Fraser Family

Catch Up Again

2012-01-18T13:54:00.003-07:00

Hopefully I have caught up sufficiently. I know I do this not only for myself but for the select few who haven't given up on this blog. I will really try and be better in the future. Having five kids is really kicking my rear end. I, at first, just put up a bunch of pictures with a title (thanks KelliAnn for your comment) and posted dated them so there was some order to when things happened and have now just finished adding a few comments to the pictures. Done...for now.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-24T13:13:00.002-07:00

Ali got this princess dress from Grandma Fraser. She has worn it so much I have to make repairs on it already.

Tanner showing off his new bike from Santa.

Clark in his Christmas PJ's. I can't believe how big he is already!

Traditional family Christmas pj picture in front of the tree.

Christmas day in the kid's Sunday best. The sweaters and dress were all gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Fraser.
What a wonderful Christmas this year! I loved that it was on Sunday. I felt like it was so appropriate to go to church and remember our Savior and why we celebrate this day. It really put things in perspective for me.

Polar Express Day at School

2011-12-20T13:06:00.001-07:00

So the twins had to make train cars for polar express day at school and then they had a little parade inside the school to show them off. They came up with their own designs. Impressive, right? I know.

Max's First Piano Recital

2011-12-17T12:56:00.001-07:00

Max did an excellent job for his piano recital. I thought we recorded it but maybe it is on Neal's phone. Anyway, he played two Christmas songs: Jolly Old St. Nicholas and O Christmas Tree. He only made one little mistake and that was he was supposed to play O Christmas Tree twice through but got nervous and forgot. I told him it was a mistake that no one would even know about it except his teacher and me. He did a great job and we were so proud!

Ali Turns 3

2011-12-12T12:31:00.001-07:00

Alice and Grandpa posing for the camera and showing off the birthday cake. Yes, Reann and did make it and it was a lot easier then I thought it would be. She is supposed to be Rapunzel. Ali loved it so that made the time and effort worth it.

A picture of her new doll from Grandma and Grandpa F. They match! So cute!

Getting ready to blow out the candles. What a fun birthday!

Clark Gets Blessed

2011-11-20T12:37:00.001-07:00

What a special day! My whole family was here due to the fact that Sam and Aubrynn had just had their reception the night before. It was so exciting for me to have everyone from my side of the family, minus Sam, staying at our house. Can I just say having the basement finished is so wonderful, it's beyond words to try and describe how nice it is to have done. It was also really neat to see everyone of my brothers standing in the circle to bless Clark. I don't think that has ever happened with previous blessings. I just made me really appreciate my family on both sides and all the do for us and the support they showed by coming that day.

Sam and Aubrynn Get Married

2011-11-11T12:36:00.001-07:00

I can't forget to document Sam and Aubrynn's wedding. They looked so cute together. What a beautiful couple, if I do say so myself. Good thing I set them up! It's still strange to think of Aubrynn as a sister-in-law now instead of one of my old Laurels.

Halloween

2011-10-31T12:43:00.002-06:00

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Max was a skeleton pirate, Tanner: black spiderman, Josh: a knight, Alice: Rapunzel (dress made by my mom and the hair made by me) and Clark: Superman (of course because of his name). The kids went out with dad and I stayed home and handed out treats. We actually ran out this year and had to quickly turn out our lights. Probably because it was really nice weather, not like last year when it rained a ton.

Max Gets His Bobcat

2011-10-18T12:40:00.002-06:00

Max got his Bobcat in October. He actually had everything done the month before but since I was in the hospital having a baby his leaders decided to wait until I could be there at the next pack night. We were very proud.

Clark Thomas Fraser

2011-09-20T12:11:00.001-06:00

My sweet neighbor took the last picture. I just love it. It's the first time I've had pictures taken of my baby just a few days after they were born. He has changed so much already. Anyway, we are so happy to have him in our home. He is so sweet and good. I should add patient as well. Being the youngest of 5 he sure has to wait sometimes and he handles all the manhandling quite well from his older siblings. He was born September 20, 2011 and weighed 8 lbs 10 oz. He's a perfect addition to the Fraser family.

Max Was Baptized

2011-09-15T11:21:00.002-06:00

August 6, 2011. What a special day! All of our immediate family was there except Stacey and her family and Jeff and his family who both live out of state and Mike's wife Ashley who lives out of state too but couldn't come with Mike due to conflicting events she had to be to. We even had all of Max's great-grandparents there except Grandma Johnson who was in the hospital recovering from a fall. It really meant a lot to be surrounded by family. I felt so much love and was so grateful for all the help and support. We are so blessed and are so proud of Max for choosing to follow the Savior's example and be baptized.

The Boys Start School

2011-09-15T11:18:00.002-06:00

She thought she was going to her class too. She got her backpack and everything and was ready to go.

My third grader and 1st graders. I can't believe how big my boys are getting and how quiet it is here during the day. :)

December: Alice Turned 2 and Christmas!

2011-01-19T16:58:00.004-07:00

Okay, so this wasn't taken on her birthday but I had to post this for Neal's mom. She made the dress and gave it to her around Thanksgiving. She just looks so cute in the picture I had to put in on for her to see.

Ali's cake. I attempted to make a ladybug cake. She seemed to love it so that's good.

Brothers helping with the present opening.

A jacket and skirt she got for her birthday.

This was a great present. A garage sale find. We just had to buy a new battery for it.
She loves it.

I just love this picture of the kids. This was the Sunday before Christmas and they are all wearing clothes that my mom gave them as part of a 10 days of Christmas she did for all of us. They are all smiling, looking at the camera, and I love that Max has his hand on Alice's shoulder.

We then tried to take a picture of the whole family. This was the best one. Oh well, at least there is a good one of the kids.

