Happy Birthday Logan

So today you turned one. I spent a lot of time in your room, holding your blanky to my chest, wishing with all my heart it was you I was holding. I feel that your blanky is the only thing I have that was truly yours. I can't believe its already been 4 months since you've been gone. My heart aches, my arms physically ache wanting to be able to hold you and can't. I can't wait for the day when I can hold you in my arms again. I miss you. I miss your smile. I miss playing peek a boo with you right before bed. You would put your blanky over your head, and then push it away with a laugh and beautiful smile. I wish with everything that I am that my last memory of you wasn't crying before bedtime. I wish I would have just let you fall asleep in my arms instead of crying in the crib. I know it was just a few moments of tears, but I didn't know it would be your last bedtime. How I wish I knew.

I visited your grave today and put flowers on it. The flowers were actually from your Uncle Ben and Aunt Shannon. It looked nice. It felt good to go even though it was really hard. Thoughts keep coming-would you have taken your first steps by now? Would you be able to say mama? Would you have more hair? Would you be getting into everything and driving me crazy? (Probably not as much as Afton did.) :) The thoughts today of you hurt, but its not like that always. I can usually remember you with love and happiness that I had you for eight months of my life. I can't help being selfish and wishing for more. I remember the joy I felt watching you learn to do new things. I remember the first day you laughed, the first day you smiled. I remember the first day you rolled over. You were a joy to spend time with. I know I have you for eternity, and sometimes that knowledge helps. Sometimes it doesn't. But overall, I would have to say I am thankful for the temple and the plan of salvation. I am thankful that you are mine always and hope that one day, if I am strong and good enough, I will be able to see you and be with you again. I wish eternity didn't seem so far away. Who knows, maybe it isn't. I love and miss you.

Mom

Birthday Surprise

So, I come home from mutual and find this.




Totally awesome. obviously. In case you can't tell, my door is completely wrapped with christmas wrapping paper, and there are 4 HUGE boxes on my doorstep. They completely cover the doorway. There is also a note saying "Merry Christmas - Happy Birthday. Instructions: Find the eight presents inside. Have fun!" Imagine my glee. How fun is it opening presents! There were boxes upon boxes to open-lots of smaller boxes inside the larger ones! It was the best thing ever! My whole living room-covered in boxes! The best part (2 things, actually)- 1. I got 3 unmatched socks. YAHOO!! I mean, I LOVE socks, and the fact that they don't match is terrific, the very best, wonderful, amazing..... It's good to be known so well. I got some other things that are cool like a slinky and pez, but the socks were over the top!

2. I now have boxes to ship Christmas presents! Hooray!!


Anyways, I just want to say thanks to my mystery door decorators, but have no fear, I have a few guesses on who you are! :0)

Afton and Santa

Thanksgiving 2010

So we actually cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the first time in years at our place. It was kind of fun, especially since Joe did most of the cooking. We had some good friends over. We didn't actually eat the Thanksgiving dinner until 7 that night, which is by the far the latest we have ever eaten on Thanksgiving. Pro- the actual cooking isn't stressful since you have all day to make it. We just snacked on crackers, veggie tray, and this amazing spinach/artichoke dip all day. (Afton ate all the ranch dip herself unfortunately.) Con- You can't each as much pie since your stomach doesn't have as much time to settle, which is really sad since we had some amazing pies. I have to say 8 pies for 5 adults and 3 kids is a pretty dang good ratio!

Afton had a blast playing with Toby. All the food tasted amazing and came out well minus the sweet potato pie soup. Still not sure what happened there, but the turkey was the best I've ever had although it is my philosophy that you really can't screw up turkey. If its overcooked and dry, you just add more gravy and you're good to go. :0) Anyways, the turkey only took an hour and a half to cook (it was only a 10 lb-er,) but it was really juicy and tender, even the white meat. And Joe made this awesome stuffing with sausage. I don't even like stuffing, but this stuff was fantastic. The sweet potato pie tasted good as well, just soupy. We even made frog eye salad but completely forgot about it and left it in the fridge. Oops.

Overall it was a good thanksgiving. A little hard without Logan, but then I think most of the holidays will be. Anyways, I am thankful for all of my family and friends-they're great.

