Wally, Wendy..." you name it. All sorts of names that started with 'W' but not one that said 'Waddy.' And ever since he has been 'Tom' instead.

Also amusing was that having an Irish teacher with a thick accent, he read with an Irish accent himself during the second grade.

If you have family history stories you can share, I'd love to see them posted here. I know we have lots of great stories, but whenever my children ask for one, I draw a blank. Please share your stories for all of us to enjoy!

Favorite Pictures

2009-10-11T20:28:00.004-06:00

So I just commented on Karen's post and decided maybe I'll just post a few favorite pictures from the last few months. I hope I can figure out how this blog thing works (I had a hard time with the post I did last year).

Look what I can do! Chuck's sister, Cerah, showed me how to do this braid on Adaline back in June, but I thought I'd never be able to do it. Finally in August I tried and was successful. After the first time going out with this "do" Adaline loved the attention she got so much that she'll willingly try to sit still for her hair to be braided these days. I don't do it often, but it's a lot of fun when we do.

The kids were looking for ways to have fun while we were shoe shopping. I thought it made a cute picture. Just clowning around!

The kids planted and watered their own sunflowers this year with amazing results! We loved these enormous flowers. I had to measure them because I was so amazed- they were 11-12 feet tall!

I get the biggest kick out of Adaline's expression as she watched Chuck lick the drips off of her ice cream cone. We got homemade frozen custard from a local place after FHE one night.

I just love this picture because it's a classic. It's like the one on the book about motherhood that mom gave us a couple yers ago, but this was not staged.

Maybe I'm not as much of a ludite as I thought! That wasn't so hard after all!

Oh, how I love Conference weekend!

2009-10-04T16:16:00.002-06:00

This blog has been abandoned for a long time, so I don't expect anyone will read this. But can I just say how much I love General Conference weekend? I mean, even with all of the kid noise and minor squabbling (ok, and some major squabbling). I love it. I love the leaders of our Church. When people say that they are "out of touch", I really have to wonder if they've ever heard them speak. And the choir sang "O Divine Redeemer" this time. Ah. It was good. It is worth watching TV for 4 hours each day of the weekend. Not many things are worth that.

Is Everyone Ready to Party?

2009-05-21T09:21:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure if anyone is checking the family blog anymore, since we've all been such slackers about posting. But we're in the home stretch for the family reunion this weekend, and in the midst of all the laundry/packing/cleaning that needs to be done in order for us to leave town, I'd just like to share some of the enthusiasm that is running rampant at our house in anticipation of this great event.

Topher: "Is my friend (interpretation: cousin) Jacob going to be on the airplane?"

Mom: "Yes, he will be on the airplane once we get to Utah."

Topher: "Oh ye-eh-eh-eh-eh-ah!" (accompanied by fist pump)

Hope you are all as excited as we are!

Greg Needs to Stop Making Other Guys Look Bad

2009-03-06T09:47:00.003-07:00

OK, a lot of time has passed since I last posted anything, but I couldn't let this go by without sharing it with you all. Back in December, Greg really wanted to have a party for our 10th anniversary. But Maggie was still pretty little, and life is always hectic around the holidays, so he decided to put off the party for a little while. Since my birthday is in February and Greg always feels a little blue during the winter, he decided it would be the perfect time the throw a 10th Anniversary/Bekah's Birthday/Get Rid of the Winter Blues Party. He had everything almost completely planned in his mind before we ever talked about it, and I just helped him execute his vision.

Greg really loves a good party, so we ended up with about 60 people, a DJ, a game room with projection TVs and Wii game systems, tons of food, and even a chocolate fountain. I don't think we've had anything even close to it since our actual wedding receptions 10 years ago. And then he surprised me with a video that his cousin helped him put together, which made most of the other men there tell him to "stop making them look bad in front of their wives". I tried to upload the video, but the size limit was 100 MB, and it turned out to be 103 MB. If I figure out how to shorten it or split it in two sections, I'll post it eventually. But it's about time one of us posted something!

2008 in Review- Kind Of

2008-11-17T14:11:00.004-07:00

So I am finally getting around to contributing something to the blog. Part of my delay has been due to the fact that our pictures have been in such disarray. But I had a couple reasons to spend a little time organizing some of our digital picture files this weekend, so I thought I'd start by posting some of my favorites. Nothing in particular, just a partial (very partial) year in review for us for 2008. Hope you enjoy the photos and someday I'll get around to posting again and will be able to make it more interesting next time. I enjoy everyone else's blogs so much, I guess it's time I contribute something.

Myrtle Beach May 08

Peter Pan, Captain Hook & Tinkerbell

Halloween 08

Happy Kids July 08

November 08

Seth James Meeker

2008-11-09T20:51:00.004-07:00

Seth was born on Thursday, October 30 at 12:12 am after a very long (for me) labor. He was 7lb.6 oz. and 20.5 inches long. Still pretty big for 3 weeks early. I'm glad I was induced early this time.
He's had jaundice, so he's been under bilirubin lights for the past week and the other kids are beside themselves because they haven't been able to hold him as much as they would like. But he is such a good baby and does so well even though he has to spend most of his day under something that glows like a fly trap. Frankly, the lights are driving me a little nuts. Now, to the pictures!