As you can see I didn't take a whole lot of Christmas pictures. I forgot to pull it out Christmas morning. This is a picture of us on Christmas Eve. They boys all got pjs with monkeys on them and Alice and I got strawberry themed ones.
We did do a nativity scene reenactment and I filmed that. Its pretty funny so maybe I'll have to post that but that's about it for Christmas. It was so much fun and we always feel so fortunate for all the gifts we receive both of a spiritual nature and material at this season. We feel so blessed. I always want Christmas day to last forever.

November: Twins Start Wrestling and Our First Snowman of the Season

2011-01-19T16:37:00.003-07:00

Josh getting ready to take his opponent down.

Tanner doing something to his opponent, I'm just not sure what.

They boys were really excited about wrestling when it first started but I think their enthusiasm kind of died out by the end (I'm don't think they won a single match). I have always like watching wrestling and still have high hopes that they will learn to love it but they are only five so I will give them time if they want to take a break for a little while.
.

The twins, Ali and I built our first snowman of the season in November. He turned out pretty good I think.

She just looked so cute in her snow clothes. All but the jacket and hat used to belong to the twins. You forget how small your kids used to be.

October: We Can't Forget Halloween

2011-01-19T15:39:00.006-07:00

The annual Halloween School Parade. Tanner the pirate.

Josh as Frankenstein.

Max as Count Dracula.

I helped out with the twins class party. It was actually combined with all the kindergartners.
Can you say chaotic? They had tons of fun though.

Neal's costume that he chose to share with Ali at the church party.

I'm so proud of this costume. I bought it the day after Halloween last Halloween for like 3 dollars at Children's Place. She would have nothing to do with it until the night of Halloween and we were able to convince her that she would get candy if she wore it.

The whole group ready to get their trick or treat on. You might notice that (1) the twins are wearing different costumes then they did at school (I'm not sure what to tell you. They can be quite indecisive and we have a huge box of dress up boy clothes in the basement that makes it easy to be 3 or 4 different things for Halloween.) and (2) there are a few extra children and adult in this picture. They are my adorable nieces and cute sister-in-law. They came up for the occasion and we are so glad they did because we had so much fun while they were here.

October: Neal turned 31 and Max and I went on a field trip

2011-01-19T15:16:00.005-07:00

We got to pick pumpkins and ride a bus. I think those are the highlights.

The boys drew pictures for Neal on this birthday. My favorite is the one that says Dad F. Good thing we cleared that up...Neal might not have known which dad those pictures were for.

And of course, we had to have Banana Raspberry Pie. I don't think we will ever go back to a traditional cake again when it comes to Neal's birthday.

Where to Begin?

2011-01-19T14:47:00.003-07:00

It's been awhile. I know. I know. I think I kept putting off the blog because our camera wouldn't connect to the computer and so I couldn't get any new pictures on here. I don't think I have hardly ever posted anything without a picture to go along with it. Family and friends occasionally want to see what has been going on with us and the best way to do that is with a picture or two. Let's face it though, there have probably been about five people max who have even noticed that I haven't posted for awhile. Anyway, Neal was able to figure out a way to get our pictures on the computer a month ago so now what excuse do I have? I guess I better just get going. I'm just not sure where to begin...

Family Photos

2010-09-20T12:59:00.007-06:00

I had Kristin Sanchez take pictures for me again. This time I decided to include the whole family. She did a great job. Again, I had a hard time deciding which one to show so I ended up just posting my favorites, which were most of them. . . Here is her website if you are in need of a great photographer:

www.kristinsanchezphotography.blogspot.com

2010-09-20T12:43:00.003-06:00

Just a little bit of Alice

2010-09-15T10:32:00.003-06:00

This girl is so much fun. Her personality just comes out more and more with each day. She was so cute this day. She found the glasses, put them on herself, put these two penguins in her baby stroller, gave me a kiss, said "bye bye", and headed for the front door. I thought it was the cutest thing. Her only problem: not able to open the door herself. Once I opened it for her, she was out the door for a walk with her babies. Every morning now too, after Max leaves for school, she always wants get her bike and follow him. She even tries to give me a kiss too so she's got everything covered before she leaves.

This girl would live in a swing if I let her. She couldn't be happier when she is in one and gets so mad when I have to take her out.

I just think she is looking so grown-up these days. I took this on her official 21st month birthday.

Side note: We can only get her to smile by asking her to show us her teeth. At least it works because she sure looks cute when she shows them off.

My Baby Boys Start Kindergarten!

2010-09-15T10:18:00.004-06:00

I really can't believe they are in Kindergarten. I actually got kind of emotional when I dropped them off. They are growing up so fast!

Don't you love their poses!

Alice also had to be a part of the first day for the twins.

Tanner's table.

Josh's table.

Max's 1st Day of School

2010-09-15T10:12:00.002-06:00

I can't believe my oldest is in 2nd grade now!

Of course the twins had to be in the picture for Max's first day. They started a week later. I also have no idea why Josh is making this face. Just being his silly self, I guess.

Family Camping

2010-08-23T08:57:00.004-06:00

We finally went camping this summer. We have been talking about it and the boys have been asking about it forever. I can't believe it took us this long to do it. They kept thanking us all night for taking them. I guess we were long over due.

Roasting Starbursts. Max wanted a picture of his Starbursts but he didn't want to be in the picture. Josh decided to step in for him so there is a face in the picture.

First camping trip for Ali.

More Starburst roasting.

Roasted marshmallows and eating Smores. There is nothing better!

Our hike up the mountain.

The boys showing off their muscles and stick skills.

The girls showing off their...teeth I guess.

Owls Game

2010-08-23T08:34:00.002-06:00

These were my picture attempts at the Owls game. We got free tickets with the reading program at the library. We probably sat here and watched the game for a total of 1o minutes and then the rest of the game time was spent playing on the playground nearby. Oh well, at least it didn't cost us anything.

24th of July

2010-08-22T22:59:00.003-06:00

We heard Spanish Fork puts on a pretty good firework show for the 24th so we decided to head on down to the sports park and check it out. It turned out to be worth the staying up late and dealing with onery children the next day to see it.

