Cultural Exchange

This weekend a group of international students from the Bay Area came to Sonora. The student that stayed at our house was named Dawei. Technically, he wasn't a student, but he still goes to the community Bible study that all the students attend.

Dawei (pronounced Da-way) came over from China in 2008 to attend grad school in Pittsburgh and then moved to the Bay Area in 2010. It was great to hear about his experiences in Shanghai, China. We also had some great conversations about the American perception of China and Communism versus the realities.

Thankfully, the Sonora community provides many opportunities to host international students and adults. We hope to take advantage of these opportunities in the future to help give our children a broader vision of the world.

We hope it was the first of many visits from our new friend.

The Nixon Adventures in 2011

Merry Christmas

Below is our Christmas card along with the Cummings' Christmas card for 2011.

Maroon 7 Soccer

Video highlights from Dillon's first year of soccer on his team, Maroon 7.

Disneyland Trip 2011

Back in April of 2009 I vowed we would never return to Disneyland with children under the age of three. Last week, after much prodding from my parents, I broke that promise.

Even though the weather wasn't the best, we encountered rain on two of the four days in the park, we had a great time. Dillon had a blast and was tall enough to go on Space Mountain and the Tower of Terror with me. (He didn't enjoy either one.) Connor liked all the characters as long as he could view them from afar. (We did manage to get him close enough for pictures.) Brenna was mesmerized by A Small World. Christina and I relished every moment we could sit down.

All three kids enjoyed spending time with Papa, Grandma Sharon, Uncle Larry, and all five of the Morgans. It was also nice to have a 1:1 adult to child ratio. However, I am declaring once again, we are not going back to Disneyland until after Brenna has turned four. Until that time, the kids can relive their trip with the video below.

Brenna's 1st Birthday Party

On Saturday, family gathered in celebration of Brenna's first birthday. Not everyone was able to join us due to sickness but we had a good time nonetheless. Below are pictures:

Brenna was greeted by a hand-made poster and a lot of hugs and kisses from the family.

Following the family tradition, Grandma Sharon made Brenna her own cake. The pink Care Bear was made with love and a few hours of arthritis inducing icing of the cake.

All that hard work of putting together the cake didn't stop Brenna from diving right in. As soon as Christina let go of her hand, she reached straight for that icing.

I could tell you she liked it, but the picture speaks volumes.

Once all the pictures were taken, the boys were allowed to help Brenna eat the cake...

...along with Otis.

Present opening was next. Of course, she got more toys and clothes than a one year should have gotten.

Daddy loves his birthday girl. It's hard to believe our little girl turned one and we can't wait to see what the next year will bring for her.

Merry Christmas

Thanksgiving 2010

Every year as a family, we try to alternate Christmas and Thanksgiving between Shafter and Sonora. Thanksgiving this year was spent in Sonora.

We ate at the Cummings house, who also had a couple other families over for the feast. The guy in the green sweatshirt came all the way from Japan. He was James' host parent when he lived in Japan.

Connor enjoyed spending time with his cousin Trent. They spent some of their weekend watching Thomas the Train...

...while Brenna enjoyed eating all the mash potatoes she could handle.

We also celebrated Trent's second birthday. Aunt Christina made him a special Thomas cake.

And finally the boys helped Grammy and Papa put up their Christmas tree. A few ornaments were broken and only the bottom half of the tree got decorated but they sure had fun helping.

Overall, it was a great weekend, except for the flu and cold that Christina and I caught. We are better now and are ready for the next big holiday.


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Now playing: Caedmon's Call - Thankful
via FoxyTunes

Family Picture 2010

Vacation 2010

Below is a video I made of our vacation. Sorry, no bidets are in it.

SNL References

Sometimes art imitates life. Other times life imitates art. This last week on vacation I ran across the latter, twice.

The first happened when my Grandma was telling us about her trip to Georgia. The topic of Joshua's luscious locks came up. I joked that my aunt and uncle bought him the following:



Upon further review, I am now convinced that his hair IS a toupee. You can be the judge:


The second happened upon our check-in at the Madonna Inn. Christina and I had our first experience with a bidet in our room. Normally, this wouldn't have been a big deal and we would have viewed it as a nice touch in our room. However the skit below gave us a running joke for the week.



On an unrelated note, pictures and non-SNL details of our vacation will be posted soon.