We thought the nametag at the hospital was funny. We don't think Seth is creepy at all, though.

Halloween

2008-11-09T20:33:00.004-07:00

Here are our two unkempt vampires, Snow White and Pocahontas. The kids had fun at the ward Halloween party and then trick-or-treating. And they've been so nice about sharing their candy. What great kids.

Fall Pictures

2008-11-09T20:24:00.003-07:00

We went to the gardens at Jared's office a few days before Seth was born and took fall pictures of the kids. They turned out really well. Good job, Jared. The weather has gotten very cold very fast, so I don't know what we'll do about Seth's fall picture. We may have to settle for an indoor one.

Back to School

2008-09-12T22:02:00.002-06:00

The kids went back to school almost 4 weeks ago, but I am cutting myself some slack for being so late posting this because I'm pregnant. My brain is functioning very s-l-o-w-l-y right now.

The girls like to lay their clothes out the night before a big day. You can't see in the picture, but they even have socks tucked into the bottom of the pants. Crazy kids. I thought it was also pretty funny how they made the shirts holding hands.

Here are all the kids before we headed out the door. Laurel was so excited that she couldn't pull off a normal smile. All of the kids have been really excited about walking themselves to school this year, and I'm not complaining either.

Megan actually started a week after Laurel and Ben because the kindergarten teachers like to interview all of their incoming students the first week. Jacob was really mad that he didn't start school this year, but we started going to story time at the library again, so he has forgiven me.

He also sneaked (snuck?) the camera off of the counter and took lots of pictures of his feet with toys. This one was actually in focus.

Maggie is here!

2008-08-24T14:52:00.002-06:00

Margaret Ann Dunkley was born Wed, Aug 20th at 12:29 pm. She was 8 lbs, 7 oz and 22 inches long. We arrived at the hospital at 7 am for our scheduled induction, and I had already started to dilate (a pretty sure sign that she would have been born that day anyway.) After starting the induction at 8 am, Greg and I walked the halls for about an hour and then the doctor broke my water. Things moved along pretty smoothly until about 11:30, when I had dilated to about 8cm. For the next half hour, the contractions were pretty intense, but didn't produce much change. The baby seemed to be a little posterior, so they had me try some different labor positions to encourage her to turn. After another half hour, that seemed to do the trick. It was a good thing that they had set up for the delivery at 10:30, because she came out on the first push! Her face was quite bruised from coming out so quickly, and most of the nurses who saw her were initially concerned that she wasn't breathing. After the first day, most of the purple had faded.
Here is Maggie's curly hair after her first bath. She pretty much slept through the whole thing.
And this is pretty much how she has looked since then. She is a good eater and a good sleeper, and she loves her binkie! We are excited to have our new little girl home with us, and we are all enjoying her sweet disposition. She already has her dad wrapped around her finger. After such a quick and easy labor, I feel great! It's probably a very good thing that Mom is here to help out, or I would probably be overdoing things. But with Grandma around, I get to take naps and showers and eat yummy healthy meals, and the kids are having a great time. We seem to be making the transition to 4 kids quite well, at least for the time being! Hopefully it keeps going this well after Mom goes back home in a week.

Anna in the News!

2008-08-23T13:18:00.006-06:00

Anna wrote about a recent pizza delivery experience on her blog that has gotten a WHOLE lot of attention here in Utah. She was even on the news last night. The above picture is courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune.

My Run In with the Majority Leader in the Utah State Senate
I won't tell you his name because I'm afraid it could get me in trouble. Maybe this post could get me in trouble even without his name. Probably not, though, because there's only, like, 20 people who read my blog, and half of them don't live in Utah. But you won't have trouble finding this guy's name online if you're curious.

Work tonight was uneventful as usual, until my second delivery of the night. I show up at this pretty house with a 3 car garage and lots of expensive camping equipment airing out on the front porch. A boy, maybe 12 years old, answers the door, asks the amount, and yells it to his parents who are in the kitchen. I pull the pizzas out of the bag as the father walks out to me.

"Can you take a check?"

"I can't take a personal check. We accept business checks, but not personal
checks. Sorry."

He gets huffy. "Well, then you can take your pizzas back."

I'm thrown off a little. At worst people are a little annoyed that they can't pay with a check, but no one has ever told me to take their pizza back. I don't really want to go back to the store with $30 worth of pizza wasted. (It wouldn't have been entirely wasted--the employees would have eaten it for dinner, but Nick wouldn't have charged us for it, so it would have been a loss to him.) I'm deciding what to say, but he doesn't wait for me.

"Look, I'm the majority leader of the state senate, I've lived in this house for 30 years, and I've never bounced a check." He's gruff. I am uncomfortable, my eyes pleading, but I say nothing.

"Do you know what that means? I'm a public figure. If I bounced a check, it would be all over the papers. I'd lose my reputation!"

My jaw drops as though I will say something, but I can't figure out what words are supposed to come out. He starts to walk away. "If you don't have cash, you can call the store and pay with a debit or credit card, and you can still have the pizza," I manage.