This is Max and Alice waiting for the show and passing the time by having a head stand contest.

Neal and Max's head stand contest. Max won.

Max and me smiling while Alice eats cotton candy.

Loading up on sugar at 11:00 at night. These kids were in heaven.

Yuba Lake

2010-08-22T22:24:00.003-06:00

Neal's parents made a special trip from Georga to take our kids to the "beach" due to a request made I think by Max. This was the closest "beach" they could think of. Neal's grandparents even decided to come along and bring their boat that they probably purchased in the early 70's and still own to this day. It was a blast! Thanks for the fun times Grandma and Grandpa Johnson and Fraser.

Ali trying on mom's shoes in above picture.

Tanner enjoying some shade for a second.

Ali showing Grandma Johnson some "bubs".

Tanner and Neal on the tube.

Josh on the boat making one of his many crazy faces.

Tanner taking on the responsibility of flag holder upper.

Max Turns Seven!

2010-08-22T22:03:00.003-06:00

Swimming party with some friends and brothers.

All he asked for was a skateboard this year. We decided to get him one as long as he got all the protective stuff as another gift to go along with it.

Max is really in to Harry Potter right now. This is my attempt at a Harry Potter cake. I decided to post this picture because it looks a lot better from far away (There were a few curse words that slipped out during the creation phase...or at least they wanted to slip out).

Family Party in California

2010-07-06T08:59:00.005-06:00

So here is the whole group at Disneyland (I realize now that these are the only pictures I took while we were in California.). We stayed in a really nice timeshare my parents paid for provided by my cousin. The boys loved the pool there and really never wanted to get out. Neal also got to go deep sea fishing with all the men and Jeff's family. It really was a lot of fun hanging out with the whole family before Jeff and his family left for Cleveland. Who knows when we will all be together again like that.
Tanner and Josh waiting for the Jedi Knight training.
Max and Kaylee riding a spaceship with Grandma.
Alice not looking too happy with Dad (I think she was getting hungry at this point).
Mr. Incredible!! The movie used to be Max's favorite when the twins were first born.
Frozone!!

Waiting for a bug's life 3-d movie. I quite enjoyed it but Max did not. He was crying and quite upset saying he would never ever watch a 3-d movie again.

Alice discovering cotton candy. She was quite a fan.

California Adventure.
Max's choice for a souvenir, a snake.

Max Finishes 1st Grade

2010-07-06T08:37:00.002-06:00

Of course these pictures are out of order. I always forget to up load them in the opposite order I want to show them. Oh well, Max's teacher got married in May down in St. George. We were down there for a Brian Reagan concert and so it worked out perfectly. Max was so excited about going and especially when he found the candy table...
Before Max's teacher got married, the 1st grade had their end of the year production. It was so cute. I got to sit on the front row right in front of him. He was pretty fun to watch.

These are pictures of the background (which I realize now are not the best. Sorry they are so blurry.). I had to take these because I was in charge of making this with a bunch of other moms. I must say I was not the brains behind it (there were some really creative mom's in the group) but it was really cool to be a part of it. We were all quite proud of ourselves when it was all said and done.

The Twins Turn 5

2010-07-06T08:32:00.001-06:00

Family Picture

2010-07-06T08:19:00.002-06:00

We took some pictures of the whole family in my parent's back yard the weekend of the open house. Here is one of them. Obviously, I didn't pick the best one out of the group but at least it's documented on the blog.

Mike and Ashley's Open House

2010-07-06T08:08:00.003-06:00

Just a few pictures of the Grand kids at Mike and Ashley's Open House in St. George. I know I am a little behind. These pictures were taken back in March. As you can see Alice as a little obsessed with baby Lainee. She just wanted to keep touching her face.

They are Home!

2010-03-23T11:24:00.002-06:00

I cannot believe they are really home. We actually missed the official arrival because I volunteered to get balloons and their flight got in just a tad early. Oh well, what can you do? So the first picture we had to take just like when they left with the twins. The next is of the whole group at the airport, and the last is a picture of all the nieces and nephews, minus Lainee. A lot has changed in two years! Now the boys dont' know what to pray for. They are so used to praying for Sam and Russ on their missions. Now they just bless that when they see them they can have fun together. Pretty cute!

Mike and Ashley Get Married

2010-03-23T11:13:00.005-06:00

The whole day was wonderful. It was chillier then expected but really a great day. The San Diego Temple is so beautiful and the ceremony was really special. The actual temple president preformed the sealing. We are so happy for Mike and Ashley! We love you both!

The Reception

2010-03-23T10:51:00.002-06:00

The reception was a lot of fun and so pretty. The Jones family really went all out. I especially loved the candy table. I wish I would have taken a picture. They had bags you could fill full of swedish fish, red vines, cinnamon bears, red hots, sixlets and more. I was in heaven because I am a sucker for just about all of the above listed candies. Not so much sixlets but it involved chocolate so I was on board. I was worse then the kids. I kept sneaking back more then I care to divulge on this post.
Also, my mom made the dresses for all the little girls and they turned out so cute. Too bad Josh and Tanner were pretty sick the whole day. They just slept through most of the festivities and didn't get to enjoy the candy like I did.

The Beach

2010-03-23T10:47:00.001-06:00

The Beach (continued)

2010-03-23T10:41:00.003-06:00

There is one picture of Sea World on here but the rest are pictures on the beach. After my brothers wedding on Saturday we decided to stay an extra day and take our kids to Sea World. Since we had all day Sunday with nothing to do we decided to go check out the beach. The water was freezing of course but the boys enjoyed looking for sea shells and trying to run away from the waves.

Sea World

2010-03-23T10:32:00.002-06:00

It was so much fun spending a day at Sea World. A little tiring when the day was said and done but well worth it. We met up with Neal's sister and brother-in-law and their cute little boy Curtis and spent the day together. I wish I would have thought to take a picture of all of us. They only part that wasn't so fun was driving all the way back to St. George after leaving Sea World. We didn't get there until 2 in the morning. I cannot believe Neal was able to stay awake. He drove the entire time while the rest of us slept.