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Now playing: Dave Matthews Band - Funny The Way It Is
via FoxyTunes

May 31, 2003

It's hard to believe that Christina and I have been married for seven years now. This morning I realized we have been a "couple" for over a decade. It has been a great ten years and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, well maybe not "all" of it. (I think I would have more time between the three kids.)

To help recall the wonderful memories of our Big Day are pictures below. Unfortunately our wedding photographer had not upgraded to a digital camera so the pictures are all scans.










Happy Anniversary my beautiful bride!

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Now playing: Coldplay - One I Love
via FoxyTunes

Catching Up

This past week have been really busy due to family visits, birthday dinners, and chasing three kids around which adds up to not having time to update with pictures. Below are photos from the last 10 days.

This picture of Brenna reminds Christina of a sleeping Connor.

We captured the one moment on film where all three kids were calm, cry-free, and chilling.

Part of last weekend included a surprise 50th anniversary party for Christina's Aunt Lenny and Uncle Larry. They flew down from Alaska and was surprised by friends and family from all over the United States.

Brenna and Connor were dedicated at church last Sunday. Our friend Nate from our small group lead the dedication.

Me praying during the dedication. All three of the kids were good during the dedication. I was a little nervous that Connor and/or Brenna would start crying.

After church we took our first picture as a family with Brenna.

Sunday afternoon was spent at the Cummings house with some of Christina's extended family.

Here are all of Christina's cousins that were at the party and there are 10 other cousins that were unable to attend!

Connor had fun playing with his second cousin Stella, who was 22 months old. There was five children under the age two at the party which created tons of entertainment.


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Now playing: Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure
via FoxyTunes

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day 2010 is very special to us. We get to spend it with baby Brenna and Grandma Sharon.

My two favorite Valentines. Christina is healing quickly from her surgery. Standing up from a sitting position is a little difficult and she is unable to pick anything (or anyone) up yet but she is much more mobile than a few days ago.

Grandma Sharon is having too much fun with Brenna. Once again, she has been a blessing to Christina and I, staying up at night with Brenna, changing diapers, and making meals. Thanks Mom!

Brenna's dress is courtesy of Aunt Jennifer and Grandma Sharon gave Brenna the bow. It's perfect for Valentine's Day.

Cowboy Woody showing off his new boots Grandma Sharon gave him for Valentine's Day.

Connor also got some boots for Valentine's Day. As soon as he put them on, he was instantly drawn to the tv which Grandma Sharon was watching. The boots must of activated his redneck gene.


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Now playing: The Cars - Let's Go (LP Version)
via FoxyTunes

San Diego, The Video

Connor in the Middle

If you are wondering why the blogging has been so light over the past two months, it's because Christina has been sick. The extended sickness is due from one thing...pregnancy. Just like with Connor, Christina has had to have a take home IV over the past eight weeks. And just like before, our family has been wonderful helping with the boys and Christina while I am at work.

Christina is 13 weeks along now, which puts the due date on February 14th. Dillon will be four months shy of four years old and Connor will be 16 months old. It also means it will be the sixth (calendar) year in a row for my parents to get a grandchild, a streak I can guarantee we will not continue in 2011.

This pregnancy was a complete surprise to us but we look forward to the little bundle of joy. We knew we wanted a third child but was hoping to wait a couple of years. Now we will have two in diapers for a while.

We would love for you to keep the baby, Christina, and us boys in your prayers for the next six months. Christina should be turning the corner on her extreme morning sickness within a week or two.

I have posted two new pictures below to make up for my lack of blogging below. Plus their shirts are very fitting for the subject matter, even though Connor's shirt will be "out of style" in six months.





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Now playing: Phoenix - Countdown
via FoxyTunes

Disneyland Video

Snow Day

Christina's old college roommate, Kristin, and her family came up this weekend to visit. Today we took the kids to the snow.

Dillon and Trevin giving us their Baby Abercombie pose.

Connor and Allysa came along for the ride.

The two older boys enjoyed riding on the sled. They were very excited when they got to sled by themselves.

At the end of the day, the two friend were ready for pizza.


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Now playing: Plain White T's - 1, 2, 3, 4
via FoxyTunes

New Years Video

Christina's cousin, Laurie, and her family came to visit for New Years. Here is a little video I put together.



As you can probably tell, Dillon loved playing with Alec, Shane, and Lucas.

Merry Christmas

Pictures from Christmas to follow. Until then enjoy the Christmas card (below) the Cummings sent out.



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Now playing: Bing Crosby - White Christmas (2006 Digital Remaster)
via FoxyTunes