The New and Improved Afton Fashion

Thangiving Pie Plan 2010

Last year, I explained my 1PPP plan. This year, Thanksgiving is just going to be us and our friends the Cramers. It looks like we're going to exceed my ratio.

We're making an apple pie, pineapple pie, tollhouse pie, and a pumpkin cheesecake. The Cramers are making the pumpkin pie and a banana cream pie.

That's 6 pies (cheese cake is a custard pie, for 4 adults and Afton and her 'boyfriend' Toby. I am happy.

The rest of the menu consists of turkey that I'm making, stuffing (I'm making.. it's experimental.), gravy, frog eye salad, Mrs. Wood's sweet potato casserole, green beans, rolls, and mashed potatoes.

All Hallow's Eve, and Grandma!

It is most definitely fall here in Northern Virginia. Leaves are changing colors, nights (and days, now) are getting colder, and political campaigning has peaked.

That means it's time for: Halloween!
Yes, there's the picture everybody wants to see: Minnie Afton Scoresby. She even left the headband on for 2 more seconds after the picture.

Although the cuteness is undeniable, Afton didn't win any prizes at the ward party. Perhaps because she wouldn't leave the headband on.

For actual trick-or-treating, though, Afton wore her cat costume, because it got cold. (in the 40s) and that costume is much warmer.





















Mom brought the Minnie skirt when she came to visit, and brought crafting-ness inspiration for Tracy. Normally, I'm the creative one in the kitchen, but I can claim zero credit for this:















I can, and will, clam credit for this, though:


And a few more random pictures, just for fun:

Logan

Just over two years ago, a friend and former co-worker of mine from BYU lost his three year old son to cancer. Afton was, at the time, about 6 months old. I found about the cancer a few months after they discovered it, courtesy of his blog. I don't visit his blog often, and I had a new daughter, so the next time I visited the site was after his son had died. I remember, at the time, thinking about how difficult it must be for him and his family, and wondering if I could handle such a loss.

Now I know.

Yes, it is very hard. It's hard for me to choose and type these words, just because of the emotions they bring up, so I am pondering over each one.

While I miss Logan, most of the time, the pain and loss are gone, and I can now function as a normal human again. The emotional changes I've experienced are amazing to me. I often characterize myself as having "the emotional range of a teacup", and yes, I stole that quote. However, I know that for the first few days after his death, I wasn't functioning normally. I shaved each morning because I knew that I should. I showered, changed clothes, and ate because I knew I must. I functioned based on one thing: I knew that I needed to. Thankfully, Tracy has been here for me, and I feel that the Savior has lifted the pain of this separation from me. I only truly feel the burden of when I must contemplate it, like now. Often, I feel the joy of knowing that I will be with him again, and be able to do all the things I planned to do with him, like rock climbing.

Perhaps I'll post the full details in the future. Most likely, I won't.

To Logan, I miss you.

To Tom, I understand, in more depth than I had anticipated, how you feel.

Logan Matthew Scoresby, infant son of Joseph and Tracy Manwarren Scoresby, passed away September 1st, 2010 at the Prince William Hospital.
Survivors include his parents of Manassas; one sister, Afton Michelle Scoresby, also of Manassas; maternal grandparents, Marshall and Michele Manwarren of Danbury, Texas; paternal grandparents, Rene and Margaret Scoresby of Kronenwetter, Wis.; four uncles, six aunts and numerous cousins.

The family will receive friends on Sunday, September 5th, 2010 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Baker-Post Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 10001 Nokesville Road, Manassas. Funeral Services will be held on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 10 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 8001 Barrett Dr, Manassas, VA 20109.Private interment will take place on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010.

Tribute to Logan

His smile could always brighten up your day
He liked to explore and find whatever he could on the floor
He liked to grab my hair
He liked to eat a lot
He liked to roll his way around in order to get where he was going
He liked to sleep with his blanky over his head
He liked to be held
He liked to play peek a boo
He liked Cocoa
He liked to laugh with Afton
He liked to smile
He liked to play with his feet
He made me laugh
He makes me cry

Afton loves her cousins.
She also loves the camera.

I’m dizzy

Well, not anymore.