Clark Planetarium

2010-03-01T10:17:00.002-07:00

Hanging out on the moon.

Living it up on Mars.

Taking a stab at weather forecasting as a family.

Skiing Adventure

2010-03-01T09:40:00.005-07:00

Just looking at this picture makes me tired. This was only the boys second time skiing. Neal and I thought we could handle all three by ourselves. I guess he didn't take into account that I'm only slightly more advanced then his children. I didn't even know how to use the tow rope. We were able to ride the ski lift since there is one that is free after 3:00 at Alta. We only rode it once because it took us over an hour and a half to get down the mountain and by the time we got to the bottom the resort was closed and almost everyone had gone home. There were a lot of tears but in the end hopefully they remember the fun times (riding the ski lift and going to IHOP afterward) and not being freezing cold (Tanner), constant yelling (me), hitting the top of this head which I'm not sure how that is possible on skiis while going down a fairly steep hill by himself(Max), falling in a deep snow bank (Max), twisting his foot (Tanner) falling about 1,000 times (Tanner, Josh, and Max) and being picked up by yelling parents at least 1,000 times (Tanner, Josh, and Max). We told Josh he got the prize for crying the least. He was pretty excited because he really thought he was getting on actual prize.

Bean Museum

2010-03-01T09:30:00.002-07:00

Over President's day we went to the Bean Museum at BYU. I guess we weren't the only ones with the same idea. The place was pretty packed. The boys loved finding animals and answering questions from the papers provided by the museum. You can't beat free educational experiences.

Out With the Old in With the New

2010-01-29T15:13:00.004-07:00

Before

After

BeforeAfter

So 2010 has already brought quite a few changes. Well, I guess the truck we actually brought before Christmas but that's okay. It had quite a few repairs right after we bought it so Neal really didn't get to drive it a lot until it got fixed and that was pretty close to after the new year.
So the vehicles were bought out of necessity for the most part. Neal totaled the white Honda which was actually a blessing. He wasn't hurt and it wasn't his fault but the accident totaled the car which got us a lot more money from the insurance company then we ever would have got if we would have tried to sell it on our own. And now Neal has the truck he has been wanting for quite some time.
Right after Christmas we had the van looked at because we knew it had some leaks. We found out there were about 3 seperate leaks and the repairs were going to be well over $1000. We decided we didn't want to deal with the hastle of fixing the van anymore. Plus, with its mileage and age we knew it wasn't worth a whole lot more then what it would cost to fix. I'm so excited about our new van. It has been my dream to own a Honda Odysessy. I love it, love it, love it! I couldn't be more happy about it except, of course, the payment. Did I mention how much I love it? Neal is such a good husband for humoring me on this one. He tried to convince me to look at other models but I just couldn't do it. He eventually gave in. It has so many bells and whistles in comparison to the old van. When I tell people about them they tell me that's pretty standard in most cars but to me I feel like I am driving a fancy sports car or something. I guess I didn't know what I was missing until now. I also didn't know how to work a lot of the features. Like, did you know that the break has to be pressed in order to put most vehicles into gear or that there is a button that will lock the window in the back and passanger side so that the kids can't mess with it? Apparently, I didn't know these things. I was stuck at the mailbox for about 15 minutes because I couldn't get the van to go into gear and another time my poor children had to cover themselves as best the could with their coats and hoods on as we drove on highway 6 going about 60 mph with all the windows completely down and it snowing outside. Good thing Neal knows about these things or we would be in major trouble.

Crazy Alice

2010-01-29T14:43:00.002-07:00

This is her latest. She loves to take the vents off and put her feet in the hole. She especially likes to do this when the warm air is blowing out. Yes, I know this is a dangerous sport but I'm not sure how to get her to stop. She accidently fell in face first a while back and that wasn't too fun. It did detour her for awhile but she must have forgotten all about that incident because she is back at it.
In other news, Alice started walking. She was taking steps for quite awhile but didn't seem to really want to do it a lot until just after the new year. I guess she changed her mind at that point and decided 2010 needed to be seen on two feet instead of on all fours.
She has also become quite bossy with the new year. She can't really say much except for Mama and Dada but she is very vocal nonetheless. I'm sure it is a necessity with three older brothers. She yells all the time and she especially yells if she sees one of her brothers sitting on my lap or frankly just sitting too close to me. She will come right over and try and push the said brother away. The other day she used all of her body weight in order to have them move. The boys don't think it is as funny as we do.

Alice's Christmas Dress

2010-01-10T19:01:00.002-07:00

Okay. So I really wanted to post a picture of my little creation. I'm quite proud of the end result or maybe I am proud of the fact that I didn't give up and throw the whole thing in the garbage and just buy a dress at the store. I thought it would be fun to make a dress for Ali. It was my first attempt at a dress for her not my first attempt ever making a dress. The last time I think I made a dress was probably when Neal's sister Kara got married. (Let's see; I guess that was over four years ago. ) Anyway, I must really be losing my memory because I forgot a lot. I ended up doing almost everything at least twice. So I guess you can imagine it took awhile. I'm just glad I didn't decide to do it last minute like I usually do things. I'll have to actually take a picture of her in it now to prove that it fits and looks pretty cute on. We will have to see if I attempt a project like this again next year.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-10T18:47:00.002-07:00

Christmas Eve this year we decided to make homemade pizza. We let the boys each make their own.
We later had a little Christmas program where each person read or told a story about Christmas. We also sang lot of Christmas songs. We then all got to open a present from me. I decided to make everyone PJs this year including me. This the first year in our marriage that I have made myself pajama pants. Tanner and Josh helped me pick out the material this year.

After talking to Neal's family on Skype we ended the night by frosting some sugar cookies so we could leave a few for Santa. We also left some carrots for the reindeer.

