Dotson Family Yearbook 2008

Christmas Spirit

Austin is so excited for Christmas he can't hardly contain it. We have a little advent calendar and he reminds me every morning to count down one more day. I was going through all my Christmas decorations, getting rid of some of the really old stuff, and he insisted on putting up some Christmas lights inside (we're not having a tree this year because we will be out of town) and plugging in the inflatables above. Notice is is also wearing his "Santa boots" (our stockings). It's fun to see how excited he is for everything.

A Yeager Thanksgiving

Sivai had a fun time with all of his Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents. He even blew out the candles on my sister Heidi's B-day cake.

My Grandmother, Lorine Lillian Yeager, and her namesake.

Austin enjoyed collecting eggs every day with my mom and sisters and carrying the cats out when they snuck inside. This is my brother Irvin holding Austin in a meat sack.

Pumpkin Pie

Lily's pumpkin pie footprint. (Don't leave your pies in a box on the floor)

Fishing with the Dog

Patrick is trying to train our "bird dog" Trapper and it's been a lot of fun. We has been able to take him pheasant hunting and is now trying to teach him to retrieve as well as tracking the birds. He tied a pheasant wing to the end of the line and it seems to be working, but it is going to take a lot of practice and patience. He's still a puppy but very smart and eager to learn, Patrick can't wait to get him out hunting again.

Monday Folder

Every Monday Sivai brings home a folder from school with all of the previous weeks' work. I look through everything and make him finish everything that was not completed and I ask him about all of his papers. I wasn't sure about the picture above so I asked,

"What's this a picture of?"

Sivai, "It's a picture of me exercising and puking."

Me, "Why are you puking?" (laughing inside)

Sivai, "Because I'm exercising so hard!"

Sugar Fiends

We had a fun time at our trunk-or-treat and our friends Halloween get together. Sivai and Austin got an entire pumpkin full of candy....ugh...the sugar rush begins.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Lillian May

I can't believe it! My baby is one...

Ignore the homeless look, she had a bath immediately following the cupcake. We had a pretty low key "party" with cupcakes and icecream. She got a baby doll and Sleeping Beauty. We have really enjoyed having a little girl and we can't imagine life without her.

Fishing

Friday night we headed up Diamond Mountain to do a little fishing before the weather turned.

We had a fun time and Sivai turned out to be the best fisherman, catching 3 fish and losing twice that many. Lily loved being outside, but is still at that age where everything goes straight in the mouth including snails, mud, rocks, and bugs--and who knows what else. Her and I eventually ended up in the van.

Austin has grown up so much since last year and we never had to get after him for playing in the water, mud, or throwing rocks where we were fishing, and he learned how to reel.

Just at sunset we heard a bunch of splashing across the lake and we thought it was deer, but a couple seconds later we heard an elk bugle. It was fun to see the elk swimming, especially since it was near freezing outside.

Sivai's First Kiss

Tonight while making chocolate chip cookies (recipe on Yeager recipe blog) Sivai told me all about his first kiss. I was pouring in the vanilla and he asked what it was. When I told him he said, "Vanilla, that's like Carmella. She's in my class."
Mom, "Is she one of your' friends?"
Sivai, "Yeah, she likes me. She gave me a hug." (grin on his face)
Mom, "That's nice, but you probably shouldn't be giving hugs out at school."
Sivai, "She gave me a hug AND a kiss!" (huge smile on face)
Mom, "Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea, definitely no kissing at school, okay?"
Sivai, "I told my teacher and she (Carmella) got in trouble, and then my teacher wiped off my face with a wet wipe, and then the kiss dried up."

Sivai talks about Carmella all the time, in fact she didn't join his class until a few weeks after school started and Sivai came home her first day and told me all about her.

Do I already have to be worried about my 5 year old being a chick-magnet?

What I've been up to...

The past couple of weeks I've been busy sewing. I haven't sewn this much in quite a while but it keeps me busy and motivated. Some of the projects I've completed are

• queen size Irish Chain quilt
  
• 5 baby rag quilts
  
• A reversible cape for Sivai, Patrick had one similar growing up and loved it so I thought I would give it a try. I'm going to make one for Austin but so far he won't wear Sivai's.

Some projects I'm working on are

• a fun crazy quilt for my mom
• queen size log cabin quilt for my sister
• 16 dance costume alterations

Walking

A couple of weeks ago Lily took her first steps and she's getting better and better at walking. She's even mastered eating and walking at the same time (notice the graham cracker in her hand). She enjoys her new found freedom and loves to walk up to her brothers and tackle them. She's also starting to mimic/talk and says, "Hi", "Hi Dad!", "brother", "Trapper", (our dog) and "Mama", or at least words that sound like these. One more month and she will be a year old!

Sivai is enjoying kindergarten, learning quickly and showing his true personality. Patrick went to a literacy meeting the other day with his teacher and he inquired as to how Sivai was doing. She said that if he wants to do something he will and if he doesn't want to do it he refuses. This is truly his strong will showing through.

On another note; if I am ever rich in this life my one splurge would be fresh flowers in every room of my house year round. I love flowers and plants and I pretend to have a green thumb, these are from my garden. The arrangement is a mix of phlox, verbena, and zinnias.