"What's the number?" He sounds angry enough to become abusive at any moment. Even taking my anxiety disorder into account, I believe this is a rational fear. "Who should I talk to?"

"Whoever answers the phone will be able to help you," I say, assuming he is just going to pay the bill. I give him the number.

The phone call: "I'd like to speak to the manager...Good. What's your name, ma'am?...Oh. What's your name, sir?...My name is _____. There's a nice young lady here who says she can't take my check."

From the tone he's been using, I'd never have guessed he thought I was a "nice young lady" or even a human being with feelings.

"Look, I'm the majority leader in the state senate..." etc., everything he told me.

"No one told my wife you don't take checks when she made the order."

I was not about to step in and tell him I took the order and had given her the option of cash or credit, saying nothing either way about checks. Luckily, the wife spoke up and said what I was thinking. She and her daughters were clearly embarrassed.

"Look, I'm a CPA, so I know a check is the same as cash."

Yeah, if it's a cashier's check.

"Where are you from? I'm from Chicago. You're probably from New York, right?"

How is this relevant?

"You're from Massachusetts? We're both Easterners."

Since when is Chicago considered the East?

"Then you must understand that a check is the same thing as cash. I'm from an old school of thought and I'm a CPA, so I understand that a check is as good as cash...Yes, I understand--trying to build a business and everything, but it's all money in the bank...Yes, you can talk to her."

Mr. Logical Fallacy hands me the phone, and I'd like to say, "Nick, I'm sorry I sicked this long-winded bastard on you," but I just say, "Hi, Nick." He tells me I can take the check as long as the man shows me his driver's license and I write the license number on the check. I hang up the phone and tell Mr. Impressive Title what Nick said.

Taking the phone back, "What's that number again?"

Why is he still pissed? He's getting his way. I really hope the restaurant's not busy right now because Mr. Doesn't Know When to Stop has been keeping Nick from making pizza or doing anything else for several minutes, and who knows how long he'll talk this time.

The second phone call: "Nick? This is ____ again. I'm going to give you my American Express number, and pay for it that way."

Huh? Why have I been standing in this guy's front hall for the past 10 minutes?

"Look, why should I give my credit card number and the security number on the back when some unscrupulous business owner could make fraudulent charges on it?...A check is the same as cash--"

Again? Really?

"--but with a check you get the amount I give you. Don't you know what someone could do with the account number for a card with no credit limit?"

1) Is he accusing Nick of being a corrupt business owner? I thought people were supposed to distrust politicians, not the other way around. 2) Is he bragging about his credit?

An embarrassed daughter emerges from the kitchen and tells me I can put the pizzas down if they're getting heavy. I thank her, but hold on to the pizza. Somehow, having the boxes in my hands is giving me a sense of security. Without them, I would feel naked and vulnerable.

Mr. Ridiculously Pissed Off gives Nick the credit card number and angrily reiterates everything he has already said in both phone calls. After he hangs up, he takes the pizza from me. "This isn't your fault. You've been very professional about this."

Since when is staring uneasily at the pizza boxes I'm holding considered professional? Whatever.

"I'm sorry about this," he continues, but he still sounds like he's stifling profanity with great difficulty.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry for the confusion and inconvenience." Let's end this amicably. I turn to the door.

"Hold on just a second."

Ah! I just want to get out!

"Does anyone have any cash? I don't have any. Someone have a couple bucks?"

One of his daughters comes up with $2. Crappy tip, especially after making me suffer through that ordeal.

Aren't politicians supposed to be charismatic and stuff? I guess it doesn't matter what they're like in their private life. Maybe it should matter. Needless to say, now that I am registered to vote in Utah, I will not be supporting ____, current Majority Leader in the Utah State Senate. If you live in Utah, I hope you won't support him either. He is obnoxious and prideful. He argues illogically, citing irrelevant details as some sort of proof. I suspect his overly aggressive and defensive behavior masks some insecurity. But what do I know?

Nesting

2008-08-19T20:01:00.004-06:00

So, over the last couple of months I have been hit with a major case of nesting. I think that this is the first time I have really felt this instinct because this is the first time I have not had to move 4-8 weeks after giving birth. Since I haven't had to pack, I have had to find other ways to keep myself busy.
I started out by working on the outside of the house--we repainted the exterior and got grates installed over our basement window wells.
Then I got the new nursery furniture set up and the baby's room decorated. The kids helped me get out the new car seat and stroller and have spent the last several days putting dolls in the car seat and crib and calling them "Baby Maggie."
I finished making a special blanket for the baby (not that she will need it much in the middle of August) and working on some baby gifts for James and PJ's and Karen and Jared's new arrivals. No pictures, though--I don't want to ruin the surprise!
I washed and organized all the baby clothes and put them away. And before Mom came, I made sure that I got a chance to paint the office and get it organized so she would have somewhere to stay.

There are still a few items on my "to do" list, but they will have to wait, since my induction is supposed to begin at 7 am tomorrow. Somehow, balancing my checkbook never quite made it to the top of the list. But it will still be there when I get home. And so will the newest member of our family! I will be sure to post some pictures of Maggie soon.