Alice's One Year Pictures

2009-12-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Alice's One Year Pics continued and Check-up Stats

2009-12-17T14:48:00.005-07:00

I had my same friend take picture of Alice again. As always, she did a great job. Here are some of my favorites. On a side note; Alice had her one year check-up on Monday. I don't usually post her stats but I always forget them so I thought I would document them on here so I don't forget.

Weight: 17lbs 4 oz 5%
Length: 29 inches 50%
Head: 45 cm 50%

So I guess she is pretty average except for her weight. I tell ya, I'm not used to such a small baby but I guess if any of my children are going to be petite I guess it's okay if it's my little girl.

Gingerbread House Making

2009-12-17T14:40:00.003-07:00

Neal's mom give us a gingerbread house to decorate and made everyone in the family festive little aprons. Alice looked so darn cute in her's we had to get a full body shot. I love that she only has one sock on and no pants.

Alice turns one!

2009-12-14T09:38:00.004-07:00

Here she is in all her cuteness. I actually took this today because I wanted to show off one of her cute outfits along with the pink horse she got from Grandma . I got her to smile too. Usually she is more interested in grabbing the camera from me and doesn't want to smile when I try and take a picture.
Her brothers were so helpful in unwrapping the presents for her.
She wasn't too messy with her cake. She was actually quite danty (sp?); just using her two little fingers to eat the frosting and small bits of cake.
This is the little cake I made for her to eat.
This is the cake everyone got to eat. It turned out pretty good. I got worried in the beginning because it wasn't turning out how I wanted but by the time I finished I was pretty pleased.

It was also really fun having her grandma Fraser from Georgia there as well as my parents and her two aunts: Shelly and Kelsey. Thank you everyone for coming! It was so much fun celebrating her day with you.

Alice Pictures

2009-12-01T12:23:00.003-07:00

I got a request for more pictures of Alice from Neal's sister. Here you go Stacey! I have been slacking a little bit in that area. These are just random pictures of her. She is so active and close to walking. I can't believe her birthday is in less then two weeks.

This last picture was my attempt to show her teeth. I could never get a really good picture. She finally got her first tooth at about 10 months and then within a months time she had four. The funny thing is she got one on the bottom and then one on top and then another one on the bottom and another one on top. She looked so funny for awhile with just one on both ends. She looked like a little snaggle tooth. It was cute.

Fun Times With the Cousins

2009-12-01T12:04:00.002-07:00

We had some exciting times with the cousins a few weeks ago. They came to hang out while their mom and dad went to Ohio for a residency interview. This was our second morning together. We tried to smoosh 5 kids onto 3 seats for almost every meal because everyone wanted to sit up at the bar ( I guess we are missing Max in this picture.).
I wish I had a picture of Jeff (their dad) doing the same thing with my mom's make-up back in the day. I guess the apples don't fall far from the tree as you can see. I give Kaylee all the credit on this one though. She was the little instigator in this adventure. Not only was there make up all over them and my bathroom but Gage's pooh could be found in many areas as well. In my defense, I thought they were sleeping. It was so quiet and so I didn't suspect any thing. After about an hour I went to check on them in my room and this is what I found.
In case you can't see it well in the first picture, this is Kaylee's art work on my bedroom wall. I was quite impressed with her artistic abilities and use of color in this particular piece that I couldn't help but take a picture. I will admit this was all my fault. I forgot about some non-washable markers I had left out in my room not far from her bed. Oh well, there is always the magic eraser right?

Halloween 2009

2009-11-06T11:37:00.003-07:00

Josh as Spiderman.
Tanner as Ob-1.
Max as a ghost.
Alice as a butterfly.
Pumpkins completed by Neal and supervised for a time by Max, Tanner, and Josh.
The costumes were the easiest to come up with this year. Max is a traditionalist when it comes to Halloween and wanted to be a ghost ever since a friend of ours told him he has a really good ghost voice. He's already got the next four years planned out which I know include a vampire and a bat for two of those four. He's been working on the voice already for the vamipire.
The twins worried me for awhile since they changed their minds quite often. Even two days before, they kept switching back and forth. Luckily, for me, they decided on costumes I had on hand; Ob-1 Neal's mom made for his birthday and Spiderman was an exciting find at a garage sale this summer.
The whole trick-or-treating group. Don't you love my brother and sister-in-law's family costumes? ReAnn made them all and they turned out so cute! The were the "credible" family. My brother, as you can tell, wasn't all that excited about his costume but he was a good sport.

Staheli Family Farm

2009-11-03T09:10:00.002-07:00

We had a great time in St. George again this year for Halloween. We decided to check out the Staheli Family Farm which included a corn maze, pumpkin patch, mini petting zoo, and lots of other fun little games for the kids. The is a picture of the boys holding up dried up corn used to soften their fall at the bottom of the homemade irrigation pipe slides.
Alice making her classic scrunchy face during the hay ride to the pumpkin patch.
A very serious family picure. Apparently, two of us didn't get the memo.
I don't know what you call these, some type of barrel ride. This was one of the highlights.
Neal looking good even though Alice doesn't look that happy.

Neal Turned 30 and The Annual Pumpkin Patch Trip

2009-10-19T10:15:00.004-06:00

Sorry about the sad picture representing Neal's big day. It looks so weird and smoky because he had just blown out the candles. I only took two and the other one is pretty much black with a little bit of light from the candles on the pie (I guess I didn't have the flash on). FYI: Our camera broke back in August so our picture taking as been pretty dismal due to the fact that we have to resort to Max's camera to document important events. Anyway, it was a fun day. At least I hope it was for Neal. He did say I made up for Father's day (the kids and I were all sick that day) so I assume that meant he enjoyed his 30th birthday at least more then Father's day (which obviously wasn't really hard to do). We had some friends over and his two sisters for a "pie party" and spent most of the day enjoying conference.

The twins and I took our 3rd annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch at the Red Barn in Santaquin. Of course, they loved it as usual. We all picked out our own pumpkin (the only criteria being that it had to be carried without the help of mom) and then finished off the trip with an apple cider donut. Yum!