We went to Kings Dominion yesterday.  When we came back, I kept feeling like I was moving. I think my inner ears were so scrambled from the rides that I felt like I was always moving.

Oh, and for those who don’t know, Paramount doesn’t own Kings Dominion or King’s Island anymore.  The company that owns Cedar Point bought them a few years ago.

Oops. Our design was really old.

I updated our blog's design some. Mainly because the image we had been using for our background was removed from Photobucket because it was so old. That problem should be gone now. :)

Anyway, here's some pictures from our vacation!

Joanna's Wedding:


Sarah's Wedding:


The everythign else from the vacation:


Afton's pictures: :)

National Lampoon's Scoresby Vacation.

I believe every family is required to have at least one vacation that's an epic Fail. This is so all the other vacations can be seen in their proper light, and enjoyed appropriately. This is going to be LONG, so the pictures will be done at another time, so they can be enjoyed appropriately.

Allow me to lay out our epic:

1. The trip was horribly complicated in the first place. We had two weddings to attend two weeks apart in two separate time zones. That, plus my work schedule, led to the following plan:

• Thursday morning, Tracy left, early. She drove for two days, with Afton, to reach Minneapolis, where my sister Joanna was getting married on Saturday. In order to save her sanity, I kept Logan, and the Cramers watched him while I'm at work. (Thank you, Nate and Sarah!)
• Friday after work, I got Logan, drove to the airport, and flew to Minneapolis. My flight was delayed for about 2 hours (I think?) and I arrived at about 11:00, getting to sleep at midnight, the day of the wedding. We attended the wedding, set up and attended the reception, swam in the hotel pool with the fam, and went to bed.
• Sunday, we went to church with Emily and Preston and hung out with them afterwards.
• Monday morning, (early!) I flew home. I spent Monday relaxing and cleaning, while Tracy drove to Wisconsin with both kids.
• That week, Tracy hung out with Mom, Dad, Ben, Shannon and Macey while I worked.
• Saturday I flew out of Dulles to Wisconsin. Dad picked me up, we went shooting while we were waiting for Tracy to show up from Ben and Shannon's. We went to Briq's and looked at chalk drawings.
• Sunday, Church with Mom and Dad.
• Monday, we drove to Aberdeen to visit Grandma Allred. Afton loved Storybook land. She also loved Grandma's house, proving that it's not just us grandkids who like it.
• Tuesday. This is where the plan started to break down. First I'll list what was supposed to happen on the day in red (in present tense), then what really happened in black. We left Aberdeen more or less on schedule, and start driving to Mount Rushmore. We got slightly off track (no more than an hour). We saw Mount Rushmore, then started heading west, trying to reach Casper, Wyoming before nightfall. We arrive in Casper and play in the pool, getting a good night's sleep in a great hotel. We broke down, 40 miles north of Lusk Wyoming, on US Highway 18/85. We didn't even have cell phone service there. (However, we did have great service in Lusk. 5 bars!) A kind guy named Pat picked us up, put us in his big truck (Afton loved it!) and drove us to Lusk, where his girlfriend had broken down. We spent the night in the Rawhide Motel. It was overly cramped and spartan, but more or less clean, and didn't cost and arm and leg. Our van got towed into Lusk at 11:30 that night. I got our essentials out, and we slept.
• Wednesday, we leave Casper and drive, stopping at Martin's Cove, to Uncle Blair's. We arrive near dinnertime where Aunt Leslie has a great dinner prepared for us. No. we woke up, spent half the day kicking around the hotel, and the tow/repair place said they couldn't fix it, and it would have to go to a Nissan dealership; the closest is in Cheyenne, WY. We said okay, and after a lot of confusion, ended up getting our insurance to tow it to Cheyenne. The truck wouldn't arrive for several hours, though, and we were starting to go stir crazy. Thankfully, we called our bishop, and he put us in touch with the Branch President in Lusk. He and his family graciously offered to let us stay with the that night. We did, Afton loved it, and his daughters (4 of them aged 16 to 7) loved her and Logan.
  