Hawaii

2008-07-13T21:41:00.003-06:00

Jared and I celebrated our 10th anniversary a little early this year since we'll have a 1 month old baby in December for our real anniversary. The stars aligned for our trip to Hawaii; we got bumped to first class for our flight from San Francisco to Honolulu because the flight was full and then upgraded to a convertible for only $10 more a day. It was pretty nice.

Here's Jared in the fancy car:

The view from our hotel in Waikiki (notice the dog surfing):

On the ferry to the Atlantis submarine (it was fun, but Jared saw more when snorkeling):

And, of course, the fire eater at the Polynesian Cultural Center:

We had a great time. A million thanks to Mom for watching the kids for the week. I'm sure it was tiring, especially since Jacob accidentally slammed the door on her toe the first day and she was in a walking cast the whole week. Yet, the house was still cleaner when we got home than when we left. Amazing, Mom. Thank you, thank you.

CUL-DE-SAC OF FIRE!!

2008-07-05T12:41:00.003-06:00

Music! Pyrotechnics! Third degree burns!

The first year we lived in our house, our neighbors invited us out for "cul-de-sac of fire" on the Fourth of July. Since then, we have been contributing fireworks and man-power to this annual event, and inviting more of our neighbors over. It has gotten to be a pretty big deal around here. And a pretty impressive fireworks display. No, we haven't had any burn victims and hope to keep it that way.

We may not have Blue Man Group or Miley Cyrus like Stadium of Fire, but we do have free popsicles. Come visit us for the Fourth sometime; it's much better in person. In the meantime, I'll see if I can make the video of the finale a little smaller so I can upload it.

Megan's birthday

2008-06-22T21:25:00.003-06:00

Megan turned 5 on Wednesday. She has been asking how close her birthday is for about two months, so she was so pleased that it finally arrived. She was upset that she had to wait to open her presents, but was very excited and appreciative once she was allowed. She feels like such a big girl. Now if we can just get her to stop sucking her thumb...

Busy Week

2008-06-22T21:04:00.003-06:00

We've had a busy (and fun) week. Last Saturday we went to the carnival at Orem Summerfest. The kids had a great time. Most of the rides were just for kids, but we all went on the ferris wheel together. Jared and I there proved ourselves to be big ride wimps. We were both holding on for our lives. Although, in our defense, they were running it really fast to get more people through the line.

Laurel and Jacob on the pirate ride.

Megan and Ben on the same ride.

We have also been doing out summer "field trips" because we really, really need to get out of the house sometimes. This week was the aquarium.

Here's Jacob checking out some anemones.

And everyone in front of the jellyfish tank. It was dark, so I couldn't quite tell when they were ready for the picture, hence the weird faces. I also searched for a sign to see whether I could even take flash photos. I found it right after I took this picture. I was really worried that I had traumatized the jellyfish, but then I realized that jellyfish don't have eyes. So they're probably ok.

Favorite Things

2008-06-22T20:46:00.005-06:00

Ok, this is for Leca. And whoever else is interested.

These are the most delicious tortillas in the world. They are worth the trouble of cooking. We get ours at Costco, but I've seen smaller packages at the regular grocery store.

Also very yummy. I like the raspberry filled ones best, but I couldn't find them last time I was at the store. So sad.

Same thing as magic eraser, but they have a blue sponge on the back so you can use every bit of that disintegrating eraser sponge. I don't know how any mom ever got along without these. It got permanent marker off our wood floor. Need I say more?

Gardening

2008-06-11T15:21:00.002-06:00

Last Monday, the kids and I decided to get some stuff planted in the garden (finally). We were a lot late getting our stuff in the ground, so we bought some plants instead of doing seeds. The kids were excited to try out their new gardening gear.

Here they are with the plants they chose (two tomatoes, watermelon and eggplant). They were really good about pulling out weeds with me and are keeping things watered, too. Hopefully these plants won't mysteriously disappear like most of the seedlings last year (darn birds).

Phoebe's Big Day!

2008-06-08T21:26:00.002-06:00

So, with Phoebe officially 8 years old and all of the grandparents in town, Phoebe was baptized on May 31st. Her cousin Ricky from Greg's side of the family was baptized the same day.
Yes, I did make her dress (Greg's mom did the silk flower embroidery). After a few late nights, I kept asking myself "Why am I doing this?" and the only answers I could come up with were "Because I wanted to" and "Phoebe will only fit into a size 6 for so long". But it turned out beautifully and Phoebe loved it. As she put it "I like it because it is so soft. (Unlike her Christmas dress that itched) You should make all my dresses out of this." Yes, every little girl should have an entire wardrobe of 100% silk dresses.
We loved having Dad and Mom and Uncle Thomas here for the baptism. It is always so fun to see them. We just wish we lived a little closer so it could happen more often!
Check out Phoebe and Cader's smiles--Phoebe is trying not to show us her missing front teeth. I'm not sure what Cader is doing.

Preschool Graduation

2008-06-01T20:48:00.003-06:00

Megan graduated from preschool on Thursday. She was in a really small class (5 kids), so it was a nice, short program.

Each of the kids chose their favorite preschool song to sing.

I'm still amazed that she will be in Kindergarten in the fall, but I'm getting more used to the idea. She is excited that there will be girls in her class. She was the only one in preschool.