My First Half Marathon

2009-09-13T21:36:00.002-06:00

I ran this over Labor Day weekend. It started in Gunlock and finished in Ivins. It was a lot of fun. There were quite a few hills but the scenery was awesome. I never thought I would say this but I actually enjoy running. Neal thinks it's because I get to gossip with my two friends who I trained with this last month. I beg to differ. We didn't gossip the whole time but I'm sure having great friends to run with did help the process. We all enjoyed it so much, we have decided to keep running together and in the mean time, find another race we want to train for.

Max, Our Budding Photographer

2009-09-13T21:15:00.003-06:00

Max got a camera for his birthday and I have been meaning to post some of his work. These pictures were from a wedding a couple weeks ago. To keep him busy, I first told him to take a picture of his dad, who had fallen asleep with Alice, next I told him to take a picture of the wedding cake, then a picture of his favorite fruit on the food table, and then he decided on his own to take a picture of his grandpa. I think he did a pretty good job. I debated whether to post some of his favorites which include, random toys on the floor, close ups of Alice's face, and blurred brothers' bums. I think I will save those for a very special occasion.

Max and the Twins Start School

2009-09-13T20:53:00.002-06:00

I cannot believe how fast my kids are growing up. Max started 1st grade almost a month ago and the twins started preschool last week. It was so strange dropping the twins off on their first day and going home. One thing I wasn't prepared for was how nostalgic I would get. The twins will always seem so little to me. I had a hard time swallowing the fact they were really old enough to go to school for a couple hours without me. I got over those feelings rather quickly and then realized how quiet it was at home. Alice and I didn't know what to do with ourselves. I kept thinking of all the things I could be doing and should be doing. The possibilities were limitless. In the end, I couldn't make up my mind. I sat on the couch contemplating for quite awhile. I think I did a few dishes, started some laundry, and watched bits and pieces of Rachael Ray; and by that time, my new found freedom was gone; I had to jump in the car to pick up my preschoolers.

Fraser Kids

2009-08-11T09:18:00.002-06:00

I had my same friend who took picture of Alice not too long ago take some pictures of my kids last month. She is so sweet to do this for me. I just love how they turned out!

Max

2009-08-11T09:17:00.000-06:00

Tanner and Josh

2009-08-11T09:14:00.000-06:00

Alice at 7 months

2009-08-11T09:09:00.002-06:00

More Alice

2009-08-11T09:06:00.000-06:00

Pinata Fun

2009-07-28T09:50:00.003-06:00

Here is that video of Tanner breaking his pinata...Pretty funny.

Bear Lake and Max's Birthday Continued

2009-07-28T09:32:00.003-06:00

We made a visit to the Minnatonka Cave near Bear Lake. It was great fun we just didn't know it was going to be below 40 degrees in there and that we would be inside for over an hour. We found some towels in the car before heading in and the boys took turns sharing them while we were inside. All in all, it was way cool in every sense of the word.
I think this is Max again on his second attempt. Tanner got out on the tube too but I couldn't find a picture. I think Brian's cousin let me take a picture with his camera so that one is not available quite yet.
The breaking of the pinata. We finally had to put it on the ground and let the boys have at it with no blindfold.
Ali looking cute after a day on the beach.
Max posing with his pizza cake. I can't believe he is six and getting ready to start 1st grade this year. Where did all the time go?

Fourth of July, Bear Lake, and Max's Birthday

2009-07-28T09:15:00.006-06:00

Max had his birthday while we were at Bear Lake with Neal's family. He requested a pizza party so this is my attempt at a pizza cake.
Max also wanted a pinata for his birthday so we had a lot of fun trying to make our own. It was quite messy but they turned out to be pretty strong. I'll have to post a video of one of the boys trying to break it. They really had to go to town on them. It was quite the scene.
Max's first attempt on the tube. It didn't go too well. They fell off right from the beginning. It took a lot of coaxing and persuading and whatever else to get him to think about it again. Max finally decided that once he was six he would be old enough to try again. Good thing he turned six the next day!
Fourth of July festivities included face painting. I stood in line, for what seemed like forever, waiting to have someone paint the boys faces. Eventually, I gave up and realized that there were areas where you could do the face painting yourself. This is Kaylin's face painting attempts. I thought she did an excellent job. Max loved it. The twins had super hero masks painted on them. I guess we didn't get a picture of them. I'm sure you can imagine just how cute they were.
Our family tradition at the Provo Balloon Fest. We get there a little late this year. The balloons were already way up in the air by the time we arrived. Oh well, we made it there nonetheless and even got donuts afterward. That's all that mattered I guess.

Max and T-Ball

2009-07-28T09:11:00.002-06:00

T-ball ended about a month ago but I thought I should at least post a picture of his last day as a Mud Cat. It was a crazy season. Although we missed quite a few games due to vacation, the swine flu, bad weather, and forgetfulness it was all worth it in the end.

2009-06-14T21:55:00.002-06:00

Check one off the ol' honey-do list! I finally got the stairs off the deck competed. Much thanks goes to Rachael's dad for his help in construction. I also want to give a shout-out to John Henry at the Provo Home Depot. He was very helpful in creating a materials list once I showed him the plans, I had drawn up. And I only bought a few boards too many, and two boxes short on screws. Total: 3 trips to the HD.

I've done my part, now it's up to Rach to keep the mud out of the living room, good luck.

2009-06-14T21:48:00.002-06:00

What are my brothers doing to me now? Help me!!! Get me out of here!!!

I'm just kidding, my brothers really love me. Even if I have to entertain them by doing silly things sometimes. They're so immature, but they did take these pictures themselves. Lots of love!

----Ali

Highlights of Georgia Trip

2009-06-11T10:41:00.004-06:00

I decided to do a little slide show since we took so many pictures while we were in Atlanta. We had so much fun while we were there. Oh course, the true highlight was being there for Kelsey's big day :) but we also went to a Braves game, the World of Coke museum, Olympic Ring Fountains, a great bounce house, a hike with Grandpa, and the big topper, White Water, a huge water park (This was probably the boys highlight. We were there all day and still they didn't want to leave even when it was almost time for the place to close.). Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Fraser for such a great vacation! (There were many other fun things we did but aren't mentioned.) The boys are still talking about their trip to Georgia!

Kelsey Graduates

2009-06-11T09:45:00.001-06:00

Yay for Kelsey! We were so excited that we could be there for the big day! Congrats Kels! We are so proud of you and can't wait for you to come out and be closer to us when you start school.

Alice at 5 Months

2009-06-11T08:59:00.000-06:00

Another picture that should have been posted a month ago. Alice is actually 6 months tomorrow (officially).

A Jedi Knight Birthday

2009-06-11T08:48:00.002-06:00

I know I'm about a month behind but I thought I should post some pictures from the twins birthday. As most of you know they are very much obsessed with Star Wars so it was only fitting that we have a party loaded with light sabers, "yoda soda", Ob-wan and Yoda attire, and anything else I could come up with that could be considered Star Wars worthy.
As you can see from the pictures, I attempted to make light saber cakes and the Ob-wan and Jodi costumes were made by my very talented mother-in-law. (These outfits have since become a huge hit around the neighborhood.)

Good Job Shelly!

2009-04-19T22:24:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to tell Shelly how proud we are of her. We went and watched her run a half marathon on Saturday. She was awesome and the boys loved being there to cheer her on.

Alice's Easter Dress

2009-04-19T22:22:00.001-06:00

I had to post a picture of the dress my mom bought Alice for Easter. Have I mentioned how fun it is having a girl? I'm loving it!

Easter

2009-04-19T22:13:00.002-06:00

Just a few pictures from Easter. We went to St. George again and had a great time. Although it did rain on Saturday, we still made it out for the neighborhood egg hunt. They had some great prizes and treats. It was well worth a walk in the rain to be a part of the festivities. Thanks KelliAnn, for signing us up! (The last picture is the egg hunt on Saturday. The others were taken Easter morning after our "private" egg hunt in the back yard.)

Alice is Almost 4 Months

2009-04-06T15:52:00.004-06:00

A friend took these pictures for me. She did such a great job. I had a hard time not posting all of them, although I did post most of them. We didn't get too many of her smiling but that's okay. Alice is such a sweetheart. We just love having her in our family. She loves to babble and smile especially when she can watch her brothers. She is so content as along as she has a good view of what they are up to. They are also really sweet with her. I'm sure they will be very protective of her when she gets a bit older.

2009-04-06T15:28:00.001-06:00

I just couldn't help myself. Here are some more. She is just so cute!

Jerusalem 10 Year Reunion

2009-04-06T15:11:00.005-06:00

I went to my 10 year Study Abroad in Jerusalem Reunion this last weekend in Provo. I really debated on going because I wasn't sure anyone I was close to would be there but it turns out there were quite a few people I was really excited to see. Two out of three of my roommates were there and a lot of dear friends were also in attendance. A ton of memories came flooding back that night. I feel so blessed to have been able to spend 4 months studying in places were the Savior once lived and taught. It really was an experience of a lifetime.
The first picture is with two wonderful friends and spouses (One spouse is missing, obviously. She had to stay with the kids in Maryland.), the second is with my two roommates, Amy and Donalee.

Trip Up to See Grandma and Grandpa C.

2009-04-06T15:06:00.002-06:00

We took a quick trip up to see Grandma and Grandpa Christensen. My two brothers were up there too so it was fun to visit with everyone. We tried to let the boys sleep with their cousin Kaylee but that was a bust. Around 10:30 p.m. we decided it was time to separate everyone. I guess it was just too much fun.

Field Trip to the Fire Station

2009-04-06T14:58:00.002-06:00

Fun Times. Not much to say about this one. It was pretty exciting to see all the big trucks but the firefighter who talked to us was a little boring for the boys. Their friend in the picture is also named Josh.

Gardening Time Again

2009-04-06T14:55:00.000-06:00

I remember posting some pictures last year around this time of our gardening attempts. Neal and I actually took a class to help us this year. We will see how things go. The boys helped Neal plant strawberries, lettuce, carrots, and peas this time.

Yoga and Running with Mom

2009-04-06T14:50:00.001-06:00

The boys have been very interested in anything I am attempting to do in terms of physical fitness. I was trying out a Yoga video a friend let me borrow one day and attempting to run around the block another. Tanner has been the most persistent. I kept thinking they would all give up running with me after the first time around the block and they did...except Tanner. As long as I was running; he was running.

St. George Trip

2009-03-12T16:20:00.002-06:00

We had so much fun down in St. George last week. Neal had a conference for work so we made it a family affair. We've been doing this now for a couple years. It's a great time to spend time with my family and enjoy the beautiful weather. And the weather really was so great. It was so hard to come back to the cold and snow. We went outside and played everyday. The boys even decided to go to the park by themselves. It was pretty scary. I went to get ready because I knew they wanted to go. By the time I was ready, the boys were no where to be found. Luckily, the park is right behind my parents house and the street where they crossed isn't busy. The picture of Alice is with her cousin Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn just loved Alice. She asked all the time if you could hold her. She would just put her arms out and say "Alice? Baby Alice?" It was so cute. The golfing picture is of my brother Will. My two brothers and Neal decided to go the day Neal finished his conference. Like I said: Beautiful weather! Oh, how I love St. George! The pictures at the restaurant were at a place called Pirate Island. The boys were in heaven! Besides being Jedi Knights, their next chosen profession would have to be swash buckling pirates. It was a great little place. Tanner even said he had a dream about it that night. They all asked if they could go back the next day.
We also got plenty of Wii time in and even made a quick trip to Pine Valley to visit Mom and Dad's cabin.