59-0

Saturday Patrick and I went to the BYU vs. UCLA football game in Provo. We had a great time! Not only did we leave our kids behind, thank you Stacey, we also enjoyed one of the greatest games. If you haven't heard by now BYU killed UCLA 59-0 in what was supposed to be a close game. The energy in the stadium was amazing and it's easy to see how someone could get addicted to going to live games. Patrick took a couple of pictures on his phone...not the best but it's proof we were there :).

Thanks again to Lynn and John for letting us tag along!!!

Recipe

Caramel-Pecan Sticky Rolls (from Betty Crocker)

Dough
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 teaspoons)
1 cup very warm milk (120-130 degrees)
1/3 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
1 large egg

Caramel Sauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup pecan halves

Filling
2 tablespoons stick margarine or butter, melted (I use more)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup granulated or packed brown sugar ( I use more)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Mix 2 cups of the flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, and salt and yeast in large bowl. Add warm milk, 1/3 cup margarine and the egg. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

2. turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl and turn greased side up. cover and let rise in warm place about 1 hour and 30 minutes or until double (mine only takes about an hour). Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

3. Heat 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup margarine to boiling in 2-quart saucepan, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in corn syrup. Pour into ungreased rectangular pan, 13X9X2 inches. Sprinkle with pecan halves.

4. Punch down dough. Flatten with hands or rolling pin into rectangle, 15 X10 inches, on lightly floured surface. Spread with 2 tablespoons margarine. Sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar. Roll rectangle up tightly, beginning at 15 inch edge. Cut into 12 equal pieces and place in pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until double. (I don't let it rise until double because they get too airy, I just let them rise until they fill the pan.)

*we don't like nuts in ours so I don't add them.

Yum

I've finally found my favorite cinnamon roll recipe. It's really easy to make and has a caramel sauce baked right in. I think we're addicted!

Leaving the scene of the crime

Kindergarten

This is the earliest picture I have of Sivai. He's a little over 3 months old in the picture.

Four years ago today I was sitting in Samoa with an 18 month old baby missing my husband and wondering if I would ever be able to go home. What a difference 4 years makes. Sivai went to his first day of Kindergarten today. Everyone asked if I had a hard time, did I cry? I didn't. I'm not a crier, but there was a few heartstrings that were pulled. He is ready to be going on to new adventures, in fact he didn't even look back when he got on the bus. I asked him if he had a fun time and he said yes. I tried to ask him some other questions but he was too busy talking about everything that went on to listen to me. He said that he ran out as fast as he could when his teacher said it was time for recess, but learned that he was supposed to wait in line at the door. Everyone was given jobs to do and today his job was making sure everyone was using good words. He also told me he didn't like the guy that was at the front of the line (I think he was just jealous). All in all I think he had a great time and is trying really hard to follow the rules and make new friends.

Austin just couldn't understand why he couldn't go to school and ride the bus, after all he is a big boy now since he's potty trained. He wanted to be a part of every moment, putting Sivai's backpack on, getting his shoes on, and waiting for the bus.

Another big milestone came about a week ago when his first tooth was lost. It had been trying to come out for weeks but since the new one didn't push it out, it came up behind it, it took a while. He put on a brave face and let Patrick pull it out. He got 4 quarters from the tooth fairy and even shared getting bubble gum at the grocery store with Austin. Now we have to work on getting the second one out.

Fun in the Sun

Sivai and Austin had a great time running through the sprinklers today. I can't believe Summer is starting to come to close already.

Tagged

1. What is your/his name? Bridgette and Patrick

2. Who eats more? He does.

3. Who said I love you first? I think I told him it was okay to say it, so he did.

4. Who is taller? He is.

5. Who is smarter? I was until I had kids and everything between my ears escaped.

6. Who is more sensitive? I think I am, but he shows it more.

7. Who does the laundry? Me, he's not allowed, but I still hate it.

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.

9. Who pays the bills? I do.

10. Who cooks more? By far me, but he's great at it when he does

11. What meals do you cook together? When we have company over, or when we have coconut shrimp.

12. Who is more stubborn? I am.

13. Who is first to admit when they are wrong? He is, I'm really stubborn.

14. Who has more siblings? Me by two.

15. Who wears the pants in the relationship? I run the show around the house, but he still has the final say most of the time.

16. What do you like to do together? Travel, talk, watch tv.

17. Who eats more sweets? Sometimes me, sometimes him.

18. Guilty pleasures? Eating dessert after the kids go to bed.

19. How did you meet? At an institute dance.

20. Who asked who out first? Patrick asked me out.

21. Who kissed who first? He kissed me on our second date.

22. Who proposed? Patrick did, he had his Mom play the piano and then proposed.

23. What is your/his best feature? His personality, I'm just happy to be back into pre-pregnancy clothes after two babies.

24. What is your/his best quality? He's a really hard warker, I can start and finish a task.

I tag no one.

Sunset, Bugs and Bottles

The other evening we had a beautiful sunset, it's like the sky was on fire. I was outside on our front lawn (yay for grass!!) and all the kids eventually followed me out.