• Thursday, we go visit Tracy's friend Dena in Bountiful, UT, and go the the local pool with her and her son while her husband studies. After that, we head down to Provo, where we hang out on BYU's campus, revisiting some of our old haunts, and visiting Janet at work, until she gets off, when she, Tracy and I go climbing in Rock Canyon. We played with our hosts until Mom and Grandma, who had driven from Aberdeen that morning, arrived in Lusk at noon with Grandma's car, which we used. We got gas, and drove past Independence Rock, Devils Gate, and Martin's Cove. As we got on the freeway, I started feeling a little unsettled, but it was better being in the driver's seat, than the passenger, so I kept going. As we went, it got worse. I thought I needed to eat, so at Little America, I got a Patty Melt. Yummy, and it made me feel better, for about 15 minutes. We got in to Uncle Blair's at about 9:30 pm. I was feeling even worse. After we got the kids down, I tried to fall asleep, but couldn't. The pain got more intense and I started throwing up. At 3 AM, I went to the Davis County Hospital ER. The pain subsided almost immediately after I was admitted, and I got a whole IV of Saline before I was sent home. I slept for 3 hours.
• Friday. We didn't really have many plans for Friday besides hanging out with family, so we did! We just went to Provo to do it. We hung out and ate lunch on campus with Mom, Dad, Sarah and Brian, and Joanna and Ben put in guest appearances. We visited Janet and went to the BYU bookstore, which is so much better than the GMU bookstore. then we went to Sarah and Brian's place where we hung out more while Aunt Emily made the wedding cake. We had a family dinner at Tucano's where I was constantly reminded that I had been in the hospital less than 24 hours before, and should eat carefully. Right. we also find out that the van needs a new fuel injector, and will be ready Saturday evening.
  
• Saturday. We drove to the Bountiful Temple, which was packed, for Sarah's wedding. Afterwards, we took some pictures outside in the hot summer sun. Afton was getting cranky by the end, so we went and visited Dena for an hour, where Afton got to play with Noah. then we drove down to Salt Lake City for a luncheon, then back to Dena's where Afton slept while Tracy and Dena talked. then we drove back to Kaysville for the reception, where Afton ran amok among large numbers of family in a fenced off backyard (amok, amok, amok!) while Tracy and I mingled with large numbers of family and friends and Sarah and Brian stood and nodded politely to everyone who walked by.
• Sunday, we start driving home. We stop in Grand Island, Nebraska. Instead, since the van couldn't be picked up (they were closed) and Grandma and Mom weren't planning on leaving until Monday, we stayed in Utah, went to church with family, and visited more family in Provo.
• Monday we drive to Nauvoo, IL, where we visit historic Nauvoo, and see the pageant, then stay in a hotel 20 miles north. We got up and drove convoy to Cheyenne with Mom and Grandma, then discovered that the van wasn't ready. Instead, it needed a new transmission. Apparently, the computer's diagnostic code for the transmission didn't show up until the fuel injector had been cleared, and nobody could recognize the symptoms of an automatic transmission not shifting based on how it was driving. After seething in fury at people who don't know how to troubleshoot properly, we rented a car one way, and parted ways: Mom and Grandma heading to Aberdeen, and us headed home. We stopped in Lincoln, at the "Luxury Inn" by the airport. The carpet had been cleaned that day, but the room's AC didn't work, leaving the entire room damp and musty. The room was not worth the $45 we paid.
• Tuesday, we drove to Toledo, Ohio, where we stayed in a Knight's Inn. It was much nicer, for 10 dollars more.
• Wednesday, we drove home, arriving at 6:10 PM. I got Cocoa from the family that was watching her. (Thanks, Cottons!)
• Thursday, (today) I went back to work, until I left early to return the rental

Still to do: fly back to Cheyenne to recover the van and drive it back home. I think that's another epic, though.

On the plus side, this resonates with me much more now:

Yay! I finally posted something!

Ok, so we have definitely been in the slacker department in the blogging area. Have no fear-we've been slackers in other areas as well.... :) Where to start?

So Afton and Logan's Aunt Janet was able to visit in between semesters at BYU- around the end of April. It was a blast-even if Janet won almost all the games we played. Oh well-life moves on, barely. We went out for ice cream, played at the park, and just hung out. I even set Janet up on a blind date. (see below pic. Don't worry Janet, I don't think Jeff reads my blog. ) We doubled, which was probably a little weird for Janet going on a date with her oldest brother, but it was still fun. We went to Comedy Sportz, which is an improv comedy act similar to Whose Line is it Anyway? It was a fun time.