Zoo Times

2009-03-12T16:08:00.003-06:00

We went to the zoo a few weeks ago. We found out it was free that day so we headed up. I even got my brother Mike to come with me. The weather was actually quite nice even with the wind. I think the last time we went up for a visit was when the twins where probably the same age as Alice.

Computer Genius

2009-03-12T15:59:00.002-06:00

Neal decided recently to rebuild are very dinosaur like computer. He thought originally to have someone else do it for him and just pay the person for their time. As he thought more and more about it, he decided he was a very capable computer savvy type of guy. Needless to say, after researching it out on the Internet and three days of little sleep, we have an exceptionally quick computer with capabilities beyond my understanding.

Twin Tendencies

2009-03-12T15:54:00.003-06:00

I thought this was such a funny sight. The twins were lying together watching a movie and they were in the exact same pose/position sharing a blanket. They look exactly alike from behind. I swear everyday they are looking more and more alike from the front too.

Alice's Blessing

2009-02-18T08:33:00.002-07:00

What a special day. She looked so beautiful and Neal did a really nice job. My mom made the dress and it turned out perfectly. The pattern she used was one my grandma used to make blessing dresses for all my cousins. I guess she started making them after I was blessed so my mom never got one. She was so excited that her sister still had the pattern and that she was able to make it.

What a Handsome Devil!

2009-02-02T12:11:00.003-07:00

Neal's dad has been scanning old slides. He sent a cd of some of them. It was pretty fun going through them and seeing what a good looking kid Neal was. These are a few of my favorites. I think the first one he is about the same age as Max. Sorry it's a little dark. The second to last has to be my top pick. Don't you love those shorts?

A Family of Skiers

2009-02-02T12:05:00.002-07:00

Neal finally got the boys up on the slopes the last few weeks. (He forgot to take the camera up when he took Max for the first time so there isn't a picture of him.) He's been talking about taking them for quite some time. All three of them loved it and seem to be naturals at the sport. Their dad couldn't be more proud.

Updated Allie Pictures

2009-02-02T10:57:00.001-07:00

The first one is my favorite. She is just starting to smile and I sort of got her little smile in this picture.

Dancing Twins

2009-01-12T17:20:00.003-07:00

I attribute these sweet moves to their father. Their favorite Uncle Mike put them up to it though.

Christmas Pictures

2009-01-09T13:06:00.003-07:00

Making a gingerbread house a couple days before Christmas.

Alice's first Christmas outfit given to her by Grandma.

Christmas Pjs with a BYU theme this year. Regardless of how the cougs do, BYU will always spell football in our house.

She's Here!

2008-12-17T10:31:00.002-07:00

Alice Lorraine Fraser was born on December 12th at 8:18 in the morning. She weighed 8lbs 1oz and was 20 inches long. She is doing great and has been a perfect baby so far. I was so worried that she would be my hardest because I was excited to only have one baby this time. One just seemed like it would be a piece of cake but then I started thinking that maybe she would have colic or all of that other stuff that makes a baby hard, but so far she has been wonderful. The boys love her and are always trying to give her kisses and help with dirty diapers.
We still didn't have a name when we went to the hospital but after she was born we decided that Alice was pretty much the only name we both liked and agreed on. The name is also a family name. My great great great grandma (something like) Alice Brooks was a pioneer that came to Utah with the Martin Handcock company. It was also the name that Max had chosen from the very beginning. He was always so matter of fact about it. Any time we asked him what we should name her he would say without question, "Her name is Alice." We don't know how he came up with it. He doesn't remember ever seeing Alice in Wonderland and we don't know any Alices so it's kind of funny. Her middle name is my mom's middle name as well. I think it will be so neat to tell her when she's older how she got her name and all about the amazing women she was named after.

More pictures...

2008-12-03T11:41:00.002-07:00

Just an updated picture of my bigness. This was taken just a few days ago. I am almost 38 weeks. I don't normally take this pictures because I try and forget as soon as I can but my brothers on their missions keep requesting a picture.

So I forgot it snowed one day in November. We had just enough snow in the front for a little snowman. The boys were so excited. Too bad it melted before the end of the day.

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Went to visit Santa while in Richfield for Thanksgiving. Last time we took them to see Santa, Max hid and the twins cried. They were great this year. They remembered what they wanted and even had a nice little chat with Old Saint Nick.

Pictures...

2008-12-03T11:26:00.005-07:00

Here is a picture with the boys and their cousins. Kaylee (standing with the boys), Kaitlyn, and Gage.

Had Halloween in St. George with my family. Max was a skeleton, Josh was Buzz and Tanner was his nemesis, Zurg.

Took the boys to the temple for a visit.

Neal had his 29th birthday in October. Wow he is getting quite old!

Max played soccer in September. Neal was the coach.

Catch Up

2008-12-03T11:15:00.002-07:00

I can't believe it has been three months since I last wrote or posted anything. I guess I kept meaning to finish up all my Italy pictures and talk more about the trip but I never did and then with the holidays I just neglected the blog. Since we have a baby coming in just 9 days I was overly concerned about having Christmas completely ready before the big arrival day. We've decided, especially after the Thanksgiving holiday and having received quite a bit of grief from Neal's family about not updating in awhile , it was time to change our ways. I think I will just have to post a whole bunch of pictures and try and catch you all up in the last three months.

Closed Blogs

2008-12-03T10:59:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I know I have been a slacker but all of you who have closed your blogs in my slacker time of not checking them(Megan, Cami, and Heather), will you please add me to your list of invited readers. I am a little sad I can't check them any more. rachael.fraser@gmail.com
Thanks

Positano

2008-09-24T13:20:00.000-06:00

Rome

2008-09-24T12:52:00.002-06:00

2008-09-18T20:20:00.002-06:00

I decorated our formal front room for Rachael while she was in Italy. My mom and my aunt Clarissa helped a lot actually. I did the manual labor and actually chose the colors. Credit mom for the window treatment, pillows and slate table (all of which we made). Clarissa helped with the accessories and decorating, including how and where to do the wall hangings. I think Rachael likes it.