That diploma is good for so many things.

To Heir is Human

2008-05-13T20:19:00.003-06:00

Remember that subtitle?!
I went looking for the old Oregon Trail game online last night because something had made me remember playing it. I found this website that had TONS of old computer games. We downloaded some Carmen Sandiego games and (of course) Oregon Trail. And then we found King's quest. It's the same game we played as kids and it's pretty cool. Jared also downloaded Dune and some other games he played growing up. You have to pay 5.95 for unlimited downloads over a 24 hour period, but we got lots of games. The website is http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com

Call for Recipes

2008-05-08T11:53:00.002-06:00

Alright, I have been meaning to/trying to create a collection of family recipes for some time now. If any of you recall, I solicited recipes by email a couple of years ago. After a recent Relief Society project where we successfully collected and self-published a cookbook for our ward, I have renewed my determination to do the same for our family. So, in addition to emailing all of you, I am posting this on the family blog to give you all fair warning--the deadline to submit recipes is October 31st, 2008. At that time, I will compile all the recipes I have on my cookbook software, and you will all get one for Christmas. If your branch of the family is not represented, THAT IS YOUR OWN FAULT. I can easily import text into the program from email, word files, or cd-rom format. I will even type them into the program with my own two hands if you are technologically challenged. Just send me your favorites and we can all enjoy them together, no matter how far apart we may live.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

2008-05-04T21:15:00.003-06:00

So, I figured it was about time that someone besides Karen posted something on the family blog. Gosh, if she would just quit hogging the whole thing...

Anyway, while I was down in Utah this past week for Women's Conference at BYU, Anna and I decided to go out to a movie. We saw Ben Stein's new documentary titled "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" about the current controversy in the scientific community over the theory of Intelligent Design.

In the film, well-known comedian Ben Stein addresses the debate (or lack thereof) in academia between Darwinism and Intelligent Design, especially as it relates to evolutionary biology, but also other fields of science. He investigates the professional repercussions for scientists of admitting to the use of the theory of Intelligent Design in the research, or for some, even the mention of it in a classroom setting. He also explores the links between Darwinism and atheism and Intelligent Design and belief in God.

At the beginning of the film, I felt that the use of the Berlin Wall as a symbol of the sanctions placed on scientists who believe in Intelligent Design was a little heavy-handed, but as the movie progressed, it seemed more and more appropriate. What I found especially interesting were the attitudes of scientists outside the US on the subject--they seemed much more inclined to endorse the idea of promoting an actual scientific debate on the subject, not a disenfranchisement of those not toeing the "party line". Stein's visits to Hadamar and Dachau, along with his investigations of Hitler's practices regarding the mentally ill and other genetically "undesireable" people, along with American Eugenics in the early 20th century and their links to Darwinism were especially chilling.

Perhaps I was a little sheltered from the force of this debate by attending a religious university, but I believe it was mostly my upbringing by intelligent, well-educated parents (one of whom is a very accomplished scientist) that showed me in a very clear way that a belief in God and the ability to be a good scientist are not mutually exclusive. As disturbing as some of the situations presented in the film were, I really enjoyed watching it and discussing it afterwards with Anna. Sometimes it feels nice to use those brains cells that don't get exercised very often when the majority if your day is spent with the under 10 crowd. It made me appreciate my testimony of the restored gospel and the concept of all truth being linked together. While it is not very action-packed, it will definitely give you plenty to think about.

Spring Break

2008-04-22T12:29:00.007-06:00

We finished up our Utah National Parks tour during the kids' week off from school. We went to Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef and also threw in the Petrified Forest state park on the way. Bryce Canyon was really too cold in April, but we had lots of fun at Capitol Reef. The kids enjoyed all of the crazy southern Utah geology and rarely complained about the amount of walking we were doing. In case anyone wants to know, we think Capitol Reef and Arches are the best parks for kids.

I think the kids have pretty much decided that they want to live in a cave someday. There were tons of these all over during our hikes, but they never lost their enthusiasm for them.

Here's spidergirl scaling the canyon wall.

Negligent Parenting

2008-04-11T17:07:00.002-06:00

So I watched 2 of my friend's kids today while she went to the store. Everyone was playing happily, so I went downstairs to print Jacob a picture to color (because he really, really wanted one). I walked back upstairs not 5 minutes later and the front door was open and Luke, who's 2, was nowhere to seen. I scoured the neighborhood. I scoured the house. I got all the neighbors looking with me. I finally called the police and his mom came back from the store. Where was he? At his house watching tv and eating a lollipop. A different neighbor had seen him wandering on her way out and dropped him off at home. Luckily, it was unlocked and he was resourceful enough to make himself comfortable. But it makes me ask this question: How on earth am I going to be able to handle 5 kids?! I couldn't even remember the cardinal rule of 2-year-olds--never leave the front door unlocked.

Happy Spring!

2008-03-26T20:45:00.002-06:00

What a great way to announce the coming baby, Karen! I can't believe how long it's been since I read the blog. Thank you, Karen, for posting multiple times and doing the blog for the family.

Hope you all had a nice Easter. Tom and I went to Virginia to visit Great-Grandfather and to North Carolina to visit Linda and her family for the weekend. It all happened very quickly. Tom came home on Wednesday, I think it was, and announced that his business trips on Friday and Monday were cancelled, and asked if I wanted to visit my dad and Linda's family for the Easter weekend. Of course, I jumped at the chance. Both were short visits, but it was so nice to see them all!

Great-Grandfather (I'll just call him Grandpa G) is hanging in there. He was on oxygen most of the time and got winded from walking the length of the house. They just had carpeting replaced in the living and dining rooms the morning we arrived. Soon they're having the windows replaced. It was pretty warm there and the flowers are blooming!

It was also warm in NC. Hayden and Stewart seemed to have grown so much since the reunion in August. Of course, Adaline has grown a lot. The boys are very good with her and obviously love her very much. She is a very happy baby and she and Bethany are doing many of the same things.

We are excited to be going to James' graduation in April! Did everyone know James is graduating with 2 degrees!? We're so proud of you, James.

It will be great to see everyone in Provo and Orem, even though it's another quick trip. Dad is supposed to go to Pakistan that weekend - not where I would want to travel.

I was going to try to post some pictures, but it's getting too late tonight.

Love to all of you. I'll try to blog again real soon.

Mom/Grandma

And baby makes...7

2008-03-18T23:10:00.005-06:00

Here's our Valentine's Day surprise. Only Jared was in Florida on Valentine's Day. Go figure. Still, I should have known earlier. I don't skip periods...
I am surprised and happy to report that I am feeling kind of excited about this new development. Not part of the plan, but I'm a sucker for babies.

Controversial Books

2008-01-09T15:26:00.002-07:00

So, I was interested in reading The Golden Compass series by Phillip Pullman (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) because some parents have asked us to remove it from the shelf at the school lbrary. After hearing the allegations about the books (that they are intended to persuade children to become atheists), I was feeling like people had not given them a chance. I had already begun to read The Golden Compass before I had heard about any of the controversy, after all, and there was nothing that I could find that was questionable. So I continued to read. Even after the second book, it seemed as though he was only speaking out against corrupt religion, which I think is a good thing. Not too far into the third book, however, it was clear that he believes all religion is corrupt.

The premise of the books is essentially that there was an angel a long time ago that put himself above the other angels and called himself God and the Creator (even though he was not) and that his goal is to keep people from gaining knowledge(that's why gaining knowledge was the original sin). The rebel angels (you know, that 1/3 from the war in heaven) have been fighting against him ever since and trying to help humans learn. And they enlist the help of two children to help them destroy God and create the Republic of Heaven (rather than the Kingdom).

There's a lot more to the stories, of course, and they are well written and interesting, but they still really hurt my feelings. In his books, the only religious people are either power-hungry hypocrites or fearful and ignorant. He writes about love and accepting people even with their faults (his main characters are flawed on purpose, I think) and the power of human relationships and following your instincts and the great value of learning. I am in complete agreement with pretty much everything he writes about those things. He seems to have a good understanding of how we all interact with and need each other. But the major flaw I see is that his goal is to show that religion is the antithesis of all of those good things; it is only useful for repressing people. So, while he may know a lot about life, he is quite ignorant about religion and people's reasons for being religious. Maybe he should stick to writing about things with which he is familiar.

For the record, I still don't think it should be removed from the shelves at school. As Anna said to me, "Nothing good ever came from censorship." I agree. It would probably create more problems than it would solve. And I want to have my freedom of expression protected, so I can't take away someone else's. Still, I think parents should be making informed decisions about what their children are reading.

Past events

2008-01-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures from December that I never got around to posting:

Laurel was baptized Dec. 1. We had a conflict with the scheduled Stake baptisms (Jared was going to be out of town), so she got to have her own. It was really nice to have all of Jared's family and also Mom and Dad here for the baptism. Our house was pretty packed with people, but all the cousins on the Meeker side seemed to have a good time.

Our Christmas picture. We can never get one with everyone looking at the camera.

December Things

2007-12-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Our big events for this month (except Christmas) were Laurel's baptism on the first and Jacob's 3rd birthday on the third. But Jared has the camera with all of the pictures from those two days with him in Germany right now. I'll post them later. We have had a lot of snow since Jared left for his trip and the kids have had fun playing in it. So here are the pictures...

We got quite a bit more snow on the ground after these pictures were taken. And so while we've been here shoveling, Jared's been running around in Germany and heads to Switzerland on Wednesday. Tough job, Jared. Last year Tahiti, this year Europe. Poor you. I'm actually not too bitter about it. I'm excited he gets to see some cool places. I just want to go with him some time.

I'm finally getting around to it!

2007-12-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

OK, after almost 2 months of good intentions, I am finally posting something on the family blog! The past few months have been quite busy, but we've been getting a few things accomplished and having a lot of fun. Greg and I had a great couple of weeks in Vienna, Prague and Salzburg (a million thanks to Mom for taking such good care of our kids!) and we saw some amazing sights. And yes, that is a picture of me standing in front of the house where Mozart was born. If anyone wants to see the pictures from our "Sound of Music" Tour, just let me know and I'll post them separately.
Once we got back in town, Greg and I both had a lot of work to get caught up on. Then we had to make sure all of our costumes were ready for Halloween. We were all pirates, and the children took their roles very seriously. Phoebe got quite upset when other children thought she was a gypsy, Cader wore his eyepatch all day, and Topher just wandered around with his sword saying "Arrgh!" He also learned a new sign on Halloween and started using it in his first spontaneous 2 sign phrase-- "More Candy!" Halloween was quickly followed by Cader's birthday in November. He started announcing to everyone the evening before that when he saw them next, he would be five! He had a few friends over to play and had a dinosaur birthday cake of which he was very proud.
We all really enjoyed Dad and Mom's visit for Thanksgiving. Phoebe and Cader had a great time putting together their gingerbread house with Grandpa, and then eating all the candy off of it. Unfortunately, on the Monday after Mom and Dad left for Portland, I weighed myself at the gym and discovered that I had gained 7 pounds while they were here! It looks like I enjoyed myself a little TOO much.
Now that it's December, Phoebe has returned to school following her November track break. The rest of us are trying to return to our schedules as well (we'll see if going to the gym 5 days a week can help me get rid of my Thanksgiving weight gain before Christmas) and get ready for Christmas. Now that I've done this once, hopefully it will be easier to do in the future.
Love to all of you!
Bekah and family

Family Pictures

2007-11-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

We tried to do family pictures on Monday night at the gardens at Jared's office. It got too dark to get any frame-worthy photos, but we did get a couple of good pictures.

Most of them were pretty much like this one, though.

They kind of like to goof off...

I'd love to see some Halloween pictures of other cousins...

Halloween

2007-11-01T12:13:00.000-06:00

Here are the kids in their costumes. Jacob was a dragon, Laurel was a poor rendition of Linny the Guinea Pig from Wonder Pets (I got the cape done at least!), Ben was a Ninja, and Meg was Tinkerbell. They all had fun and got lots of candy. And we're all really tired today.

Beautiful Tuesday

2007-10-30T19:14:00.000-06:00

We are having ideal weather! It's not as warm as it was a week ago (it was in the 70's!), but it is clear and beautiful and in the 50's. Perfect weather for working in the yard again, but I'm letting a blister heal, so didn't do too much today.

Just for fun, I'll run through the day, so you know what it's like around here. I slept in until 7, but Tom was up by 6/6:30. Matt was also up 6:30. He starts breakfast for whichever children are up. Tom and I left at 7:30 to go to the temple and were back around 10. Meredith and Garrett left for school about 8:30; Jianna walks them to school, and sometimes Haley walks along, too. But usually Haley and Bethany stay home with Dad (or Grandma, when I 'm here).

Then there's the usual routine stuff, like laundry that goes on each day. But today Matt and I went down the street to a new neighbor's to help set up our old bunkbed in their house. We found there was a need to move some furniture to make room for the bed first. It's a good thing Matt knows how to disconnect and reconnect computers and other stuff, because he needed to do that, too. We barely got back in time for Jianna to go to get Garrett from school at 12.

As beautiful as the day was, we had to convince Garrett and Haley that playing outside would be more fun than staying inside today (they wanted to watch TV). They played on the swingset and helped rake leaves and cut twigs. Meredith gets out of school at 2:50, and today had to get home quickly to get dressed in her Halloween costume and go to "activity day" with other girls her age in Primary.

The piano will finally be getting some regular use again. Meredith had her first lesson yesterday, and was able to learn the first half of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" during the lesson, and figure out the rest after hearing Matt play it after the lesson. She practiced yesterday and today, and is doing very well. Now Garrett wants to take piano lessons, too.

Jianna stayed at home working on dinner while I did the pickup of the carpool for Meredith's activity day. We had duck spring rolls, some other kind of rolls (like a crepe with scallions and filled with egg), and peas. Our meals are much more varied now than ever before, thanks to Matt and Jianna.

Tonight Thomas called with a question about paying his credit card bill. Karen also called, but it was time to eat, so we didn't get to talk much. It's always nice to hear from one or more of you.

The evening routine tends to be the same most nights. After dinner, baths are administered and dinner dishes washed. Then Meredith reads from the Book of Mormon with Matt. Then Jianna reads some scriptures to the family. After that, Matt reads from something a little lighter - they finished Harry Potter, and are currently reading "Bunnicula."

I couldn't resist sitting to write this for a few minutes, though I have several other things to do before going to bed tonight.

So I hope you all have a safe and pleasant day tomorrow. And I hope all the children enjoy Halloween!! We'll be at the door handing out the large candy bars Tom always buys. Everyone enjoys coming to our house on Halloween for those big candy bars. We usually have more than 100 trick-or-treaters! But there are always leftover candy bars:)

Happy Halloween, and love,

Mom/Pam/Grandma

New to blogging

2007-10-28T19:12:00.000-06:00

So "Hi" to all of you who may check out our family blog. And "Thank you" to Karen for doing such a super job of trying to get us all to communicate more. It's been so wonderfully warm here through most of October, I'm not sure I can face any really cold weather yet.