Afton loved spending time with Janet. Her two new favorite people are Macey and Janet. Every morning, Afton demands to look at pics of Janet and Macey. It's pretty cute. Logan loves anyone who will hold him so I don't think he has a favorite. :0)

The kids are doing great. Logan is happy baby and makes me laugh. He smiles and laughs a lot. What to say about Afton-she definitely knows what she wants and is a very independent girl. She gave me the biggest scare of my life the other day. We were at one of her friend's birthday party, which was outside, and she did the disappearing act. I was frantically calling her name, running around trying to find her. I mean, everyone was looking for her. I'm bawling, sure someone took her, ready to call the police when I hear my friends calling me over. Afton just reappeared, wanting to show my friend some marbles she found. None of us know where she was hiding. Yeah-worst mom of the week award right here. I am so thankful that nothing happened. It made me realize how lucky I am to have the family I do. I just need to figure out a way to cure Afton's wanderlust issues. But she can still make me laugh.

She likes to watch cartoons now; she only watches the theme song parts and then she is ready for the next show. It's really cute.

And yes, I've finally posted some new pics of the kids. :)

Am I a runner?

Saturday, I actually enjoyed running, for the first time since February. I don't normally consider myself a runner, but the other runners at work think I am, and I do run races, albeit slowly. Mostly, I just figure I run to stay more or less in shape.

In February, I went out running. As I started this run, it felt good. It felt really good. I got out, started moving, and felt the speed pick up. This was the first time I had ran (outside) since Thanksgiving, although I'd put in a few miles on the treadmills in out HOA's gym. I couldn't believe how good it felt. Normally, when I run, it's monotonous, boring, and dreadfully slow. This time, I didn't care; I just ran and felt good about the movement.

Since then, I trained for and ran a 5K on campus. I didn't do so hot. At least Janet showed up after the race, so she couldn't make fun of how slow I was.

Saturday, though, I ran again, and it just felt good again. This time, instead of running on the roads near my house, I ran on the trails in the battlefield. It was uphill, downhill, skirting logs, over bridges, avoiding roots, etc... It felt great! I believe I am a runner- a trail runner.

Financial Reform

I know, it's been a long time since I posted, and you all want something funny and cute, preferably with pictures of Afton. Sorry.

When I was driving to the shuttle this morning, the radio was talking about financial reform legislation. The funny part? Whatever Senator they were quoting was taking about why was the derivatives market so afraid of 'Transparency'?
Yes, an Senator was complaining about people not being transparent enough. Hmph. Ironic much?

Results of a 6-month checkup

Oh wait, Logan is only 2 months. Just wanted to jump on the copying blog title bandwagon. :)
So Logan had his 2 month check up a couple of weeks ago.

-13 lb (76%)
-23.25" long (58%)
-head is in the 78th percentile. (I think that's where he stores most of his weight) :)

He did pretty well on the shots, no fever or anything thank goodness. Pic below just makes me laugh. It almost looks like it should be a caricature or something.

Conversation with Afton

Afton just dumped out all of the wipes out of its container.

Afton:Blow nose
Me: (groaning as I walk past to put up the milk) Afton!
Afton: No Afton! Afton no!

I thought parenting was my job?

Say Cheese

I live for these smiles...

Productivity at work

Okay, so I'm a copycat.

Today at work I solved a bunch of technical problems none of you care about.

I am actually writing this using the wifi on the shuttle bus that takes me to and from work.


Anyway sisters, forget those dresses you've been demoing for Joanna. You have to choose the dress by the person. What did Joanna always want to be when she grew up? What does she dress up as for Halloween (still)? These questions all have the same answer, a Disney Princess Thusly, Joanna, here's your wedding dress:

Yes, that's a Disney Princess Cinderella wedding dress. Glass slippers not included. (You can buy them on the internet.)



Of course, Joanna always preferred Belle. I think its because they're both brunettes (Don't ask why the model is blonde):

And I've arrived at home now, so this post is done.