Austin is completely fascinated by bugs, grasshoppers especially. I've finally convinced him that they're not allowed inside and that he can't sleep with them. A couple of days ago he wouldn't put this huge green one down. He's also figured out how to pull their jumping legs off rendering them easier to play with.

So I decided to try canning. I've done it plenty of times before with my mom, grandmother, and my mother-in-law, but I've never been completely on my own for the whole project. I called my mom and got a few last minute pointers and this is the result. Fourteen quarts of beautiful peaches! I hope they taste as good as they look. After all that hard work it might be a while before I open a jar.

Mixed Veggies

Weak stomachs be warned...
Today for lunch the boys had ramen noodles and mixed veggies (corn, carrots, peas). For the most part they ate the vegetables with no complaint. However, I told Sivai that to have soda tonight after dinner he would need to finish eating the vegetables at the bottom of his bowl. This didn't go over very well and after ten minutes of sitting and complaining with no progress I sent him off the take his nap.
~Yes, my five year old does take a nap, it's great!!!
Back to the vegetables. Approximately 1.5 hours later he woke up from his nap and came out of his room. He had a confused look on his face and said, "Mom, there's something in my mouth." I really do think he forgot what was in there. Of course I realized right away what it was....the mixed vegetables ground into a fine pulp and stuffed in his cheek like a chipmunk. He decided it wouldn't be best to swallow it and spit it out. I'm just glad he didn't choke on the stuff while sleeping.

Talofa!

We had a great time at the SMYC Luau last Thursday. Patrick and his co-workers did a great job with the food and entertainment. A group from the Salt Lake area came out, along with some PCC performers and they put on a show. There were dances from Hawaii, New Zealand, Fiji, and Samoa. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. (Thank you for the pictures Robert!)

Good morning

I had to post this picture even if Lily's got a crazy face. Today when she woke up from her nap this is the hairdo she had. It made me giggle.

Plus I got another great one from Sivai- "Mom, you know your not the only boss. Heavenly Father and Jesus are the boss too!"

Happy Birthday Austin!

Yesterday we celebrated Austin's third birthday, I can't believe he's growing up so quickly. The excitement has been building up for weeks! Everyday for about 2 weeks Austin has been asking about his birthday and telling me that he wanted red and green presents, a birthday cake, birthday ice cream, birthday candy and birthday candles (With each one of these he would point to a new finger, and he knew which finger was which birthday item.). I made him a bug cake (He saw the ladybug cake on Nick and Jeanines blog and had to have a bug cake) which I think he loved more than his presents. Last Monday I bought the boxed cake mix for his cake and he found it....

To explain more-for the past year everytime I ("I" meaning Austin seeing a cake mix in the store and putting it in the cart) get a cake mix Austin has to sleep with it until I make it. It started in Kansas when my Mom made him a cake and now I can't stop it. Notice the condition of the cake box in the picture, he slept with it all week!

I've also been trying to potty train him and I told him that if he would wear underpants and go in the toilet I would get him Lightning McQueen underpants. Weird thing is.....he has been wearing underpants all day and hasn't had an accident, we even made a trip to Wal-Mart! I'm hoping that this will be the end of diapers, but I fear it may take a while to be accident free.

Lily May

Vampire!

Next she'll be walking...

Oh, and Sivai has a loose tooth! In fact his other tooth is nearly half way up behind his baby tooth. Any recommendations for an orthodontist???....

Trapper and more of Sivai's quotes for the week

We've been having a lot of fun this past week with our new puppy. He's a Brittany spaniel and proving to be very smart. We have taken him fishing and to our 4th of July parade and he seems to have a very even temperment. I'm sure he's going to provide the boys with hours of fun.

Sivai~

While playing around on the couch, "I'm going to practice my kicking style for Egypt, no I mean Chinese. And I'm going to eat chinese food too."

We were fishing at a small stream and we saw some sort of small swimming mammal in the water, maybe a muskrat or something. We caught a fish and Sivai got his hands all slimy and was washing them off in the stream. I started to tease him that the "creature" was going to get him. His response went something like this.

Sivai "Is he going bite me?"

Mom "He might, he eats things in the water!"

Sivai "Why's he going to eat me mom!? Does he need to provide money and food and treats for his family?"

Pictures!

Before we left for vacation we had our family picture taken, what an adventure!!! To see the proofs follow this link,

www.brandisphotocreations.com

click- family, click- gallery, scroll down to Patrick

Also, here are a couple more pics from vacation.

Bacteria pool at mid basin geysers.

Some of the buildings left on the dry farm in MT.

Yellowstone & Family Farm

We had a great summer vacation last week. We went up to Yellowstone N.P. and to Patrick's old farm near Belgrade, MT. It was a great adventure for the kids and their cousins and we had fun too. Some highlights were:

*seeing a mother bear and her cubs the first evening in Yellowstone.

*several bison walking right next to our car. They were so close we could have touched them.

*watching a coyote swim across a very fast moving and large river.

*Sivai and Austin swimming at the KOA until they were purple.

Old Faithful

Mud Volcano