Tom offered a job to a member of the Belmont 2 Ward to work in our yard, since she's out of work and has spent a little time working on the temple grounds. Margaret has come several times over the past couple of weeks to help do a fall cleanup. While she's working, I feel like I should be out there, too, and Jianna has also joined in. We're getting plenty of fresh air and exercise as the yard gets cleaned up.

The latest addition to the yard is a new swing set for the kids to play on. It has a climbing wall, ladder to a second story "house" with a steering wheel, periscope, telescope and telephone. Under the "house" is a picnic table, which can be converted to become a lower deck under the "house." On the side for swinging, there is a two-seater, a regular swing, a baby swing and a trapeze. All the grandchildren can enjoy it when you come to visit (hint, hint).

Well, we just completed living off of our food storage for a week, per the bishop's challenge to members of the ward. A week isn't really a challenge for us, since we keep so much food on hand. But, it is apparent to me that what I would miss right away if we were really living on food storage would be fresh produce. So, I think it a good idea to store some seeds for planting in season.

Today was our stake conference. President Bowen has been quite focused on preparedness for the past year or so. Today was the date by which members of the stake were to have:

1) at least a two-week supply of food, water, medicines, and cash
2) critical health information well-organized: medical prescriptions, prior inoculations, details for contacting your doctors, insurance, and bank accounts
3) a 72-hour emergency kit with copies of the critical information

I'm afraid I haven't completed the copies of the critical information yet. And since Matt, Jianna and the kids are here, our water supply is not up to two weeks' worth yet, but I do have two 55-gallon barrels outside ready to fill and store.

Life is busy, and it's hard to manage time to do the things that are important. But I feel so blessed. I was struck by Elder Eyring's talk at General Conference and came home and started a journal of blessings, which I have written in briefly each day. Each of you in our family is a blessing to me every day, and every day I think of you and pray for your welfare. I so enjoy being with you and hearing what you have to say. It makes me look hopefully forward to a day when we can all be together and enjoy each other's company without having to travel thousands of miles.

I'll encourage Tom/Dad/Grandfather to add to this blog. He always has some funny stories to relate. You might want to hear about the brief conversation he had with Elder Holland a couple of weeks ago when he was here for a singles education conference:)

Love to all of you,

Mom/Pam/Grandma

P.S. The picture at the beginning of this posting is Thomas with Isabella at the BHS graduation. I thought you might like to see a picture of Isabella. I'll take a picture of the swing set soon and Matt's kids in their Halloween costumes so you can see them, too.

Laurel's Violin Recital (Aug. '07)

2007-10-25T23:04:00.000-06:00

Low-fat lemon squares

2007-10-24T14:07:00.000-06:00

So, now that I have to eat low-fat food, I have had to come up with recipes for treats. Some things have been more successful than others. The lemon squares turned out quite well, so I'm posting the recipe for them. The crust is not quite as crunchy as when you use butter, but it's still good.

1/3 c. low-fat margarine (like Brummel and Brown)
1/4 c. sugar
1 c. flour
4 egg whites
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. flour
2 t. shredded lemon peel (opt.)
3 T. lemon juice
1/4 t. baking powder
2 drops yellow food coloring (optional, but it looks weird without it)
powdered sugar

Mix margarine and 1/4 c. sugar together. Add the 1 c. flour and combine until crumbly. Press into bottom of an 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 for 15 to 18 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the filling combine egg whites, 3/4 c. sugar, 2 T. flour, lemon peel, lemon juice, baking powder and food coloring.
Pour filling over crust once it is baked and bake 20 minutes more or until center is set. Cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Karen's Family update for October

2007-10-06T21:47:00.000-06:00

We haven't had the newsletter up and running for such a long time that I'm not sure where to start. School is in full swing and the kids are happy about that for the most part. Laurel and Ben love school as always. I've experimented with letting them make their own lunches for school and it has worked out surprisingly well. They just need a little supervision so we don't have lunch boxes full of fruit snacks and crackers.

Megan has had a little trouble warming up to preschool because she's the only girl in her class. Luckily, she saves the drama for me in the morning and is quite happy by the time I come to pick her up at lunch time. And it's been nice to have some time to go to the library with Jacob. And to go grocery shopping without four kids in tow. I am enjoying the quiet, but I still miss them when they're all gone. I think it makes me realize how quickly they are growing up, which I don't really like to think about.

We have also been busy getting ready to move in a couple of weeks. It is a short move, but requires lots of packing and organizing nonetheless. It has been nice to go through everything and throw things away, though.

Since this is the first time I've blogged, I'm going to try put some pictures in from this summer. Just to make it more interesting. Remember this is the EAGAR family blog, not just the Meeker family blog, so please post some stuff!

The kids at Yellowstone in June:

Here's one that Laurel took (not bad):

And one that Ben took of Laurel taking a picture:

Sadly, most of his pictures were deleted every time he dropped his (inexpensive) camera and the batteries fell out... poor Ben.

And here are the kids when we went to the IS department camp out in August:

Megan with one of her famous picture poses:

Jacob hiding in the grass with part of the camp stove:

And Laurel playing with a glow stick (with a coworker's daughter looking on):

I guess Ben was having too much fun to sit still for the camera...

That's all for the Meekers, please send your posts so I have something to look at too!