Voicemail love

I had a busy day today at work. I cleaned 4200 viruses off of one person's computer. When I got back to my desk, I had this voicemail waiting for me:



I should point out that I've been having problems that link working. I'll see if there's a better way.

I love baby dolls!

Oh, wait! That's not a baby doll, that's Logan. He sure fits well in my shopping cart.

Super Cute Sunday

Ok, so today was Logan's first day at church, which he slept through. Man, I love it when that happens. I know it won't last long, but I actually paid attention through Sunday school. If I was being honest, I should say I paid attention at least half of the time in Sunday school. So here are the promised pics of Logan. I tried to get some of both Afton and Logan, but batteries died. Oh well.

Blizzard of 2010

So this last weekend we got about 30 inches of snow. Thankfully, the snow didn't mess up Margaret and Rene's visit too bad. It was a lot of fun to see them and Afton really enjoyed all the extra attention. I don't think Logan really cared who visited as long as someone was holding him. :) I'm sure that will change in time. Afton is a total ham but she definitely makes us laugh. She's a show off. Margaret even got her to start saying one so now she can officially count to ten. Before she would only count from 2 to 10. It was pretty funny.

Yikes!

One month old.

Tag-your it

Ok so I've been tagged. This is for you Mary!

Your Cell Phone? charged
Your Hair? everywhere
Your Mother? awesome
Your Father? crazy
Your Favorite Food? ice cream
Your Dream Last Night? weird
Your Favorite Drink? shake
Your Dream/Goal? thinner
What Room Are You In? dining
Your Hobby? outdoors
Your Fear? clowns
Where Do You See Yourself In Six Years? gone
Where Were You Last Night? home
Something That You Aren't? short
Muffins? banana-nut
Wish List Item?
Where Did You Grow Up? texas
Last Thing You Did? read
What Are You Wearing? clothes
Your TV? works :)
Your Pets? hairy
Friends? yep
Your Life? fun
Your Mood? sleepy
Missing Someone? nope
Vehicle? matrix
Something You Aren't Wearing? food
Your Favorite Store? shoe
Your Favorite Color? blue
When Was The Last Time You Laughed? today
Last Time You Cried? days
Your Best Friend? joe
One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? walmart
Facebook? sometimes
Favorite Place To Eat? hawaii

I pass this on to whoever wants to do it but we'll try
Joe, Margaret, Dena and Amy. Have fun.

Scores

No, Scoresbys aren't competitive. End sarcasm.

The Blizzard of '09

So far, we've had a record-breaking winter for the area. It's been cold, it's been snowy, it's actually been winter. We've had periods where we've been colder than Mom and Dad in Wisconsin. December 19th, we had a snowstorm that put down at least 2 feet of snow for us. Some places had 3-4 feet. I shoveled a lot of snow. The pile in our front yard took up the entire front yard.

We walked to our neighbors for dinner that night. Our street hadn't been plowed at all, and the main neighborhood street hadn't either. Church was cancelled the next day, so we got together and had a small service with people from church in our neighborhood. It reminded me of the time we went to Grandma and Grandpa Scoresby's (in Milo) and church was cancelled.

Every time we walked anywhere, people in SUVs always asked if we were stranded. Uh, no. We're walking. I even got to use my snowshoes.

Since then, we had more snow, freezing rain (the day Logan was born), another snowfall, and a really cold stretch that just ended today. Yikes.

When Logan came home

When we brought Logan home on the 1st, we also picked up Afton from the Stevens, and this is how she welcomed her brother when we got out of the car:

Bye Bye Mullet!

I couldn't find a good pic of Afton sporting her mullet but believe me, it was definitely a good sized mullet.






So Afton had her first hair cut on Saturday. No more mullet for her. I was surprised at how hard it was for me to want to cut her hair, mostly because it took so long to grow in. It definitely looks much better now.

She actually loved her hair cut experience. She got to sit in a tractor and watch Elmo's World, which we all know she loves. In fact, the only time she cried was when I made her leave. She wanted to stay and play. The hair dresser even gave me some of her hair. How horrible of a mom am I; I'm actually thinking of throwing it away. I just think its weird to save hair, but oh well thats just me.







May I present the mulletless Afton: